Best vacuum for hardwood floors?

[Dakota731]

My old Electrolux is so heavy that I'm afraid it will damage them. Any budget vacuums that are lightweight and pick up the dog hair??

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We just got ours installed and I'm using an Oreck upright. Working very well, I don't think it's super budget friendly though.

 

[wishesuponastar]

We have a Shark Navigator got it at Kohls. Not too heavy and does a great job on dog hair.

 

[Ranger111]

How's $80 sound for a Consumer Reports recommended, highly rated machine? Of course, I have no ACTUAL experience with this particular machine

But shipping from WalMart is free. And it is available several other places with comparable prices/offers.

My LG KOMPRESSOR worked great -- but it died -- and I NEEDED a new unit quickly. Did my research and was about to pull the trigger on this Consumer Reports HOOVER, when I decided one more time to try to fix my LG. Well, won't bore with detail, but got the LG fixed.

Anyway, the Hoover model I was about to buy is

Hoover WindTunnel T-Series UH30300
Walmart has it on clearance, was normally $160. So, if you don't delay, you can probably still get it for $80. I picked up my $400 KOMPRESSOR at WalMart for $200 on clearance three years ago.

Anyway, Consumers says the Hoover weighs 16 pounds and is superb at sucking up pet hair and has strong airflow for tools. Low-priced sacrifices include no suction control and turning the dial to adjust pile height.

Again, you asked for a budget machine, so it will be "plastic" and "budget-like" but with Consumer's rating, I was ready to go for it at $80 (I probably would have picked another model if it was $160, however). C/R has a handful of user reviews that are not all that complimentary (IMHO, C/R user reviews are a bit "fussy"), but Amazon reviews give the machine a darn good rating for the price.

There are much better machines out there, but I am thinking, not for $80.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

LOVING my new Shark vacuum. Goes from wood to carpet and is super powerful.

 

[PrincessPatti]

I love my Shark vacuum. I swear by it and have even convinced my friends and family to get the Shark as well and they are just as happy with it. My whole house is original wood flooring and it works well.

 

[tvguy]

Bought a new Sears vacuum just before we put our laminate in. So far, so good.

 

[Ranger111]

Just thinking....

You have the heavy Electrolux....so, you don't REALLY need another vacuum.

So, if all you need is something to get dog hair off hardwood -- that does NOT TAKE MUCH.

My dog's tail wagging moves it around pretty good.

Maybe, and I have no experience, one of those stick-type vacuums (dirt devil, eureka, hoover) things for around $20-$40 would work well for you.

Those things look like a breeze to move around and sling over your shoulder. LOL

That would be true budget and lightweight. Again, dog hair does not take much (unless it is wet dog hair).

 

[mikehn]

I dont know about budget, but we have the dyson animal 44. That things awesome.

 

[sherry7]

Whatever you buy, make sure that there is a switch to turn off the brush roller. Over time, the brush will damage hardwood floors.

I agree with the above poster. Getting pet hair off hardwood is easy peasy. Be more concerned about weight, maneuverability, and a brush roller that you can turn off. My entire house is hardwood, except the kitchen, baths, and laundry room are ceramic tile. I have 2 Hoover Linx cordless vacuums (one for each floor), and that's pretty much all I use now. My Dyson hasn't seen the light of day for over a year since I bought these. The battery only lasts for 15-20 minutes, but that's plenty of time to get each level of my house done. This is the one I have: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hoover-LiNX-Cordless-Stick-Vacuum-BH50010W/10824756

 

[daniele_ut]

My old Electrolux is so heavy that I'm afraid it will damage them. Any budget vacuums that are lightweight and pick up the dog hair??

If you already have an upright that works well for carpet then I wouldn't invest in another upright. Canister vacs work much better on hard floors and you don't need an expensive one.

This one is inexpensive, highly rated and comes highly recommended on the Flooring forum on GardenWeb:

http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-3670G-..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=03QJ2G80C33WBG715X7Y

 

[smokeyblue]

I am very happy with my Shark Rotator that I purchased from Kohls. I had a Hover upright of some sort that just moved dirt and cat fur from one place to another. I have a small house and didn't want to buy a new vacuum, but I am so, so glad I did. My house actually looks clean now and it takes half the time to vacuum.

I have about 2/3 hard surface and 1/3 carpet. The thing that I like best is that you can turn the brush roll on and off. I have a dark area rug that gets covered with cat fur looks dirty easily. Turn on the brush roll and two minutes later it looks like brand new.

 

[momdad4kids]

In the past 20 years we've had I bet 15 "budget" vacuums. Sears, Sharks, Hoovers and they all last about a year or so and they die for various reasons. The company I work for has several hotels and office buildings and had updated the vacuums they use. They had all been used about 3 years in a commercial setting and were pretty rough looking and all were Dysons. They were going to be tossed so I brought one home, it had been used enough the floor plate was literally worn through but it did run, I cleaned the filters and it still had amazing suction. I thought if it lasts a month that would be great. 2 years later (after a $23 floor plate) its still going strong. If it ever does die theres no question what we'll be buying. I admit the price tag seems a bit steep at first but they are well built, easy to clean if you suck up the odd sock or two and just keep going and going

 

[MillauFr]

I also use a Hoover Linx. Works great. A Swifter works pretty good as well to get the pet hair.

 

[Dakota731]

You have the heavy Electrolux....so, you don't REALLY need another vacuum.

I love my Electrolux - I was just worried that being so heavy it could damage the real wood??

 

[Gracie09]

Why would it? Hardwood is durable. Your sofa weighs more than your vacuum. If you have and entertainment center it weighs more than a vacuum. I've used my dyson animal on hard wood in two houses and never had a problem with the weight of the vacuum damaging the floors. My mother has a heavy old Kirby and wood floors and they have never been damaged by the vacuum. I think you are overthinking this.

 

[Ranger111]

I love my Electrolux - I was just worried that being so heavy it could damage the real wood??

Read the rest of the message....you pulled the quote from....you don't need a REAL VAC for dog hair.

 

[Poohforyou]

I vacuum my baseboards and the rugs on top of our hardwood but swiffer the actual floors. I find it cleans them a lot better (I've tested it).

 

[Ranger111]

I vacuum my baseboards and the rugs on top of our hardwood but swiffer the actual floors. I find it cleans them a lot better (I've tested it).

Only issue with that is I worry about compacting "dirt" in the crevices of the floors.

I vacuum first, with brush off to pick-up dirt, dust, grime (and hopefully pull it off the floor before it settles into the cracks) and then damp mop with a minimal amount of water (I mean a very light mist) every third day.

About every two to three weeks, floors get a real cleaning.

 

[jsmith]

I dustmop my hardwoods-vacuum the baseboards and heater air intakes and run a nice microfiber dust mop over the floors-it picks up hair ( two cats and two Bernese Mountain dogs) much better than the sweeper. 10 minutes a day to dustmop, then I do the base board and damp mop with a microfiber pad mop and either warm vinager water or Bona Hardwoord floor cleaner.