I need an amazing vacuum cleaner - what do you recommend?

[Grockle]

Must be:

powerful
good with dog hair & sand, mud from little boys
long cord
large capacity (preferably bagless, I think)
store tools on board
not too heavy (I have ME so get very tired very quickly)

I loved my Miele pull along one but got fed up with the small bag filling up with dog hair every time I used it. I replaced it with a pull along Hoover which is ok but nothing is as good as my original, British made Dyson DC01.

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Hello!

We've noticed this thread is quite old and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing out vacuum cleaners, so here's our round-up of the best lightweight vacuum cleaners available to buy now.

Hope this helps!

MNHQ

Had bagless but got a Hettie (Henry) recently - AMAZING! Checked out the Argos reviews beforehand & it got the best out of the range I was considering.

Really? I guess if the cleaners at work use a Henry, it must be quite good... thank you

I've got harry... he's designed for pet hairs. I proper loves him

Sebo (German) Vacuum cleaner would meet all the criteria very effectively. But maybe too heavy so a Panasonic might be better.

I have a SEBO and it's fantastic. I've had it for over 15 years with no problems (except when I dropped it down the stairs but that was my fault).

I have had Dysons, Mieles and Hoovers. For the last two years I have been lucky enough to have discovered the Henry. Buy it! You won't regret it, and it is way cheaper than most vacuums too.

And the bag is huge.

Miele cat and dog.

Dysons or a Sebo

If you could ever find one the old Kirkby cleaner could Hoover the pattern off laminate

I was going to say Henry as I love mine, I wouldn't ever be without one - they suck up anything and everything, are great with hair etc, but they don't have tools on board and they aren't light.

Some people will say they are terrible & fall over - tbh I'm not sure what they do with them to make them fall over

I have a Henry and compared to my previous Dyson it is total crap. I have no idea why anyone thinks its good. Get a Dyson! As soon as my Henry breaks (and I'm going to help it die) I'm going to hot foot it to tbe shop and buy a Dyson!

Another vote for Henry. Mine is about 20 years old and still works brilliantly. Great at clearing pet hairs off the furniture.

bosch gl 30
small and light.
very very powerful.
yes it's small and the bag is as well, but no-name replacement bags are cheap and they are very easy to change and unlike bagless not messy at all.

We have a hetty because the filters are better and you get far more collected.
We have three cats and two dogs as well as a gardener dh and a dd4, it is no problem at all.
The round shape is more cumbersome than heavy and it is certainly lighter than the dyson upright it replaced (.which wasn't that good with the dust bunnies and as awful on the stairs)
Ours is nearly 10 years old and going strong, when it dies I will def get another

Interesting, thank you.

It turns out my current hoover is actually a Bosch & is the Which best buy. My old Miele is 2nd best buy. So why do they both seem to struggle with pet hair?

Do Which? not test SEBO or Henrys because they're not mentioned at all.

Oh, I lie... there is a sebo at the bottom of their bestbuy list, along with 2 dysons. I don't know why my vacuum cleaners seem so crap.

Miele cat and dog

How can you prove if your vacuum cleaner is picking up all the stuff or not? Have an upright Dyson approx. 10 yrs, a old smelly dog with short but wiry fur, loop pile carpet, vinyl floors and live in a bungalow. There seems to be a fair amount in the clear collecting bin after vaccing and DH has given the vac a clean out today. Also have a steam mop that I use once a week on vinyl and now & again on carpets. But not sure if a new vac would pick up more. Carpets are professionally deep cleaned every year (they are cream and one is pale green). Trying to justify a trip to Currys.

If you have dirty carpets an upright is better than a cylinder. The beeters and whirling brush get out the mud, grit, hairs, flea eggs.

Have tried Sebo but prefer Mile upright. It is more expensive than a cylinder.

If uprights are better why are almost all of which?'s best buys cylinders? I miss my upright hoovers!

SEBO is the best vacuum cleaner I have ever had, much better than the many Dysons I have tried over the years

I bought a Sebo on the recommendation of a carpet cleaning company. It is FANTASTIC, so much better than the Dyson we had before. The only thing is I think it might be too heavy for you? Mine isn't as heavy as the Dyson but still...

Exactly what Chocroak says. I had a Dyson for years and a Hoover before that. Then I got my SEBO about a year ago. The others dont really deserve to be mentioned in the same category.

Also, the SEBO I have uses bags and I now wonder why on earth I put up with emptying a bag less Dyson for so long. That was so grim.

Emptying a Dyson is grim and makes me wheeze. Dyson seem to bang on about bagless as being a wonderful thing, but it's def not imo. Yes you have to buy bags for a SEBO but they last a long time and are clean and easy to change.