Huh?

I had a cat (short fluffy furred), a dog (pitbull/chow mix), 2 kids, a sandbox, wood floors, berber carpet, Oriental rugs, and a flokati and found a plain old Kenmore canister worked great. It had a certain propensity to short out the beater bar thingy so I retired it in favor of the Miele.

I liked the Kenmore better, when it worked.

I"ve always been biased toward Miele. This is their S7 upright. All of these models have the same motor and filtration system. The differences (besides color) is in the accessories and controls. They have a 7-yr warranty.

Sebo makes good equipment. The Felix is a lighter-weight unit. It looks like it costs less than the Meile. It has a 5yr warranty.

My Kenmore was great for six months about 25 years ago. Then it gave up the battle. I had Keeshonds and a Chow in those days, plus cats. One article said that Miele uprights are made in a Panasonic factory in Spain. Is this true? The Miele is only $50 more than the Sebo, in these particular models, that is, so the price difference isn't much of a consideration. Being able to vacuum stairs, standing up to long, tenacious canine hair, and having a closed system are my major concerns. I'd love all the $1,000+ bells and whistles, but they don't matter that much to me in the overall scheme of things.

That well-known magazine that tests things indicates that in their labs, under their conditions, that the Miele fared a little better on carpet than the Sebo. In my own experience, anything will get up pet hair from hardwood floors, but carpet can be a challenge, especially certain types.

Miele has a bag. I do not know if Sebo does. Bagging up all that hair will contain it and the dander, when emptying the vac. Miele bags are expen$ive, my only complaint so far with ours, but seems like nothing passes through them. The exhaust filters are pristine.

... and if allergies are not a major issue in your home, the Sebo is less expensive, as are the bags, and it weighs less. Six pounds lighter. Try carrying around a 5-lb sack of flour and you'll see what I mean. I don't have a Miele upright (only two canisters), so am glad to learn about the Sebo. I may get one when the current WindTunnelUpright is retired.

I will add that the only complaint I've seen about the Miele upright is that it is 'heavy'. But since it is an upright, you don't carry it around.

True - unless you have a 2 story home and can only afford one Miele.

I have 2 Kenmore Progressive canisters that have worked well for me for over 10 years.

Back when I had four cats (two longhairs) I have to agree the 1970's Kenmore cannister with beater brush really got the fur out of our super-thick Chinese rugs. But I also found the beater brush motor tended to burn out after a couple of years. After the third replacement (over $125 each time) I realized this vacuum cleaner was costing us more money than it was worth (original price less than $100).

I went through some other brands but wasn't happy with any of them. Hated the Hoover Windtunnel so much I was finally compelled to get rid of it even though it was still in perfect working condition. Stupid thing jammed constantly and was a bear to clean out a jam.

I then got a Sebo, the (older model) X-1 (not cheap in those days at $500). After about 8 yrs it developed a problem with the automatic height adjustment. This was a major pain, since we have a combination HW floors and many, many handmade area rugs of various thicknesses. We got it fixed (close to $140) but two years later it failed again.

Not many vacuum repair shops around here. I took it in and paid $180 for it to be fixed again.

A year later....yup, the height adjustment mechanism has broken AGAIN.

What's irritating is that we hate vacuuming. We no longer have pets. We're being industrious if we vacuum once a month. So the fact the Sebo has needed two repairs for the same problem despite getting hardly any use, is reaaaallllly annoying.

Enough so that I won't be buying a Sebo again.

Thank you, all. I have the Sebo here for a trial. There is much that I like about it, so far. Maneuverability, weight, the locking bag that doesn't allow for spillage during bag changes. If it works on my stairs, I'm keeping it. If not, back it goes for a full refund. Jkom--I've never had a vacuum last 8 years, other than a backpack one that only works on hard floors.

I've never had a vacuum last 8 years, other than a backpack one that only works on hard floors. Wow. I'm using a Singer upright that I bought on closeout (for $85) at Wal-Mart ... in 1987.

KD: I'd like to hear more about this Sebo model after you've had a chance to use it a bit more.

Here's the update.
I am keeping the Sebo. It does a good job on the deep pile and Oriental rugs. I had some difficulty with the carpeted stairs. I was going to return it, but the vendor asked me to call Sebo's service line and ask for advice. The people at Sebo said they would send me a fan attachment, free, and if that didn't work on the stairs, they would take the entire vacuum and kit back, and issue a full refund. Well, the fan attachment works very well, even on the Great Pyrenees fur. I'm relieved. The vacuum does have one or two idiosyncrasies, e.g. when the parquet floor attachment is on the vacuum, the vacuum will not stand up by itself. The attachment works at an angle that precludes an upright position, but it works very well. A special stand is available for the vacuum, but it's sort of a secret, for some reason. I am getting one, though. The bags, as I mentioned before, have a locking cap mechanism, so you shut them before removing full bags from the vacuum, thereby preventing spillage and poofing of dust and debris. Yay! This is ingenious. Also, should you seal the bag and try to close the bag compartment with the sealed bag inside, the vacuum will not let you do this. Pretty smart reminder for forgetful people (ahem). As powerful vacuums go, this one is quite light. It is the most easily maneuverable of any vacuum that I have owned. It is also much quieter than my other vacuums.