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View Full Version : Vacuums: did not like Miele canister, now what?



KBecks
11-14-2010, 10:32 PM
I need to return a Miele red titan canister to the vac store, I wanted to love it but it's not the right vacuum for me.

We have mostly carpet. I loved the Miele the best in the kitchen, but it felt too hard to push on the carpet and the head of the vac is small and I am not used to operating canisters.

So, I am thinking a lightweight, powerful upright for my carpet. Maybe a stick vac for my kitchen and bath -- that would be wonderful, I hate sweeping.

I did not love the Miele upright but that is because I thought the canisters were better, but... I don't like a canister... so maybe a Miele upright would be OK, but... it seemed heavy and a little unwieldy.

Anyway. I have to take this canister back to the store and need to decide pretty fast if I am just going to return it or get something else. I do not want to be a problem customer who test drives a bunch of vacs....

I was looking at an Oreck at target and it was very lightweight. I kind of like bags and don't like the idea of bagless so much.

Thanks for any advice! I know you all know your household appliances.... super shoppers!

bubbaray
11-14-2010, 11:17 PM
You could look at the next model up Miele. I can't tell you the name, b/c the names are different in the US than Canada -- we just got our Miele last weekend and all the different models made my head spin!

We really love our new Miele. The powerhead on ours is much larger than the next model down and feels like it is almost self-propelled. Super easy to push on carpet. Much much easier than the POS Kenmore canister it replaced....

We also looked at the Dyson. It was OK, a LOT noisier than the Miele. I have also heard good things about the new Electrolux canisters.

WatchingThemGrow
11-14-2010, 11:20 PM
Yeah, I was going to suggest trying a different turbo brush or whatever they are. Did you try Oreck? I liked MIL's Oreck on our rugs, but I didn't like it for hardwoods.

codex57
11-14-2010, 11:50 PM
I dunno, I think DS can suck harder than an Oreck.

I'd just go with a Dyson then. Try and get the newer models. The DC14 and DC07 weren't fully modified for US carpets so they don't work as well as the newer models.

wimama
11-15-2010, 12:03 AM
You could look at the next model up Miele. I can't tell you the name, b/c the names are different in the US than Canada -- we just got our Miele last weekend and all the different models made my head spin!

We really love our new Miele. The powerhead on ours is much larger than the next model down and feels like it is almost self-propelled. Super easy to push on carpet. Much much easier than the POS Kenmore canister it replaced....

We also looked at the Dyson. It was OK, a LOT noisier than the Miele. I have also heard good things about the new Electrolux canisters.

How do you like the Miele for hardwood floors or tile. Our Kenmore canister vac does not pick up dust off the hardwoods. I picks up larger pieces of stuff but not the fine dust on a dusty floor. I have to Swiffer under our beds and stuff, because the Kenmore will not pick the dust up.

bubbaray
11-15-2010, 12:17 AM
How do you like the Miele for hardwood floors or tile. Our Kenmore canister vac does not pick up dust off the hardwoods. I picks up larger pieces of stuff but not the fine dust on a dusty floor. I have to Swiffer under our beds and stuff, because the Kenmore will not pick the dust up.


The Miele is great on hardwood. DH said the first time he used it on hardwood that it felt like it was on ballbearings, it was that smooth.

Our Kenmore canister is a complete POS.

wimama
11-15-2010, 12:26 AM
The Miele is great on hardwood. DH said the first time he used it on hardwood that it felt like it was on ballbearings, it was that smooth.

Our Kenmore canister is a complete POS.

Awesome! Does the wand get under beds and dressers and still pick up dust well. The Kenmore gets at a weird angle and doesn't pick up much at all under furniture. Drives me batty. We have a lot of hardwood floors and area rugs at our house. We definately need a canister vac.

bubbaray
11-15-2010, 12:47 AM
Does the wand get under beds and dressers and still pick up dust well.


That I can't help with. Our bedrooms are still carpet....

wimama
11-15-2010, 01:29 AM
No problem! Thanks for your help.

LBW
11-15-2010, 08:20 AM
I love my Miele canister vac. I own, and cannot stand, a Dyson upright. Luckily, I have mostly hardwood flooring, so I can get by with the Miele for most of my vac needs.

If I had to buy another upright I'd look at Sebo. They're amazing.
http://www.sebo-vacuums.com/index.aspx

WatchingThemGrow
11-15-2010, 08:25 AM
Awesome! Does the wand get under beds and dressers and still pick up dust well. The Kenmore gets at a weird angle and doesn't pick up much at all under furniture. Drives me batty. We have a lot of hardwood floors and area rugs at our house. We definately need a canister vac.
Yes, the Miele sucks debris and dust from 2-3 inches away from the actual head.

OP, when I tested out the Miele from the vac store, they let me try the different wands. Did you get to try the different ones at your house or just the one wand of the model you took home?

stinkyfeet
11-15-2010, 09:41 AM
I just got a Miele yesterday! I am really excited about it. :applause: BTW, I have to thank you ladies for recommending the product. I am sure that DH is just "thrilled" about spending so much on a vacuum! Haha.

I poured over reviews and models before I decided which one was best for us. I went to two vacuum stores, and I noticed that I knew more about the differences b/t the models than the owner of the first store did! The second store's salesman was much more knowledgable and actually used a Miele at his own home, so he offered lots of advice. I think that it really makes a difference who you get as a salesperson to recommend the right model for you. With that being said, I think that you should try a model with an "electric hose" and a powerbrush head". I think that a simply having a "non-electric hose and turbo brush" will not be sufficient for a house with mainly carpeting. Models with non-electric hoses are best with homes without any carpeting at all.

I know that it is more difficult to push with a non-electric hose b/c we have two wool area rugs which my salesman recommended for me NOT to use the rotating brush to preserve my rugs. I do have to say that it was like getting a workout pushing it! However, when I turned the rotating head on, it was self-propelled like Bubba Ray mentioned.

Here is a site that compares the models pretty well:
http://www.vacuum-direct.com/Miele-Vacuum-Cleaners.aspx

I chose to get a S5 series b/c DH has terrible indoor allergies and asthma. The S4 & S5 series has a "sealed canister" which makes it have true HEPA filtration--better for ppl with bad indoor allergies. I bought the Callisto model with a SEB 228 powerhead. Even though I spend $$$ on the vacuum, it has the all the features of what you need if you are looking for a sealed canister that works well on carpets. The models above it provide more convenience features and bells and whistles.

The S2 series has a "Clean Air System canister". It works very well, but it will not provide you the true HEPA filtration since it is not completely sealed (at least this is my understanding from reading a ton of amazon reviews). I would have probably bought the S2 Titan (the US equivalent model that Bubbaray bought) if DH's allergies weren't so bad. It gives you just about every option that you would need for a house will mostly carpeting.

HTH! :wavey:

justbreathe11
11-15-2010, 02:32 PM
LOVE my purple animal dyson. It is NOT the ball, it is the more powerful one. It rocks!

american_mama
11-15-2010, 08:36 PM
If you're willing to pay the cost of a Miele, you might not desire this advice, but I recently purchasd not one, but two brand new vaccuums. I wanted to spend $200 or less and have never been burned by a vac purchase, so I figured I could be happy with my price point.

The Shark Navigator is really lightweight and quiet, pushes very well, and has a very long baseboard attachment that makes it easy to reach everything. I enjoy using the vac. I looked into it after a Sears vac salesperson told me she liked it as much as the Dyson. It's usually sold for about the same price everywhere (about $160) but you can use the 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond, so that usually makes it the cheapest source. My kids can push it. It has very good reviews on amazon. The downsides are there is no carpet height adjustment (hasn't been a problem so far), it's bagless and the dirt canister is very small (sometimes have to empty if after 1-2 rooms). The head/beater brush area is smaller than most vacs, but this hasn't bothered me so far.

The other vac we bought was the Hoover Anniversary Edition (royal blue), which is a bag vac. It was rated #1 by Consumer Reports about a year ago. Sam's Club had it for $169 in late August, but they have lowered the price three or four times since then and it was selling for $109 the last DH saw it. It has a powerful self-propel function that is easy to use, but a tad disconcerting. The handle is a bit wobbly; maybe DH installed it wrong. It's also a bit loud. But it does vaccum well. DH really preferred it and I like having a vac on each floor anyway, and we felt extravagant... so we bought both vacs. I guess that did blow my $200 budget after all!

ThreeofUs
11-15-2010, 10:17 PM
Hi, Karen! Great to see you!

You might want to check out
http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/compare-vac.html

They do a good job of comparing high-end vacuums. We bought our Bosch canister bc of a review on this site.

KBecks
11-15-2010, 11:27 PM
Well, I returned the Miele canister and the salesperson/owner walked me right over to the Miele uprights. I ended up purchasing the most basic Miele upright and saved about $100. I think this will be fine, although I feel a little silly for plunking down a lot of money on a vacuum to begin with.... it's not a lightweight machine but I think it will be a fine machine. The next model up had a light and a carbon filter, which I decided to skip in lieu of $100 of money that could be used for the holidays (or other wants).

Have not used the new vacuum yet although I could/should vacuum every day!

KBecks
11-15-2010, 11:33 PM
Well, I returned the Miele canister and the salesperson/owner walked me right over to the Miele uprights. I ended up purchasing the most basic Miele upright and saved about $100. I think this will be fine, although I feel a little silly for plunking down a lot of money on a vacuum to begin with.... it's not a lightweight machine but I think it will be a fine machine. The next model up had a light and a carbon filter, which I decided to skip in lieu of $100 of money that could be used for the holidays (or other wants).

Have not used the new vacuum yet although I could/should vacuum every day!

ha98ed14
11-21-2010, 12:12 PM
How do you like the Miele for hardwood floors or tile. Our Kenmore canister vac does not pick up dust off the hardwoods. I picks up larger pieces of stuff but not the fine dust on a dusty floor. I have to Swiffer under our beds and stuff, because the Kenmore will not pick the dust up.

I have a Riccar upright and I love it on my hw laminant (sp?) floors. We have carpet in 2 BRs and it does great on those too. In "carpet mode" it is self propelled. I love it. I was skeptical when I bought it because I had never paid $600+ for a vacuum, but I think it was worth it. And if it matters to you, that are made in the USA, not China.

WatchingThemGrow
11-21-2010, 02:39 PM
I have a Riccar upright and I love it on my hw laminant (sp?) floors. We have carpet in 2 BRs and it does great on those too. In "carpet mode" it is self propelled. I love it. I was skeptical when I bought it because I had never paid $600+ for a vacuum, but I think it was worth it. And if it matters to you, that are made in the USA, not China.

I wondered about those. Our shop sells them.