Trouble with vacuum choice

In a thread entitled vacuum choice help, please – advice? on DigitalSpy the community member Iphigenia has blown a circuit on her old vacuum and rather than repair has decided to start afresh.

To guide the information offered she makes sure to state some details and preferences,

“So, I prefer upright.
I quite like seeing the muck go round and round but not otherwise opposed to bagged machines.
I have 5 old dogs, which shed so much at this time of year that I could stuff cushions.
The whole of the downstairs is laminate.
The whole of the upstairs is carpeted, apart from the bathrooms.”

The request for help has seen plenty of healthy discussion and debate around the most suitable brands and models. Miele has been mentioned a few times, specifically the Cat and Dog as suggested by Sandgrownun,

“I have a Miele Cat & Dog (mine’s the cylinder version but they do an upright as well). I’ve had it for about 10 years and it’s still going strong. I’ve got a dog and a cat at the moment, though at one time we had 3 dogs and 3 cats (plus a housemate who works with horses!) and it’s great at picking up hairs.”

Bandita concurs,

“I have a Miele too had it for 16 years, as good as new we used to have cats and it picked up cat hair a treat.”

There is plenty more on vacuum choice on the full thread. If you’re looking for advice or have an opinion to share then why not get involved.

The importance of vacuum attachments

The importance of vacuum attachments, and having the correct one for the job required, is being discussed on the Overclockers UK Forum.

Mammalian has joined in on a thread that began back in October 2009 and has evolved quite a bit since. He believes,

“Miele are hands down the best all round vacuum for domestic use, really fantastic in every way. Only down side is bags are fairly small, but they provide really great filtration which [in my opinion] is far more important. The only reason I can imagine people [don’t agree] is because they’ve had either a dodgy Miele, or the wrong head on the Miele for the carpet.”

It is an important point, with the TurboBrush not always being the best option. It all depends on what surface you’re intending to vacuum. You can check you’ve got the right tool for the job on the Miele accessories page.

Recommendation for Miele bagged vacuums

Mr_Knight after the breakdown of his vacuum has asked whether he should go with the same model which has served him well or if it is time for a change of brand. The Money Saving Expert community has jumped in and offered a few options.

In response to these he expressed a reservation about switching to a brand with a bag. This though doesn’t worry two contributors, who suggested Miele. First Slinky_Malinky,

“Miele vacuums are bagged but brilliant and very durable.”

Then abwsco,

“Go for a Miele. Mines over 15 years old, still sucks like new and I’ve only ever had to change the bags. Even they don’t need emptying often.”

Do you have reservations about bagged vacuums?

Would you go back to a bag?

This was the problem facing Mamhaf of the mumsnet community. Needing a replacement for her current and faltering vacuum to combat a moulting dog, the advice she’d be given was to go with a Miele Cat & Dog. The thought of returning to bags however was not, for her, a pleasant thought,

“I hate the thought of going back to the hassle of bags, buying them, checking they’re full/empty etc.”

Fellow contributors Mamaloco and Ixia felt otherwise, both championing the bag system. Ixia specifically recommending the Cat & Dog,

“I have a Miele and love it. It tells you when the bag is full, the bag has a wee tab that you pull to seal it – no mess, no hassle, you can just put it in the kitchen bin.”

To see if this was enough to convince Mamhaf to go back to a bag head through to the full thread.

Miele S5281 reviewed by Babs

Over at the Argos site the Miele S5281 has generated a further review, this time from Babs in Cambridgeshire.

The vacuum scores a five out of five from Babs, a trend that continues on from previous reviews of the S5281 on the Argos site making the average star rating 4.8. So what does Babs love about it?

“Excellent suction and very quiet, a joy to use after using an upright from a well known company. Great for reaching under furniture, beds etc. Lightweight and very easy to manoeuvre.”

Her only minor gripe is having to go back to using bags, but this wouldn’t stop her recommending the S5281 in a flash. To read all the user reviews click through.