I’m in the market for a new one, what do people reccomend? We’ve currently got a Vax upright we’ve had for a few years. On the upside, it had a 6 year guarantee, on the downside it needed it. It’s died 3 times in different ways and is falling apart again. There is still a year or so guarantee on it, but I’ve had enough of it and want a new one. Unless someone convinces me their quality has improved I wouldn’t buy another. We had a Dyson before which was ok, but also a bit flimsy and broke a bit prematurely.

It will have a fairly hard life. We have a mix of stone, tiled and carpeted floors so something that can deal with a mix of surfaces well would be good. We live out in the sticks on a mini smallholding and are in and out all day long in all weathers. A fair bit of mud gets dragged in by us, our cats and dog, the house gets in a state quite quickly so needs hoovering often. As the retired house husband with a working wife, the joy of doing it falls to me.

So ideas please. Did the EU mandated power decrease of a few years back affect the usable power? Are cordless ones any good? Are there any which aren’t made of really brittle plastic which will fall to pieces everytime you touch a skirting board?

Open to all sensible suggestions.

Miele. Expensive but good value. I got a new one post the EU power thingy and its great. They do not break bits and even if they do they are repairable

Baby Shark doo-doo doo-doo do-do etc.

We bought a Shark to replace the Dyson and it’s better….and it has headlights which are more useful than you’d imagine.

It also came with a steam cleaner which is now known as the Baby Shark.

+1 for shark (we got the Duo).

The other thing I really like about the Meile is that you can get an accessory brush that deals with our very uneven floors

Meile here too – cylinder type rather than upright. Pre-EU regs change but it’s so much more robust than previous 2 Dysons. It’s also a bagged style which I find loads better than the foam and cardboard type filters the bagless Dyson had. They seemed to last about 2 uses before they were clogged and suction was reduced massively.

Miele is a good call. We have one of their washing machines, it’s 10 years old and bomb proof, probably good for another 10. TBH I didn’t know they made vacuums. Never heard of Shark? I’ll take a look.

Miele. Expensive but good value. I got a new one post the EU power thingy and its great. They do not break bits and even if they do they are repairable

+1. Had ours a good while now and it laughs off being kicked down the stairs, unbelievably robust and actually works.

Miele

they just last & last, ours over 10 years old a house renovation & 4 kids, had to replace one switch after it got leaked on by a burst pipe, my parents on their 3rd dyson in that time, my dad still insists that they are good value

they have an outlet store thats worth checking out

Miele. Expensive but good value.

My parents have one and it’s almost asthmatic unless the bag is brand new, then it works fine for about 5 minutes until the bag has some dirt in it. Best advert for a bagless design I’ve ever seen. Based on that I wouldn’t touch Miele with a barge pole…

Good old fashioned Henry/Hetty here. Being going 10 years, never had a bag in it and still going strong. Had to bypass the hi-lo power switch after a couple of years but it’s better without it. And one replacement aftermarket hose off amazon for about £6.
Three children, two dogs, one cat and a lot of dirt that comes in to the house.

We also have a Dyson upright which is used a bit more on the carpet but the Hetty is the everyday go to choice.

Ooh 4:1 to Miele! Any of the fans experienced the bag issue footflaps mentions?

Miele

“Suck cut”?  “They really suck!”

My parents have one and it’s almost asthmatic unless the bag is brand new, then it works fine for about 5 minutes until the bag has some dirt in it. Best advert for a bagless design I’ve ever seen. Based on that I wouldn’t touch Miele with a barge pole…

It must be gubbed.

Had a Miele S2111 for over 5 years, it honsetly still sucks as well as it did the first day I used it, had a Die-son before this, no comparison at all.

I have a Sebo I bought off eBay for £15 – it’s a £350 hoover. Traditional design so works brilliantly and completely rebuildable (it’s a commercial machine really). Made in Germany and all spares easily available.
I bought another one for £12 for spare and parts (and it can with a new cable and loads of accessories) and I can’t see me needing to buy another vacuum cleaner in my lifetime.

Miele – like a Dyson but with German engineering quality

Don’t get a Philips fake dyson – they really do suck, but not in the vacuum sense. They are really good at just going ooooooooooooooooo and leaving all the dirt exactly where it was.

I use cheap non meile bags and there is zero issue with them IME.

Henry – simple, last a lifetime, made in the UK

It must be gubbed.

Had a Miele S2111 for over 5 years, it honsetly still sucks as well as it did the first day I used it, had a Die-son before this, no comparison at all.

+1, sounds like it has a problem

Worth noting if you’ve got a dust or mold allergy that stock Henrys don’t have a HEPA filter, so they’re potentially picking up allergens from the floor and just spooging them up in the air.

I’ve recently got a Shark handheld and the suction power is ludicrous. It also has motorised heads which are great for really ground-in dust.

We’ve killed two vacs with building dust and only the third, a Henry, has survived. My local appliance repair shop is choked with a forest of sorry-looking Dysons, waiting for spare parts – they are a piece of garbage but a masterpiece of marketing gimmickry because Dyson allows you to see the dust you’ve collected, which makes you think it’s efficient.

My Henry’s only fault is that his hose can split after years of tugging (ooer matron) but it’s an easy job to take the ends apart, cut out the split bit and reattach the hose.

On HEPA filters, for anybody living near a road they are irrelevant when you se the black filth from exhaust fumes and brake dust that enters your house long-term through gaps around windows and the combustion air vent for the fire.

Ooh 4:1 to Miele! Any of the fans experienced the bag issue footflaps mentions?

Never – we’ve had a Miele for years. It replaced a Dyson after I got fed up with repairing it.

Sebo for upright. You see loads of them in hotels because they work. Henry for a cylinder.

Or just get a Miele bagless like we did.

Another vote for Sebo, had one for getting on 8 years now and it’s never missed a beat.

Another Miele fan here. It has a couple of filters that need replacing occasionally, I wonder if that could be Footflap’s parent’s issue?

Henry here, no issues, works well has a smiley face on it

Thread title reminds me of Captain Beefheart and Aldous Huxley.
As for vacuum cleaners – Sebo if mains power, Vaz if cordless but get the accessories kit; Sebo carpet cleaning powder is great.

If you have carpet you need a beating brush – Sebo upright does this and adjusts itself for hard floors – fully rebuildable all spares available – bagged with proper filters so what it dicky’s up stays on board until you chuck the bag, rather than being blown out the air exhaust. Have 3 second hand Sebo in family upright and ground hugger.

Sebo owner here. A lot better than previous van and dysons. Solid construction and simple design. Hopefully don’t have to ever replace it but will replace with another Sebo if needed.

Vaz if cordless but get the accessories

I hear Vaz is superb at hoovering up white powder

I got rid of mine – it was just gathering dust.

Sebo BS360. It’s a beast.

I hear Vaz is superb at hoovering up white powder

🤣 lolz. Loads to think about here. Not a fan of the pull along type so leaning towards an upright. I love Miele quality based on their other products so they are a contender. Never heard of Sebo but a bit of research seems to show they are quality. Interested in the Shark too.

I’ll report back with my decision!

Miele, though we have a shark to quickly do out tile floors

ootflaps

Member
Miele. Expensive but good value.

My parents have one and it’s almost asthmatic unless the bag is brand new, then it works fine for about 5 minutes until the bag has some dirt in it. Best advert for a bagless design I’ve ever seen. Based on that I wouldn’t touch Miele with a barge pole…

This is user incompetence at it’s best.. clean the bag and/or the filter, and try again. If the house is that dirty it’s filled a bag in one go, your parent need to clean more.

Dyson handheld here. Total game-changer for vacuuming. Way better than a corded for usability and the performance is every bit as good as a corded upright. Really handy for just picking up dirt as you see it. Wheel the bike, leave a mud trail, hoover it up, rather than leave it because you can’t be arsed to get the big hoover out then walk the mud round the house. Not great for DIY duties though, you need a Henry for that (but as mentioned they do throw a lot of fine dust back into the air)

it laughs off being kicked down the stairs

If I chucked/dropped our Miele down the stairs there’d be reports on the news about seismographs and fracking.

The Shark is clever and versatile, but I can’t say it sucks very hard. I’m always a bit underwhelmed with every bagless vacuum. Still, my other half seems to like it.

Dyson cordless: great for quick clean ups, powered head is good but needs emptying frequently and feels a little flimsy.

Miele 5000: good but went bang last year. Traced down to failed cable recoil drum.

Sebo: friend has a few and swears by them.

Henry: solid and reliable although a little agricultural and no powered head. Best option for heavy duty cleaning i.e. rubble, etc.

Dyson upright: I inherited one from my mum, no idea what model but it works well enough in our holiday place (so not used year round).