We've managed quite nicely with a Dyson DC07 for about ten years, thanks to spares obtainable from our local civic amenity, but perhaps the post-Christmas sales are the time to replace it with something less breaky.
Recommendations?
Do cylinder cleaners beat as they sweep as they clean as well as uprights do?
Mmmm - don't get overly good Which? reviews. Their best buys almost exclusively Miele and Bosch. For the OP - Miele S7210 (76%) or Dyson DC25 Multi Floor (70%).
I can't understand this fetish for a vacuum that breaks down so often. Dyson really has managed what many would die for - getting a near religious following for something so badly designed/made.
I have a Panasonic upright bought as a Which Best Buy. About 20 years ago. All it has had replaced is bags, belts and brushes. And it wasn't particularly expensive new.
The advantage of Which? reports is that they are more likely to be objective. People nearly *always* think well of the things they have bought, because, well, who wants to think of themselves as that person who makes bad decisions?
On the other hand, however well Which? do their testing, they can't replicate actual experience, including ten years of dragging something up and down stairs, trying to fix it when it goes wrong and that sort of thing.
We have a Sebo Felix which is constructed so it can be either . The std head has a brush like an ordinary upright. A couple of the tools for attaching to the hose have a powered brush as well. They are powered by the airflow but the machine is powerful enough to drive them properly . Should you have a large area of hard flooring the std head with brush can be replaced with a polisher attachment but buying that as well initially would take the cost above your budget. In upright mode it is fairly easy to use and the handle and bag/motor assembly hinge down easily as far as the floor will allow ,useful to push under some furniture like a sofa bed we have. Performance wise it has a strong suction which lasts till the bag is fairly full. A criticism of ours was that although it came with a pack of accessory the tools like crevice nozzles etc the actual flexible hose that is fitted is a bit short to use them easily. Left in upright mode it pulls the machine over and when used as a cylinder it's still too short to reach far. So you do really need an accessory extension hose if you have curtains or lot of furniture to clean.
If you don't have a need for an upright or the use is going to be a bit more brutal than a household environment then the Henry range is still worth a look with a powered brush. I used one, or rather mine was used by many in an industrial setting for about 15 years*. and what killed it was the case rusted through because of some of the substances left in it. They are plastic now.
main unit . The powered brush got wrecked long before.
We bought a Sebo as the result of personal recommendation from a hotelier. It is now a few years old and according to SWMBO is an excellent piece of kit, something I would support having used it several times to clear up after DIY jobs until I was persuaded to get an Earlex for the mucky jobs.
I had a DC01 and one of the happiest days of my life was when I hoyed the P.o.S. into a skip at the local tip. It spent more time with a garden cane up its badly designed tube being unblocked than it did sucking anything up.
Getting spares from Dyson Customer Service was a forlorn hope too.
It was replaced with a Henry with Airobrush. The Airobrush friction fits on the tubes and has a tendency to work loose but, that aside, it's infinitely better than the Dyson.
I bought a Tesco Value vacuum because she complained the big vacuum was too heavy.
She is delighted. It is indeed light and sucks.
It uses non-re-usable bags. Tesco don't seem to stock replacement bags. I am saving the second one that came with it for a rainy day. I haven't yet dared suggest that she will have to get sewing to make her own bag.
It was under 1/10th of the price mentioned. It is still in their catalogue.
I find that I cannot cope with the noise that some vacuum cleaners make. Miele cylinder and Sebo upright are better than many - we have Miele (one in house and old one in garage), mother has Sebo.
So not without breakages either. One of the vacs I've had was a Panasonic, light weight cheap and never cleaned as well as our current
10+ year old DC04. All the Dyson has had in that time is one in home service. Other than emptying, washing the filter (occasionally) and removing daughters long hair from the brush it requires no attention. No bags, belts, brushes etc.
Also had an Electrolux again didn't clean as well as the DC04. We don't have that any longer I don't think it died it just didn't work as well so didn't get used.
I guess the bagless vacs from Hoover etc are just as good as a Dyson but do they have the fixed price in home service option?
Sebo have a good shout from many quarters and I was planning on getting one when my kirby packs in but thats still going and I also have a 20 year old vax thats still going strong. the kirby is 20 years old and still working well but replacement parts costs will be the killer, it has been excellent for lifting dog hairs which I believe the sebo is as well hence the reason I will seriously consider that when necessary although the dog is likely to be in heaven then.
On the third hand (Eh?), Which? do their test based on a range of performance measures which they believe will matter to the average user.
If you're not their average user, they may recommend a vacuum cleaner (or whatever) because it's jolly good at something that you don't give a tos// fig about - and mark down a model which happens to be poor on that test but is perfect for what you need.
Performance on polished floors? Good at getting cat hair off the settee?
Each one could be vital or irrelevant depending on your needs.
I don't see why they can't see how easily it comes apart, investigate the availability of spares, and do some sort of assessment of how well it's built, though.
It's hard to do that in some kind of scored way that compares it to other products, of course, but a summary along the lines of "it's impossible to get parts for this" and "this is made from cheese" etc. could be helpful.
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