vacuum cleaner

[jamsmu]

Wahoo!!! I am looking to buy a vacuum cleaner! (I can't believe I'm so excited!) Please post your suggestions on reliable and strong but quiet vacuums! TIA

[cuca_]

We have a Dyson and love it. We purchased it based on the recommendations of other members of these boards. If you run a search in the Lounge, you will find many posts regarding vacuum cleaners.

HTH

Carmen
DD May 2003

[Toba]

We love our Fantom Twister.


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, 3/12/04

[kcampo]

I've got a Dyson too & love it. I'm ever amazed at how much stuff comes out of the carpet. We have the Animal (solid purple) version because we have a pet. However, I've just seen this at Costco with ALL the attachments for $429. I may be wrong on price, so if you're interested in this one, it is best to check it out IRL.

[Marisa6826]

Dyson!!!

Love ours. We have the full gear one. Got it from Chris at www.ivacuumsetc.com.

He usually runs coupon codes as well.

-m

[jamsmu]

So many people love the Dyson, which is great. But I would like to spend less than that. And wouldn't mind the bag type. Any other recommendations?

[Toba]

Our Fantom Twister was under $200.


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, 3/12/2004

[mattiew]

I like the following site for reviews on products - it looks at the studies and reports from various groups (Consumer Reports, Wall St Journal, Good Housekeeping, etc) and combines them into one article.

Here's the latest on vacuums
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/upright_vacuums/index.html

HTH!
Carrie

[Marisa6826]

Somebody recently posted a thread about refurbished Dysons on Amazon.

Do a search and see what you can find.

-m

[megulis]

I got the Dyson Animal also which was $499 and then with the 20% coupon from Linen n Things ended up being $400. If you don't want to pay the extra $100 for the Dyson Animal, you could get the yellow Dyson which I believe is $399. With the 20% LNT coupon, that would be $320. I think why Bag vacuums aren't as good maybe is because of the bag. Many people don't replace the bag as much as it needs to be done, so I think I heard that the dirt just gets back into the air.

From what I hear, the Dyson is more powerful than other Bagless vacuums because it has more than one cylinder which means it is more powerful.

Remember you do save money on the bags, and the bags do add up the cost.

[kcampo]

I bought my Dyson about 6 months ago after much research. I feel I should warn you about the Consumer Reports study. They have rated the Hoover Self Propelled as their #1 pick. I'm not exactly sure which model - Hoover makes a million for each of their retailers it seems. Anyway, nearly all the reviews from people who used it in real life were negative. The self propelled mechanism stops working, lots of parts break off, its excessively loud, and so on. Some of the worst reviews were on Hoover's customer service. Basically they say "oh well" if it breaks. They may refer you to a local autorized repair place, but they usually reply "its not worth it to fix it". After this, I thought twice about spending money on a product that would be unreliable. Yes, the Dyson is very pricey, but it is a solidly built vacuum that will give you many great years of service. If you still can't part with that kind of money, try http://www.abcvaccumwarehouse.com. This is where I bought my previous vacuum, a Samsung Quiet Storm canister. It has a great feature that helps you select a vacuum based on the kind of flooring you have as well as cost. Even if you don't buy from them, this is a handy tool. My last house was nearly all hard floors, this tool helped me realize that a canister vac is better for that purpose. I never even knew that Samsung made vacuums & would never had considered them since the only ones I'd heard of were Hoover, Electrolux, Oreck, Dirt Devil and Phantom. I loved my Samsung, but it just wasn't cutting it at my new house as I have lots of carpet and 2 floors. The canister became too hard to handle. Hope this helps you. Good luck!

[Blissful_in_TX]

Wow, I’m surprised to learn of all the negative reviews for the Hoover WindTunnel Self Propelled Ultra! That’s the one we got b/c Consumer Reports gave it the best rating and b/c we got a GREAT deal when it was on sale at the PX (for our military shoppers). Our son had horrible colic and usually the only thing that would stop his crying or get him to sleep was the vacuum cleaner, so that thing just sat there and ran countless hours. Maybe it was loud, but for our purposes that turned out to be an advantage. It still runs great, but if it does break down I won’t be too upset b/c I feel we got our moneys worth out of it. However we’ll probably get a Dyson next time.

Amy
Corbin 4-23-04

[Lynnie]

i got a meile, or is it miele... yeah, a miele, and i really like it. i went to a vacuum store, and told the guy i wanted the best vacuum for the money without spending alot, and he asked what kind of floor surfaces i had, and recommended a specific model. i think it was 200 or something, and it is the flamenco. i think.

it is very quiet, and very powerful, and i like it. of course i hate housework, but at least i have a cute little vacuum

[zen_bliss]

my miele canister vacuum is one of the best investments i've made. i went through several hundred dollars of 'consumer reports top rated' machines. wish i'd just bought one in the first place. it's quiet (i can vacuum while baby sleeps) and excellent multilayer filtration, no dust blowing right back out, and the optional HEPA filter is unnecessary. be warned, the bags are quite expensive now, unfortunately. they've doubled in price in the last few years. but the machine itself you'll have for 15 or 20 years. i've had mine for 7 now, MIL has had hers for about 15. still look and work like new. there are real bargains to be had on eBay, too, for the models with the slightly older 'squarish' body. assume you'll also need to spend about $50 for a top to bottom servicing to get it ship shape, and you still save several hundred.

i'll have to go see a dyson demo sometime because i can't comprehend all this hoo-ha over a bagless machine. great marketing though. doesn't a mushroom cloud of dust poof up when you empty it? did dyson invent a way to keep that container sealed? i tried bagless once and immediately back it went.

[nc_hope]

A few months ago we were in the market for a new vacuum too. I was prepared to spend a pretty significant amount for it if necessary -- we have two cats and I wanted something that was going to handle the cat hair! I looked up the consumer reports ratings and while the Hoover Wind Tunnel Self-propelled mentioned above did get the top rating. The number 3 rating was for the Eureka Boss Smart Vac Ultra 4870 and this was a CR best buy at only $140! (The Dyson came in at #10) So I decided to give the Eureka a whirl. I love it! It's not bagless but that was not important to me. CR was not very big on ANY bagless vacuum. Now I know CR is not the end-all authority on every subject but they've been pretty right-on on many things I've purchased so I do consult them frequently.)

I'm sure those who have Dysons find they do a great job but for $140 I'm loving my Eureka!

[Chris Johnson]

The Dyson Animal has a couple of changes made to it. I posted about the new and improved tool here with a picture.

http://ivacuumetc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26

[kijip]

From a compulsive cleaner and former housekeeper at a B&B:

I LOVE Miele. Love. That and a Rowenta Iron and I am a happy cleaner!

A good value IMO and GREAT upright is the Sanitaire, which is Eureka's professioanl grade vacuum line. It surprized me and out performed the most expensive ones at my last visit to the vacuum store. I ended up buying one for fast closet in and outs now that we have a carpeted (eck) condo vs. a house with hardwoods. I am thrilled and spent less than half the price I had intended. It was in the less than $200 range.

Good luck

[jkabopenguins]

The Dyson Animal is the greatest purchase ever (except for DS's bouncy seat :)!)!!!!!!

[sdbc]

Hope,

Where did you get your Eureka from? Was it the DT model? I just ordered it off Amazon, and I realized it is the DT model. I don't know if it's the same.

Thanks!

Sue