I have a Dyson. It's a great vacuum, and emptying it is no bother. I wash the filter once every six months (I don't think it's actually dirty though - but the instructions say to do it). Since I also have several Miele's, I can compare bag to bagless. Bagless allows me to get rid of the dirt after each use. Bag cleaners do not. I don't like 'storing' my dirt in the closet - so bagless is the way to go for pet hair problems. I understand the differences between Dyson cleaners and other bagless vacs. The way it works is different. Apparently, spinning the air at high speeds throws the dust out of the air stream through the cleaner. Other bagless vacs have a filter in the middle of the dirt bucket, like my Shop Vac, that clogs immediately with dust, and is a filthy mess to empty. If you get a bagless, get a Dyson. That said, the Miele is very quiet. But the bag does start to stink after holding dirt for a while, the dirt itself just deteriorates inside there. And there's food particles and God knows what else in there, all sitting in the warm, dark closet until we take out the machine next week and blow air through the bag. That's why bag vacs smell so bad. If you changed the bag every time that you vacuum, no smell. Hence the reason I like my Dyson so very much. By the way, Dyson makes canister vacs too. With an excellent bare floor tool and a power brush for your carpets, and a turbo brush for your stairs. Easy to empty. DC23 is the model number.

Tomatozilla - You just cracked me up! I need a new vacuum - have an Old Eureka and been looking at what is out there. Was going to by a Dyson as Walmart had them advertised...well, they got 3 in and 3 went out in a day. Of course they don't get any more. BUT I use a shop vac in the house for a lot of things...under the beds, the edges of the cabinets, around the edges of the floors and places up high. Heck, I might as well go get me a new shop vac. My old one in the garage has such a short cord, I don't like using it. My husband has a bigger, heavier one in his shop that has a long cord. I never even thought of just going and buying me a new shop vac! A lot cheaper I am sure...Thankssss!

I use a Hoover with onboard heater and it works very well for me. I don't ever purchase the Hoover carpet cleaning solution - it just made my carpet feel sticky. For the two wool rugs I have, I use 1 cup of distilled vinegar and fill the rest with water. For the light carpeting, I use a mixture of a little dissolved oxyclean plus X-O (this is an enzyme cleaner to take care of pet spots and kid spills) plus water. Works great. The onboard heater really makes a big difference. My previous cleaner did not have one and did not clean nearly as well. As to liquid use - you control the amount you choose to use. The liquid is only sprayed when you hold the trigger. None of the models available have a huge cleaning solution or dirty water tank. You would have to go with a commercial model for that.

An upright vacuum is usually recommended for low level wall to wall carpet. Like you I like both the miele and the panasonic. I have a miele marin and old miele champagne which both do fine on the carpet with the power head; just be sure to adjust the level on the brush and dial back on the suction to the icon labeled carpet. I've used the Sebo sometimes badged as a miele upright and panasonics with great success. It's important to be sure both the filter and the bag are clean and not full respectively. You would have a lot of lint from wool carpet when it is new, not so much from a synthetic. If you have pets like I do, it adds to the volume of the hair/lint in the bag. Bagless uprights are a mess to clean. If you don't clean them regularly, it is an even bigger mess and may cause the motor to burn out. Given that, Dysons are overpriced, cheaper Eurekas don't have much suction, and Hoover wind tunnels are useless. If you have carpet, the stick vacuums probably won't work for more than a fast pick-up. Yes, I had to work my way through the vacuum appliance aisle to finally learn that you get what you pay for. Good Luck