After struggling with a bagless vacuum for 6 minths I finally grew tired of having to clean the filter twice per vacuuming. I went out and bought a good old bag vacuum just like my Mom used to have.
Vacuums aren't built like they used to be. My mom's Hoover used to last forever practically. It was simple, had no headlight or attachments, but you couldn't break the thing. You are lucky if you get a year or two out of todays vacuums. Even the famous Oreck "commercial" vacuum with the metal handle just doesn't last like they used to in the old days (example the 1960s).