I have a stick vacuum by Raffaello that I use at the beach house. No animals but teenage girls with long hair and plenty of sand. It takes a bag, has a long cord and works very well.

I didn't buy it online, but at a local sew and vac shop.

Here is a link that might be useful: raffaello

I'll definitely check it out... and thanks for the link!

We also have a Kenmore canister with PowerMate and PowerMate Jr (model 27614) and have been very satisfied with how it does for us. We have mostly wood floors and two dogs that do shed, but not too much. We got the Kenmore about a year ago to replace a very aging Hoover canister, so the difference has been especially dramatic for us. You might want to check to insure that the suction control ring is closed for maximum suction.

we have a panasonic canister that has attachments for both hard floors and carpets (with the agitator thing). it does a great job with my akita's near-constant shedding of massive chunks of fur as long as i change the bags quite often.

if i don't change the bags, i lose suction pretty quickly.

I really prefer a wide rectangular mop, used with perhaps a spritz of dust attractant like Mr. Misty, for wood floors. I find it goes much faster than the vacuum. I push the dust over to my entry mat, then vacuum it up there.

I'm not on the beach, but I have wood floors, a cat, a golden retriever and a seven year old (oh and I live in a very wooded area, trees are messy).

I have the SEBO Felix upright sweeper. It's really terrific at picking up not just the big stuff, but the fine grit. We're always barefoot in the house and you feel the grit immediately. The Sebo gets it all up and has a HEPA filter to boot. It does a stupendous job on Anakin's (the golden) "tumbleweeds."

The best thing I've found for the really fine stuff is the swiffer. I often do one or the other, and then once a week I follow the vaccum with the swiffer. That thing is amazing, it STILL picks up stuff. It's great.

Ivette

Another vote for the Panasonic canister. I'd bought a Eureka upright per a Consumer Reports recommendation. I have dogs and cats, mostly tile and hardwood with some very thick area rugs. The upright was fine on the carpet, but was a pain to get under any furniture and was not so terrific on bare floors. And do not even ask what fun it was to drag that sucker up the stairs while vacuuming them. So I bought the Panasonic. It has a Hepa filter, works on everything very well and goes under furniture with ease. You do have to change bags, No biggie for me. And it's reasonable, much less than a Miele.

Claudia,
Your Kenmore should do very well on floors, as well as carpeting. The Kenmore canisters clean very well. What you need to do is disconnect the power nozzle and attach the floor brush when you clean the floors. The vacuum cleaner will then pick up all the hair, sand and dirt on the floor. There is no need to purchase another vacuum cleaner unless you just have the desire to do so.

Your Kenmore was made by Panasonic, so there would be no need to purchase a Panasonic. The two brands have almost identical parts. If you read the posts from two Panasonic canister owners, you will see that theirs also cleans floors well.

What you might be doing is vacuuming the floors with the power nozzle. The best, and easiest way, is to just use the floor brush attachment, on the vacuum cleaner, when cleaning the floor.

Change the bag when it is no more than 3/4 full and replace the filter at appropriate time.

We needed a vacuum that would be used mainly for wood floors and a few area rugs. We bought the Miele Ariel and found it to be the best vacuum cleaner we have ever had. It is sturdy, compact, easy to handle and does a super job cleaning. It also has a nozzle that swivels easily under chairs and around cabinets. We bought a separate attachments for a few area rugs. We did not need to spend extra for a beater brush. I'd look into Miele - there is a wide price range.

I also use the Bona floor system for weekly cleaning. It has of a microfiber mop pad which can be washed and also used for quick swipes. I prefer the Bona over costly Swifter mops. The cleaning solution is formulated for wood floors.

Check the cleaning forum on Garden web for more discussion of vacuum cleaners and the Bona mops.

Look in you phone book and see if you have a local Areus/Electrolux branch near you. See if they have an old style, metal floor brush lying around. They came with the model XXX and 60. The design is far better that the Sears floor brush. I used that floor brush on my Sears years ago and it really made a differance in the air flow. These brushes have a lower profile than the combo flip over brush that they replaced the old style with. The flip over bare floor brush is the same design and will work just as well. There is a locking collar on the later style and you may have a problem removing the later syle from the wand if it goes over the Sears button lock. You could also just buy an extra set of Lux wands if all you can get is the later style. It's worth a shot.