With the stench of burning rubber fresh in my nostrils, I ask for vacuum cleaner purchase advice

[Chemisse]

I want one with super strong suction, pretty cheap, reliable, filter free, and I don't want to have to shop at Walmart.

I would be satisfied though, with just the brand names of vacuums that have stood the test of time in people's households.

[Skinner]

1. Don't buy an Elecrolux Oxygen canister.

After getting it fixed about a dozen times, the vacuum repair place told us to give up and buy something else.

[Chemisse]

4. That's pretty bad! I'll make sure to avoid that.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Well, depending on what you mean by a filter....

After decades of using various "household" vacuum cleaners which were a pain to maneuver, loud, clunky, poor suction, and seemed to clog every 5 minutes, I went out and bought, for the house......a shop vac.
I found out you can get not only the larger hose attachments that come with it,
but regular vacuum cleaner size hoses, they fit too, with regular size attachments, which ARE easier to use in the house.
The plus of a shop vac is it does not clog, as a rule, it has enough power to suck up the cat, yet if I want to retrieve the ink pen it ate, I just have to lift off the lid and reach down into the cavernous belly of it.
Also it holds a LOT of suck up stuff.
Yes, it has a filter. I take it outside and empty the belly into a big garbage bag,
use a brush to clean off the filter, ( stand upwind) pop it back together, and good to go.
Bought it in 2003. Never have changed the filter. I think it is the regular Sears shop vac..it was cheap, I remember.
Nice little wheels that follow me around, I named mine R2D2.

Best yet, it sucks up the carport crap, and once has been used to suck up water.
plus apparently I can use it to blow leaves around, tho I have not tried that. Yet.

[Chemisse]

5. That sounds super powerful.

The cats must run when you pull that baby out!

I don't know what I was thinking, saying no filter. I meant no bag. I like when I can just pull out the filter and dump it, not have to buy just the right type of bags for that specific vacuum cleaner. That was always such a pain.

[TygrBright]

3. I have two vacuums, one for each floor.

The downstairs is a "Compact" cannister. It's about 70 years old, I inherited it from my grandmother. It uses a bag and filter, though. It has amazing suction. I'm not sure they make them anymore but they might be available used or on ebay or something.

Upstairs we have a Eureka upright that my esposo bought about 20 years ago. It's pretty good. Uses bags but not filters. Decent suction.

We also have a Dirt Devil stick vac that uses a filter but no bag. I take the filter out and run it through the dishwasher occasionally (bought two so I could swap them in/out as needed.) It has excellent suction, is lightweight, and converts to a hand vac. It was dead cheap, less than 25 bucks, and is about 2 years old.

I would buy any of the three again, but I'd walk over hot coals and take out another mortgage to replace the Compact.

helpfully,
Bright

[Chemisse]

6. Amazing that ANY electrical appliance can last 70 years!

Thanks for the tips.

[fadedrose]

7. I like my Sears canister...

Its good for all floors, furniture, etc. Bags are huge, light.

Had a Eureka canister for years and liked it too.

Uprights are nice but too hard to get spider webs in ceiling corners, etc.

Picked up a cheap Bissell for the kitchen ($25) and it works well for small jobs.

Cost is low compared to so many on the market.

[Paper Roses]

8. I have 2 vac's, one on each floor. Dyson & Hoover. Both are bagless with filters.

I seem to be the only one who does not like their Dyson. I find it heavy, cumbersome and the wand is a pain in the neck to use.

The Hoover is easier to use but tends to blow dust out when I start it up. If I had the means...and good advice, I'd get rid of both and get a canister.
Both my daughters also have a Dyson, one uses her canister far more. She feels as I do about the Dyson.
The other daughter has the 'animal hair' model and loves it. Her dog sheds an incredible amount of fur.

I will say that the suction is excellent on both machines and the filter care is simple.

[quakerboy]

9. I shall ignore your requirements and post what I think, irregardless

I had a cheapie eureka bag less upright. It worked pretty well. About 5 years, for a $30 vacuum, and then I sold it for about half of what I paid. Not a bad deal.

But someone in the household demanded a Dyson. The Dyson is nice. It is a good vacuum. several years in, and shows no signs of slowing. only downfall is the wand, which is handily placed inside the handle, but needs a longer, more easily used flexible section so as not to pull it into ones Achilles's tendons at unwanted moments.

[Lugnut]

10. I've had good luck with Dirt Devils.

I have a really old cheaper model that's still working but I don't use it anymore. I think I paid around $65 for it. It has no filter and it takes bags.

Last year we pulled out all the carpeting to expose the hardwood floors and I've been using an ancient Hoover canister that I've used for years on the tile floors. It's so old I don't remember how much I paid for it. It's that old I've had to go online to buy the bags for the past 9 or 10 years.

[Chemisse]

11. Well I wound up getting a Hoover Wind Tunnel and I love it!

I just thought this thread could use a little closure.

[Trailrider1951]

12. I got a Eureka upright from Goodwill for $15 about two years ago.

1 new bag (about $0.50) and a new belt (2 for $3.50), and I had a good-working recycled vacuum cleaner that had the features I wanted (removable wand for cleaning the crevasses in the sofa) at a can't-beat-it price. I hope your experience is as good as mine was.

[The empressof all]

13. Do you have carpet or floors

I have pergo and tile so I use a dry Method mop to pile dirt up then I suck it up with a shop vac. My shop vac is my friend. It unclogs sinks, sucks up water when I mop the kitchen and bathrooms and blows the leaves and pine needles away from my front door.

I keep a small cheap dirt devil canister for the fabric sofa and chairs.

I'll never have carpet again and I will never spend more than 79 bucks on a vacuum ever again. I have gone through them all, Hoovers, electroluxs, and roombas.....None of them worth the money for carpet.

[Chemisse]

14. I only use the vacuum for carpet.

It's just easier to sweep in the kitchen and bathrooms.

I wouldn't mind having no carpets at all. With two cats and a giant dog, the carpets just get disgusting so quickly.

[IcyPeas]

15. I realize this thread it very old, but...

I get consumer reports online and coincidentally I was looking at vacuums last week. Presently I have a really good bagless upright Kenmore. However, the damn cannister thing is a pain in the a** to clean so I've decided to go back to a bagged cannister type.

consumer reports rated these the top 4 cannister type:

Bagged:

Kenmore Intuition - $500 -- score 72
kenmore progressive - $400 -- score 72
Miele -- $900 -- score 71 .................................. really $900
Electrolux Oxygen -- $430 -- score 70..................... note - someone upthread said they didn't like this one

Bagless cannister:

LG Compressor $400, score 69
Hoover Compressor $400 score 65
Rainbow e-series $1,350, score 53............................ really $1,350 and not a good score
Hoover elite, $200, score 51

I realize by this time you have probably bought one, but just in case you haven't I hope this info can be helpful.