Need a new vacuum, any recommendations?

[annielinz]

My Kenmore canister vacuum sucked its last crumb today. I am so bummed.
:(
My home is mostly hardwood floors with area rugs. I have vinyl in bathrooms and kitchen. So does anyone have a favorite to recommend. I would prefer something light weight and cost effective.

[CohenCottage]

I'm so sorry to hear about the demise of your Kenmore. That's what we had before, and it only lasted us about 3 years. Our current vacuum is the best ever. It's a Miele Carina canister vac, and we have all hardwood floors/tile with some area rugs. We love the attachments, especially the rotating handheld brush for upholstery. We have 4 golden retrievers, and this vac does a great job on hair, and it doesn't kick little bits of stuff up when you clean on hard flooring.

[annielinz]

Cohencottage I was pondering the Miele. When I bought my sewing machine they also sell vacuum cleaners and Miele was the brand they sold. Good to hear you have a positive review. May have to look into the Carina. No dogs currently, just a elderly cat that sheds.Thank you for your input.

[CohenCottage]

I had heard good things about Miele before we got one, but Consumer Reports never really tests them. We were a little unsure about whether it was a good idea, but it is really the best vacuum we've ever used. It's had over 2 years of hard use, and we've had no problems at all.

[Breezy]

The only really lightweight vacuum I know of is an Oreck. We used to have one and it was really easy to carry or push/pull. It did a good enough job but the best vac we've ever had was a Rainbow ~ wow could it clean but it was a canister and was heavy to lug and sometimes annoying to clean after using it (had to dump the dirty water and wipe down). I prefer an upright so I picked up a cheapie Bissell at wally world and it does just fine for us. Best money I've spent on a vac in a long time.

[Daffodil]

We have wood floors with area rugs, vinyl in the kitchen, and tile in the bathrooms. I have a Dyson, the basic one, and LOVE it! It's sucking action is so powerful, it lifts the edges of my rugs when I vacuum them! The attachments are all built in and it has a setting for bare floors. It also has a very easy-to-dump can. The only "problem" with it is if you have stairs and not much upper body strength--I can do my stairs, but it's a bit like wrestling an octupus!

[cheapdiva]

I bought a "wind tunnel" about 4 years ago - it was rated higher than the dyson at the time (and for about 1/3 the cost) and was a little skeptical but I love it! we have hardwood with area rugs and it does a great job on the rugs and not so bad on the hardwood. it would probably help if i lowered the thing to adjust. But i mostly use the wand to suck up dog hair and the like.

my husband has a thing for floor cleaning devices - we have a rainbow (which I hate), a scrubber, a power broom (also a waste), a carpet cleaner (which doesn't get used enough!) and some kind of swiffer that shoots water out. he uses them all - I stick with the vac and a bucket of hot water to clean dirty floors when needed.

i like the wind tunnel because the junk goes into a cup and you just empty the cup. it can be washed along with the filter - great when you have that "doggy" smell in the vac. and this machine still seems to be a good "sucker" - something that my other machines seem to start losing around year 3.

[annielinz]

Thank you all for your input on your vacuum cleaners. Still undecided, but leaning towards the Meile.The little stick vacuum I picked up at Wally world is doing a good enough job for the time being. It also has the little cup that you can see what it picks up:eek:Cheapdiva you made me chuckle with the all the floor devices you have, where do you store them all? BTW is the "wind tunnel" an upright or a canister?

[cheapdiva]

it's an upright. we have this room behind the kitchen our "funny room" which will soon be part of the new bath/laundry combo. We'll have all sorts of built in storage put in and then at least most of that junk can be hidden.

Seriously, I went back there this morning to get shampoo and bath gel (I horde this kind of stuff and we have extra shelving units just for this kind of stuff) and literally had to move my exercise ball, a vac, a plastic bin full of books which had books on top of it. It's amazing I didn't kill myself getting the bath stuff.

Our sunroom has bookshelves built all around where crown molding usually goes. We had them put in shortly after moving in because we didn't have any other storage for them. But all the space is gone so we are now shifting them into storage containers and then will take them to a farmers market this spring and sell them cheap and donate the money to the Literacy Center here. We figure we'll make a few hundred bucks and the money will go to a good cause. Hence the books in the back room!

[Suz]

I'm glad I found this post. Our craptastic Bissel died just after a year and so we've been using my husbands wet vac to vacuum inside the house :eek:

I really would like to get a strong, reliable vacuum cleaner that doesn't konk out after a year's worth of cat and dog hair!

[shabbychick]

I had that problem with two different vacuums I bought from Sears. They didn't work well to begin with, and they died almost immediately, then died again after expensive repairs (because at Sears, they won't even look at it without charging you for it). I finally just bought a $50 Dirt Devil machine at Fred Meyer, and so far it has worked fine for several years. It's an upright so fairly clumsy on stairs. The cord's not quite long enough to allow you to leave the vacuum at the top or bottom of the stairs while you do the whole staircase, so I have to balance it on a stair tread halfway up. It hasn't ever broken down, though; it's been very dependable. Our custodians at work have these canister vacs they wear on their backs. The cords are good and long, and the hose and tubes are long enough to vacuum without bending over. I keep thinking I'd like something like that.

[Lisa S]

I love my Dyson. My only complaint is that the attachments aren't super easy to use and there isn't a good handle for carrying it up and down stairs. On the plus side, like Maria said, it's great for sucking up the dog hair and doesn't become stinky 'cause it's emptied after using.

[rubyslippers]

from Wally-World ... under 30 bucks ...

Okay, I have a real Dirt Devil with random attachments and everything a grown-up is "supposed" to have. However, I am in love with this silly little dustbuster. I think I blab on and on about it in another thread. I actually need a new "real" vacuum with all of the hardwood and shedding cat hair. However, I never owned a dustbuster before we moved here and I have to tell you with the wood floors, the litter box crumbs, the cat hair, the general "fuzz" of life - - well, this is just the greatest gizmo ever. I'm a little humbled to tell you how much I love this thing. Plus, it only works at full blast for like 20 minutes, so it keeps me from getting OCD about cleaning. (Go after the big stuff and move on with life.) Now, in all seriousness I appreciate this tab because I don't like the filter on the Dirt Devil I have. It gets really disgusting and then even though it is "bagless", I feel like I inhale all of that gunk when I clean it out - - so, I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses. Let us know what you decide.

Bye,

Jenny

[Zuzu's Garden]

OK, this is weird. My Sanyo just bit the dust. So, now I'm looking for a new vac too. Lisa summed up a Dyson perfectly - I use those at work. But, I'm looking for something even smaller and lighter. Our wood stove creates a lot (A LOT) of dust, so I'm cleaning more often.

Is there something available like Jenny's Dustbuster, but with a handle so I can vacuum standing up? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Zu

[CohenCottage]

i'm still voting for miele!

[mac78]

I have a Hoover, I have had it for probably about 8 years, I have a daycare in my home and 2 dogs, and I love it. It has totally lasted for me. I think I paid about $150 for it when I bought it. It does look in pretty bad shape, as my dogs "attack" it, literraly when I sweep, and if I don't shut them in another room, whatch out! I sweep 3 rooms everyday.....my next sweeper will be another Hoover.

[annielinz]

I'm still looking at the Miele. The guy in the shop of course shows me the top of the line that I now covet and I'll have to sell my first born for it. I'm just so tired of spending hard earned money on stuff (thats not cheap) but doesn't last. I'm hoping this one will be my last....I'm such a dreamer.

[annielinz]

Alright folks I finally made a decision and parted with some serious cash.
I did a quick test run with it yesterday and its so quiet. DH was watching TV as I vacuumed around him and he didn't turn up the sound! Its light weight and doesn't feel plastic like my Kenmore. I'm banking on this baby being the last vacuum I ever buy :D.
I ended up going with the top of their line, the Capricorn. Its got the hepa filter, does wonders on pet hair and love how quiet it is. Today I'm going to try out the attachments....oh brother, how sad it that to get excited over a vacuum cleaner...I'm officially old:(

[shabbychick]

Congratulations on your new vacuum! Don't think of it as getting excited about a vacuum, think of it as an investment in advanced technology! :)

[annielinz]

Like your thinkin' shabby!

[CohenCottage]

Congratulations!! The attachments will rock your world! Did you get the rotating brush upholstery tool? It will get ALL of the pet hair of of your furniture. How dorky is it that I'm excited that someone else got a new vacuum cleaner?

[Evelyn]

Vacumn cleaners inspire love and devotion!! A good friend lives on a river that sometimes floods. Her precious photo's and other such things are secured year round on high and dry ground. This winter, when the midnight call came for she and her husband to evacuate their home because of the rising river, her hubby grabbed his guitar and she grabbed her new vacumn that she had just purchased on craig's list :D

Evelyn

p.s. I am going to start looking for a miele myself......was just thinking about it yesterday.

[yarborough house]

Sounds like a dream. I have a vacume I love and I keep buying it when the old one breaks or loses "suckage" power. I move the old one to outdoors to become the "porch pollen buster". :)
I am a true believer in a vacume..my mom made me that way.
I'd say if she didn't have kids to grab during tornado warnings growing up she would have grabbed the sweeper (as we called it while kids).