Vacuum Recommendation

11 years ago

Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if I could get some help from you all in deciding on a secondary vacuum for my home? My 4 month old house is about 4,000 sq. ft without the unfinished basement so there is a LOT of floor to clean! My main level is all hardwood floors and wool area rugs with the exception of my family room which has a frieze carpet. I also have a dog who sheds and loves nothing more than to climb up on every sofa when we're not home and leave evidence behind. It's a good thing she's cute!
My main vacuum is a Dirt Devil 990 Pro Series central vacuum system with the Wessel Werk Edge Power nozzle. It does an AMAZING job deep cleaning the rugs...if you hold the hose up to your ear you can hear all sorts of crap going through it. However, when I just want to clean the sofa, family room rug, and kitchen...it's a bit overkill to get the vac hose from the garage, clean, switch outlets twice(not the best placements done by builder), and wind hose back up to put away.
So, I've been using my Miele Twist upright in between weekly cleanings to keep things spruced up. The Miele has great suction but I don't think it does the best job grooming the rugs despite the kuddos from Consumer Reports and my excellent previous experiences with Miele vacs. It's also fairly heavy and requires expensive bag/filter replacements. With that said, I'm thinking about selling it if I can find a suitable replacement that would
-deep clean rugs well and have a brushroll shut off to do a quick clean of bare floors
- have an on-board hose to clean dog hair off the furniture
- inexpensive bag replacement or bagless with filters I can clean myself
- if possible - no disgusting dog odors when cleaning
- prefer to keep it under $300

I know, this has been quite the list of requirements but I figured this is a good place to get advice. Thanks in advance!

Comments (5)

Tmnca
11 years ago
I'd check out the Hoover Platinum - it is a lightweight upright with very good rug cleaning action, and a separate hose vac with a shoulder strap for furniture, edges etc. I don't actually own this set but have tried it out and really liked it - and considered it.

I currently have a Dyson DC33 and love it for rugs but not so happy with the hose/onboard tools part. I can't justify replacing it right now, since I have a Neato XV-14 robot vacuum that does a great job of keeping things clean so I only need the big vac a couple times a month to deep clean the rugs. But I covet the Hoover shoulder strap canister with floor brush for the hard floors, and the upright I tried out in the BB&B store (they had a rug and some dirt/fluff you could dump on and vacuum up) really impressed me it was way better than the Meile or Shark for rug grooming and pickup.

But it sounds like the Hoover set might be great for you - and it's $299.99! You might be able to get it for a bit less at BB&B with a coupon or something. Edited to add: just saw it on Amazon for just over $200!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoover Platinum

This post was edited by tinan on Sun, Dec 23, 12 at 17:53
emma
11 years ago
I prefer hoover over other vacuums I have used. If I needed another it would be a hoover
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ocscott
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks so much! Interesting you mention that particular model...I bought it two years ago for my last house. It really cleaned the rugs well but unfortunately, there was an issue with the on/off switch and the warranty center said it would take months to replace it. I was tired of the gross dog odor that came out everytime I vacuumed so I got rid of it and bought the Miele Twist. Go figure! :) Thanks for taking the time to reply though! I may check out the Shark Navigator at Bed Bath and Beyond because I have a 20% off coupon. I noticed Costco has the Neato XV 14 on sale ....does it work better than Roomba? I have a Roomba which worked well in my last house (townhouse) but it can't handle my new house's open floor plan.
graywings123
11 years ago
Have you thought about getting a second, but shorter, hose for the central vac? Maybe a 20 foot hose you could keep closer to where you need it, such as hanging in a closet.

Or maybe one of the outlets could be converted to a hide-a-hose.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hide a Hose
Tmnca
11 years ago
ocscott3085, that's funny- the Hoover worked great in the store but as I warned I don't own it myself! For rugs, the Dyson DC33 I have can't be beat.

And yes I think the Neato XV-14 works much better than the Roomba overall, I had a Roomba for 2 years before the Neato. The Roomba brushes were always getting stuck and the gears broken from my long hair. The Neato doesn't need all that maintenance I never need to clean the bush (I bought the "pet and allergy" brush with bristles since we have cats).

I did have some issues with the Neato at first but I moved the dock around until it could find it and dock reliably, and I had to use some rubber non-slip pads under the sofa legs to raise it about 1/4" because there was just enough space for the Neato to go under and then get stuck where the fabric sagged... and I do want it to vacuum under all the furniture, that's one thing I love about a robot vacuum - no dust bunnies. The Neato has laser guided navigation and a real powerful vacuum unlike the Roomba. It picks up shocking amounts of dirt and cat hair every single day.