Recommend your canister vac? Miele?

[wolverine2]

I think our Kenmore progressive canister vac has bit the dust. It could probably be repaired, but I've already done that once in the 3 years since we've had it, and I think I would rather just have a better vacuum cleaner.

We have mostly hardwood floors w/ some rugs. And 2 cats. I've been happier with canisters lately b/c of the hardwood floors and getting in corners and everything. Are Miele canisters the best? How much are they really? I may be in for some sticker shock... are they ever on sale?

Thanks!

[vludmilla]

We have a Miele Titan and love it. It beats our old Hoover by miles. It was between $500-600. You can certainly spend a lot more. There aren't many sales but you can try to buy online with free shipping and no sales tax (charged to you). DH got ours on a deal like this and got the guy to throw in some extra vacuum bags as well.

[WatchingThemGrow]

love our miele. Got it from a local shop who threw in a box of bags when I asked. It changes the way you look at cleaning your floors. And you can TALK to someone while using it. How cool is that?

[wolverine2]

I'm confused by all the models... why did you get what you have? We don't have any allergies, so I'm not so concerned about that part.

[annex]

We have 2 cats, mostly hardwood floors, a couple area rugs, and one low-pile carpeted room. We went with one of the cheapest models (Antares - I think it's been replaced by the Neptune?) Works quite well. We use the regular floor attachment for the hardwood, then switch to the "turbo brush" with the beater for the rugs. It's a little hard to push on the actual carpet, but since we rarely vacuum that room, it doesn't bother me. You do have to regularly pull hairs off the turbo brush since they wrap around it quite easily. I haven't missed any of the features of the higher end models, though. I think it's a great vacuum for houses that have very little carpet.

[pastrygirl]

We have the (red) Antares, too. I love it! I will get another Miele if this one ever bites the dust.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I'm confused by all the models... why did you get what you have? We don't have any allergies, so I'm not so concerned about that part.
That's where the local retail shop comes into play! They let me bring one home for a couple days, try out the different wands/nozzles/whatever they are in my space. There were 3 different ones then and I picked the one that worked best for us. Fortunately, the owner of the shop used to live on my street and knows the flooring in my house, so he had an idea which one I would choose. Each different model had one kind of nozzle that went with it, and it only came in one color. I picked the Carina that was the cute yellow one that was good for hardwoods with a few area rugs.

[robinsmommy]

My vacuum guy swears by Sebo - he said that Miele has shifted manufacturing of some models to China. I would look into that if you go with a Miele.

[citymama]

I like our Electrolux green ultra silent canister vac - recently bought it on amazon.com for $220, down from $300.