Best Vacuum cleaner

I used to have a carpet cleaning business and have personally vacuumed more carpet than most people will in several lifetimes. I never had a vacuum motor wear out or not clean well if properly maintained from vintage Kirbys (weighed a ton), to Orecks (often clogged in the narrow area between floor and bag) to household quality Eurekas (1990's era Excalibur model-best vac I ever used).

I currently have a lower end Eureka bagged upright that's probably 10-12 yrs. old, and a hand-me-down Electrolux bagged canister type that is probably 30 yrs. old.

The Eureka I found near the trash on move-out week in a college town. I bought a new belt and some bags, cleaned it up and had a good vac for just a few bucks. What usually kills these things is a beater brush that gets jammed up with string, hair etc. and causes the belt to slip, causing a horrible smell which leads the owner to throw it out. Belts and beater brushes can be had cheap. Just keep them cleaned out and they will run and run.

The Electrolux is old and was expensive when purchased new. Its a canister vac with a powered brush attachment. I mostly use it now as a canister for cleaning corners, under the fridge etc. but it still works very well for carpet but is not as convenient as an upright.

I don't get the point of the new bagless sweepers. Why would I want to dump a plastic can full of [censored] into another bag making dust everywhere, when I could just toss out a $2 vacuum bag every year????

With proper maintenance even a cheap used vac will last a long time. The best one to buy is one that is convenient to use has easy to switch attachments that don't fall off and quiet operation is also nice.
 
FYI, Sears has a sale on their vacuums, including the Panasonic built Kenmore uprights. Some around/under $200, if it were me that is what I would do...

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
Sarcastic????
Yes, I said I would like to keep it under $600. Surely a good durable unit can be had for that or less.
 
Interesting for two reasons:
Dyson doesn't get high remarks here and many here dislike the bagless.

I LOVE bagless. You won't change my mind on that EVER!
BUUUT, I'm seeing some brand recommendations that I haven't thought about.

I use to have a Bissell car shampooer and it was HORRIFIC. I got maybe 5 hours out of it and it started leaking water, the motor burned up and the cord shorted out from the leaking water. It was less than 2 weeks old and I returned it and got my money back.
I guess they have improved..??
 
Just about anything with a bag. Hate the bagless stuff. You get messy when cleaning it with the dust, it smells if you don't clean it, and it's just, IMHO a bad all around idea. With a bag I just pop it out, throw it away and put in a new one. No mess, no fuss.

We have a Sears Progressive which is a Panasonic and it works great. It's a canister though but picks up tons of dog and cat hair.
 
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Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
Sarcastic????
Yes, I said I would like to keep it under $600. Surely a good durable unit can be had for that or less.


We own several Dysons and use them in business and at home. Hands down the most reliable machines ever, I usually buy about 2 or 3 vacuums a year all the time. Even true commercial vacs can't stay close to our Dysons. Our oldest is nearly 10 years old in commercial service and we have never bought a bag, a filter or anything!

I routinely take one into a clients home only to hear "I already vacuumed for you". They are always amazed at the huge wad of dander and dirt i remove from their "clean" floors.

Get nice ones on Overstock for 299 with a real 5 year warranty.
 
I have a paper only subscription, but here is a recap:
Bagged uprights, ranked in order: (1) Hoover Wind Tunnel Anniversary U6485-900 $230; (2) Miele S 7210 Twist $475; (3) Kirby Sentria $1350; (4) Miele S 7260 Cat & Dog $715; (5) Kenmore Intuition 31069 $250. CR Best Buys: #6 Kenmore Progressive 31069 $200; #7 Hoover WindTunnel Max UH30600 $180; & #13 Eureka Boss Smart Vac 4870 $160
Bagless uprights, ranked in order: (1) LG Kompressor LuV350P $400; (2) Hoover WindTunnel T-series Rewind Bagless UH 70120 $130; (3) LG Kompressor Total Care LuV400T $500; (4) Kenmore Intuition 31040 $250; (5) Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A $120. CR Best Buys: #2 above; #5 above; & #9 Bissell Clearview Helix Deluxe 71V9 $100 Similar model also available at Lowe’s.

We currently have the UH 70120 and it does fine. After about a year or so, my wife isn’t as thrilled about bagless as she was when we bought it. Any new vacuum will be one of the bagged uprights. We are also transitioning away from carpet, so buying a high ranked Miele isn't on our radar scope.

The 3 Dysons tested ranked 24,40 & 41 in testing, which for me is too low to even be considered.
 
I'm with you, the days of bags and dragging canisters are over for me. Don't like the bissell upright bagless because of the filter location. Like the Hoover with the top mounted washable filter and one step retractable cord. BTW, the newer Bissell carpet steamers changed for the better, the ProHeat 2X is really good! Somebody tossed one of those so I had a chance to take it apart. Just fouled from leaving the solution in the tank. Maybe the new Bissell vacs changed for the better too, moving the filter up top out of the dirt where it belongs.
 
Originally Posted By: JayhawkRoy
I have a paper only subscription, but here is a recap:
Bagged uprights, ranked in order: (1) Hoover Wind Tunnel Anniversary U6485-900 $230; (2) Miele S 7210 Twist $475; (3) Kirby Sentria $1350; (4) Miele S 7260 Cat & Dog $715; (5) Kenmore Intuition 31069 $250. CR Best Buys: #6 Kenmore Progressive 31069 $200; #7 Hoover WindTunnel Max UH30600 $180; & #13 Eureka Boss Smart Vac 4870 $160
Bagless uprights, ranked in order: (1) LG Kompressor LuV350P $400; (2) Hoover WindTunnel T-series Rewind Bagless UH 70120 $130; (3) LG Kompressor Total Care LuV400T $500; (4) Kenmore Intuition 31040 $250; (5) Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A $120. CR Best Buys: #2 above; #5 above; & #9 Bissell Clearview Helix Deluxe 71V9 $100 Similar model also available at Lowe’s.

We currently have the UH 70120 and it does fine. After about a year or so, my wife isn’t as thrilled about bagless as she was when we bought it. Any new vacuum will be one of the bagged uprights. We are also transitioning away from carpet, so buying a high ranked Miele isn't on our radar scope.

The 3 Dysons tested ranked 24,40 & 41 in testing, which for me is too low to even be considered.

Think its the newer version of the Hoover I was discussing above. Assume the primary filter is still located up top, away from the dirt?
 
Just curious why people don't like bagged? Yes, it's another thing to buy but the dust when you clean the bagless it a mess.
 
We went through the same thing about 10 years ago - our bagged Dirt Devil was noisy but didn't do a good job and my bagless Hoover was nigh useless at picking anything up. We asked around and everyone recommended a Dyson who had one... most other folks just used the opportunity to moan about their own terrible vacuum of another brand.

Bought a DC14 Animal from Costco and it's been rock-solid. We have a lot of hair to clean up in my house (I have a full beard and we have several dogs and cats) and nothing else ever got up as much, consistently than a Dyson does. The first time I used it, it pulled up so much extra dirt, hair & lint that the entire house got vacuumed three times. It was terrible all the stuff our old vacuums were leaving behind!

They're well-engineered, well-built machines. Ours has had zero issues in the entire time we've had it - including now that my kids think it's one of their most favorite toys. The entire bagless chamber comes apart without tools for a very thorough cleaning, which I only have done twice. Otherwise I just march it right out to the wheely bin and dump it.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat if the one we've got went out.
 
figure they get used in about 3 homes 5-6 days a week depending on the schedule. About an hour or so per day.

About 5 times what most any home vacuum is designed for IMO! Most vacs are lucky to get 50 hours of use in a year.

We like them, and it's essential that we be able to quickly and easily clean them between houses.
 
If I get between 2150 hours( (3yrs) or 7200 hours (10yrs) I would be happy. That is commercial use too. If I get 20 years (just a number) out of the DC 33 at $325 it would cost me less than $16.25 a year

If I get a $150 vacuum +say $50 for filter and belts that may last 10 years that is $20 a year. The cheaper one to buy may wind up costlier to own.
That has been my logic in every purchase I have made.
 
I repair / recondition vacuums as a sideline because a lot of my wife's clients (she has cleaned houses for over 25 years) would have problems or have a poor working machine so in most cases I would find a Filter Queen and recondition it for them . These have always been my wife's favourite machine as they are very powerful , do a great job and are pretty much trouble free if you do a little maintanance on them which is changing the motor pre filter once in a while and just using them properly (not as a shop vac or wet conditions).
They only use a filter cone and you empty the drum once in a while which has a lot of capacity compared to these plastic (heavy) uprights and go a long time before you need to empty them .
These sold for over $2K when new but can be found for a fraction of that . The newer ones with the gas pump style handle are the nicest to use . Power head also has a belt like a car timing belt , never seen one fail .

Wish I was closer , could ship you a nice reconditioned unit for around $400 but not sure how much the shipping would be from here unless I shipped it from Michigan .

Have a look and see what you think .

Have a TX license plate on my study wall that my son took from a car they used at the Texas A&M fire school he went to years ago
smile.gif
 
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I bought a Panasonic upright in 1987 and still have it. If the current models are built anything like they were then, I'd buy another.
 
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