Vacuum Cleaner - Recommendations Please

nheather

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A few weeks ago I asked about cordless stick vacuum cleaners like the Dyson V8. I didn’t buy one, I almost did, but what stopped me was the operating time. I read it was 40 minutes and I was worried that was too short but then I read more and found that this is only on lower power settings and using that non-motorised head and that in the mode I would expect to use it is more like 7 minutes which simply isn’t good enough.

So now looking corded cleaner to replace my Henry.

We have too cats and I want something reasonable light and compact but great suction and cleaner power.

Any recommendations - up to £400. Don’t want another Henry, okay for the price but all in all I don’t rate it that much.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
We used to have an older Dyson, replaced that a few years ago with a Vax which I thought was pretty good. But that died and we recently got a Shark Lift-Away. It blows all the others away, really well thought out design, well made. The lift-away design is perfect for doing stairs. A friend at work also has one and we are both very impressed and don't see us going back to Dyson any time soon.
 
I second the Shark Lift away - purchased the pet head one yesterday and impressed so far and wouldn't go back to a Dyson now. Also Amazon do them on interest free payments so even better.
 
Miele Cat & Dog.
Had ours for just over 10 years and although it's bruised and battered, still works perfectly (although thankfully we don't have a cat or a dog).

Bought the entry level Shark cordless at the weekend and it's head and shoulders above the Dyson Animal it replaced (after only 2.5 years).
 
For those recommending the Miele Cat and Dog do you mean the C2 or the C3. Struggling to see much difference (but they have similar prices so makes sense) and even the much cheaper C1 seems to have the same motor and technology. Is it basically just different sizes.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
I would never get a bagless ever again, it plays havoc with my hay fever when emptying but the one I have does come in handy occasionally. I have a Miele S4281 and its brilliant.
 
C1, 2 & 3 comparison:


One thing to be aware of is the turbo brush if you have long-haired females in the house. Unless the design has changed (mine is around 20 years old) you'll be forever taking the head apart & trying to cut through the matted rope of hair wrapped tightly around the roller.
 
Would also recommend the Miele. You don't say what floor type you have. Anyway, I would go for the less expensive of the three models. Then, if you feel you need extra attachments in future you can always buy them.
 
We'd had a Dyson Ball Animal vacuum cleaner for about 12 years, and loved it. The ball design makes it super easy to manoeuvre around. About 4 weeks ago, just at the beginning of the major lockdown, we managed to break part of the structure.

We've replaced it with this from John Lewis:

John Lewis Dyson UP24 Ball Animal 2

It's a bit smaller than the previous one, but works just as well (better, in fact).

But what really impressed was JL's service. It was early days into the lockdown, and we were dead worried it would severely impact deliveries. We ordered it on a Saturday, and it was delivered the next day, Sunday, free of charge.

BTW, we don't have any pets, so I'm afraid I can't answer how well it actually works with hairs. We bought it because it suited us anyway.
 
We used to have an older Dyson, replaced that a few years ago with a Vax which I thought was pretty good. But that died and we recently got a Shark Lift-Away. It blows all the others away, really well thought out design, well made. The lift-away design is perfect for doing stairs. A friend at work also has one and we are both very impressed and don't see us going back to Dyson any time soon.

I second the Shark Lift away - purchased the pet head one yesterday and impressed so far and wouldn't go back to a Dyson now. Also Amazon do them on interest free payments so even better.

Any links to the Shark Ones ?
Wife wants a new Handheld to replace an old Dyson and I don't want a new Dyson, personally think they are overrated for the money and never found it that great picking up pet hair.
 
For those recommending the Miele Cat and Dog do you mean the C2 or the C3. Struggling to see much difference (but they have similar prices so makes sense) and even the much cheaper C1 seems to have the same motor and technology. Is it basically just different sizes.

Cheers,

Nigel

Ours is 9yr old now and was the S6000 series. No idea what that equates to in the current range.
 
Don’t you just hate it when you have done about 15 mins of research looking at a company’s products, you have a couple of questions so you ring the company and find out that you are more informed than they are.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Please come back ☹
HomeCare.jpg
 
We had a Henry, I thought it was good, then due to allergies we opted for a Shark cordless with a 'free' pet upgrade and 2 x batteries.

I gave the carpets a thorough hoovering with the Henry before i used the Shark, thinking that the Shark wouldnt pick much up - i then used the Shark and it stopped working after about 5 minutes; not because it was faulty, but because the innards of the thing were packed solid with dog hair (and yes, we do have a dog :))

It was a night and day difference - the Shark is an amazing thing, we've had Dysons in the past and they have never been that great. Shark batteries last around 40 minutes for normal hoovering and that does the whole house
 
I've got a Miele C2 and a Dyson V8 stick.

If I'm just cleaning a couple of room or a spot clean the Dyson is great. I mainly have hard floors so do quite a bit of spot cleaning.

The C2 is fantastic though and is far better in carpeted areas.

If you're looking for a Dyson have a look at the outlet on ebay. I got mine near half price. I do really like it but I don't think I'd pay full price for one.
 
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One hoover that works for one person / family isn’t necessarily going to work for the next.

As long as you buy a decent one (Dyson/shark/Gtech) then they are all much of a muchness.

Why don’t you try one with a money back guarantee or failing that go for a Dyson (you can’t really go wrong with a Dyson)
 
I bought a Miele S5211 (2200W I think?) back in 2009 when energy efficiency wasn't much of a thing - it's been battered about a bit, gone through three house moves (and some construction work though I did NOT use it for that kind of dust), hasn't missed a beat and I can't really see it dying that soon. I've had literally no issues, no filter kits or parts to replace like I hear from some Dyson owners. I don't know what the newer ones are like, but I'd assume they haven't gotten worse! I still have a preference for bagged vacuum cleaners, not as strong as it used to be though.

If I had to replace it, I'd also seriously consider a Shark, I haven't really heard any bad things about them, and I really like some of their features.
 
I can tell you as a tradesman working in many households that it’s a 90% chance when I’m handed a dyson cordless, the battery will conk out after 3 mins even if it’s been on charge for a week.
Which is better than the 99.8% chance that any vacuum I’m handed needs emptying.
 
We have a miele c2 I think and a Dyson v6 absolute cordless, the miele is head and shoulders above the Dyson, but the Dyson is handy for a quick hoover every day, and the miele comes out once a week for a proper hoover up.
 
A few weeks ago I asked about cordless stick vacuum cleaners like the Dyson V8. I didn’t buy one, I almost did, but what stopped me was the operating time. I read it was 40 minutes and I was worried that was too short but then I read more and found that this is only on lower power settings and using that non-motorised head and that in the mode I would expect to use it is more like 7 minutes which simply isn’t good enough.

So now looking corded cleaner to replace my Henry.

We have too cats and I want something reasonable light and compact but great suction and cleaner power.

Any recommendations - up to £400. Don’t want another Henry, okay for the price but all in all I don’t rate it that much.

Cheers,

Nigel
Miele bagged hoover would be my recommendation. C3 cat and dog or up, the CX variants can have issues with the bag less mechanism not staying shut over time for the Miele ones. We have one and also a dyson v6 animal for day to day and the Miele for bigger deeper cleans as the suction is significantly better and we have cat currently shedding a LOT of hair.
 

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