<p>Funny, I LIKE bags because it seems so much more sanitary to be able to encase and fully remove all the dirt and dust!! Different strokes…!</p>
<p>I have a 20+ year old panasonic rolling canister that still works great. I think its one of the best things I’ve ever owned. It has a reversing carpet agitator that works effectively, and a number of attachments that work well and store easily. The cord retractor is activated by a foot switch and still works well. Can’t speak to the more recent models. You seldom see the Panasonics for sale in many stores. Not really sure where you’d find one.</p>
<p>“… it seems so much more sanitary to be able to encase and fully remove all the dirt and dust!!”</p>
<p>It seems… is the key word here 
Actually, bag or no bag makes no difference. I take the Dyson canister to the garage, empty it directly into the garbage can, and I do not touch the contents. I also like the fact that I can see when the container needs to be emptied.</p>
<p>I doubt B-Cubed will take 20% off a Miele item, but it would be worth a try. Our stores exclude Miele and some other brands.</p>
<p>The other good thing about not having a bag is that it is easier to poke around and find something that got vacuum up by mistake. A little shake of the container and I can usually pick out the errant object. I, too take my canister straight to the garage and empty it straight into the garbage can.</p>
<p>My experience with vacuums mimics others, thanks to shaggy dogs and ‘Da birds’ it takes a lot to vacuum this place. We have bought cheap Eurekas, and they work well, but they don’t last either, so you end up buying one every year or two…we have had bagless cleaners of a more expensive bent, and they worked well for a while, then died. We have also had Kenmore canister vacuums, and they work well, but they also tend to die every 5 years or so, things fall apart and replacement parts are expensive. Basically, when you are buying a vacuum the reasonable end of things tend to be cheaply made, and to get something that will last any length of time it generally takes buying something more expensive (brands like Miele, and Bosch, tend to make more expensive stuff, but I also find they last and last, don’t know if Bosch does vacuum cleaners). </p>
<p>The other trade off is with weight, what I have found is the light units don’t have the durability and power of the larger units (not surprising, lot of that is the motor, and usually a stronger motor is gonna weigh more). Our sears canister is not light, but it does what we need it to. </p>
<p>Shop vacs are great, but are a pain in the neck when doing a whole house, they tend to be bulky, they don’t have powerheads to get crap out of carpet and their hoses are big and bulky, too (the smaller ones are easier to use, but don’t do as well IMO).</p>
<p>I was in a similar budget situation as you a couple of years ago and I chose this vacuum</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Hoover Platinum Lightweight Upright Vacuum with Canister, Bagged, UH30010COM: Home & Garden](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Hoover-Platinum-Lightweight-Canister-UH30010COM/dp/B001PB8EEM]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Hoover-Platinum-Lightweight-Canister-UH30010COM/dp/B001PB8EEM)</p>
<p>I have been really, really pleased with it. I also happen to like having a bag - just my preference - and this is really lightweight and manageable. My DH uses the regular vacuum for the stairs, the handles make it possible to flatten it out and use it that way or I use the smaller vacuum. If I had a bigger budget for such things, the dyson or the meile (sp?) would be great, but I didn’t and honestly I am perfectly happy with it.</p>
<p>The recent Sears flyer shows good deals for vaccuums. Canisters are 35% off. I think that Dyson are 40% off.</p>
<p>So if you have allergies to dust mites, does a bagless system like the Dyson do a decent job? And if I have a full set of stairs (turns half way up) will the upright Dyson with the hose be able to reach all of them, assuming I do half from the downstairs and the top half from the upstairs hallway?</p>
<p>My old Sears cannister is on its last legs and it smells when I use it and the power carpet thing has already been replaced once.</p>
<p>i found this online in early October:
"from conusmer reports</p>
<p>Vacuum cleaners. In our tests of upright vacuum cleaners, a $50 Dirt Devil put a $400 Dyson to shame. Scoring a 63, the Dirt Devil Featherlite Bagless M085845 (sold at Target) is a CR Best Buy. It was excellent at picking up pet hair and very good at cleaning carpet. The Dyson DC24 Ball All Floors, which scored a 44, had poor airflow for tools and was only fair at pet hair. While the Dyson was quieter and matched the Dirt Devil’s excellent performance on bare floors, cleaning carpets is what separates the winners from the also-rans."</p>
<p>to see the article and other best buys, go to
[3</a> Money-Wasting Mistakes Shoppers Make - Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113558/money-wasting-mistakes-shoppers-make-consumerrep]3”>http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113558/money-wasting-mistakes-shoppers-make-consumerrep)</p>
<p>I would be interested to hear from someone who owns the dirt devil. My Dyson is wonderful and we have dogs and a cat. Consumer Report has never liked the Dyson and I am not sure why not. Oh well, I love mine and have had it for years. But if the Featherlite is pretty good, that would make a great secondary vacuum for us. So, does anyone here have that one?</p>
<p>Thanks, Metermaid. I have a pet so the vacuums that do great on pet hair (Springer Spaniel) get extra attention by me. </p>
<p>And like Onward … if anyone actually owns the Dirt Devil model that got the great reviews by consumer reports … can you tell us how it stood up over time? Or was the one consumer report tested just an anomaly of excellence for that model?</p>
<p>Another Dyson lover here. Probably had it 6 or 7 years. Fairly heavy use. I bought it because it promised not to lose suction and it works great. Not the animal one (don’t know the number but it’s turquoise). Very easy to empty the cannister. Picks up cat hair very well. And is light enough to carry up the stairs.
I had a Hoover windtunnel and hated it. Maybe I got a dud.</p>
<p>The hose stretches pretty far on the Dyson for stairs and it has a long cord so vaccuuming large rooms is not problem. Also has HEPA filter.
I don’t know why Consumer Reports doesn’t like Dyson–glad I didn’t read the reviews before I bought mine. Is it just the ball models that don’t work as well according to CR?</p>
<p>Thanks, gouf … am considering the Dyson model that specializes in pet hair, but it sounds like your turquoise model is a gem.</p>
<p>I really regret buying what was a top-rated upright a few years ago – we have two sets of stairs, and that unit is really heavy. It does a good job, but lugging it from floor to floor is painful.</p>
<p>Next time I buy one I’m going to see how I feel lifting it for the time it would take to climb a set of stairs.</p>
<p>If you have handmade oriental carpets then do understand that the Dyson will damage them. It’s a great vacuum though.</p>
<p>We love Miele vacuums. Have a canister that we use on hardwood and tile and an upright for carpet.</p>
<p>Hubby has now come into the picture … he’s asking me why I don’t consider a Miele. Of course, price is why … all my German relatives claim Miele is the best. So he’s now surfing the internet and making phone calls to get advice on the best vacuum for allergies and so we’ll see what happens. Maybe he hit the lottery and just hasn’t told me yet. :)</p>
<p>This isn’t a vacuum, but may be of interest if you have a lot of hard surface floors:
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Robotics-Automatic-Cleaner-4200/dp/B00408PCEW[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Robotics-Automatic-Cleaner-4200/dp/B00408PCEW</a></p>
<p>Ours came from BB&B with a 20% off coupon, mainly because of their great return policy. It can be used with washable microfiber cloths or Swiffer (wet or dry) cloths. The first time I ran it in our bedroom, it was clear that I hadn’t been getting under the bed very well with the Swiffer stick. We don’t have carpet, due to allergies, so this little device is perfect for us.</p>
<p>Interesting, Silpat. We have 1/2 and 1/2 hardwood and carpet. I like the idea of the gadget you listed. Here’s the Mint website that shows videos of it in action: [Introducing</a> Mint Plus, the Newest Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner](<a href=“iRobot®: Robot Vacuums and Mops”>http://mintcleaner.com/)</p>
<p>SnowFlakeVT (nice CC name, btw) – we got our first Miele in January, it was the prior year’s model – sort of like how you can get a discount on the prior year’s car make. It was deeply discounted. Then got the upright the following year from the same shop, also at this time of the year.</p>
<p>Just love them. Part of the reason I stopped getting the house cleaned. Vacuuming is incredibly easier with this vacuum.</p>