I know this might seem like an odd question, and this might be the wrong community (if it is, pls tell), but I’m currently looking for a reliable, but very cheap vacuum cleaners.
For years my family just bought the cheapest name brand vacuum that they could find in the nearest store, but they all suck (pun intended) these days. I think most of companies just whitelabel asian vacuums and sell them for as much profit as possible, and the end users end up with vacuums where random plastic clips break and the vacuum just not turning on, directly after the warranty expired.
Our new Philips one just kicked the bucket, and now we try to not repeat our mistakes. Is there any secret brand for our purposes?
We practically vacuum the whole house daily because of the dog hair. We’ve had bad experiences both with bagless and non-bagless, so that doesn’t matter, as long as the bags are reasonably priced. The budget is pretty much what the cheapest supermarket vacuum would cost, and probably not much more.
The vacuum needs to be available in Germany.
I hope theres some good household tech out there anymore, god I love capitalism so much
If you have any questions, let me know
We used to have the same problem. Years ago, a relative recommended a Miele canister-style. They were pretty pricey, but took a chance. It could practically pull the floorboards up (fortunately, the power level is adjustable). It lasted forever.
Replaced it with the same brand. Apparently, some models are now made overseas and use cheaper components, but the higher-end models are still made in Germany. Totally worth it.
Seconding this, buy a miele. Here in europe they are not even that pricey. I paid an equivalent of about 200€ for mine three years ago and it was worth it. If you’re in Germany you should be able to find an used one.
Third Miele. Might be a bit more than the usual, but some things you have to pay more to avoid having to buy cheap two or three times. I love the adjustable power, so you can clean delicate things or stuff that would get sucked up easily. The full power isn’t all that loud either compared to others we’ve had.
I bought a Miele S8 off marketplace about 5 years ago. After I bought it, I did some research and found the same thing you did. The S8 was the most powerful vacuum that Miele ever made, and used a motor made in Germany. After that model they replaced it with the C3 that is almost identical except uses a Chinese motor.
Miele C3 Complete
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10x better than a dyson. Great attatchments, never clogs, very good particle filter, powerful as fuck, attachments have hair grabbing fabric used on old anti-lint brushes so scrubbing at spots matted with hair (dog on a welcome mat), everything is made of very thick plastic that won’t break off, head is fully rotatable (as long as the head fits under furniture, you can completely vacuum under).
We have even used it sucking up dust and stones in our renovation sometimes and it hasn’t affected it at all.
How are they dying? The only issues I tend to run into are the belt wearing or people sucking up shit that gets them clogged. Every time one of our vacuums stops working, my wife is about to order a new one and I disassemble the broken one and find it’s full of tape and bread ties and fabric scraps and, naturally, dog hair. I have to do this all the freaking time because neither my wife nor kids gives any fucks what they suck up.
I haven’t had one actually break in years and we buy cheaper vacuums, so I would look into a full disassembly and cleaning out the guts and cutting hair off the roller before necessarily seeking a replacement. If you’ve already done that, then fair enough, but I’ve brought back dead vacuums at least a dozen times.
Mostly little plastic clips and pieces. This includes: The connectors for the pipe, the wheels of both the hoover and the head, the opening mechanism, the wall plug, the mechanism for winding up the cable, the mechanism for adjusting the pipe length.
All pretty minor, but at some point it’s just a pain to continue using it, and we decide to retire it, for our own sanity
Dyson is overpriced trash.
I have a v8 Animal for casual stuff that’s like seven years old or something and I love it very much. It was 300USD on sale and I wouldn’t vacuum anywhere near as much if I didn’t have it.
That said, for a corded vacuum, I 100% would go for a canister bag vacuum. They’re infinitely better than bagless and last forever.
I purchased my Dyson in 2002 or 2003, I don’t remember the model. But we bought it cause it was on sale, and at the time had the best reviews. It turned out to be the best vacuum, it’s was so good my SIL and FIL went out and bought the same model. I love it and am dreading trying to find a replacement when it dies.
It’s disappointing to hear their vacuums are not the same quality they used to be. Mine was so good!
Unfortunately , The plastic body on mine is starting get brittle. However, the motor, cord and tubing are all holding up great.
I agree. I maintained a dyson (I think it was a V6) for a couple of years. They are generally designed so well, it literally pokes your eye where they made the materials extra thin to break earlier (for example the pipe connection mechanism and the electrical connectors)
I gave up when the main body started to break. Using a Philips now. Better in many ways but still far from perfect.
The availability of spare parts is really good though for dysons. Lot of cheap stuff on Amazon and eBay. Buying a spare battery for the Philips for example is much harder.
If you’re planning to use it every day, I suggest you consider investing a bit more and get a good one! Spend your money where you spend your time
I got a Miele a few years ago and love it it’s a little pricy, but they are well made and have good warranties. A vacuum repair person recommended the brand to me saying that when they do finally break, they are much easier repair.
But are their current models still good, or have they also gone down the profit maximising route?
Looks like they are still very good. I have the C1 which is still made in Germany. I wouldn’t buy a model made in China, regardless of manufacturer, but to each their own.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1cban91/miele_vacuum_worth_the_cost/
https://www.rtings.com/vacuum/reviews/miele
The biggest knock Rtings has us the cost of operation (filter and bag replacements) but you can get reusable options for both. I have two very sheddy dogs and one reusable bag has worked fine as long as I’ve owned the vacuum.
Advice for any purchase really that I learned far to late, cheap is expensive. A $400 vacuum that is made well, repairable, and will run for 20+ years is better than a new $120 vacuum every 5 years.
