Have you got a compact Miele Cat & Dog?

[KeepingAwayFromTheJoneses]

I am in a quandary. I have some vouchers for PC world/currys and I want a Miele cylinder vacuum. BUT they don't sell the one I want. They have a Miele S6220, which is not the Mumsnet Cat & Dog. The one I want is the S5261 (the mumsnet one), but it isn't sold in Currys.

So I just wondered if the smaller one will be as good. It is less powerful and doesn't have the same attachments. It seems I have the choice of one which isn't exactly what I want for free, or not having one at all. If I am going to be disappointed I would rather not buy it as I am not going to upgrade it in the future.

My current vacuum cleaner is quite good, but it is an upright and it is very difficult to do the stairs, which are filthy as a result. I've been led to believe my house will be transformed into an oasis of cleanliness if I get a Miele. Somebody please tell me what to do! I am overwhelmed by indecision.

In "Which" tests, the S5261 scored 80% (£199)
and the S6220 scored 77% (£149)

so I suppose not quite so good but not far off.

I have the S5261 (didn't realise it was the 'MN one'!) and from what I can tell the S6220 appears to have all the attachments that came with mine including the turbo brush. The only difference I can see is that mine has an extra 200w of power. I never use mine at top power anyway as I'm sure it would suck all the fibres from my carpet. 2000w is still pretty powerful and much better than the old Dyson the Miele replaced. Go for it - especially as its for free!

Its great although the bags are expensive!

I buy Miele bags on fleabay at reduced prices.

if you buy non-original ones they might not have the extra filters in, but I am very mean frugal and wash the old filters so I always have some clean spares.

Get it. It's annoying that it's not EXACTLY what you want but it will still be bloody good. I have the Cat and Dog and it is excellent, but all Mieles are.

Thank you everyone.You have convinced me. I am going to take the plunge and get it!

I've got it! I have not stopped vacuuming all afternoon! It is very good on the stairs, and I am going to buy the mini turbobrush for those. I'm not so sure about it on the rest of the floors. It definitely does the job but I can't say for sure that it does it better than the dyson. I have to empty my dyson each time I use it but when I examined the miele dustbag it was almost empty. Where has all the dust gone? It is inconceivable that the floor wasn't very dirty.

All in all, I am pleased, but not blown away by it. I am, of course, delighted to have a free vacuum cleaner. I spent ages going round and round Currys to see if there was something else to tempt me but there really wasn't anything I fancied.

I must go and get on with my vacuuming. I have become obsessed with cleaning under things and I am even considering clearing all the junk from under my bed so that I can vacuum under there more regularly.

Things have come to a pretty pass when the highlight of my weekend is obsessive hoovering and poking around in the dustbag to see what I have sucked up.

I second PigletJohn's suggestion to get the replacement bags from Ebay. I got a bulk load of 20 for a fraction of the real ones and they came with new filters too but I haven't needed to replace them yet. I only use the turbobrush once in a very long while - the flat head seems to work perfectly well and the suction is so strong it actually lifts the carpet in places.

Be careful with the bags - some of the cheap ones don't seal round the hose properly and that will bugger the motor. Happened to mine twice and fortunately my local Miele man is very nice and didn't lecture me when fixing it, but I only buy proper bags now. Less costly than a new hoover!

I have had an (old) Dyson upright and the Miele S5261 and they are both very good, but for different things. I used to keep the Dyson upstairs as that was mainly carpeted, and the Miele downstairs for the hard floors.

The Dyson upright was brilliant for carpets and got loads of grime out when used as an upright, but the hose attachment was utterly pathetic and useless for everything except a bit of light dusting.

The Miele, even with the turbo-brush (which is good), wasn't as good as the Dyson on carpets. It's especially not good on cheap thick fluffy carpets as it's like ploughing through mud. But lots of flexibility and power with the attachments, so a better all-rounder.

Thanks for the heads up on the dustbags. I was originally planning to get the bags from ebay and alternate them with the Miele ones, but at this rate I don't envisage going through many of them so maybe I could just stick with the Miele ones. Is there anywhere I can get the original ones cheaper than £9.45 for 4?

I always used non-branded ones for my previous cylinder and never had a problem but they were just the basic paper ones.

I've given myself a blister on my hand from all the vacuuming now. Today I am doing all the edges of my carpets with the crevice tool and I will try to leave it at that. I'm not usually what you could call a clean freak so I am trying to do as much as possible before I get bored and lose interest in my new toy.

if the replacement bags have a sort of rubber insert that seals round the incoming spigot, you will OK. Bags used to be made just out of paper and cardboard but I don't think I've seen that in a long time.

My Miele has an additional filter on the outlet from the bag compartment to the fan, this clogs if the bag is split or damaged and prevents e.g. hair or carpet fibres going through.

You can get genuine Miele bags on fleabay, in packs of 8, they usually work out about £1 per bag.

I find a bag lasts for months (I write the date on the new bag when I put it in) unless you have just bought new carpets.

Always hide your vac when builders are in the house, brick and plaster dust is very damaging.

No John, the bags I had were ones with rubber inserts, but the seal was poor and so dust went through the machine. Really would advise care with them.

I have decided to wait until I fill the bag that came with it before making any decisions about what type of bag to get; it is all too stressful!

Blimey, what are you lot not doing that a bag lasts for months! I'm lucy if one lasts 2 weeks!

I have still hardly got anything in mine. I am not sure if it is working. I have been vacuuming constantly for 5 days now.

I have just bought the S6220. The Dyson is a little old now and definitely not picking up as it was. On top of this dd1 has just had four days in hospital with her asthma, so the miele was a necessity, I really hope it's as good as its reviews.