Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Flex Vacuum Cleaner Review: "The best vacuum I've ever used!"

Price on writing: £299 | Buy now from Argos

How we tested the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Flex Vacuum Cleaner

I tested the Miele Cat & Dog C3 Flex over a period of around two months in a 4-bedroom house including two cats and a family of five. During this time the vacuum cleaner was used weekly on a variety of different flooring including tiles, laminate, hardwood and carpet as well as upholstery.

I’ve also owned an older edition of the C3 Cat & Dog for around eight years and, apart from having to replace the floorhead attachment about six years in when it wore down to the point of scratching the floor, it’s still going strong.

Our verdict

• Ease of use: 5/5

• Effectiveness on pet hair: 5/5

• Suction power: 5/5

• Ease of emptying: 5/5

• Value for money: 4.5/5

This is the best vacuum cleaner I’ve ever used (and I’ve used quite a few!). It’s an investment at an RRP over £350, but having owned a previous model for over eight years and counting, on a cost-per-use basis it is definitely worth it. The suction is extremely strong (even after eight years!) the bag holds a decent amount and the vacuum is easy, efficient and effective - everything you want. To be honest, I’d recommend it even if you didn’t have pets.

I tend to use the normal floorhead tool on our laminate, tiles and hardwood floors (you can press the lever on the top to lower the bristles which protects wooden floors from scratches without losing efficiency) and the TurboBrush head on carpets. There are also crevice and upholstery nozzles as well as a dusting brush. I do find that the TurboBrush gets clogged with hair after one or two uses and I need to cut this out using scissors, but it’s so efficient on carpet that this seems like a small price to pay. 

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Miele C3 Cat & Dog Flex: What’s in the box?

• Main vacuum

• Upholstery nozzle

• Crevice nozzle

• Extra long, flexible crevice nozzle SDF 20

• Dusting brush with synthetic bristles

• Turbobrush STB 305-3

• SBD 365-3 floorhead

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How easy is the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Flex to set up?

I found it very easy to set up and didn’t need to follow the instructions (though I have owned this vacuum before so that may be why!) The included instructions are easy to understand, and there is also support online on the Miele website.

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How easy is the Miele Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner to use day-to-day?

It’s a very simple vacuum to use - the cord extends well and there are images on the top of the main body to show different noise/suction levels. I tend to use the highest setting most of the time, unless I’m vacuuming a rug or looser upholstery (it really is quite a powerful vacuum so will pull up the rug or any loose flooring if you use it on full force!) There’s onboard tool storage too on the Miele C3 which is brilliant as otherwise I don’t think I’d bother using all the various different tools otherwise!

It weighs just over 7kg so isn’t too cumbersome, and is lighter and more stream-lined than the Henry Pet 200 I’ve tested, so it’s a lot easier to carry up and down the stairs. The capacity is 4.5l which is quite a lot less than the Henry Pet200’s 9l, so I do have to empty it a bit more often, but not more than once a month or so, depending on how much vacuuming I’ve done.

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How does the Miele C3 Cat & Dog perform on pet hair?

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How well does the Miele Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner Flex perform on carpets?

The Miele Cat & Dog is excellent on carpets, particularly when using the turbobrush. You do have to make sure it’s clear of hair to ensure it works at its best, but otherwise its performance is second to none. It even managed to do a good job on the deep-pile rug in my youngest daughter’s room, which has so far eluded all the other vacuums I’ve tested. 

How well does the Miele Cat & Dog perform on hard floors?

Again, I can’t fault it. I tend to use the floorhead with the bristles lowered on our hardwood floors but even though this slightly lessens the suction rate, it still performs really well and picks up pretty much everything on the first time round. I raise the bristles to use the vacuum on tiles and laminate and it picks up brilliantly. As mentioned, I did have to eventually replace the floorhead tool on our older Miele after about six years because we’d used it so much the bristles had worn away! (You can order one directly from Miele but we ended up getting a cheap version from Amazon which is still going strong 2.5 years later!)

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How easy is it to empty the Miele Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner?

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Does the Miele Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner offer good value for money?

It is on the pricey side with an RRP of £320+ but having owned our previous C3 for eight years and counting, (and used so much that we literally wore away the bristles on the floorhead) I do think it represents good value for money. In terms of power, efficiency and just overall usefulness, it is the best vacuum cleaner I’ve ever used and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to other families who are able to spend a little more on a vacuum that will really last.

About the author

Jenny Wonnacott is a Content Editor for Mumsnet, specialising in writing, editing and optimising parenting-related content. As a parent of three primary school-aged children, Jenny is passionate about making Mumsnetters' lives easier through rigorous research of all items recommended in reviews, features, and buyers' guides.

Jenny is also a best-selling sci-fi author (writing as J M Briscoe) and parenting blogger.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real people after extensive research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

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