<p>Is there any truth to the statement that one should not use a beater bar or extra-high suction on wool carpeting?</p>
<p>Just heard that one and I’m wondering…</p>
<p>I don’t know…no carpets, so I mostly sweep with a broom. We have one cheap, crappy, sears vacuum cleaner, loud enough to make you lose much of your high-range hearing- and we only use it as a last resort.</p>
<p>We have the highest level Dyson Animal and it is so NOT WORTH THE PRICE. </p>
<p>It loses suction. It is too tall to go under cabinet edges. I have to cut hair off the beater bar every other week. (Is it narrower than standard bars?) It makes a horrible sound if you vacuum against something like the sofa. The hose/pole part is awkward to use. To empty it you supposedly hold it over the trash and push the button… except lots of stuff is stuck inside and it’s too tall to reach with your fingers. When you have the emptying bottom open, you can bang the canister and lots of dirt and dust will fly out. I bang and bang and it never stops coming. The instructions don’t mention doing this.</p>
<p>Agree with MaryTN. It’s not worth the price. The hose/pole is a pain to set up and the hose isn’t stretchy enough to reach high places, so the vacuum tends to tip over when you try. Initially, the suction was great, but a year later, it’s nothing to write home about. </p>
<p>I still end up reaching for my Oreck.</p>
<p>It is absolutely amazing that there’s no one or two that lead the pack. So far you’ve all recommended Miele, Electrolux, Sears, Hoover, Dyson, and Orick. But no one is particularly happy with any of them!</p>
<p>WashDad: Yours don’t count! The first link doesn’t work, and the second link was to some Vacuum God that costs $7500!!</p>
<p>Doesn’t some manufacturer realize there’s a market out there? Or is this some unsolvable cleaning problem??</p>
<p>anxiousmom - your answer is the best. I wish we had put hardwood floors in the whole house when we built it. Little did I know at the time that my family would end up being so allergic. Now that both Ds are off at college, and only spend the summer months here, I find it harder to justify the cost of changing, but just may have to break down and do it someday… that, and the new countertops I’m learning about on the countertop thread.</p>
<p>Well, I love my Dyson Animal vacuum. And H likes it so much, he volunteered to vacuum the house twice a week. (We have 3 indoor cats). He’s never complained about releasing the dirt from the canister (he does it outside, into our trash barrel). We had used Hoover, with bags, before. And the suction was gone in a year, and it broke a lot. So far, it’s been nearly 2 years for the Dyson, no repairs and still great suction. </p>
<p>I guess to each his/her own.</p>
<p>I’ve had my Dyson animal for at least 3 years now, and still love it. It’s a lot of fun to read these replies - who knew people would have such strong opinions about vacuums?</p>
<p>Holy canoli, WashDad! Now we know where the name comes from. If I had no budget, I’d have that $7500.00 super machine!
As it is, my Elextrolux canister with the bags that pop out easily does an excellent job and is easy to switch from hard floor to carpet.
If you don’t change your bag often, you might as well just forget the effort.
I wish that we had gone with all hard wood, but you still have to have rugs don’t you? Otherwise don’t you have echoing etc.</p>
<p>But Dysons are NOT SUPPOSED TO LOSE SUCTION! Man, now I’m really bummed. We will need to buy a new vacuum within a year or so, and now, I hear that Dysons do indeed lose suction with the best of them:(. I need a vacuum that has good suction, an easy to use attachment system for reaching high places and crevices, good maneuverability, and a price that won’t require a home equity loan. My current vacuum is a Kenmore cannister that was great for a while, but now is really showing its age. I thought I might switch to an upright, but after reading this thread, I’m not so sure anymore. Uprights, I’ve been told, are pretty good on carpeting, but not so good if you do much in the way of attachment cleaning (upholstery, drapes, crown molding, etc). When I really want to attack a room, I use my cannister attachments to dust chair rails and crown molding, picture frames and couch cushions. Then I vacuum the rugs. Does anyone know of an upright that will do these things effectively? </p>
<p>My sister has a cumbersome upright that is way noisier than it should be, is not self propelled, so you wrench your shoulder out of joint trying to maneuver it, and emptying the dust cup (it’s bagless) is a true nightmare in airborne pathogens (even when you do so outside—and you would be crazy not to!)</p>
<p>I’ve had two Hoovers (with bags–I don’t mind changing them) in the last 20 years. My newer (7yrs?) one has on-board tools, not too heavy. Good enough for me. My mom always had a Hoover. None of ours (cheap to mid-level models) has ever broken down–I gave my old one away when I wanted a better model with tools. It can lose suction when the bag gets full. My m-i-l had some expensive cannister type. It was terrible–IMO you have to have an upright with a beater bar to really get the dirt up off a carpet. </p>
<p>Anyone have a Kirby?
I made the mistake of allowing a salesman give me a quick (like, only 4 hours. . .) demonstration. After he cleaned most of the house, I said “No thanks.” The suction did seem powerful, but I think it was actually pulling apart the carpet and upholstery–more than I needed!</p>
<p>I use a Dyson, and I am keeping my fingers crossed. After bad luck with many top of the line Hoovers I was keeping the recipt and box and returning them to Costco when they would die after a year. Costco has changed its return policy, so when the last Hoover died I bought the new Dyson. It’s been 8 months, and no problems. The only negative I can see is the volume. But I think the Hoovers were even noisier. And they would only last about 10 months before they died.</p>
<p>Central Vac fits all of the OP’s requirements. We have a Beam System. It’s terrific.</p>
<p>I have an ancient canister style Electrolux that was handed down from my mother (after my cheap Hoover died). It works pretty well and has run for years with no problems. My only complaint is that the bags are really small and with my 75 pound mutt molting off pounds of dog hair daily, I am constantly changing bags (which I have to order off the internet).</p>
<p>OK, here are some questions about Cental Vac (and I have no idea if my forty year old house could be retrofitted with this --)</p>
<ol>
<li>Where does the motor live?</li>
<li>Does one have to choose from different manufacturers for the motor – i.e., does Electrolux make one, and Hoover, and all the other guys?</li>
<li>To me, the main advantages are (a) you don’t have to schlep the whole machine around with you from room to room; and (b) since it empties to the outside, there are NO BAGS to empty!!</li>
</ol>
<p>VeryHappy, the ‘works’ of our central vac are in the garage, both motor and the large bin that collects the dirt. We have eight outlets throughout the house where the hose can be attached. This is the second house we’ve had with central vac and both have had top of the line models. Maybe it’s just because the combination of 4 Ds and 4 dogs is a bad one 
but neither central vac can compare with what the Dyson does, in my opinion. </p>
<p>As I said, I’ve been using it for a couple of years and the suction is excellent. It’s never needed any type of repair, and emptying it is easy. As someone else said, you simply remove the canister with the push of one button, then put it either into a garbage bag or can and push a top button for the canister to open. The bottom flips open and empties whatever’s inside. I’ve never had any issue with dust flying around if it’s done this way.</p>
<p>Although, it’s true that you don’t have bags to empty with a central vac, you DO have a large canister to empty periodically, and doing that is no treat! One other issue with a central vac, and I know people who this has happened to, is that sometimes something may become stuck in the line, or a buildup of debris may become lodged, and this becomes obvious when there is reduced, or no, suction, then a service call is necessary.</p>
<p>I have not used my central vac once since I bought my Dyson.</p>
<p>I use two different vacuums, one for the downstairs and one for the upstairs (bum knee doesn’t allow me to carry heavy items up and down stairs often). I have a purple Dyson that works great for animal hair. Our corgi blows her coat a couple of times a year and the Dyson has no trouble keeping up with it. I also have an old Hoover that my MIL gave me several years ago. It’s self-propelled and has awesome suction. I don’t mind changing the bags on it at all. We have hardwood floors and ceramic tile in some portions of the house, but it is my dream to replace all carpeted areas with hardwood at some point in the future. I don’t know who ever thought placing fabric on the floor would be a good idea, but when I think about all the things that are trapped in the carpet and padding, it kind of makes me sick. I’m a bit of a germaphobe, so scrubbing a floor is a much better option for me than vacuuming.</p>
<p>I want a BAG!!! I just want to throw away all that filth - I don’t want to see it, breathe it, touch it, or deal with it in anyway.</p>
<p>However, I’m too cheap to buy a new vacuum cleaner right now (which I guess I’d buy an Oreck).</p>
<p>I’ll never go back to a bag vac. Bagless never looses suction. I am happy with my Euro-Pro Shark 12 amp. Our only complaint is that it is LOUD, but other than that it is still going strong.</p>
<p>(preparing to duck) I also like my Roomba. I use it mainly on hardwood and laminate floors. It does a great job. I’ve taken to sweeping the edges and letting Roomba take care of the rest. Sis and I went in on one for my dad and wife and they jut love it, mention it on every visit - partly because of it’s entertainment value and (drum roll) because it goes under beds!</p>
<p>We’re the allergic sort around here, and with two cats, have wondered if Roomba might be the answer to less than impeccible housekeeping, as it does go under things. Any problem with it climbing on the area rugs from wood floors?</p>