Obvious Smiths fan bigmouthstrikesagain over at the Mumsnet discussion boards has just purchased a Miele Cat & Dog TT5000 after asking for recommendations to replace her aging Dyson, which by her own admission is “…held together with masking tape” and in need of “…expensive replacement parts.”

After checking out the Which? best buys and finding Miele the clear winner her only reservation was the bagged vs bagless debate, which thanks to community members such as JFly whose description of her S4211 as “…the compact lightweight nature of it will make up for the occassional hassle of the bags” and ILikeToMoveItMoveIt ’s “…so much lighter than the Dyson. I found the Dyson stupidly heavy and found it a right pain on the stairs.” she ultimately ordered the Cat & Dog and after using it for the first time was so impressed by it reported her findings back to the Mumsnet members: “I think I am in love! I have never seen my stairs looking so… hoovered - amazing…”

To read the rest of the discussion and more on the bagged vs bagless debate head over to the Mumsnet discussion boards.

Many dog owners know the problem: You have a pesky mutt who moults uncontrollably and leaves the house looking a mess, so you have to vacuum every day just to pick up their hair. Well debjam certainly does, and with Dyson just not doing the business, she’s posted over on Money Saving Expert asking for help finding a new vacuum.

And it seems that amongst the initiated, the Miele Cat & Dog is a very popular choice. Champys speaks eagerly of her purchase “I ended up buying a Miele, which is fantastic especially with cat hair”, while Magentasue gushes “We have a Miele cat and dog and it’s the best we’ve ever had”. Mrbadexample also points out, that it’s “damn near powerful enough to lift the carpet off the floor”, while Scarlett.1974, gives “another vote for the Miele Cat & Dog”, leading debjam to conclude “The Miele seems to be doing quite well in the vote stakes as well, so maybe I should check those out too.”

Comment of the day award though undoubtedly goes to pigpen, for her powerful insight into the argument - “My friend has a Miele cat and dog which she says is the best thing since sliced bee’s danglies”…Err…

To read the rest of this very interesting discussion jump over to the Money Saving Expert forum.

Looking back at the subjects we cover most often at Forever Better, washing machines are the second most common household appliance after vacuum cleaners on which people seek recommendations before buying.

While not necessarily the most expensive whitegoods item, the time and cost of removing an old machine and plumbing in a new one, especially if it’s to be fitted under a work surface, means that the wrong decision can lead to a lot of inconvenience not to mention a mountain of unwashed laundry.

Which is why Countrymouse69 has once again turned to fellow members of the Weight Watchers community for their suggestions for the best washing machine and the responses are as varied as the owners themselves. AEG, Bosch, Dyson, Miele and Zanussi all have their advocates, covering such areas as durability, reliability and load capacity, the consensus being though to avoid cheaper brands as these are often a false economy.

If you’re particularly fond of your machine or have had a bad experience with a lesser brand why not drop by the Weight Watchers Forum and share your experiences.

KALIB’R from Overclockers UK is another who’s bucked the housing market downturn and is about to move into a new house. As a cat owner he wants a vacuum for “sucking up them darn cat hairs” and has asked for recommendations for the best machine for the job.

While Electrolux, Panasonic and Henry’s all have their fair share of fans, fellow cat owner footman suggests Miele as “…anything that picks up our cats hair must be good!”, Westyfield2 recommends the S4581 he bought, while collisster gives the Cat & Dog the thumbs-up. KALIB’R tempted by the “fetching shade of red” says he’ll “look into a Miele Cat & Dog” to which footman replies “you wont regret it, its the best we’ve had”.

To read the rest of discussion and leave your own suggestions for KALIB’R jump over to the forum.

Over at Amazon.co.uk, self-confessed hater of vacuuming S Reynolds has just written a review of the Cat & Dog TT5000 vacuum he’s recently bought.

His wife had previously insisted “that the only way to properly clean the carpets is to use the small tools and get on our hands and knees and ’scrub’ the carpet” so he’s naturally delighted that the “suction and performance” of the Cat & Dog is so good that “…it is the only way to clean cat hairs and bits of sock fluff up”. He describes the TT5000 as “a revelation” meaning his cleaning “is done in [a] fraction of the time and effort”.

We’ve covered other reviews of the Cat & Dog TT5000 on Forever Better in the past and to get the low-down on this most recent thumbs-up head over to Amazon and see for yourself.

Over at the hifi and sound system forum Talk Audio, John Dorian is interested in buying a new vacuum and wants to know whether Dyson are really the last word in bagless cleaners.

While several Dyson owners are happy with their machines, the concensus from Talk Audio members is that Dyson are “very flimsy and plasticy” and “the build quality doesn’t seem up to much” especially since moving their manufacturing to the Far East. The Rug Doctor who describes himself as “…in the dust business sort of” uses both a Henry and Karcher in his business, but has a Miele at home describes Dysons as “…crap for rugs/carpets so I have never owned one”.

Even Dyson owner R-P admits that the noise levels of a Miele are “about 20dB less loud than a Dyson” and “the emptying of the cylinder is messy”, but “…we (unconsiously) leave it in the room when we get visitors, something you won’t do with a Miele…”

If you’ve got any suggestions for John on the best bagless cleaner or have a Dyson story to share hop over to the forum and have your say.

After his old vacuum drew its final breath and sucked up its last strand of pet hair, Jon Frost at Overclockers UK is looking to buy a new cleaner. Although he’s got his eye on a Dyson he’s also asked for suggestions for something that is “robust” and “liable not to break”.

While Bissells, Electroluxs and Panasonics all receive their share of recommendations, along with vehement support for Henry’s, Miele vacuums are suggested immediately as the one to go for with Wiggins and [FnG]magnolia both recommending them ahead of Jon’s preferred choice even though they’re bagged cleaners.

The bagged vs bagless debate - a topic we also cover frequently on Forever Better - then continues as Overclockers members share their thoughts on the subject. If you’ve got a preference for one over the other and can help Jon out, hop over to the forum and have your say.

Monty Burns is having problems over at AV Forums. His Dyson DC08 Animal “has given up the ghost” and is now “useless” at cleaning up the family’s pet hair. He’d like recommendations for a new vacuum cleaner and specifies that he doesn’t want another Dyson as the previous one lasted “less than a year”.

After some discussion on whether the original vacuum really is broken or whether a new filter and/or brush will fix the problem, philb strongly recommends the Miele Cat and Dog stating that it’s “awesome” and that there’s “not one hair left from our pixie!” andyrj1 agrees, mentioning that he once had a Dyson and “did not like it” so replaced it with a Cat and Dog instead and finds it “excellent with the dog hairs”.

If you’ve had any Miele Cat and Dog experience why not let Monty know? You can find the full thread here.

Joho has a question for the denizens of MoneySavingExpert and its forums: Who makes a decent vacuum cleaner? There’s a fair few answers and many of them involve the name Miele.

Jennifer_Jane, who admits to not being a “heavy vacuum user” recalls the Miele S5210 being a popular model among forum folk and bought one herself a year ago. She likes the fact that it’s not an upright, is light enough to lift easily and she still hasn’t changed the bag yet. Beckyv agrees, calling it an “Amazing [vacuum]” that “really gets things clean”, as does LandyAndy who puts in “another vote for Miele” as it’s “streets ahead of the others”.

Pennystretcher reports that she’s had a Miele for almost ten years and she has had “No problems what so ever and it’s cleaning brilliantly!!” The only things she’s ever had to replace are the dustbags and filters, plus she also mentions that her parents have had a Miele for the last twenty years and “it’s still doing a great job”.

Other mentions include fishing-girl, who has “abused” her Miele Cat and Dog over the years she’s had it and it “still works with no breakages” and Nell51 who also recommends the Miele Cat and Dog as it’s been “fantastic”. Head over to the thread to read the full story.

There’s been a few questions regarding vacuum cleaners on Yahoo! Answers recently with Miele being mentioned on each occassion by satisfied customers.

First, Ade Babe reports that his Dyson upright vacuum “is deceased” and wants a non-Dyson, bagless replacement. Pocketdragon, whose reply has been chosen as the ‘best answer’ states that her mother has managed to blow up three Dysons and now uses a Miele vacuum, although the one she uses is bagged. Saristin replies that she also uses a Miele “and they do really last forever” as her last vacuum was 15 years old when she gave it to a friend and it’s still going strong.

In another question, F K asks for some honest Dyson reviews and is informed by Julia Balbilla that Dysons do “nowhere near such a good job as the Miele” and that Mieles are “more solidly built”.

Sexy hotrod also has a couple of vacuum cleaner queries, as she’s thinking of getting a Dyson. Julia Balbilla again pops up to mention that she owns both a Dyson and a Miele Cat & Dog stating that “the Miele is by far the better, although heavier.”

It seems Miele is a popular choice of vacuum for users of Yahoo! Answers, so if you have any questions head over to the site and ask away.