What brand of vacuum cleaner do you own? Is it a canister or upright? I'm looking to buy a new one and wondered what brand and style you might be able to recommend.

 

I prefer canister type. Seem to have more suction and are a lot easier to do the stairs with. Hoover, from Sears. But most canister models are pretty good and last a long time.

 

I have a Simplicity upright now. I went out and bought a top of the line bagless with all the Hepa filters and whistles. Used it 3 times it and lost a lot of suction.

I took it to the warranty guy, and he told me the Hepa filter was clogged. $18 a crack for a filter after 3 times of use! He suggested I take it back and to get a regular vac, cause these Hepa filters clog up very quickly, especially if you have pets. I did. Shucks, it would have cost me a $100 a year for Hepa filters. So, I would stay away from those type vacs.

 

Glad to hear somebody else has experience with Simplicity. That was one of the ones I had been considering. I'm definitely going to get a canister. My grandma gave us her old Fantom Fury bagless upright. It is a great sweeper and gets all the pet hair up, but the attachments are so hard to try to use, and there are many places in our house, (especially by the bed etc.) where it just doesn't fit through.. This way I can use both. Keep the info coming, even although I made another post.

 

It depends on what you are sweeping. I prefer an upright for carpeting and a canister for hardwood/vinyl/tile floors, and stairs. For canister vacs, I prefer Electrulux. I got mine from my mother. She got it as a wedding gift 27 years ago. Still works like new! For uprights, bar none, Kirby makes the best, IMO. I bought my Kirby from its original owner for $3.00 at a yard sale. She purchased it new in 1947! She felt bad about selling me such an old sweeper. So, she threw in all the attachments in the original box! This sweeper will out perform most all of today's plastic $300 jobs. My mother has a 27 year old Kirby that works flawlessly. And my grandmother still uses hers from the 1950's! Needless to say, I am as "pro-Kirby," as I am "pro-Ford!"

Best of luck with the new vacuum purchase!
Chris

 

Eureka makes great machines, uprights and canisters. As far as bagged or bagless that kind of a personal preference, take bag out and throw away, take dirt cup out and dump into trash and have everything puff back up in your face and you may accidently dump the filter out of the dirt cup. Filters clog, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, if they didn't then they are not working. Some Eureka models have a washable True HEPA filter. The difference betwen True HEPA and HEPA is the True HEPA has a silicone seal around the edges of the filter media on the inside so nothing gets by, everything goes thru the filter. I sell plenty of Eureka's and have yet to have one come back for any warranty issues, I also fix ton's of hoovers, orecks, dirt devils under warranty. Remember, these machines are plastic and will break if you throw them around. If you want a machine that will last 20-25 years and build up some serious muscle tone in your arms get a Royal metal or a Kirby. Just don't forget that the machine that cleans needs to be cleaned as well, keep clean filters in it, change the belt every 6 mos, and keep the brushroll and brushroll bearings/endcaps cleaned out. Good luck with whatever you get.

John

 

I've heard nothing but great reviews on this brand.

http://www.dyson.com/homepage.asp

 

If I did that I'd be changing the belt twice as often as I vacuumed.


I use a Kenmore canister, had it about 8 years and works well.

 

I've got a Thermax AF. It's one of those that costs an arm and a leg, that one might buy when he is assured that his step-son will actually succeed as a salesman of this fine product.

The Thermax works fine, but it is a pain in the posterior to have to empty a gallon of dirty water every time that you use it. If you get busy and forget about it, well you will be reminded when your house smells like a frog pond.
It's a lot easier to just change a bag or filter periodically.

I had an ancient Electrolux and it was great. If I have to buy another, I will probably just buy a Kenmore or Eureka. I no longer have carpet. I've got dogs.

 

Remember, Nothing Sucks Like an ElectroLux!

 

My wife has abused, broken and lost the attachment's to quite a few brands of vacuum's. None seem to stand up to her kind of neglect and mistreatment. Currently, she favors the Orec XL because it is so light. Right now it's down because the compressor housing is cracked and I had to order a new part.

I want to get a Dyson, but she refuses to spend that kind of money on something she doesn't enjoy doing. Funny, women think it's okay to get us guy's power tools for gifts, but you get them 'power tools' for the house or kitchen as a gift and they flip out on you!

 

Sears Kenmore canister, was starting to make a little more noise (whine) than when new at a year old. Took it in and they exchanged it, didn't even have the carpet and upholstery power attachments with me, now have extras. If you start to loose the little motors on the vacuums, have your neutral connections checked out. Esp. the one at the power company transformer.

 

Eureka Boss Bagless HEPA. Lowes ~100$. Replaced my 10 yo Eureka that I thought still worked ok, wrong. Astonishing how much dirt the new one picks up.

IMO dyson is a bit overrated and WAY overpriced.

 

I only sweep when I have to do a "Yes Dear" But we have an Oreck that the wife loves and does a fantastic job and two Royal dirt devil bagless that do a great job. Other than the Oreck we dont have to buy bags for anything. The Oreck has a 12yr waranty so unless its abused they will fix it as long as we take it in once a year for a "check up"

 

Hoover upright, "windtunnel" selp propelled, with a bag. For what I can spend they make a reasonable product.