<p>My 10-year-old Miele vacuum bit the dust this week and I need a new vacuum. I prefer the cannister models, but an upright that could manuever well around cabinets/furniture would be OK too. I’ve had a Miele and an Electrolux that I got from my MIL and have been told that these two brands are now made by different manufacturers and aren’t as reliable as they once were. I have wood floors/ceramic/marble tile and area rugs–no wall to wall. Got the Miele because my oldest D had allergies and the allergist recommended it. Now with an empty nest–allergies aren’t an issue. Also, we have a labradoodle–he doesn’t shed like my lab did, but I still need to vacuum some areas more than once a week. Any recommendations?</p>
<p>I have four dogs, all of whom shed copiously. I love my Dyson Animal, which I’ve had for six years and use multiple times per week. It sucks up an amazing amount of crap, works equally well on bare floors, carpet, and furniture, and doesn’t require the purchase of bags or other equipment. On the rare occasion when something goes wrong with it, it is usually very easy and intuitive to fix, and in case it isn’t, there is an 800 number to call with an invariably friendly, helpful person on the other end. I have needed one “real” repair–the motor that turned the belt burned out–and the procedure for sending the vacuum to be fixed, and getting it back, was surprisingly quick and reasonably priced.</p>
<p>My machine came with a bunch of extra attachments, for under furniture and so on, that I’ve never used. If/when I replace it, I will save some money by getting the basic model without all the extras.</p>
<p>My Dyson does well with my Goldendoodle’s hair! While it is the most expensive vacuum cleaner I have owned, I will say it has been worth the price; especially since I was able to use a 20% off at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They are not suppose to take the coupon for Dyson, but the woman at the register didn’t say a word. This was many years ago, but I know others that have been able to get 20% off. </p>
<p>Costco also usually has one of the Dyson models in the store.</p>
<p>I have a Dyson upright that does a fantastic job of cleaning cat hair. It is relatively quiet and lightweight (some might argue with this statement), but I’m not wild about some plastic objects protruding from the sides of the dust bin that make the vacuum hard to use under our relatively high sitting coffee tables and bed (I have to switch to attachments). Dyson now makes a canister version of its vacuum - if they had it at the time I got mine, I would have gotten it. If you get your vacuum at Costco, you can return it if you are not satisfied with its performance.</p>
<p>I just got a Dyson–didn’t buy the Animal, because we’re between dogs and don’t know if/when we get the next, but I think it would handle it really well. D came for Thanksgiving and for the first time in years didn’t sneeze through the evening (for some reason, she has become allergic to the house…I think it’s latent dog-hair from the now-gone dog). It’s so easy to use…I love it! Got it on recommendation from these boards in the past–thanks CC!</p>
<p>It looks like you can’t use Dyson on area rugs. Costco is selling them.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11602965&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|103&N=4009938&Mo=20&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=28521&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C#BVRRWidgetID[/url]”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11602965&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|103&N=4009938&Mo=20&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=28521&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C#BVRRWidgetID</a></p>
<p>I have this one here and I love it.</p>
<p>[LG</a> - HEPA Bagless Upright Vacuum - Wild Cherry Red - LUV200R](<a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+HEPA+Bagless+Upright+Vacuum+-+Wild+Cherry+Red/1214618.p?id=1218236313969&skuId=1214618&st=lg%20vacumn&cp=1&lp=1]LG”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+HEPA+Bagless+Upright+Vacuum+-+Wild+Cherry+Red/1214618.p?id=1218236313969&skuId=1214618&st=lg%20vacumn&cp=1&lp=1)</p>
<p>It’s on sale right now. It’s a bit heavy, so If you were interested in it I would go look at it and make sure you are okay with its weight before purchasing it. I love love love love it. It cleans up so good, and has amazing suction power. You can turn off the brushes when you’re on hardwood, and you can lower and raise everything for area rugs and such. I got that one because it had such great reviews and it works on so many different floor types… I have carpet, linoleum, tile, hardwood, and area rugs in my home. I may be a geek but I LOVE the retractable cord, haha!</p>
<p>I have a Kirby and have had one now for almost 15 yrs. I absolutely love it because you can’t kill these things. If you have dogs they do the best job ever in very little time.</p>
<p>The problem Kirby does have compared to Dyson is they can’t swivel, so if you need that than Kirby is not the answer. They are also heavier to lug around from one floor to another. Again, the offset is they are self propelled so you never feel it when you are vacuuming even on the stairs.</p>
<p>Don’t buy their carpet cleaning attachments, it is not worth it. Instead buy a steam cleaner.</p>
<p>Kirby’s are expensive, but like I said I still have a 15 yo vacuum that works as good as a Dyson sold today. I also love the fact that you could vacuum over the cord, but no damage will occur, plus they have very long cords. I can vacuum my entire 1st floor with only unplugging it 1x. My 1st floor is @2K sqft.</p>
<p>I will say my friends who have Dysons will borrow my Kirby before using theirs when they move out of their homes ( military moves a lot).</p>
<p>My mother loves her Oreck, it is light weight and very easy to maneuver.</p>
<p>My next purchase will be a roomba just for the ease of setting it free while I am gone.</p>
<p>My Costco email shows the Dyson Animal DC17 for $379.99 delivered The canister model DC23 is $399.99. </p>
<p>[Costco</a> - Dyson Absolute DC17 Animal Upright Vacuum](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11611115&cm_mmc=BCEmail_CyberMonday2010-_-FOCUS-_-50-_-DysonDC17]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11611115&cm_mmc=BCEmail_CyberMonday2010-_-FOCUS-_-50-_-DysonDC17)</p>
<p>[Costco</a> - Dyson DC23 Plus Canister Vacuum](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11504404&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|90608|4716|28521&N=4047468%204294966609&Mo=2&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&hierPath=90608*4716*28521*&topnav=]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11504404&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|90608|4716|28521&N=4047468%204294966609&Mo=2&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&hierPath=90608*4716*28521*&topnav=)</p>
<p>Beam Central Vac…just terrific.</p>
<p>Toledo: I use my Dyson on area rugs all the time.</p>
<p>Macy’s Cybermonday deals include one Dyson model for $280 (reg $400) and discounts on other Dysons as well.</p>
<p>I just bought a Dyson on Saturday and I am impressed. I thought my carpet was clean but man, it definitely sucked up much more. Paid $269 at Target, on sale from $449. DC17</p>
<p>I have a new (2008) Miele which is definitely the best I’ve used since my mom’s very old Electrolux (which lasted for about 40 years). I also use a Roomba which is nice to run in the kitchen every couple of days.
The new Electrolux has plastic tubes which I’m sure won’t last.
Hated the Oreck - owned it for two days.</p>
<p>I only have area rugs and hardwood and the Dyson Animal that I have works just fine. I was horrified by the amount of dirt it pulled out when I first got it. I love not having to buy bags and I like seeing the products of my labors as the clear canister fills with dust and dirt and debris. </p>
<p>The thing is HEAVY though and the crevice tool is annoying to use. </p>
<p>I bought a refurbished model on Overstock.com at quite a reasonable price.</p>
<p>I have the lightest weight Dyson (Yellow) because I didn’t want the weight when I lug it up and down the stairs. Works great - I use it on all my area rugs as well as hardwoods. We only have carpet in 2 rooms. We also have a dog that sheds copious amounts of fur.</p>
<p>I was also able to use the 20% off coupon at BB&B. Didn’t even realize they weren’t suppose to use the coupon. I’m getting ready to buy another Dyson for husband’s office and was planning to use the coupon - hope they will let me.</p>
<p>I have two Miele cannisters, one about 25 yrs old the other about 10.
I keep one upstairs the other down. I love that the parts are interchangeable on the two vacuums so if one part is broken, I can improvise with a part from the other.
The wands, powerheads, etc all switch easily. I have also had great luck replacing parts on ebay.<br>
I love the functionality and quality of the units.</p>
<p>I just mentioned on the good buy thread that I got the Dyson (the one with the orange ball, DC25) from BBB with a 20% coupon earlier this year. Not only that, when I had an issue with the suction (that I now think was our fault) they took the vacuum back and gave me a brand new one, no questions asked. They didn’t even ask me for the receipt!</p>
<p>I used to prefer canisters also, but don’t miss having one now. It’s easy to use the extendable wand on stairs and it maneuvers very easily because of the ball mechanism. Cleans unbelievably well. I have many area rugs and have had no problem at all, but if you have a very light weight mat or delicate rug (like an Aubusson), you might want to use one of the attachments. But I would think that would be true in any case.</p>
<p>I had a kirby salesman come over and try to sell me a kirby. it was an amazing machine, but I couldn’t justify the money on it. I talked him down to 800 bucks, he started at like 2000. My vacumn is about as heavy as the kirby was. It’s definitely not light… I wouldn’t suggest it for a multi-floored house, because you’d have to lug it up the stairs. But it’s great for what I need it for. One thing I love is that it compresses the dirt into a ball as opposed to just blowing it in there, so it holds like twice as much crap as a normal one.</p>
<p>I have two of the 12amp Bissel uprights/with bags that sell at Walmart for $39. I have a big house (4 levels), some wall to wall, carpeted stairs 7 kids, a cat. These cheap babies work just great. Not heavy–I vacuum stairs, carry up and down regularly.</p>
<p>Perfect timing for this thread! We just got three new area rugs and they’re a mess after Thanksgiving and my old Miele just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. I’m going to look into all those suggested here over the next week or two. Thanks everyone!</p>