Ours is a 12-year-old bagless vacuum that is dying a slow and painful death . . . so I know a new one is going to be necessary very soon!
I hear a lot of great things about the Dyson vacuums, but wonder if they are worth the extra couple hundred bucks when compared to other models. For the most part, they seem to get good reviews, but I’m wondering if there are others that work as well that don’t cost as much.
If you have a vacuum you love (Dyson or otherwise), which make/model is it, and what makes it so great? I’m open to both bagged and bagless vacuums — just want some input on features and such that make a difference.
Thanks!
It’s a really weird fixation I have, but with birds and dogs I have found that a good vacuum is essential, and I’ve gone to great lengths and tried quite a few, in the "quest for the best." Here is how I’d sum up my personal experience:
The Dyson Animal: GREAT suction. Really gets the dog hair and bird mess. I think the attachments are virtually worthless, but for an upright with great suction, this is worth the somewhat hefty pricetag.
Bissell Upright: The model I had isn’t being made any more, but it was a truly fine vacuum – good enough that I’d seriously consider a Bissell for a less expensive machine, and I see they are making some new models that sound really good. The one I had used a bag, but they were really big, so didn’t need changing often. The headlight was a great feature, really shining light in corners and under furniture. The cord was really long, which was a good feature also, as I find it really irritating to have to stop halfway through a room because you run out of cord, and have to unplug, replug, start again. It did a great job getting the dirt up, so fine I bought my daughter one and she used it for many years. When hers finally died, I gave her mine. I’d look at the "Pet Hair Eraser" which retails for $169.00 and sounds like it has really good features…including that 14′ cord!
Roomba: Save your money! Very cute and worked great for a while, but these are made for lightweight messes, not real vacuuming. Very small cannister, for one thing. Brushes and motor aren’t made for heavy load.
Miele cannister: Also uses bags, and I love the filtration system, again because of bird dust. They do a great job picking up the mess on the bare floors, and with the power brush attachment for carpets, almost as good as the Animal, but not quite, on carpets.
Look for a powerful motor and hepa filtration if you have animals (or kids!) and have fun with your new vacuum. The most important household appliance, in my book!
I recommend a type of dyson but not the new tiny ones because they won’t hold much dirt. Ive got a Dyson and it is a DC19T2 it is really good. Also, it is very light and portable up the stairs. However, if you don’t want to pay lots go on ebay or amazon they are sometimes reduced. Hopes this helps x
I have a Bissell Healthy Home and I really like it! It’s got a very similar filtering technology to Dyson but at 1/2 the cost. It’s that that 9 little cyclone thing that spins the dirt out and drops it in the collection cup. Sturdy, well made, good tools, 5 year warranty, HEPA filtration. And it doesn’t have the usual Bissell place where "things" catch and cause a clog. I’ve had mine for a good 2 1/2 years and have only had one issue; hubby sucked up a small piece of cardboard and it got stuck. But it was super easy to clear the clog; 4 screws out, clear the issue and 4 screws back in.
I like it so much I am seriously contemplating getting another one for the upstairs. Old two story house, steep steps and I get tired of carrying it up and down. It works so well that I hate to use the old, cheap vacuum I have up there. It’s like why waste my time!
One tip for you; none of them do bare floors well. Sears sells a generic bare floor brush that with the adapter that comes with it, fits right on the extension wand of the Bissell. Now your upright can clean bare floors just like canister! Cost about $13.
And I’ve had great responses and service from Bissell customer support. I had a couple questions and they answered properly and very quickly. I won’t go Hoover ever again. I had two of the Wind Tunnel units, the last one had trouble 3 times under warranty and again right out of warranty and Hoover would not step up to the plate. That’s when I bought the Bissell. And the Bissell pulled a lot of stuff out of the carpets that the Hoover was leaving behind!
And I have a combo of hard floors and carpets with lots of pets; 3 dogs and 4 cats and the Healthy Home handles the pet hair great! Normal price is about $250, watch for a sale and you can get it for around $200. Then go buy yourself a couple outfits with the price difference you saved over the Dyson! <G>
I have the original Dyson model, some fabulous 1970 shag carpet, and a long hair cat with a litter-kicking habit.
Dyson owns the carpet…complete with it’s cat hair and hard to get litter.
I vaccum twice a week in my living room where the carpet is and it just amazes me every time. It was the first big purchase when I got my place (or any place, for that matter) and it was worth the $400 (I’m a a 24 y/o on a tight budget!)
Two of my friends have 4 cats and 2 cats and own the "Animal" model and they are amazed. No complaints. My mother and father in Montana have three cats and an orginial Dyson model; they also bought one for their church. Man, my brother even has one.
It’s so easy to clean out with the simple button release. It’s a little heavy, but glides SO easy so that makes up for it.
Get it, it’s worth it, and if you don’t like it, there’s a warranty. 🙂
Roomba is a little round robot that will vacuum your floor while you watch TV, go out do dinner or just go to work. I turn it on and let it do its thing. It vacuums under furniture, along the wall, into corners. It senses stairs and won’ go over the edge. Once it finishes vacuuming, it docks itself in a self-charger. My husband and I, as well as our cat, have lots and lots of hair. Roomba has no problem with it. Since there is so much hair in the house, I have to clean its brushes often, but that’s fine with me. It has a cup that collects the dirt and a filter. My Roomba came with what are called "virtual walls." They are small boxes, kind of, that emit a beam that Roomba won’t cross, so you can block off certain areas of your home. Some of the Roombas can be programmed to start at certain times — mine doesn’t do that. Ever since I got it, my carpets are cleaner than they have been since they were new. It is unbelievable!
I love my Shark. It’s little, light, has amazing suction, the places in the hose that can get clogged can be pulled off without unscrewing anything, and unclogged. The little thing inside that apparently makes it "never lose suction" is easy to clean and not a big deal to take apart. It has a pull off hose, which I love for edging as I go.
Negatives; The dirt holder is very small and fills up fast but I have lots of pets, and kids so I have to dump it a lot, but it easy to open and do. Also the front end doesn’t have a height adjuster, which is odd, but it really works everywhere in my house, even on the wood floors (you can shut off the brush)
I bought it at Wal-mart about a year ago and I love it.