What vacuum to buy???

[Shellymoon]

It sucks to be in a bad situation with your vacuum (sorry, could not resist the pun).
I've had two vacuums bite the dust during the last month (I'm not sorry for another pun, really I'm not).
First, it was the rust colored Eureka canister that was a wedding gift 26 years ago. It still worked, but the plastic on the nozzle broke and we fixed it with duct tape and that lasted for a few years. Then the duct tape came off and what was under it just crumbled. I liked that vacuum for my wood floors, tile floors and vacuuming out my car.

Yesterday my Eureka Dirt Devil bagless upright gave up the ghost. DH took it apart, but the repair attempt turned into an autopsy. The motor had gone kaput. This vacuum was about 12 years old and I can't say I was ever thrilled with it.

So, right now, I'm vacuuming the whole house with the $20 Shark vacuum that DD had in her dorm room. It is tiny and my house is big, so we gotta get something quick!

Thanks for all the recommendations. I'm trying to decide if I want to invest or just get a cheapie that will last a couple of years.

[sewhappyrtr]

I have a nice cannister Eureka Mighty Mite vacuum cleaner that only weighs about 10 pounds.
Marty

I didn't know they still made this. I have a bagged one that I actually purchased tons of bags for... I forget where right now, and I love this vacuum!!
Otherwise I have a Eureka Optima that I bought at Big lots.. actually I have 2 of them I like it so well.. one for the downstairs and one for our upstairs..don't even know if they still make this one.

We had to buy a new vacuum for the daycare where we work..( well they paid for it ) just last week and went to Menards and bought a Electrolux one for $174.99 and dh used it Friday and it works like a charm on all their rugs.. actually feels like its self propelled but its not... those carpets haven't been this clean since I took up my carpet cleaner and cleaned all the carpets last summer!!

[Liz92B]

one that doesn't use bags ... mine is in perfectly good condition, only Sears doesn't make the bags anymore ... have kept the last one going by emptying it - but you're not supposed to do that!!

[MartySews2]

Karen, Eureka is made by Electrolux. SewingMom, Eureka has a nice cannister vac that's specifically for pet hair with a hepa filter for allergens & it's about $150. It's only 8 pounds & has additional accessories that you can buy as needed. I have had my Mighty Might (sells for $90) for over 15 yrs & use weekly. It's never been serviced. I just change out the hepa filter & the air filter myself. Keep in mind, my house is small & we only have hard wood floors but it does great cleaning the floor, the furnaces & getting up the dust off the walls & ceilings. I run it across my kitchen & laundry room floors too. When I had an area rug in my living room, it cleaned the rug nicely. It's light enough that I can take it outside to clean the cars & my van.
Marty

[Sancin]

Re Bagless vacuums - not a good choice if you have allergies. The bag gives an extra filter as well as the hepa that most machines have today.

I have had a number of Eureka vacuums, primarily uprights. I still have my original upright I purchased 40 years ago which I keep in the basement as the lever to keep it upright is broken and for some reason the cord got shortened over the years. It still cleans very well. When I wanted a new one about 10 years ago I went to look at them at Sears. As the saleslady was showing me what was available I turned the demo on and it flew out of my hand into the men's clothing section . Turned out it was quite self propelled. I did purchase another but it only lasted 3 years - apparently you are not supposed to vacuum up fireplace ashes. They seize up the motor. I got another Eureka and while I do not vacuum myself (killer on my back) I have warned my home helper about the ashes. She loves the machine and it works on both hard floors and carpets.

Incidentally that original upright Eureka that still works I purchased and used when I had shag carpets. I once had a built in vacuum system and while every one raves about them I found hauling around a long hose a pain in the neck and didn't think the suction was all that good. It came with the house, but I ended up using my good old upright!

When I went looking 10 years ago I read a lot of consumer comparisons finding that Eureka's have always had a good to better performance. I recently did another search as 2x people I know were buying Dyson. It turns out Dyson is indeed very very good, but does lose it's suction power after a period of time. Those I know that have them, have not had them long so don't know if they indeed lose some suction.

[carman]

had my Dyson for 4 years and still sucking that dog and car hair up

carman

[HeyJudee]

I have a Filter Queen that I bought over 20 years ago. It's still running and only been in for a checkup twice over all that time...but I must admit I've never been one to vacumn weekly... And I've never had pets either so this vacumn has never been put thru it's paces.

I have a two story house and hate having to vacumn the stairs and carry the vacumn up and down stairs. So I bought a cheap Shark vacumn to have upstairs. But in my opinion it was the worse thing I bought. It doesn't have bags...which was what I wanted...but has a filter that I have to clean and wash and wait for it to dry after using it. What a pain to clean that filter. So it doesn't get used much either.

If I was going to buy another vacumn I'd definitely go for a Dyson. I love the ball vs pulling a dang cannister around behind me. And I love the idea of no bags. Yep...I think the Dyson would be worth the money...JMHO.

[bridesmom]

I'm thinking my next will be a Dyson too. The Shark that you have, is that the steam one? Or am I thinking about something else. Someone was talking about a steam machine that she uses on all her floors, laminate and tile and she absolutely loves it, she has a dog too and says it cleans so well.

[HeyJudee]

The Shark that you have, is that the steam one?

Nope...just a small upright and definitely not worth the price I paid for it....which wasn't much I must admit.

[sewingmom]

I got sidetracked with the wedding and all. Now back to vacuumn shopping. Thanks for all the help. I think I will research that ureka Marty. It sounds pretty promising. The filterqueen used to make a princess model that was lighter weight tnan th original model and I might just look into that. Gotta do something soon. Dh is not to consistant with the vacuumning and he is not in much better physical shape than me.