Which vacuum cleaner should I buy?

abwsco

Well my original Miele is 18+ years old, still going strong and sucks as good as it did the first time I used it. Gave it to DD and bought a lighter weight Miele for us. Suction so strong that it pulls up the kitchen lino that isn't glued down properly.

[Deleted User]

Ben84 wrote: »

£73 every two years sounds very expensive. What exactly are they doing to it anyway?

£36.50 a year is cheap, the chap comes to the house asks what the problem is, strips the thing right down replaces all the worn bits, filters, brushes, belts etc and then re- assembles it. Tests it.......I think £73 every 2nd year is good value. I am more than happy, I can see what he is doing and its the same chap who came the last time it was serviced.

I did have a bit of an embarrassing moment, I emptied the cylinder and took the cyclone top off, as I did so I caught it and a large wad of something nasty came out followed by a lot of grey dust, all over the kitchen floor....ooooppps something had stuck in the pipe leading from the cyclone into the cylinder and blocked it, I had to bash it a few times to clear it!!

Ben84

Deleted_User wrote: »

£36.50 a year is cheap, the chap comes to the house asks what the problem is, strips the thing right down replaces all the worn bits, filters, brushes, belts etc and then re- assembles it. Tests it.......I think £73 every 2nd year is good value. I am more than happy, I can see what he is doing and its the same chap who came the last time it was serviced.

I did have a bit of an embarrassing moment, I emptied the cylinder and took the cyclone top off, as I did so I caught it and a large wad of something nasty came out followed by a lot of grey dust, all over the kitchen floor....ooooppps something had stuck in the pipe leading from the cyclone into the cylinder and blocked it, I had to bash it a few times to clear it!!

Thank you for telling me more. I'm curious because I repair and restore vintage appliances, and I've never actually considered vacuum cleaners as something that would benefit from periodic maintenance. That sounds counter-intuitive, but they're not like cars for example. Of course you need to look after them, change bags (if they have them), filters and occasionally clear a blockage from the pipes, but otherwise they're fairly simple items made of parts that just have a set life span and can be ignored until they fail. In fact, there's little else you can do as you can't prolong their useful life. Neglect will shorten them, so don't store them in damp cupboards or drop them down the stairs, but actually there's no specific care that makes them last longer either. Carbon brushes for motors simply wear down as the motor spins, while power switches have an average number of on/off cycles until they break, for example. There's typically nothing to oil or adjust inside these things, and good designs can work for a long time without problems. My vacuum cleaner has been used 2-3 times a week without any mechanical faults or problems that require taking it apart since it was bought some time around 1980. I don't see that a service every couple of years would have done anything beneficial. While in that 33 years we would have spent over £1100 (in current value) on the servicing! That's why I think it costly.

However, from what I can gather from their site, this £73 visit can range from simply taking apart a working vacuum, cleaning it and assembling it again to replacing large components in a broken one. If you have a broken vacuum cleaner, I think this is actually a good deal for fixed price on site repairs - but with the exception of less portable appliances like washing machine and gas boilers, I'd rather not pay engineer wages for someone to drive around. Also, the more precise the appointment times the more costly down time too. So, if you can take it to a repair shop, £73 would probably be costly and being a fixed price isn't always in your favour. Usually, it won't be, as they do have to stay in business. If you can take it and collect it yourself, £73 is the kind of money you might spend in a worst case break down where the whole motor needs replacing. Fortunately, that's rare. Commonly faulty parts are usually quite cheap, with labor being the major cost of a repair.

Anyway, it depends. If I ever encounter a dyson that has practically blown up I'll certainly give their service center a call, but for everything else, doing the general filter changes and small parts yourself and for anything bigger taking it to a local repair shop will probably work out much cheaper. Maybe not quite so convenient however.

grandmasam

Reading all of this has been so useful as have a vax bagless upright which, although only a year old, is so noisy and the bin is hard to unscrew and empty the thing!
Went out and bought mile c&d [have a large deerhound x puppy ]Love ,love love it.. clean laminate, rugs, kitchen and b'room floors quickly and much quieter than the v.x.. which is free to new home!!

Caz

jess1974

I love my Henry, and would'nt use anything else.....

happy35

Hi, I have read all the replies as I need to replace my Dyson animal that has now died. OH wants to buy another one but I am not convinced as keep hearing the new ones are not as good etc.

I have always had an upright since borrowing a cylinder and finding it backbreaking, but have been told I must be using it wrong as they are not like that - do other people find this?

I have a dog and really fancy a Miele cat and dog but am undecided between a cylinder (cheaper) and upright, is there any difference in their performance? I may still get upright if no difference as think will be easier to store etc.

Have also been recommended a Sebo by someone at work.

Now am totally confused, are Sebo and Miele similar? Which would be better for pet hair?

It is such a dilemma as I do keep things until they break and it costs more to repair than replace. I tend to hoover most days but like my carpets to look perfect so want something that performs really well

would appreciate it if anyone could help

Chris25

happy35 wrote: »

Have also been recommended a Sebo by someone at work.


It is such a dilemma as I do keep things until they break and it costs more to repair than replace. I tend to hoover most days but like my carpets to look perfect so want something that performs really well

I have a SEBO & I like the fact that it 'folds' almost flat to get under furniture. However, I don't find it very stable when I'm vacuuming the stairs - the hose is fairly long but if I leave the machine at the bottom as I'm working up the stairs, it tends to fall over.

They have at least a 5year guarantee & I've only once had to have the engineers look at it & it needed a new motor & SEBO 'went halves' with me. They said that although it was over the 5year period, they felt that the motor shouldn't have gone that quickly.

Marmaduke123

I've had my Sebo for over 10 years now, and its never needed any attention apart from routine changing of the bag and infrequently of the filters. It works just as well now as the day we got it.

In our house the extension hose reaches easily up the stairs without the Sebo falling over. We have a cat, so not too many hairs. Can't comment on how it would perform with a big pet hair issue, but it's the best vacuum we've ever had and would definitely have another.

emma-uk

We have an Argos Value Upright Bagless cleaner, like a yellow dyson. Was apprehensive to start as our beloved VAX had gone to Hoover heaven and needed something cheap as our oven also packed up that week so it was a "tide us over" purchase.

I have been very impressed with it! It hoovers exceptionally well, at low pile setting its practically sucking the carpet up, easy to clean and lightweight. My parents Dyson Animal died and got the same as me on my recommendation and say it was better than the dyson! They have 3 dogs and 1 cat so lots of hair to collect.

Best thing of all is it cost £38!

BargainHunter99

In our house we have ALWAYS had Henry's, except when Mum wanted a vac for downstairs & bought a Morphy Richards Upright, which was crap :P Also dad would gracefully accept any vacuum given to use by my nan, which has been; Panasonic Twin Bin Upright & Dyson DC02, both of which were chucked out after a few weeks.

Henry's are the best & I have a soft spot for them, love their smiley faces, big capacity & durability. Also hotels we stop at when you leave your room in the morning all you can see in the hallways are Henry's.

Recently acquired a Panasonic Upright Bagged Vacuum from Nan, she got a new one & gave me her old one, belt was broken but it didn't take much to replace. Quite good for the price of £60 average.