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Original poster

I need a new vacuum cleaner ... any recommendations?

26 replies

imaginaryfriend · 14/06/2006 22:04

I know it's boring. But I need a new vacuum cleaner. It needs to be compact-ish (we're in a flat but do have some stairs in it), good at cleaning non-carpeted floors and not dreadfully expensive. Any hints?

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Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 14/06/2006 23:09

Ok, is this just too boring a topic then? Grin

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OldieMum · 14/06/2006 23:29

We have a newish Miele "cat and dog". Obv not suitable if you don't have pets, but lots of people on here swear by Mieles. They are also a Which? magazine Best Buy.

bubble99 · 14/06/2006 23:32

Get a 'Henry'. The one with the smiley face on it. Nothing to go wrong, it's just a cylinder and a tube. I've done Dysons and the like and there's too much faffing, IMO.

MaryBS · 15/06/2006 08:07

Miele is rated far above the others by Which? 5 out of 7 of their best buys are Mieles. I've got July Which in front of me and the cheapest best buy model is the Miele S380, available for £88 online apparently. I have a Miele S571. Another 'cheapie' best buy is a BSG 71810 Formula, for £90, which 'produces fantastic results on wooden and laminate floors but is not quite as good on carpets'

annh · 15/06/2006 10:54

Another vote for Miele Cat and Dog here. Might be a bit OTT if you have a flat and cost about £150 (make sure you Google it as there was about a £50 variation in price between different companies. In general, think Miele appliances are good.

NomDePlume · 15/06/2006 11:17

I have a Henry and a Dyson upright.

I use the Henry for my hard floors and stairs (very short pile carpet there), he's very good for those things, BUT I find him to be utterly useless for the thick pile carpets in the house (lounge, DD's room, DS1's room). Not very user friendly on those. The other issue is storing Henry, his hose is quite unruly (!) and so you need a decent space to stash him out of the way.

The Dyson is great for the fluffier pile carpets but rubbish for the stairs etc (hose too short and upright style means it topples over if you tug too hard on the hose).

NomDePlume · 15/06/2006 11:19

I got Henry for about £80 at my local Homebase. I use him on VERY high gloss floors and he picks everything up with minimum fuss.

CountessDracula · 15/06/2006 11:19

Another vote for Miele. I have a dog but went for the hepa filter one and then bought a cat/dog attachment. VERY neat, light, easy to use, attachments go inside so you don't lose them

Vastly superior to the stupid dyson I had before. Always filthy due to no bag - the Miele bag is so neat.

bundle · 15/06/2006 11:21

Miele: the man in Johnny Lou Lou's recommended it as it's good for both boards and carpets (why would anyone have two vacuums??)

CountessDracula · 15/06/2006 11:22

yes ours has an attachemnt for hard floors and one for carpets plus a turbo brush for hairs and a mini turbo brush for furniture

NomDePlume · 15/06/2006 11:23

Bundle - I have 2 because I bought the Dyson when we lived in a 90% carpeted smaller house with less stairs, it was perfectly fine at the time. We have since moved to a much bigger house with twice as many stairs and lots more hard flooring, so we bought the Henry to do the jobs that the Dyson made heavy work of.

bundle · 15/06/2006 11:24

ahhhh.
i just asked for one that did both.

NomDePlume · 15/06/2006 11:26

I didn't need one to do both when I bought the Dyson. Given that Dyson was still in very good condition (2.5yrs old) and had cost us nearly £300 new, we saw no reason to buy another expensive one that did both jobs, we just bought the cheaper Henry to help the Dyson along Smile. Thankfully we have the room to store 2, so it isn't an issue.

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 15/06/2006 13:50

Ooh, thanks everyone. I'll google Miele and Henry then I think. We don't have any pets - dd is very asthmatic thus our lack of carpets and our need of a good vacuum cleaner. We've currently got a rubbish thing from Argos which I can't bear for another day.

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NappiesGalore · 15/06/2006 16:40

another Henry fan here Smile

23balloons · 15/06/2006 16:45

I had a dyson which I didn't like as it was broken and hardly picked up so I got a Henry. TBH I wouldn't buy another or necessarily recommend it as I find it too clumsy and the attachments are not as good as dysons. It is far far heavier too .

On the plus side its cheap, does pick up well and supposedly doesn't break easily.

Auntymandy · 15/06/2006 16:46

Dont know what to buy..but dont buy a dyson!!

TooTicky · 15/06/2006 16:47

DON'T buy a Dirt Devil - they are crap. Electrolux are quite good.

alligator · 15/06/2006 16:48

Tchibo are doing one for £65 atm. Might be worth a loko. dunno hat they are like but everythign else I've bougth from them has been great.

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 15/06/2006 19:06

Henry might not work for us then as there's so many fiddly stairs and corners to carry around. I've never been much of a Dyson fan myself but anyway it's beyond my price range. So I guess I'll check out Miele.

Thanks again. Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Just to recap - we're in a medium-sized flat with two flights of stairs to negotiate (weird late 60s design!), no carpets, and not a lot of dosh!

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Tutter · 15/06/2006 19:10

had a dyson and hated it. now have henry, on the advice of a cleaner, and love it (him). nearly as much as ds (12mo) does.

LadySherlockofLGJ · 15/06/2006 19:13

\link{http://www.sebo.co.uk/Pages/x4extra.html\We have a Sebo,not cheap to start with we have had it for ages.}

LadySherlockofLGJ · 15/06/2006 19:16

Oh just googled, not too bad, about £250, but the belt has lifetime guarantee.

Cappucino · 15/06/2006 19:20

you can carry Henry anywhere

and I have four storeys to cart him up and down; he loves it

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 15/06/2006 20:44

£250 is beyond budget at the moment, LadySherlock although I totally agree with you that you get what you pay for.

Ok, I'll put Henry back on the possibility list. And of course, how could I forget, dd will fall in love with him because he's got a face! At the moment she runs shrieking at the mere mention of vacuuming ...

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