Best kind of vacuum to buy?

[frannn]

With two pets and 3 dds, I need a decent vacuum that will not break in 1 year. Don't know if I should get a canister or upright, either. We've got mostly wood floors, but some carpet as well. I don't want to spend 300+, though. Any suggestions?

 

[RitaZ.]

Well, I have HAD most of the well known brands; Dirt Devil, Eureka, Hoover, Kenmore & probably others that I can't remember. They were all junk! I bought a Hoover for $200+ and it died at 13 months.

One of my friends bought a Miele vacuum cleaner (canister type), she got fed up with the junky brands. She paid around $500, but she has had it for 5 years with zero problems (she also gets free yearly maintenance for life). She even uses it to vaccuum the deck in her pool area (which is not enclosed) It sounds like a lot of money (I think it is), but if I add all the money that I have spent on vacuums in the past 5 years, it definitely exceeds $500.

Here is the web site in case you want to look~

!http://www.miele-vacuum.com/

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Dan Murphy]

We have had an Oreck for about 10 years, the same one housekeeping uses at Swan Dolphin. No problems, seems great. It is over $300 though.

http://www.oreck.com/upright-vacuum-cleaners/xl3600.cfm

 

[nancy679]

I have an Electolux, which I've had for over 13 years. I think I needed a tune up once or twice. BUt when I bought it 13 years ago, it was about $500, now I think they are $900-1000.

 

[Lars624]

I have a Kirby. It was over 300.00 but it comes with a really long guarantee. I never intend to need to buy another vacuum in my life.

 

[helenabear]

I have a Hoover and have been using Hoovers all my life and never had much of a problem with them (have used one older than me, about the same age as me and 2 years old... all still run). Mine does a great job of getting the pet hair off of the couch and floor. I think you can get one similar to what I have for about $175 and they have a nice range of what you can choose from.

 

[DopeyRN]

Another Kirby owner here...I also plan on it being my last vacuum. Quite expensive...bought it back when I had money...but well worth it!!

 

[dalepool]

First off let me say the best vacuum to own is the one someone else is pushing. Now let me go on to say I have a windtunnel by Hoover. With a new puppy in the house---an 84 # ball of fur puppy) I find the windtunnel does a wonderful job picking up dog hair. All of the attachments are on board and easy to use. I think it is somewhere in the price range of $230-$260. Mine has a bag to catch the dust--- but I'm thinking the next Hoover will be the one with a cannister you can empty after each use. I would think with dog hair that a cannister might be the way to go. Hope this helps.

PattyN

 

[newmousecateer]

I have a Rainbow. You would not believe what that canister looks like when I am done vacumming and I don't have kids or pets. But it is 1000+ But I wouldn't trade it for any other vacumm.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Another Kirby owner here - love it - love it even more when someone else is pushing it

 

[Micca]

If you get one of the less expensive models try to get an extended warranty. We had a couple of "brand name" cleaners
that wore out around the one year mark.

 

[Wishing on a star]

With a lot of wood flooring, you really want to make sure that
your new vacuum is TRULY bare floor compatible. You will want one that the beater/bar completely disengages, not just moves upward while still spinning, dispersing the dust...

The nicer Hoover windtunnels are supposed to be good. Hoover did come up with this technology - with the motor sucking everything through the bag, instead of trying to blow everything up into the bag like vacuums used to be made. My MIL has a wind tunnel. It is very loud, but it works like a dream, completely self-propelled both forward and backward. She gave up a perfectly good Kirby, because while Kirbys are really really good, they can be heavy and bulky, hard to use...

I have a nice Sears upright that I really like. Had it for two years now. ( Usually HATE sears products...) It works great, is truly bare floor compatible, and was one of the quieter models that I checked out. I love it! With the specialty bags that you can get, it is completely allergen down to a gazillion microns. Which you may also want to look for with pets and/or allergies.

I have NEVER seen a Eureka that I would pay one cent for... Most look like Pig-pen in Charlie brown... Just huffing and puffing the dust as they are vacuuming!

Ask the sales rep about cannister-vs-bag. If I am remembering correctly, the cannisters do not trap all the dust that good bags will??

What I did was go to the largest Sears store in my area. They had a huge selection of all kinds of brands. You can actually try the demo-models right there in the store.

Good Luck!

 

[ripleysmom]

I love our Oreck!!

 

[ByTheSea]

From Consumer Reports:

Performance differences. Virtually all recently tested uprights and canisters did at least a good job overall. Bagless vacs filtered dust as well as bag-equipped models overall, but emptying their bins released enough dust to make wearing a mask a consideration. We have found stick vacs less impressive, with few excelling at all types of cleaning. Overall, hand vacs do a better job along wall edges than stick vacs by coming closer to the moldings and angling into nooks and crannies.

We’ve also found that high-end features such as dirt sensors don’t necessarily improve performance. And ignore claims about amps and suction. Amps are a measure of running current, not cleaning power, while suction alone doesn’t determine a vacuum’s ability to lift dirt from carpeting. Some vacuums are extremely expensive--anywhere from $800 to $1,500 and more. Consumer Reports tests have shown that high-priced brands such as Electrolux, Filter Queen, Kirby, Miele, and Rainbow perform well, but so do many models that cost $200 to $300. We’ve also found that many of the least expensive uprights sacrifice key features as well as performance.

Recommendations. Begin by deciding whether you prefer an upright or a canister. Then choose a model that performs and has the right features for your kind of cleaning. Those with varied cleaning needs may want to consider a vacuum-cleaner arsenal--an upright for carpets, a compact canister when tool use is important, and a hand vac or stick vac for quick touch-ups around the kitchen and family room.

Test Ratings for UPRIGHTS


UPRIGHT VACUUM CLEANERS
Upright vacuums are well suited for carpet cleaning. Most also excel on bare floors. Compared with canisters, uprights are generally less expensive, somewhat lighter, and easier to store. High scores for cleaning carpets and floors helped the Kenmore (Sears) Progressive with Direct Drive 31912 garner one of our highest vac ratings to date. Also consider the Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled Ultra U6430-900 and its highly rated siblings, as well as the relatively quiet and inexpensive Eureka Boss Smart Vac 4870, $130. The Panasonic Dual Sweep MC-V7515, $170, and Kenmore (Sears) Progressive 32612, $260, are two other worthy and well-priced contenders, though the Panasonic is relatively noisy. The Hoover WindTunnel Bagless U5720-900 (and its similar models) was the best of the bagless models on carpets, though it's fairly noisy.

(In order of best 1st)
BRAND AND MODEL PRICE

Kenmore (Sears) Progressive with Direct Drive 31912 $379.99
Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled Ultra U6430-900 $259.77
Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled Ultra U6432-900 $299.95
Hoover WindTunnel Self-Propelled Ultra U6446-900 $299.97
Eureka Boss Smart Vac 4870 $130.00
Panasonic Dual Sweep MC-V7515 $170.00
Hoover WindTunnel Bagless Self-Propelled U6630-900 $334.77
Kenmore (Sears) Progressive 32612 $260.00
Eureka Ultra Whirlwind 4885 $239.99
Hoover WindTunnel Bagless U5720-900 $200.00
Hoover WindTunnel Bagless U5755-900 $215.00
Hoover WindTunnel Bagless U5757-900 $200.00
Bissell ProLite 3560 $248.78
Dirt Devil Platinum Force 91210 $199.99
Oreck XL21-600 $699.95
Dirt Devil Vision with Sensor 89900 $218.88
Hoover Bagless Upright U5290-900 $179.97
Hoover Preferred U5061-900 $78.73
Dirt Devil Featherlite Plus 85550 $69.95
GE 106585 $128.82
Eureka WhirlWind Plus 4686 $130.00
Sharp Multi Floor EC-T5180 $199.00
Dirt Devil Swivel Glide Vision 86925 $159.99
Eureka The Boss Power 2270 $69.99
Kenmore (Sears) Quick Clean Bagless 33720 $99.99
Bissell Cleanview Bagless 8990 $100.00



CANISTER VACUUM CLEANERS
Canister vacuums typically excel at cleaning bare wood and tile floors, and their stability with the hose extended makes them a better choice than an upright vacuum for cleaning drapes and upholstery. Another plus: Most models have better clearance than uprights for cleaning under furniture and in tight spaces. However, canisters generally can't match the performance of the best uprights when it comes to cleaning carpets. And they can take more room to store.

Among the models shown below, the Kenmore (Sears) Progressive 22612 cleaned carpets very well and bare floors excellently. The new Miele Plus S251 does an average job on carpet and is excellent on bare floors; it's quieter and less bulky than most. The Samsung Quiet Jet VAC-9048R is a very good performer and fairly quiet, though it's not in many stores.

(highest rated first)

Kenmore (Sears) Progressive 22612 $380.00
Miele Plus S251 $399.00
Eureka 6984 $240.00
Samsung Quiet Jet VAC-9048R $220.00
Hoover WindTunnel S3639 $269.97
Miele S514 Solaris Electro Plus $699.00
Oreck DutchTech 1300C $899.00
Eureka Oxygen 6997 $500.00
Panasonic MC-V9635 $249.99
Sanyo SC-800P $249.99
Hoover PowerMAX Deluxe S3607 $189.99
Hoover PowerMAX Runabout S3614 $199.99

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow, looks like from the info posted from ByTheSea (thanks!) my and my MIL's vacuums that I just mentioned are at the top of the list. They even mention, like I did, that some models can be noisy or louder than others.

Only wanted to mention that we did not give near the list prices quoted here when we bought ours!

 

[mickeyfan1]

and I am sure that this will be edited - what kind of vacuum to buy - one that sucks, and honest, there was an advert campaign in England for a while that stated "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux"

I can't help it, it's late, and I am feeling naughty.