Looking for a good Animal Hair Focused Vacuum Cleaner

Nanako

Hello everyone!

Once upon a time, many years ago, i had a dog, with black fur. On white/cream carpets.

Once poor jordie had passed from this world, he left a legacy, that fur took several years to remove, it was everywhere and normal vacuums just don't lift it

Later this month, someone will be moving in with me, and they are bringing black cats. I still have the same carpets. But i don't want to suffer that again.

So i am planning to buy one of the expensive specialised vacuum cleaners, that are advertised as being especially good for animal hair. I have a baseline budget of £300 for this, but i can stretch that a little farther

This is a big purchase, i'm hesitant, and so i would like advice. What is good, what breaks down easily, etc.

Ideally, i would like one that has very powerful suction for normal cleaning too. And something that's bagless so i can just empty out the container and reuse it.

any thoughts?

Emmia

Are you thinking of one of the  Miele Cat & Dog Vacuums?

https://www.miele.co.uk/product/11666830/bagless-cylinder-vacuum-cleaners-boost-cx1-cat-and-dog-powerline-obsidian-black

Or 

https://www.miele.co.uk/product/12034120/bagless-cylinder-vacuum-cleaners-blizzard-cx1-cat-and-dog-flex-graphite-grey

We have a Miele and it's very powerful, and bagless... But they're not cheap, the budget is going to be stretched.

Definitely worth shopping around to see if a deal is available.

Runner_Duck

Shark make various vacuums that are described as Pet Vacuums, I have an 'ordinary' Shark that I'm very pleased with. Points to note - check the battery life / charging time also the capacity, some need frequent emptying.

sammyjammy

I have miele C3 which does the job with three cats its a cylinder vacuum, you don't say which is your preference.

Silvertabby

Another vote for Shark - but not a battery one, ours is the corded Pet Pro.  This will also stretch your budget, but it certainly does the trick.  

flo22

I collect ( I have over 40) and repair vacuum cleaners so have tested many makes side by side.  I would suggest either Miele or Sebo, with animal hair you are best going for a bagged vacuum cleaner.  if you buy a Shark be prepared to have to do a lot of maintenance on the filters

I would highly recommend a Sebo X7
 https://manchestervacs.co.uk/sebo-vacuum-cleaner-cheshire

Nanako

flo22 said:

I collect ( I have over 40) and repair vacuum cleaners so have tested many makes side by side.  I would suggest either Miele or Sebo, with animal hair you are best going for a bagged vacuum cleaner.  if you buy a Shark be prepared to have to do a lot of maintenance on the filters

I would highly recommend a Sebo X7
 https://manchestervacs.co.uk/sebo-vacuum-cleaner-cheshire

now this is an interesting perspective, lots of votes for Miele, but your credentials give more weight

Why is a bagged cleaner best for this purpose?

I worry about the ongoing cost of buying the bags, and the probably not ecologically friendly means of disposing of them, but my biggest worry is the manufacturer ceasing production, and suddenly extra bags start selling for a £10 each on ebay.  I've seen this happen before (and profited from selling some :P)

is filter maintenance uncommon in other models?  Any idea what makes the shark special in that area?

will look into sebo

Penguin_

Another vote for Shark, I have a black lab & it is very very good, especially for the price.

MysteryMe

I would not recommend a bagless cleaner, I just gave up on them in the end. Dysons etc all great initially and then an absolute faff cleaning filters and trying to get the same level of suction back. I went back to a bagged Henry cleaner. They do a pet version for around £150 which I have not used so can't give a personal recommendation but worth a try is you are after a cylinder cleaner.

flo22

Nanako said:

flo22 said:

I collect ( I have over 40) and repair vacuum cleaners so have tested many makes side by side.  I would suggest either Miele or Sebo, with animal hair you are best going for a bagged vacuum cleaner.  if you buy a Shark be prepared to have to do a lot of maintenance on the filters

I would highly recommend a Sebo X7
 https://manchestervacs.co.uk/sebo-vacuum-cleaner-cheshire

now this is an interesting perspective, lots of votes for Miele, but your credentials give more weight

Why is a bagged cleaner best for this purpose?

I worry about the ongoing cost of buying the bags, and the probably not ecologically friendly means of disposing of them, but my biggest worry is the manufacturer ceasing production, and suddenly extra bags start selling for a £10 each on ebay.  I've seen this happen before (and profited from selling some :P)

is filter maintenance uncommon in other models?  Any idea what makes the shark special in that area?

will look into sebo

Maintenance of a bagless can actually cost more because you have to clean the filters more often and replace the filters.  Of course most people don't do this which is why they end up with Vacuums that lose suction - if the filter is blocked then it puts strain on the motor and it loses suction. The vast majority of 'dead' bagless vacuum cleaners I fix are not dead at all just poorly maintained (filters not cleaned/replaced).

Bagless is always going to be better whether you have pets or not because the dirt goes into the bag and not in the filters, cyclones, motor etc.

if you buy a Sebo or Miele do not skimp - get the official Sebo or Miele bags with hepa filtration.  A bag can last months because depending on how much dirt you have, bagless have to be empties constantly. 

A Sebo of Miele will last you years longer than any shark or dyson so in the long run it will cost less.  

Go on YouTube, there are many of us collectors and some very good videos on performance testing

flo22

Just realised didn't answer all your questions.

Miele or Sebo will not suddenly stop selling bags, they are both huge companies.  That is only likely to happen if you buy a smaller cheaper make.  Even then bags can be adapted, either a Henry bag or a Miele bag can fit on most bagged vacuums.

What makes shark so special in needing more filter maintenance - shark are made to be disposable.  Their business model is people buy a new one every few years.  The suction is good but the filter is basically a foam sponge and they only have a single cyclone.  Whilst anyone with a bagless needs to keep on top of filter maintenance is is more relevant for shark cos just a sponge.  Buy a 2nd set and swap them every month, rinse the dirty filter then bung it in the washing machine.  Same applies for Dyson.