ALL vacuum cleaners are more-or-less crap for heavy duty vacuuming.

[Sudeko]

I don't know what I haven't tried. They all underperform eventually and break down before their time.

Even Henry?

what do you mean by 'heavy duty'?

Agree. I've purchased so many that fail to pick up dust, pet hair and other conmon debris.

Loads of dust build up (no sooner have you got rid of it) and loads of hair (human and animal).

I second a Henry. Although I believe they're not as powerful as they were...seem to remember there was something legislative that meant power had to be kept below a certain level? (Caveat - might be totally misrembering/inadvertently making stuff up.)

I find cleaning the filters regularly makes a huge difference

Buy a 2nd hand Henry - before the EU made them energy efficient

We have 3 kids and 2 dogs. The shark corded uplift vacuum makes the carpets look immaculate as long as you change the filters regularly.

Mine died after 4 years and their customer service is excellent. They sent me out a new motor unit!

Yes, routine maintenance (washing/ replacing filters, cleaning brush bar, etc) really can make an enormous difference.

It's surprising when you find a tiny lego piece or a bit of cardboard has caused a hidden blockage, which slowly impacted the suction until it virtually stopped.

I had various model with washable filters which I believed I was maintaining correctly. I've tried bagged and bagless, Eu compliant and a Pre-EU Miele, Sebo, Dyson, Goblin and Henry

miele cat&dogs works well.
but I think expectation is that a hoover would last about 4 years if used in a busy household.

there is a reason commercial ones are ugly and unwieldly. they are built differently to stop them being stolen to a home appliance that's used max an hour a day.

I've yet to find one that can actually be moved backwards and forwards on our admittedly very thick carpets. Carpets are lovely, just wish we had realised that the shark wouldn't actually move on it 🙄

I considered getting a commercial one but it would have to be light enough. I also think that people in regular office environments don't actually make a lot of mess at all.

Henry is a workhorse. Ours is 10 years old, dealing with kids, pets, and still does a great job.

I love my henry! He sucks up everything in sight including my carpet and clothing. I use a bag because I'm too lazy to deal with filters but I buy cheap bags from amazon. He deals well with cleaning the mess in my craft room and the huge amount of sawdust around the rats cage. I've even used him to clean out the sawdust from the cage

Another vote for Henry. Mine is an old commercial edition.

Do you have a pet?
Do you change bag frequently?

I have a 2005 Henry and he’s seen off a Dyson, and Bosch and 2 hoovers. He’s an absolute machine, literally. I now care for him very well, and he’s treated to new filters and hoses etc and a new plug whenever.
But it’s far and away the best one I’ve had.

Actually, mine was pink so I assume it was Henry's girlfriend (not sure what the difference in performance is).
How would I know whether a Henry is pre-EU directive? What should I look out for? Could anyone recommend a model number?

That's a Hetty. Look at James and the other one too.

I love the Miele. I've had mine for around 3 or 4 years and still going strong. Found the Dyson to be shite (I've had several), Henry even worse.

Hetty is just a pink Henry but sometimes it's on offer so £10-20 cheaper

@ratslave wait… you can use Henry without a filter if you use a bag. Or without a bag if you use a filter?
I accidentally used it without a bag the other day and my goodness it was super charged with power. I was all worried I’d damage him?

Miele cat and dog or a sebo upright.

When we moved my mother in law used her Henry, then two days later in the same empty house I went over it with my cordless shark and the filth I picked up was shocking.

There does seem to be something about them working great for maybe the first 6-12 months then just meh.