I use this on my bare floors:

Here is a link that might be useful: Back pack

There are some very good stick vacs that would do well if you only want to use them for the daily floor vacuuming.

Take a look at Simplicity Quicksilver stick vacs. They will clean well, but can be expensive @over $100.

http://www.simplicityvac.com/products/other/quicksilver/

You will also find this vacuum as the Riccar Omniclean.

http://www.riccar.com/products/specialty/?prod=OmniClean

I wanted to also note that the paper bags on these two may fill up fast with animal hair. You would be the one to judge that in you home.

If there is alot of cat hair in your home, then you can take a look at the new Versus from Bissell. It is a bagless stick vacuum. It is inexpensive compared to the others at around $69. Take a look at the link below. I cannot tell you that this vacuum cleaner will last you forever though. It might not work for you if you have very uneven tile or stone floors.

There are some super compact suction-only canisters, but I would think they would be more of a pain for you to use a few times a day. If it does interest you, I can offer some suggestions. But for quicker floor vacuuming, the above mentioned stick vacs will work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bissell Versus

EMER makes some very good & powerful stick vacs.

I have an Electorlux Harmoney canister vac that is fabulous for solid surface flooring. If you go to their web site you'll see they sell these as "reconditioned" and you can get one so much cheaper than buying a brand new one. They are like brand new anyway. You're just paying more for that show room smell. LOL It has multiple filters so it's very clean.

BTW, I have 2 dogs and multiple cats.

Kitchen Detective - I'm fascinated by backpack vacs - please tell me more about this open. The spec page says it weighs 9 pounds, and the Decible level is 72. Lightweight and quiet - sounds great.

Even though this first post is a couple months past, I saw this and thought I'd comment. We have 2 cats, and vacuum frequently with whole house vacuum. But we keep a 1 gallon shop vac next to the cat litter area. We have an extra extension cord attached, longer hose and nozzel attached. We keep it plugged-in-ready-to-go all the time. So when needed, simply turn on the thing and head around the rooms and hallway spots. It is great for chasing the dust bunnies and hair.