My Vacuum Is on the Outs...

You know, vaccums don't really have that many parts to go wrong. My husband has fixed my old grey and yellow dyson 10 times at least. It loses suction, to he takes all the filters out, bangs them, cleans them, looks in the hoses and pulls out blockages. Maybe changes the belt. You could try those things first. Like I said, I have an old dyson, the first model that came out! So I don't think they are over hyped!

We've had my cheap bagless Bissell for 8 years. About 6 years longer than I hoped it would last because I'd love a fancy new Dyson.

That said, we just needed to go to the local vacuum store to get a new brush for it and the store is full of Dysons that were in the shop for repair, and the repairs are not cheap. My vacuum is super simple and easy to repair - we replace the filters every once in a while, break a belt or brush here or there which is easy to replace, and it keeps going. Consumer Reports does not rate Dyson very highly. My friends who have them swear by them, but I often wonder if they're just convincing themselves of how great they are to justify the expense. The vacuum repairman says that he would never buy one and calls them the Jaguar of vacuums (pretty to look at, powerful when they work but high maintenance and constantly in need of repair).

Anyway...I don't LOVE my Bissell but it's been $69 dollars really, really well spent.

After going through the cycle you describe of buying, using, then having to discard vacuums, I spent several days comparing vacuums before I bought mine. I tried all the brands out there, (and was amazed that stores would let me try them), then bought the one that impressed me most, which was the Oreck.

They are more expensive, although they do sell a lower cost model and refurbished ones for less $$. One thing I like about it is that every year I can take it in and they check it over, clean the brushes, grease what needs to be greased, and every year when I pick it up it feels like I have a brand new vacuum. I don't remember what I paid for this warranty, but if it was less than the cost of several other vacuums, it was worth it! My carpets look so happy!

btw- Bed Bath and Beyond was the best about helping me try out several different brands. The clerk said that since they will accept anything for return they want to be sure that you get the product you want when you purchase it. Ultimately though, after trying everything they offered, including dyson, I went with the Oreck, which was the only one that knocked my socks off.

I got mine on Craigslist that was only 6 months old for $125. It's the all floors model and it's my favorite, most prized possession as far as household things are concerned! The lady only sold it b/c her hubs bought her a kirby (which I'd take a dyson over ANY day!), but her loss, my gain! Lol.

I have the Shark Navigator for about 3 years now. I LOVE it. Its lightweight, so I can carry it up and down the steps. Has a long cord for doing the stairs (I have 7 up and 7 down from the main level).

I do home daycare (so a lot of people thru my house daily, along with kids trudging some dirt and wood chips when they come in and out a few times a day), plus I have 2 long hair cats who shed like mad. I quickie vacuum every single day M-F, then usually a more thorough job on Sunday to prepare for my work week.

I clean out the canister and filter probably 2 times a week, sometimes 3. There is a lot of cat hair in there! But it never stops sucking stuff up, but I do notice its better when its emptied.

I love this vacuum and highly recommend it for those of us not willing to shell out what a Dyson costs or do not buy into the hype of the brand phenomenon. My hubby is one of these "research and review to death" sorta guys and that's what he did for me.

I always considered myself very very hard on vacuums. I use it every day. I have pets (used to have a giant breed, long hair shaggy dog too..A Newfoundland...then I used my vacuum 2X a day to maintain the house with my daycare business). But I am only on my 3rd vacuum in 22 years. Maybe we just take really good care of them? They all have lasted about 10 years each and I have never had a Dyson or Hoover or a Kirby. I had 2 Dirt Devils, and now the Shark Navigator.

I love this vacuum! I highly recommend it.

I love my Riccar.
:)
And we have a constant shedder in the house. A German Shepherd.

(posted too quickly, sorry for the edit, lol)

I have a Kirby that is over 20 years old. It picks up better than any other vacuum I've had. It uses bags and is an absolute tank. I think it will live forever. I can still get bags and belts if I need them from a dealer. My SIL has a newer model (about 5-years-old) and it is equally good as what I have, uses bags, etc. but is much lighter. Both of our Kirbys' were very expensive...Dyson expensive. But for us, it was well worth it financially as neither of us has had breakdowns or problems beyond needing to put in a new belt as they had normal wear from use. Our FIL has one that's even older than mine and it is still running tip-top. You could say we're a Kirby family. They're not sold in department stores...you have to go to a Kirby dealer (they're everywhere) but you can try them out.

About 7-years ago, I got a bagless Bissell Pet model (a gift from my mom who thought it would be great for cleaning up after our Retriever). It is pretty good (not as powerful and thourough as the Kirby which is unmatched to anything out there IMO...including the Dyson which a friend has and I'm not impressed). But I do have to say not needing to buy bags is a plus, and you can take the middle section off of the Bissell to make the vacuum portable so you can clean furniture and steps.

It does a very decent job picking and sucking up stubborn dog hair. Our dog has long spikey hairs that are like velcro. The attachment is motorized and really does a good job lifting fur off of furniture fabric. It is alot cheaper than the Kirby...about $150 at Target. So for a cheaper recommendation, the Bissell Pet is a nice model.

I have a Ricar vaccuum. I've had it for almost 9 years and only just took it in for service this past year. It's a light weight model that works on hard floor and carpet. It was rated the best light weight vac at the time I bought it. I love it. It was $300+ but it has lasted a long time. I bought it at Sun Valley Sew & Vac. Check them out. They sell other brands too. I think they also see referbished vacs.

As a dyson owner, I have to say it is totally overrated. That being said, if you have a Kohl's charge and get kohl's coupons, wait for a sale and use the coupons -- I got mine there for less than half.

ETA: by the way, any vacuum requires regular maintenance -- cleaning of filters, removing hair and fibers from the roller brush, etc. Even the dyson -- it says it doesn't lose suction, but it absolutely does. I was ready to ditch it completely, but I cleaned it thoroughly, and it does work better (although not like it did when I bought it). But vacuums shouldn't be disposable, and if you liked it when you bought it, you might try replacing belts or cleaning it and see if it works better. And there are still repair places that might be worth looking into.

What is wrong with it? I have a Bissell (bagless) that I've had for several years, and the only thing that is annoying about it is the poor design with the hoses.... every once in a while, the hoses start clogging.... there are two points they take a 90 degree bend... and things clog there. All I have to do is take the hoses apart and undo the wad of cat hair that is invariably there, and it is working just fine once again!

I've probably had it for 6 years, or so? I paid maybe $80 for it? I don't remember......

I had a refurbished Dyson(not the ball). Buying it refurbished worked fine, and it still had some sort of warranty. It lasted longer than some other vacuums I've had, but I finally gave up on it and bought a Hoover.

I think it lasted at least 5 years. I did regularly wash the filters, bought new filters, Duct taped holes in the hoses, bought a new hose($55 because a tiny hole from vacuuming a corn on the cob holder turned into a long rip), cleaned the roller often, etc. But none of the usual things I did brought the suction back to normal, so I gave up. Could have been the rubber seals getting old or fine dust stuck inside.

I also have a Thermax(expensive and similar to the Kirby). Shame on their door-to-door salespeople for selling it to me when I had a fever of 103. It still works great, had an included maintenance plan, and has lasted many years. I don't use it much any more because it's too heavy to carry downstairs and the hassle of emptying a bucket of dirty water. This was the perfect tool for when we had all carpet and kid's wet spills.

My philosophy on va
cuums is to buy them new but inexpensive. I bought a Dirt Devil at big lots on sale for $40 and it works just fine. It's bagless and hepa filter included.

I figure if it goes out in a year or two, I can buy 2-3 more for what I spent for the expensive ones. And then I get a totally clean one.

I bought a dyson a few years back and returned it. It was too loud and did not transition to our area rug without sounding like it was going to blow up. I also bought a hoover windtunnel which was over $200 and only lasted about 3 years and was constantly having problems.

8 years ago I was just like you, buying a new vacuum every year or so. I finally got to where I was so frustrated!

I went to the Oreck store and bought one of their cheaper models, but it came with an 8 year warranty and free annual tune ups. I will never go back to another vacuum! It was definitely worth the price, and what the other poster said about tune-ups is true. Eight years later it's still gets the carpets clean, and it's light enough that the kids can vacuum with it too!

The Oreck store on Power Road in East Mesa is the best for customer service and helpfulness!

I have the purple animal Dyson and have had for at least 7-8 years? Before the ball model came out. And never had a problem.

I have 2 big dogs, (golden/lab mix and lab/husky mix). My kids are now 22 and almost 18, so it was during the heyday of the teen years with all their friends. And my dear husband. . . who sometimes is as bad as the kids at tracking stuff through the house. It was the best investment I've ever made!