I have a Eureka "The Boss" Smartvac, and I have had it about a year. I bought it for about $250 and now I just keep having problems with it. Before that I went through about 3 vacuums, buying them and returning them because they just all seem to have problem or things I didn't like.
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My Dyson works great with 4 cats, and all their hair. Other than the latch my husband broke, I haven't had a single problem with it, and it certainly doesn't lose suction (like the ads say).
My Dyson is great also, but I enjoyed my refurbished Hoover better. The hoover fit under furniture better than the Dyson does. The Dyson doesn't need a bag which is a big plus and I haven't had to replace a belt with the Dyson. I think both are to be recommended.
I have had an Electrolux canister for years and love it. We own a golden retriever so I know about dog hair and my electrolux does a great job with pet hair. It's a little pricey; but worth every penny. I wouldn't own any other brand.
I too recommend the Dyson. I've owned mine for a year and it's incredible. The Dyson picks up so much dust and dirt you wonder where it comes from; my old rugs look great again. My Dyson is the upright model with the ball and it's especially designed for people with pets. More suction I guess? I do wish that the hose that is attached was a little more flexible for when you want to use the brush or floor attachments. All and all I would rate it a 10+ though.
I have a Kirby that my husband was crazy enough to buy and absolutely hate it. You have to get on the floor to change the head to be able to use a hose attachment. The belt has broken even though I don't use it very often because it's so heavy and awkward. I finally got a Eureka and it works for me. Guess it's a good thing that everyone doesn't like the same vacuum. It would cost so much that regular people wouldn't be able to afford it. Good luck.
Mine is a Kenmore from Sears. Had it about a year and I'm happy with it. It has "Intelligent Clean" which means if I vaccuum where its extra dirty, the light on the top turns from green to red and remains that color until the area is clean again.
The Dyson is the answer to this question. It is amazing! We've had five of our friends/family to buy one after seeing what ours does. It has 2 filters and there is no dust escaping when you vacuum. The canister is so easy to empty. It's light weight and easy to manuever. K-Mart and Wal-Mart even run good sales on them from time to time. You may be familiar with the ads featuring the man who invented them.
Definitely a Dyson "Monster"... it's the purple one. It's designed especially for pet owners. I've had mine for about three years and the only thing I've had to do is cut a bit of string from the brush a couple times.
WOW do they pick up the stuff! Pet hair, glitter, feathers, great in the car too! I can't say enough great stuff about it. It really IS as good as they say. It's also about $500, and honestly worth EVERY penny.
I have a Sears Kenmore Progressive. It was a CR best buy last year. It was expensive and I bought the bag less model. I researched it well before I bought it. It has a sensor to tell you when an area is clean.
I have 3 cats and lots of cat hair. I think this is the best vacuum that I've owned and I've had it about a year now with no problems. I use it at least 2-3/week. I have to empty it constantly because it works so well!
Just a thought if you really want a Kirby for Christmas about three years ago my husband bought me a Kirby with almost all of the attatchements for $100 this included thing like the carpet and upolstery shampooer! Granted the vacuum was six years old but still you couldn't beat the price and it still works great to this day. You can buy a refurbished Kirby from a Kirby store generally for about $300, in our mutual area of the country. I live in Idaho and see them alot. Might be worth checking pawn shops to see what you can find? Otherwise I my mom had a Kenmore along with her Kirby and it worked pretty well on pet hair and they are very reasonable.
I have a Rainbow.( They are pricey, but mine came froma local thrift store for $5.00!) This one has been very good with pet hair. Try to find one on ebay,or a Rainbow dealer,sometimes they carry the trade-ins at good prices.
Try to find a vacuum repair shop and purchase a used Kirby. These vacs never wear out. I bought miine for $350. Wouldn't have anything but a Kirby.
My sister has picked up Kirby vaccuums at yard sales or the trash & taken them to the local Kirby dealer/repair shop & has gotten them repaired for next to nothing. She has five kids, four cats & a landscaper husband & is an absolute neat freak & swears by them.
I have a bissel and I love it. Trust me I have a 6 year old little girl who is autisitic and who loves to tear paper. Also a cat and a wired terrier mix. I love the bissels and they are not expensive.
Believe me, I have had them all, Kirby, Eureka, Hoover, and The Dyson is the BEST .
I, too, have a Rainbow and wouldn't be without it. We got it - used - 30 years ago and it still works as good today as it did then!
Kirby, I absolutely did not like. We bought ours new about 10 yrs ago and it's been a long 10 years. The salesman was very pushy as he needed to sell one more to earn a trip somewhere. We were desperate and all I saw was the power it had. We had a Labrador retriever and were being over run with hair. After the puppy stage the carpets needed cleaning badly. It cost us $1000 for the whole deal which included the carpet shampooer. After approximately one week I was realizing just how extremely heavy the thing was and over the years it just got heavier and heavier dragging that thing around.
It was a pain to change from the power carpet attachment to the floor attachment, lining up the teeth, turning the crank. Wasn't too bad in the beginning but over the years it became a pain. Vacuuming was never quick or easy. Thankfully we have a ranch style home. Couldn't imagine hauling that thing up and down stairs. Several of the attachments also cracked. I replaced one but it was expensive so the rest, including tube shaft, I kept together with duck tape for the last 5 years.
A major part to the turning on of the transmission fell off/out about a year ago. It still worked as long as it was turned on, so in order to move it when not in use, it had to be plugged in and turned on. Finally just before Christmas the housing to the bag cracked right off. Duck tape did not work there. As for the shampooer, that just made mud on the carpet and then rubbed it in. It barely picked up any of the dirty water. I tried it many many times over the years. Reading and re-reading the directions, watching the video, still no satisfactory cleaning at all. The carpets were soggy and took a long time to dry. I finally bought a hoover shampooer and that really sucks up the dirty, hairy, gross water. Plus the carpet dries in short order.
We just bought a new vacuum. We went with a progressive Sears model. Lower end as we figure we don't want to sink a lot into one again and get trapped like with the Kirby. I notice the Dyson has been praised for a long time on on-line forums. May study that for the next time. I'd really like to hear about the Oreck because I now have a very bad back, fibromyalgia, and arthritis in my hands. I understand the Oreck is light weight.
I might get flamed for saying this and I know it's extra work, but hey, I'm going to say it.
We own a Eureka upright (I forget the model, but it takes F & G style bags.) We paid about $275 for it brand-new, about 10 years ago.
We've always had at least two dogs, and believe me, even short-haired dogs like we have can shed horribly! Hubby's solution is to manually sweep the area before we even attempt to vaccuum. If he doesn't, all the dog hair clogs the hose.
I know it isn't the best solution, but hey. I'm living with it for now. Maybe someday I'll be able to get something better.
Rainbow distributors are far and few between. I just bought a Dyson Animal (DC-17 I think) and don't think it costs too much! I got mine at Sam's Club for $399. I researched vacuums and then the best place for price. Luckily a friend had a Sam's club membership, although it would have been worth it to get my own for the money I saved. This thing is AWESOME. I simply cannot believe the fur and the dander this thing pulls out of my carpet. In one vacuuming of my house I pull as much as my last vacuum did in a month. Plus it empties very nicely for a bagless. It is completely contained until you hold it over the trash bag and then with the push of a buttom the bottom swings open. No turning over and dumping with a cloud of dust. I highly recommend it!
I bought a Dyson about a year ago and if and when it doesnt work anymore, Ill get another Dyson. Simple to use and works GREAT every time.
I have a Hoover Runabout...its bagless and was totally put together. All I had to do was take it out of the box. The canister comes off and you dump the excess. I absolutely LOVE IT!! It works wonders for the dog hair. Its lightweight too. Bought it at Kmart. It cost me $99.00. I have yet to have any trouble with it.
I worked in the vacuum department for 15 years. The only good bagless one that is wonderful is the dyson but another good upright is the Sears direct drive that has the bag in it. This vacuum has no belt in it to worry about it breaking, plus it has an over load switch that if you something wraps around the brush or you suck up something that might hurt the vacuum, it shuts down. All you do is get the object out and push a small button and it starts up again. Sears carries the Dyson and the direct drive one and in most large stores you can go and try them out for yourself. For some odd reason I love vacuum's and worked with them for so long that I now know a lot about vacuum's!
I have 3 brands of vacuums and floor cleaners that I will never have in my home again.
#1 is Kirby. I spent over $1000 on the whole shebang from Kirby once. Every single time I went to use it, it had to go in the shop. Not once in a while, but every single time! I finally made them take it back and refund my money. And even that was a mess! Had to call an attorney to get my money back.
#2 is Dirt Devil. I have had several products of theirs and not one of them worked like it was supposed to.
#3 is Bissell. Their products work real good for a few months, or a few uses, then one thing after another starts going wrong. And Bissell refuses to stand behind their products too
From my experience, you can't beat Hoover. I've had many Hoover products and they have worked for years. Plus it's not hard at all to find a repairman for them. The other products (especially Bissell) are hard to find repairmen for. The vacuum I have now is almost 10 yrs old and the only repair it's ever needed is a new belt once 4 yrs ago.
Oh and I also have dogs. I had a golden retriever for many years and this Hoover picked up his hair with no problem. My grandkids lived with me too for a while when they were little and it took care of their messes too.
Good luck!
I love my Dyson. I bought it on e-bay for $300. and it's worth every cent. My only complaint is that the tools for vacuuming furniture, stairs, etc. are terrible! the hose is in the handle and is stiff and hard to manage. Strictly for vacuuming though, it's the best.
For a vacuum that does a good overall job, I really like the Kenmore Progressive- bagged vacuum. It was rated #1 by consumer reports from what I hear. My friend in the cleaning business really likes this vacuum because it has a 14 foot hose on the back and works on flooring too. I paid about $250 for mine a year ago.
I have a 143lb Alaskan Malamute so I vacuum everyday and I also have allergies. After a year of researching & looking at all the feedback on Epinions I broke down and got a Miele Capricorn. It was between that and a Sebo C3.1. Both are excellent for dog hair & allergies. I have a Kirby (yuck) , Eureka canisters, Royal,etc. and none cleans as well with ease as the Miele. It's so quiet you can vacuum in the same room as someone is watching TV. I also don't sneeze afterward! The average age of a Miele is 28 years. So, in the long run they aren't that expensive. Sebo is less expensive and VERY reliable. Both are made with ABS plastic so you can drop them down a flight of hardwood steps and they won't break. Many of the other vacuums I looked at were made of cheapy material and wouldn't last a week in my house. You get what you pay for. Bosch was also rated excellent for dog hair & allergies but not as reliable and very expensive for the features.
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