To ask for THE holy grail vacuum cleaner?

[overweightcat]

Live in a small cottage type mid terrace.
Me DP, 2 under 5yo.

All downstairs is slate flooring which is slightly uneven - so it would have to have REALLY good suction.
All upstairs and staircase carpeted apart from bathroom.

We had a Henry which was fab and really made the (quite old) carpet look great after vacuuming but it's weight and bulk was a real problem when manoeuvring around the house and constantly falling over.

We went for the cordless shark as I loved the idea of just whizzing around the house with it but it's useless on the slightly wonky stairs and picking up bigger pieces of fluff that we tend to accumulate around the house with all the day to day goings on. It needs waaayyy to much maintenance to maintain any suction and it's absolutely useless on the slate tiles too. And do not get me started on attempting to vacuum the car.

So ideally we need something with really strong suction but smaller/lighter than the Henry a few different attachments would be a bonus. Corded is fine.

Any recommendations would be really appreciated as we are at the end of our tether with this one and have made our minds up to get a new one.

I don't think it would be lighter, but my Miele C3 Cats n' Dogs is fabulous. It's got great suction, on slate, laminate and carpet, and picks up both pet fur and women's long hair. Lots of it.

I've gone through a good few including a Dyson and never been impressed with any but we've since got a pink Henry and I bloody love it.

Sorry I got so excited about passing on my Henry recommendation that I missed you've already tried one.

The shark of course

Anything but a Dirt Devil, as mine kept overheating and cutting out. Wish I had done better research, well known problem and it was all there on the net.

Miele Cat and Dog.

Also Miele Cat and Dog but think I was swayed by a Mumsnet thread on the same topic a couple of years ago!

I’ve got a Miele cats and dog and it is AMAZING. We’ve had dyson, vax, and a Samsung and this is by far the best. Loads of attachments, and picks everything up. It is a bagged machine and very tidy to empty.

I came on to say Miele C3 too! We’ve had a dyson and a Henry. Dyson was okay, Henry was very heaving, cumbersome and awkward to use.

Miele is lightweight, sucks well and by far the best Hoover I’ve owned.

You can get bags which fit it very cheaply on amazon too.

I love hoovers.....! Cleaner as my profession so have worked in many homes with all different hoovers.
Miele c3 is one of the best hoovers I have used. Sometimes they are on sale for around 150.
I currently own a Henry and he is great I just wish they didn't fall over so much......they are so very robust mind!!
I like a dyson cordless as an every day top up but you still have to have another hoover to do a proper job.
Dont quote me but I believe the only difference between the c3 normal and pet one is the pet one has a charcoal filter to eliminate smells. You can buy them easily and just put into the normal c3 model if that works out cheaper.

We've recently got a corded shark. It's a lift away so feels very portable. I LOVE it. Was a bit at how quickly it filled up on first use. The only thing is I wish we'd bought the anti hair wrap one.

Sorry to go on the miele has a watt of 890.
Most other hoovers are around 700.

Another vote for Miele cat and dog

Miele are the suckiest I’ve ever had, I use that for the big while house clean & a little Dyson v6 rechargeable for little messes & quick fixes.

Another vote for the Miele cat & dog. Best vacuum cleaner ever. Had mine nearly five years and the suction is still strong.

I bought a Shark a few months ago and it's incredible! Can't remember the name but it's a corded one that folds in half to pack away into a small space.

Miele 100%. I have a Dyson now and I miss my miele

Oh no - I Literally just bought a cordless shark and now I’m worried - what kind of maintenance!?

Shark Liftaway.

Sometimes we need to sweep with a brush.

Miele cat and dog. Can’t rate it highly enough

Another vote for the Miele cat and dog too. Mine is an older version which I've had for 10 years and never had a problem with it. It will suck your carpets off the floor if they're not properly laid. The branded hoover bags are pricey but as already mentioned you can get none branded ones off Amazon which are just as good.

Came on here to recommend Kirby or Dyson cordless, bit having read about your flooring I agree with the Miele recommends. Can’t beat the Miele suction.

Yup Miele cat & dog. Good attachments as standard one of which is awesome carpet head. Very affordable, ungimmicky, great.