[Rochelle]

Can anyone recommend a good vacuum cleaner, I have a dog and lots of stairs in my house so am looking for a good vacuum cleaner, preferably bagless. I have a budget of £150 and am not sure on whether to get a cylinder or upright vacuum

[gbcasual]

Cylinder every time for my mind.

I bought a Philips Marathon FC9208 over a year ago and have been really happy with it. The only reason Which did not rate it as a Best Buy is they have no reliability data on any Philips vacuums, I think Philips are quite new to this market, but mine is used all the time with no problems.

A quick search and I see it's available for £118 inc del from an eBay seller at present. (I have no links to them at all!)

Philips FC9208/01 Bagless Marathon Vacuum Cleaner on eBay (end time 24-Oct-09 11:45:30 BST)

You may find cheaper elsewhere of course.

Thanks

Jon

[mrtbag]

Numatic 'Henry' For pets fur everytime.

Numatic International Ltd. - Henry HVR200A

Offer for purchasing online at Comet (£88).

Buy HENRY NUMATIC | Bagged cylinder cleaner - Specification | Comet

[gbcasual]

Originally Posted by mrtbag

Numatic 'Henry' For pets fur everytime.

Numatic International Ltd. - Henry HVR200A

Offer for purchasing online at Comet (£88).

Buy HENRY NUMATIC | Bagged cylinder cleaner - Specification | Comet

I had various Henry's for many happy years but the Philips mentioned above beats it in every way I can think of!

It may be worth pointing out that if you are used to an upright, then changing to a cylinder vacuum may take some getting used to due to very different styles of use.

Uprights are much better for those with bad backs but with lots of stairs in the house, a cylinder probably makes more sense.

[FZR400RRSP]

I would recommend shopping around for a reconditioned Dyson 'animal' for your £150 (or a lot less).
I avoided Dyson for years, not wanting to get caught up in the 'hype'.
It isn't hype, they really are the best things out.
I've since bought 3 reconditioned Dysons for myself and family.
My mother's house was always plagued with dog hair prior to the Dyson.
All have been reliable, no problems at all.

Why on earth anyone, in this day and age, still struggles with labour-intensive cylinder vacuums is beyond me.
Makes me wonder if they still go down to the river and bash their clothes against rocks too.

[Naaktgeboren]

How on earth can using a cylinder vacuum be considered labour intensive That has really stumped me.

Over the last 5 years I have spend too much money on vacuum cleaners, including the mentioned Dyson Animal plus many others. I have spent between £90/500 on each occasion and the only vacuum that has been any good is the Henry, the Dysons quite frankly are overpriced ****, they work well for 6-8 months then loose any suction. I have spoken to many who agree with the Dyson comment, unfortunately though there are many who have spent hundreds on them who simply will not utter a bad word against them.

You can get the Henry now for £89 and it's all you will ever need, the bags are cheap but most importantly they are bullet proof and will last for years and years.

[mrtbag]

Originally Posted by Naaktgeboren

You can get the Henry now for £89 and it's all you will ever need, the bags are cheap but most importantly they are bullet proof and will last for years and years.

Our Henry has had about 10 accidental trips down the stairs. Not one single bit has fallen off/broken.

They may not look pretty, but the fact is they were designed as industrial hoovers.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by Naaktgeboren

How on earth can using a cylinder vacuum be considered labour intensive That has really stumped me.

It isn't 'fashion' that means uprights out-sell cylinders, is it.
It's the fact that cylinders are much easier to use.
No bending/stooping, much less force required.
I've heard reports of all these dissatisfied Dyson owners, I've never met one.
A mate did have the motor go on his, Dyson fixed it for a set call-out fee of £60.00.
My DC07 is a good 5 years old and still going strong.
It's used for garage/car use, since we bought a 'Dyson ball' for the house.
I've had to replace a £12 hose in 5 years, and the machine itself only cost me £70 off ebay as reconditioned stock.

[Dony]

Everytime this question comes up I always feel the need to pipe in with the less fashionable Nilfisk.

My grandmother bought one each for myself and brother and sisters as wedding presents. I've been married 12 yrs and never spent a penny on it (apart from a pack bags every couple of yrs). My eldest sister is married 20 yrs and the same story for her.

Why the fascination with Nilfisk in my family?? Maybe something to do with my mother's 40yr old Nilfisk which she still uses, and has only ever need a hose replacing. It still running on the original motor.

[abdus]

Originally Posted by mrtbag

Our Henry has had about 10 accidental trips down the stairs. Not one single bit has fallen off/broken.

They may not look pretty, but the fact is they were designed as industrial hoovers.

Indeed

the are build to last.

[cooper_ski]

Miele has to be my choice of vacuum cleaners. I did some research on vacuum cleaners about a year ago and I was undecided between a Dyson or a Oreck. After reading reviews and some personal research I found that the Miele was the one to go.

One thing that bothered me about Dyson's are or any other bagless hoover is the fact they leave residue in they cylinder. You dump your pickings into a bin bag and all those particles fly in your face and around your hands and clothes. Essentially you are putting those allergens and dust particles back into your home.

Miele or other bagged hoovers capture all of it. Especially a Miele hoover. I open up the compartment where the bags are and there are no dust particles-it's all in the bag.

At the end of the day, I thought the Miele was the best choice because it does what you expect a hoover to do: suck up the dust/dirt and trap it in the bag without any escaping from the blower. Plust the Oreck just looked to old fashion for me.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by cooper_ski

Essentially you are putting those allergens and dust particles back into your home.

It's a bit of a fool that empties a Dyson cylinder inside their house....

[Siamese Cat]

There's a make that you've probably never heard off which is just superb. Sebo. We heard about it in John Lewis - they said it was the best, we bought it and are delighted with it. it's a bit sad to be enthusing about a vacuum but we are simply delighted. Subsequently I came across a domestic appliance forum and that's the make that all the domestic appliance fans rave over too.
A vacuum cleaner forum? I know...

[blicky_1]

My Dyson animal has just blown up after 3 years!! has been worked hard though and has never lost suction.

Sent a service request to them on their website and they called back within 5 mins to book and engineer FOC for Friday morning

Don't forget Dyson's carry a full 5 year parts and labour guarantee

[nick_a]

I'd reccomend a Dyson too. We've had a DC04, DC07 and now a DC14. They were all worked pretty hard, and all still working fine when we upgraded!

Whether you go for a cylinder or upright is really a personal choice, but an upright will still reach the top of an average flight of stairs. Try them out in your local Currys etc.

You might just be able to find one for under £150 in the supermarkets, otherwise they start at about £160 online at the moment. There's a list of the best current deals on the Dyson forums (www.dysonforum.com)

Also, the Dysons all come with a 5 year guarantee now which is pretty valuable.

[blicky_1]

Originally Posted by blicky_1

My Dyson animal has just blown up after 3 years!! has been worked hard though and has never lost suction.

Sent a service request to them on their website and they called back within 5 mins to book and engineer FOC for Friday morning

Don't forget Dyson's carry a full 5 year parts and labour guarantee

Forgot to update, they came last friday and were here for all of 15 mins!! new motor, brush bar, filters and some seals.....no charge

Top service from Dyson!

[bones`]

Dyson gets my vote. I was sceptical till a mate bought one and gave me a demo but I was gobsmacked by the suction on offer. My then £150 DC07 is 3-4 years old and still sucks like good un

[Grimley]

I'm going to go against the grain here & recommend a Miele Cat & dog.
Which can't be wrong - They gave it a Best buy.
I used to sell these as well, could never get enough of these in stock.

[teclis]

Originally Posted by Grimleys

I'm going to go against the grain here & recommend a Miele Cat & dog.
Which can't be wrong - They gave it a Best buy.
I used to sell these as well, could never get enough of these in stock.

Couldn't agree more. Mum has got a Dyson animal cylinder and sister has got the upright version and the Miele Cat/Dog walks all over both of them. Stick the turbo brush head on it and its like a jet engine. Dysons seem to lose suction over time where as the Miele only loses suction when the bag is full.

[RobinDB]

Originally Posted by gbcasual

Cylinder every time for my mind.

, I think Philips are quite new to this market, but mine is used all the time with no problems.

Jon

No they have been making cleaners for years.
Had a cylinder cleaner from them over 20 years ago and had been in market for a long time before that.

My preference is the meile, cost a little more but very very powerful, very quite and will outlast most other brands. saves money in long run.

[RobinDB]

Originally Posted by Grimleys

I'm going to go against the grain here & recommend a Miele Cat & dog.
Which can't be wrong - They gave it a Best buy.
I used to sell these as well, could never get enough of these in stock.

Agreed great cleaners.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by RobinDB

My preference is the meile, cost a little more but very very powerful, very quite and will outlast most other brands. saves money in long run.

That's what Miele trade on, with only anecdotal evidence and assumption backing it up, as far as I can see.
You have no evidence your Miele will last any longer than any other make.
But if you're willing to pay extra for the belief it does, so be it.
Chatting to a washing machine engineer a few months back, I asked him to rate the most reliable machines.
He certainly didn't rate Miele any higher than other well-known (and cheaper) makes you've heard of.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by FZR400RRSP

I would recommend shopping around for a reconditioned Dyson

I hope that you're right as I took your advice and bought one off Ebay and bought a reconditioned DC14 Blitz for £75

[bjd]

Originally Posted by teclis

Couldn't agree more. Mum has got a Dyson animal cylinder and sister has got the upright version and the Miele Cat/Dog walks all over both of them. Stick the turbo brush head on it and its like a jet engine. Dysons seem to lose suction over time where as the Miele only loses suction when the bag is full.

Dysons do lose suction over time as you say, but the fix is relatively simple and can be carried out by anyone reasonably handy with a screw driver. It will return a Dyson to "brand new" levels of suction.

Cheers

Brian

[keithwiggins]

only one worth buying Sebo, built to last have a 5 year warranty as standard and work!