OOH!! I thought I was the only insane person to spend $4000 on a vacuum cleaner!
I have a Kirby Sentria - fabulous little toy - it even has a massage attachment lol
Probably a bit more exxy than you were interested, but I know people who have older models that are now 25+ years old and still going strong.
It shampoos and cleans upholstry, polishes floorboards, has a HEPA filter, is upright or barrel...
Aside from that though my old vac was a Hoover Silver Streak. A coupl eof hundred dollards I think, fabulous, reliable and sucks up everything. the BEST vacuum cleaner I ever had before the Kirby was hte Silver Streak (and I have had a few
We have a Dyson upright but I hate it - it's huge and heavy, doesn't have a retractable cord (that drives me nuts) and it looks like the robot out of lost in space (we actually call it B9 which was the robot's name!).
The Bear recently bought a Roomba........ OMG the best gadget EVER. Yes, you do have to clean it after each cycle BUT it does the vacuuming for you. You turn it on and it tootles around the house vacuuming, you can go out and come home to clean floors. Love, love, love it! Great entertainment for the kids too LOL
A friend of mine was told at a vaccuum cleaner shop never to get bagless too.
I have an electrolux which was about $100 form Godfreys a couple of years ago and it still works well, I would love a dyson but can't justify the money (and DH would have a fit!)
BTW I will not give you oney for a vacuum cleaner for Christmas!!! You need spoiling. (but maybe Dave can get some and for his b'day LOL)
We have a Miele and its great. It was about $700 so middle of the range and its light weight, has a long handle (for tall DH) and is really powerful. It uses bags, but I don't have a problem with that.
Haha, thanks Chris. Dave would likely be peed off if he got money for a vacuum cleaner. Probably I'll just tell him to buy me one.
Lime - Yeah, I think in the thousands is just too much for us right now. But I am glad you and tiffany are happy with your machines... They'd want to be good, LOL!
Pixie - thanks for your feedback too. I am not all that keen on the uprights, but will still check out the others I think. LOL @ the vac that does the room itself! Wow!
Amy, my mum has a Dyson upright and it is DA BOMB! I borrow it sometimes, because it does such a fantastic job. Even if I've only just vacuumed, I'm amazed at what that thing picks up . I am a bit taller than average, so I much prefer the upright, it's much easier on my back. And it kind of just propels itself forward, so you don't have to use too much elbow grease LOL. It is VERY easy to clean too. I am not someone who is great with looking after these things, but the Dyson is seriously a cinch .
Good luck with choosing and deciding! It's hard, but I know for me, after using the Dyson that's all I want! Just need to come up with the cash
I have a Wertheim (from Godfrey's) which I love, love, love!
It was expensive (about $1,200 from memory). But honestly, I really think it was worth it. It does have bags which i actually prefer. I had a bagless one before and it was such a pain to clean it and the filter out after every use. It was kinda gross. Having said that, I bought the little clear attachment that goes onto the pole that you often see in their store demos. So most of the dirt ends up in their rather than goin into the bag. So the bags last forever. This thing is easy to take off and empty into the bin.
It has a powerhead which vibrates the carpet and shakes out the dirt. This is really effective.
With repairs, they often have parts in the store, so if you need service, it's not a biggie. I had the pole replaced (it had seized and couldn't be extended for some unknown reason) on the spot.
It has a really strong body (the material that they make bumper bars out of apparently), which was important to me with little kids that might jump on it.
Oh, and this might sound ridiculous, but it has a really really long power lead. Sounds not worth mentioning, but it is so great that I can basically do the whole house without having to unplug and replug the thing. especially with childproof plates on all powerpoints. if i also want to do the ensuite, i do have to use a different powerpoint, but still much better than 3 or 4 powerpoints I had to use with my old ($200) vaccuum.
Dysons do seem to have a good rep, too.
And Miele are great Vaccuums.
Oh, by the way, I was also told by various vac sales people that bagless is not THAT great. yes, you might save on bags, but you have to replace the expensive filters more often.
Basically, I think you get what you pay for. You won't get a great vac for $100. ut you mgiht get by with that for a while. Until you get a better one and see all the dirt your old one left behind.... gross.
or, you could rip out the carpet and replace with floorboards. The you can get away with a cheaper vac...
Of course you don't need to go to quite the length that i went to. i reckon yu can get a decent machine from about $500.
Sasa
Last edited by sunshine_sieben; October 29th, 2009 at 09:05 AM.
I thought of this thread yesterday when a heap of catalogues arrived containing vacuum cleaners. They are all so ugly! Like Pixie said... like robots or something. Ugh. I know my Vax isn't a piece of art but it's purely functional... not so appearance driven. Definitely going to look into ducted vacuuming if this is the future of vacuum cleaners. Can't they do a retro one? I live in an older style home... a robot would look so out of place. Oh but the Mieles weren't too bad... I wish KitchenAid made vacuums!!! LOL
MrsMac - nope, its a brown one with a grey hose and head. It works ok, just keeps coming apart. And it only has one wheel.
Janie - I think I will be in the same position, actually. I will go and check some out, but if we go a dyson I'll need to find a very good special.
Sasa - would love to get rid of this carpet, but we're renting and our landlords won't be changing it in a hurry. One day we are going to have our own place... one day.
Bathsheba - ROFL. I'm not too fussy about what it looks like - I can pack it away. In fact, the less I see of it the better, LOL! (Vacuuming is supposed to be DH's job. I am not a big fan. Although I might come to like it more if I get a good one )
Thanks again, all. We're going to the shops this afternoon so I might pop into Godfreys...
lol
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