Vacuum cleaner

[MichaelB]

I need a new vacuum cleaner. The two belts on the Hoover upright POS I use now keep burning up and breaking, and I'm fed up. Consumer reports isn't much help. I went to Sears and Abt electronics but was not motivated to buy anything. My needs include carpet, rugs (with fringe), carpeted stairs and wood floor, so it needs to have tools. Portable because of the stairs, so cannister. The sears most expensive model is at the top of the list but it is heavy and not easy to maneuver.

Anybody have a vacuum they think is well designed and would do well with these tasks?

 

[Brett_Cameron]

I have owned Hoover, Kenmore, Oreck, and Dyson vacuum cleaners. The one that has been the best was the Oreck. It is a lightweight (8 lbs) upright good for floors an carpets. When i got it, it came with a separate handheld for stairs. I currently have a Dyson I bought with airline miles. Next one will be Oreck again. The one I had lasted well over 10 years, plus you can buy parts as they wear out i have always found the Hoovers to be heavy and not as effective.

Dyson vacuums are overpriced and not worth it IMHO.

 

[sheehs1]

Michael B ...I use a Rainbow and have for 20 years. I've had 2 in that time period. Comes with a nozzle for hardwood floors, a power nozzle for rugs, nozzles for furniture and some nice nozzles for cleaning your car and/or getting into small spaces. Everything it sucks up is trapped by water. My stairs are not carpeted...so...I clean them with the hardwood floor nozzle as far as it will reach..and then either carry the cannister up the stairs to do the rest or simply wipe the rest off with a cloth.
They can be pricey....like $1500 dollars...but I would not use anything else. We have animals....and the water trap system works well for getting rid of cat hair and all the stuff the dogs bring into the house. Great for people with allergies...which we have.

You might be able to get a refurbished one much cheaper.

Rainbow® Cleaning System

 

[JPatrick]

We have that CR Kenmore you mentioned. Works fine, seems to be reliable, but as you note--it is heavy and a bit clumsy.
All in all, I think we'd buy it again.

 

[samclem]

We have a Sears canister ("Progressive") which has been well behaved and caused us no trouble in 10 years. It cleans well. DW thinks it is fine, and I suppose it is--for a canister.

Consider getting more than one vacuum. You'll have 'em for years, and maybe getting a small canister or hand-vac just for the stairs makes sense if lets you use an upright for any bigger expanses of carpet, etc.

We've got one of those "as seen on TV" little rechargeable floor sweepers that is great for bare floors. It's quick, gets under everything, and it stores in any broom closet. Now I get the monster vac out much less frequently.

 

[ls99]

My 40 year old Electrolux is still hard at work. Though DW is clamoring for a new one. The new ones are a LOT lighter to lug up and down stairs. All five of them.

 

[travelover]

You could pick up a used Kirby off Craigslist. They are tanks, but last forever. You might even get one with the knife sharpening and sewer rooting attachments.

 

[calmloki]

Sister had/has an Oreck - I found it very light but it didn't work well for me going off the ends of fringed rugs - normally I'd just push the handle down as I went off, lifting the brush - with the Oreck the handle would pretty much lay flat on the floor, so I had to pick the whole thing up as I neared the edge. When I borrowed the Oreck from Sis it didn't work - suction and dirt goes through the small diameter handle, which is quite efficient, but also plugs up really well and is kinda a pain to dismantle and clean out.

Just about all our vacuums come from next to the dumpsters at various rental places. A belt or cleaning the brush of lots of long hair and/or yarn is normally what I pay. Long as they suck they are good enough for me.

 

[wolf]

I need a new vacuum cleaner. The two belts on the Hoover upright POS I use now keep burning up and breaking, and I'm fed up. Consumer reports isn't much help. I went to Sears and Abt electronics but was not motivated to buy anything. My needs include carpet, rugs (with fringe), carpeted stairs and wood floor, so it needs to have tools. Portable because of the stairs, so cannister. The sears most expensive model is at the top of the list but it is heavy and not easy to maneuver.

Anybody have a vacuum they think is well designed and would do well with these tasks?

Just bought a "Panasonic" canister. Old Sears Kenmore canister died. Used
Consumer Reports recommendations.

Did some research. Was told Kenmore's are really "Panasonics". Needed canister to vacuum cat hair off the bed. (also, discovered, unused Kenmore
canister vacuum bags, can be used in the my Panasonic).

One thing I did notice, newer vacuums, have better filters. This Panasonic
has "2", exhaust much cleaner. No dust smell.

This canister, has the rug, attachment. OK, not great. As mentioned earlier,
would be better to have "2" vacuums. Upright, for rugs. Canister for everything else.

Oh, Purchased the Panasonic on "Amazon". Here, in California, saved on the
"sales tax" 8.25%, also qualified for "free shipping". So price wise, good deal.

 

[Rustward]

You could pick up a used Kirby off Craigslist. They are tanks, but last forever. You might even get one with the knife sharpening and sewer rooting attachments.

+1

Have known Kirby users as long as I can remember -- and some with very old Kirby's -- grandmother (passed many years ago) mother (also passed) and aunts and sister. Kirby's clean very well, and they just keep going and going and going. Can't say anything about the current Kirby models, though, but they might be very good. We own a few cheapola non-Kirby vac's (that do not work very well, but are adequate), mostly for the hardwood and tile flooring, which is easy on the vac . . . as we have little carpeting.

Not generally applicable, but most true "commercial" products are of superior quality. Determining "true" is the issue.

 

[MichaelB]

Lots of helpful recommendations. I'll be busy for the next few days looking into these.

Consider getting more than one vacuum. You'll have 'em for years, and maybe getting a small canister or hand-vac just for the stairs makes sense if lets you use an upright for any bigger expanses of carpet, etc.

That's something I hadn't considered but it a very good suggestion. It may not even cost more, as the ones that do everything are pretty pricey.

Thanks to all who have responded so far.

 

[FIREd]

We have an Electrolux canister that works great for vacuuming tile floors and for small dusting jobs (like vacuuming curtains, upholstery and lamp shades). We use a Dyson upright for the carpets and the carpeted stairs (for the stairs, I leave the cleaner either at the top or the bottom of the stairs and use the hose and brush attachment - No need to precariously hold the cleaner while vacuuming the stairs). We are happy with both and they both have a role. The Dyson is the best carpet cleaner I have ever owned - it pulls an incredible amount of dirt out of the carpet. It has really helped with my allergies. The Electrolux is not powerful or heavy enough to do a good job on carpets, IMO.

 

[eytonxav]

We have had good reliability and performance from our Miele. Its over 15 years old, but is not a canister and its not cheap.

 

[Livefree]

Shark Navigator Lift Away

bought this shark navigator vacuum and it works very good. think you can get it at Target for $140

//http://www.amazon.com/Euro-Pro-Operated-Navigator-Lift-Away-Vacuum/dp/B004Q4DRJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315592041&sr=8-1

 

[Livefree]

Amazon.com: Shark Navigator Lift-Away Vacuum: Home & Garden

 

[Midpack]

We've had Hoover, Eureka, Kenmore and Oreck. All of them broke down quickly, most in less than a year despite warranty repairs. The Oreck was the worst, even though the store folks assured us it could handle dog hair no problem. We didn't want to spend the $500 for a Dyson but after wasting money on lesser brands at about $200 each, we sprung for a Dyson. It works well, and we've had it for more than 5 years, so it has been worth it. HOWEVER, we have two long haired dogs, and there is no question they present a big challenge to normal vacuums. We were always unwrapping dog hair from rollers and other rotating parts. Best of luck.

We looked at a Kirby but they weigh a ton and a refurbished Kirby was $800 when we looked, I think a new one was $1500 and the dealer told us he didn't sell many, that's why he offered up a refurb right off the bat.

 

[Livefree]

We also own a Kirby Sentria which runs great, but it got to be too heavy to drag upstairs all the time..

 

[Janet H]

Consider looking at commercial vacuums. They often have metal housing and stronger motors - built for endurance but not flexibility. The downside is very few on board tools, but (in my case) after the novelty of the tools wears off I rarely use them. What I really want is to have my carpets sucked - hard. Royal makes some nice ones and mine is holding up well.

 

[braumeister]

Our last house came with a central vacuum system, made by Nutone. Its performance was infinitely superior to anything else we've ever owned, and it was much easier to use as a bonus.

When we moved to our current house, DW missed the central vac so much that I bought one online and installed it myself (not that hard to do, even in this 1979-built house).

I installed the central unit in the basement, with four powered outlets. It's important to measure carefully before installing it. The hose is 30 feet long, and you want to be able to reach every part of every floor.

 

[W2R]

I wouldn't recommend my present vacuum, a Hoover Windtunnel. It sucks the carpet really hard compared with other vacuums that I have seen, and it was just right for me when I bought it. However, as I get older I find that it is heavier than I would like so I don't like it.

The only other vacuum that I have ever owned was another Hoover that I had which lasted for 30-35 years without needing repairs. So, I expect that this one will be my last, unless I decide to sell a perfectly good vacuum just to get one that is lighter in weight.

 

[Blackwoodt]

We have an Electrolux canister that works great for vacuuming tile floors and for small dusting jobs (like vacuuming curtains, upholstery and lamp shades). We use a Dyson upright for the carpets and the carpeted stairs (for the stairs, I leave the cleaner either at the top or the bottom of the stairs and use the hose and brush attachment - No need to precariously hold the cleaner while vacuuming the stairs). We are happy with both and they both have a role. The Dyson is the best carpet cleaner I have ever owned - it pulls an incredible amount of dirt out of the carpet. It has really helped with my allergies. The Electrolux is not powerful or heavy enough to do a good job on carpets, IMO.

+1

Dyson, I have two dogs, and 3 cats..... Dyson is incredible.

 

[Sue J]

I have a Kenmore Progressive canister vacuum that I like much more than all my previous vacuums. It has a powered head for the rotating brush part and lots of attachments that are easy to use.

Are you going for a unit that uses bags? Or are you thinking of bagless? I had one bagless, thinking it would be great just to dump that dust collection bin and snap it back into place. I liked seeing the dirt accumulate in there. But I will NEVER go bagless again. Emptying the bin was awful, no matter what I did or where I emptied it there was always a terrible dust cloud. I ended up taking the bin out on the deck and putting the entire bin into a plastic bag that I held shut while I tapped on the unit to get all the dirt off the filter. I still had to contend with a filthy dust cloud. Bags aren't very expensive and make emptying the vacuum a task that can be done indoors.

 

[Moemg]

Are Dyson's heavy to push ? I want a new vacuum that I don't have to wrestle with on my rugs . I'll keep my Hoover canister for steps and wood floors.

 

[dessert]

Our last house came with a central vacuum system, made by Nutone. Its performance was infinitely superior to anything else we've ever owned, and it was much easier to use as a bonus.

When we moved to our current house, DW missed the central vac so much that I bought one online and installed it myself (not that hard to do, even in this 1979-built house).

I installed the central unit in the basement, with four powered outlets. It's important to measure carefully before installing it. The hose is 30 feet long, and you want to be able to reach every part of every floor.

+1
After you experience a built-in system, then you will never regret owning it. I have had a built-in for the last 26 years and have loved it each time I use it. They are not that expensive and if you are handy enough to install it yourself, then it is very affordable.
I have installed them in my last two homes myself and hope to never live in a home without a built-in system.
You need to look into this. Just google it up and learn all about them.

 

[Midpack]

Are Dyson's heavy to push ? I want a new vacuum that I don't have to wrestle with on my rugs . I'll keep my Hoover canister for steps and wood floors.

Not at all but go try one at a store near you. Nothing is lighter than an Oreck, but they're not effective (at least ours wasn't).