You don't want a upright vac for hardwood and pet hair. You need to be able to clean beneath sofas and other low furiture. A hose, 2 wands, and, a good floor brush is the only way to go. If you are unable to clean beneath these things the minute someone walks through the room, the air current draws the tumbleweeds of fur out into the room and it looks as though you have never cleaned. Just be sure to check out where the canister exhausts/blower port, it's air. Buy something which exhausts out the top of the machine and not the rear or the bottom of the canister. The vacs that do the latter blow the fur all around and it flys through the air and in an hour you have to re-vacuum again once it settles after you have just cleaned. Do not buy a bagless, as you will hate the thing. Picking dog hair out of those pleated filters is a pain!

Thanks eteinne, great input, any specific products that you recommend? Or, what keyword should I use to search, say, on Amazon? Thanks again.

We recently moved into our new home, dard harwood in kitchen and entryways along with a golden retriever, ugh!!! I got the swiffer vacuum and really like it. It picks up dust/dirt with swiffer pad and the dog hair and crumbs with the vacuum part.

I have had an euraka cannister for many years. works great. I ordered online. At the time it was about $125-150 with some bags. Its called a mighty mite.

We just bought a Rainbow off Cr@igslist and couldn't be happier! My dad often stays with us and his dachshund sheds so badly that after a day or two every surface in my house is covered with fur.
Rainbows suck everything into a canister that holds water. You just flush the water down the toilet and throw away what's left. Last time it was a hairball that was larger than the dog, I kid you not. HA
It's really gross, but I feel so satisfied it's no longer in my home when I dump it out.
A new rainbow costs about $1000, I think? We got ours for $150. OH, plus you can put essential oils in the water and make your whole house smell great while you vacuum.
I have an unhealthy relationship with my vacuum now. Can you tell? :)

I purchased the Hoover Platinum cordless vac for quick pickups off my hard surface floors and rugs. I have a central vac system for the real cleaning and I don't think you can find better suction and versatility with a central vac or canister-style system. However, for the quick pickups on both carpet/rugs and hard surfaces, you really cant beat this little gem. I run it over the rugs and floor a couple times a week between my cleaning lady visits. It isn't a miracle product, but it works for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoover Platinum Cordless Stick Vac

We have all hardwood floors and two cats. No dogs now, but at one time I did have a black lab, so I know what you're talking about in terms of pet hair!

We bought a Miele canister vac this spring and couldn't be happier. It was not cheap... about $400, but you get what you pay for.

It's small, VERY powerful, VERY quiet and a honestly a joy to use. Comes with a 7-year warranty.

You can even get an (optional) activated-charcoal filter for it to avoid that doggy-smell vacuum odor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele canister vacuum

PET HAIR CLEAN UP TIPS
Important to do at least a quick cleanup EVERYDAY. Hair if left will works its way into fabric fibers and is near impossible to get completely cleaned.

HARD SURFACES; use micro fiber dust mop, follow up with vacuum if needed.

AREA RUGS/CARPETS; Mix a solution 1/2 cup liquid fabric softener to 2 cups water, spray this solution lightly on carpets wait a few minutes and vacuum. be careful not to get too wet or you will ruin your vacuum.

FURNITURE: use baby wipes this works very well on carpeted steps. A damp paper towel works as well but falls apart

Are microfiber dust mops (Bona, Swiffer etc) best used wet or dry?

Bumping this up in the hope that some more folks can offer a recommendation? I'm now in the same position: getting overrun by dog hair. And the light that comes into the house makes even semi-hidden dog hair more noticeable!

Duchamp: What did you eventually buy, if anything yet?

I've used a Eureka Mighty Mite canister for years. It's inexpensive but well made and works just great on hard wood floors, carpeting, cat hair--everything.

If you want a basic, inexpensive vacuum cleaner, I would suggest the Sanitaire SC3683 Mighty Mite. It uses a rug/floor attachment that would do fine for your needs. It uses a decent size bag. Filtration is ok if you use the microlined bags. If you have alot of allergies, you can purchase an optional filter for the MM. If you do not like pulling the vacuum, you can connect a shoulder strap and carry it over your shoulder.

This model can be found for an approximate price of $110.00.

You will find some models of Eureka Mighty Mites for less, but you will be getting less. The wands will be different, as well as the floor tool. There will no HEPA filtration available. These can be found for around $70.

With the two vacuum cleaners mentioned, you can purchase a separate natural-hair floor brush.

Your better bet would be the SC3683.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sanitaire Comm'l Mighty Mite SC3683

OK, maybe I missed a memo. We have tile on over 70% of our floors. We got a Dyson. It totally rocks! It has attachments for every nook, cranny and area in the whole house. My husband even likes it; in fact, he uses it more than I do. Here's the cool thing about it: It does not blow hairballs around while vaccuuming. We got ours on a limited time 0% financing deal and will not waste another dime on any stick vac or upright ever again! When my husband got it together, he first used our Hoover all over. Then, he got out the Dyson and re-did the areas. You would not believe how much the Hoover did not pick up! The suction in the Dyson is unbeatable! You don't even get dirty because there are no bags; just push a botton and the debris falls right into the trashcan!

The MEMO you missed was the OP was looking for an INEXPENSIVE vacuum designed for bare floors. The Dyson is hardly an inexpensive vacuum. The Mighty Mite however is. Also don't get too excited about the dirt in a bagless bin...they FROTH the debris up like a milkshake so it only looks like a lot of dirt. Fill your dust bin to the top and then pour out the contents and re-vacuum with a new bag in a bagged vacuum and the bag will probably still be flat. Don't forget to maintain your filters and send your vacuum out to be serviced often to avoid this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnad0yuASec

hmmm - maybe its time to check into the miele....

I love my Miele. You could not give me a bagless vacuum.

I went through this selection process during the summer. Our house flooring is tile, pavers and cork, with a few area rugs. We have two shedding dogs and a cat. I wasn't going to go for one of the spendier vacuums, but I also know that I wanted something more than the $150 entry level models. I settled on a Sears Progressive canister and I love it. It is HEPA, and has a bag, and there are cloth bags available for those with allergy issues. It has a powered head and the cord runs INSIDE the wand rather than being simply clipped to the outside of the wand like some of the cheaper units I saw. It is easy to change from the power head to the hard floor attachment, and all attachments ride on the canister.

I have a sweep-eze, and I love it for bare floors. Sweep up to it, and the dust bunnies and hair are vacuumed into a generous chamber that is easy to empty. My SIL has a baseboard feature with her central vac..same idea, but this is made for people who don't have central. Don't know whether they are still made, but I love mine.

The Sweep-eze that you have, was made by a Chinese company for Salton, under the Westinghouse name. It was only around for a few years. Now, it is under another name.

The OP wants a vacuum cleaner. the Sweep-eze is more of a portable vac pan. The user still must sweep the floor and bring the dirt to the unit, for pick up.

I hear you. I have a very sheddy dog who does not go (or should I say is not allowed to go- so she does sometimes but basically she doesn't ) go into the carpeted rooms. I too have a Sears Progressive Cannister which is wonderful but bulky and convenient for the quick and easy clean.
I am also looking for something relatively cheap - compact and light weight to use on the non carpeted floors (90% tile, 10% wood). Years ago I had what was called an electric broom which was a very cheap upright bagless and that was pretty much all i needed. I have been looking for something similar.I don't care about cordless so much...still looking for suggestions.

We use a swifter vac for our two dogs. The pads seem to pick up the dirt and the vac pick up the fur pretty well. The downside is the canister is small and the battery doesn't last long, maybe 10-15 at most and takes forever to charge, at least several hours. I got tired of the battery problem so I took a couple of R/C batteries I wasn't using anymore and I modified the swifter to use them. Now it will last about 20-30 mins on one battery and only take 1 hour to charge.

bump

Any new ideas/recommendations? Has Swifter got the message and extended the battery life?

Still looking for any helpful suggestions!

See my message I just posted about Mint Cleaner (robotic dry sweeper and wet mop). L O V E it!!! My hard floors are ALWAYS clean :) Feel free to check my profile in case you think I might be a spammer. I've been on these forums for over 10 years :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mint