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Thread: Household vacuum cleaner recommendation

  1. #16
    Check out vacschool.tripod.com/index.html for some great tips on what to look for when buying a vacuum. They do not sell vacuums on this site.
    Another great site is an old vacuum cleaner forum that used to be called whatsthebest-vacuum and is now called abbysguide.com/vacuum/discussions

    We have several different vacuums collected over the years. The cheap, lightweight canister purchased when 18 and just out of the house is great for vacuuming the stairs, bathroom rugs and under beds, yet is not good for large areas where pet hair & farm dirt can get tracked in. The powerful upright vacuum is great for everything else including cleaning the car interior, but because it has such strong suction power, it is too strong for a floor mat and too big to vacuum under the bed.

    At one point it looked like the sturdy upright was going to fail so we tested all the big name brands. One surprising thing we found on several of the newer vacuums is they vented the exhaust in front of the upright. Try catching that pet hair on the vinyl kitchen floor if the exhaust keeps blowing it away! (Thankfully we didn't need to make a decision on which vacuum to buy as we were able to fix the old upright. It seemed to be much more powerful than the new ones we were looking at.)
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  2. #17
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    I wish it was legal to make one that drew more than 12 amps. No idea about under 2 bills, but my Wife loves the Miele, and I like the Oreck backpack for hard floors, even best for bare floors before finish. We have a pile of less than 200 dollar vacuums up in the loft over the barn that lasted a year or so with pet and horse hair, but had this or that play out on them. I probably have enough parts from several to put some together that would work, but never any time to do that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure the Miele is about 8 years old, and still like new. It's like the engineers at Mercedes, BMW, and Audi got together and designed a 12 amp vacuum.

  3. #18
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    Sanitare is good and basic. We had one for about 25 years and it finally gave out.

    Now we have two used Kirbys that I found at two different thrift stores. I have about $35 in each. I paid $2 for one because the beater bar was missing. I offered the lady $2 for the cord and she sold it. I paid $35 for the other one and it works fine.

  4. #19
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    Jan 2009
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    I used to be a vacuum cleaner salesman...

    (Yep...sure was...believe it or not...)

    I sold Compacts back in 1980. $729.95. I did the whole "demonstrations in your house" thing. I was pretty good at it too. I learned quite a bit about vacs, in fact. One thing I learned was that just because you spent a lot of $$$ on a vacuum didn't mean it was good.

    Anyway...I said that to say this...

    Of all the vacuums that I have seen through the years, only a very few have impressed me. The Compact, Filter Queen and...the Shark. Yeah...we just bought a Shark for the church. I am amazed at how good it is. Granted, it is not particularly "sturdy". I mean, the whole thing is plastic. But I have never seen anything that reasonably priced that even comes close to its design and features. Seriously...it has the suction of a shop vac.
    I am never wrong.

    Well...I thought I was wrong once...but I was mistaken.

  5. #20
    Filter Queen and Rainbows were all over the place out my way. My mother had one. Man was it heavy!! We had to get a second vacuum to do the steps.

  6. #21
    My wife and I are in the market for a household canister vacuum as well,she's under the impression that we should be able to get a decent one for around $250 to $300,but when we ask around or do more research ,everyone seems to talk about 2-3 brands that are all like $450 or more.
    I have narrowed it down for her to :
    1=Miele S2121,-S4212.
    2=Panasonic MCG917(which is the old Sears Kenmore).
    3=Electrolux Sanitaire.
    I have heard good things about Kirby, Royal RY,Filter Queen,but they seem to be way too heavy for my wife
    to carry on the stairs,they also look Dated.
    I have also realized that when shopping for a vacuum,you must first decide whether to compromise on doing bare floors well but not so great on carpets or carpets well and poor performance on bare floors,I have not seen a vacuum yet that does both equally well.

  7. #22
    We used to have a canister, but I wouldn't go back after getting one of the rebadged sebo automatics. It automatically drops to floor height on the fly on bare floors, the beater brush still keeps spinning (which can knock some dirt off of the floor that's lightly stuck) and the hard floor strip behind the beater brush creates a seal between the vacuum and the floor keeps any of the dirt from getting away. It doesn't do an absolutely perfect job on floors, but it does an awfully good job, like 99%, and the hose is self retracting so you can easily whip out out and clean up anything in a corner and put it back on its carrier and it sucks the hose back into the apparatus without you having to do anything.

    It's fantastic on carpets, and weighs 16 pounds (so you can handle it fairly well), the self retracting hose on it will reach most things except high mantles (but you can get an extension if that's important), the attachments are on board (in the 16 pound weight), and the cord is 40 feet long. It has an exhaust filter, and a prefilter for the motor (so the motor is always running in clean air) to go along with the bags.

    (well, I don't know if the windsor sensor or prochem 12 vac labels are available in canada).

    We had a vac store canister that my wife got from a vacuum dealer, but donated it to the goodwill.

    (the only caveat I'd have is if you have several sets of stairs, then a canister might be more handy - I'd almost buy a separate cheapie canister just for that, though, if the stairs are too small too use a light weight upright.

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald View Post
    Do you have any carpeted stairs?

    My wife's friends were all buying Dysons and she jumped on the wagon. It cleans well but isn't too handy for vacuuming carpeted stairways. I am fan of canister vacuums if you have carpeted stairways.

    We have a DIL and 3 grandkids living with us temporarily and she bought a Shark upright. Both the Dyson and the Shark work well.
    We find the Shark works pretty well on carpeted steps. The canister/motor assembly detatches from the frame so it's fairly small and light. We got a small air powered beater brush attachment as part of the package. I was pretty sceptical about the torque generated by such a small simple device but that little rascal does pretty well.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    Mountain City, TN
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    Took our 3 year Dyson to the Dyson repair shop to get a new switch. The guy practically ripped it out of my hands because he was so eager to fix it. For free. Plus he said the beater bar was a little worn so he replaced that for free too. Never had better customer service, ever!

    Buy the best, you only cry once.

    Bill

  10. #25
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    Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions; I hadn't thought about refurbished but I've bought other remanufactured products so I'll certainly look into it for vacuums; nothing wrong with saving money while getting a better quality product.

  11. #26
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    We've been using a couple of Shark vacuum cleaners for the past few years...purchased from Costco. They do a good job for us.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Drew View Post
    Preferably under $200, preferably upright, low pile carpets and hardwood, but no pet hair. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've looked around a bit and at the $400+ end I see Miele and Dyson, and in my range there's Eureka, Shark, Hoover and some others. Any thoughts? TIA.
    The problem with cheapies is that in addition to breaking they also blow dust past the seals. +1 on the Sebo recommendation for an upright. Miele makes a great cannister vacuum but I'd pick Sebo if I wanted an upright. Dyson does a good job cleaning but is not as nice as the Sebo or Miele (in terms of noise, weight, and accessories). Of course, the Dyson is less expensive.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by ken masoumi View Post
    My wife and I are in the market for a household canister vacuum as well,she's under the impression that we should be able to get a decent one for around $250 to $300,but when we ask around or do more research ,everyone seems to talk about 2-3 brands that are all like $450 or more.
    I have narrowed it down for her to :
    1=Miele S2121,-S4212.
    2=Panasonic MCG917(which is the old Sears Kenmore).
    3=Electrolux Sanitaire.
    I have heard good things about Kirby, Royal RY,Filter Queen,but they seem to be way too heavy for my wife
    to carry on the stairs,they also look Dated.
    I have also realized that when shopping for a vacuum,you must first decide whether to compromise on doing bare floors well but not so great on carpets or carpets well and poor performance on bare floors,I have not seen a vacuum yet that does both equally well.
    We've been using a Miele canister vacuum (with HEPA) for 7 years and have no complaints. This is over a variety of carpet piles and hardwood floors with pets and kids in the house. I have bad dust allergies so using a good vacuum regularly is a must. I would encourage you to go with a HEPA option from Miele or Sebo. Rainbow, Kirby, etc. are also good but much more $$$.

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Portland View Post
    We've been using a Miele canister vacuum (with HEPA) for 7 years and have no complaints. This is over a variety of carpet piles and hardwood floors with pets and kids in the house. I have bad dust allergies so using a good vacuum regularly is a must. I would encourage you to go with a HEPA option from Miele or Sebo. Rainbow, Kirby, etc. are also good but much more $$$.
    Good to know you have had good performance from your Miele,I don't hear negative comments on Miele,and Shark vacuums,but there's a significant price difference,if I wanted to spend no more that $200,I would seriously consider a shark vacuum.

  15. #30
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    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    The 3M bags work fine in the Miele. I'm not sure if they are HEPA or not, but Amazon sells them a lot cheaper than buying the Miele brand.

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