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
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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
/thread
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
That does sound annoying. Especially the cord winder, I forgot I did run into that and it wasn’t worth messing with it. Idk why your experience is so different but good luck in your search!
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
The term my husband uses is, “Buy it nice, or buy it twice!”
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.
Sebo is more reliable these days, I’m really happy with mine.
I remember seeing a post on Reddit from some vacuum repair guy and the overall takeaway I’m pretty sure was get a miele
I don’t have strong opinions on vacuums in general, we don’t have much carpet in our house, I have a roborock s7 on our first floor to clean and mop, but that’s all tile and hardwood and an s6 that runs in our basement that is the thinnest cheapest carpet known to man. For our second floor and stairs, we have a shark lift away. It seems to work well enough, I like it being cordless, and the lift away setup is nice for the stairs. Had it for a couple years now and we’ve been happy so far. If you have a bigger house or more carpet than we do though, the batter life way disappoint you.
I asked him (the vacuum repair guy) about a specific model for ellergic people and got the same answer, Miele. Got one and it’s the best vacuum I ever had, still works perfectly well, it’s just a bit scratched after some 10 years.
Lightweight and with all the filters for allergies too btw.
On a side note, he said keep away from dyson because it’s crap.
I think his name was /u/donttouchmyfuckingcoffee. His occasional vacuum AMAs were pretty interesting.
We went to a little shop that repairs vacuums and such and found an old Electrolux cannister vacuum from the 70s or 80s for relatively cheap. Apparently they are quite popular with people who clean houses professionally as they last a long time and are repairable. It’s a bit of a pain to drag around the cannister but really not too bad over all and works very well.
Not the OP, but that’s a great idea.
Like the OP, my spouse and I have become quite tired of those (overpriced) full-plastic pseudo brands that are worth shit, and we’re also not that interested in connected robotic battery-powered vacuums either. I will check around if I can find some good old school wired vacuum, and also ask my local thrift store owner if they have any idea where I could find some around here.
This was a few years ago but I was able to google something like “vacuum repair” to find this place where we got ours. They had lots of used repaired ones but we had to hunt around the shop a bit til we found the one we liked
One thing to do is to check thrift stores for old busted ass Kirby or comparable vacuum cleaners. Even an Oreck XL. Those old tanks are usually nothing more than a motor, belt, and switch so they’re pretty easy and cheap to fix. No circuit boards or anything, very much ‘buy it for life’ but once in a while you might spot one sitting around for 10-20 bucks/euros in some thrift store because the belt is off a little and the owner mistakenly thought it’s a really expensive repair and dumped it off
I don’t know about buy it for life, but an Oreck XL is a good value and easily repairable. We had one for about 12 years. It ran through many bags, about half a dozen belts, one puppy-chewed power cord, a few disassemblies to remove foreign objects that were too big for its rather small intake, and one replacement wooden brush cylinder. I doubt the consumables and repair parts even hit a hundred bucks for over a decade. When it finally went (cracked interior housing that refused to respond to super glue and cable ties), we just got another. In the interim, it’s just a good flat-floor vacuum. We have a random cheap-ass hoover with attachments for nooks and crannies, and because it gets little use, it’s lasted quite a while as well, though it wouldn’t last a year if it were the “main” vac.
My mom had one for 20 years before the motor finally gave up. Got a new one of the same model to replace it and it’s still going 15 years later.
I’ve got a Miele canister vacuum and it has way more options than I really need, but man is it easy to work with just like the Oreck was. The nice part with the canister is that I can use it for anything. Except water. Get the ShopVac for that.
They all suck.
Vacuum cleaners suck.
Try a Henry. I’m in the US, where getting one for cheap seems quite difficult. Within Europe, though? You’ll probably have better luck. Henry’s known for reliability and longevity, while also being easy on budget. Some of the most expensive ones are just £200. They’re even on sale right now.
They’re also just cute.
We hada Philips and a Dyson, which were in our opinion trash. We now have a Nilfisk for the last five/six years, holds really well.
Get on eBay and pick up a used Miele canister vac. The C1 is underpowered but C2 and 3 are good
You can get brand new but scratched items for €70 or so.
They haven’t gone downhill, they’re still excellent quality
Henry also makes incredibly reliable vacs, but they’re a horrible design and fall over constantly, as well as catching on every corner
Gotta second the Miele. We have the C3 and it is fantastic. Our friend who is allergic to cats barely had any trouble when she comes over because of that vacuum, she even ended up buying one too.
They are expensive so hopefully you can find a used one. There are also places that will repair them, so you don’t need to trash them if something breaks.
These very well could be out of your price range, but I really encourage you to consider a robot vacuum. https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html
I got my first one back in 2017 and they’re wonderful.
And here I thought someone was just going to say they all suck. My brain is just wired for terrible jokes…
Yes this.
Check out the don’t vacuum me site and pick a ‘hackable’ robot. Add Valetudo and you’re set.
Using a Roborock S6 here, started by home assistant when no one is home.
For the occasional jobs/accidents, we use a Hyundai cordless. Really robust, easy to clean and properly designed.
Wish that was an option, but the animals wouldn’t want to share they’re space with robots I’m afraid.
I have to say I never use my I robot vacuum…it’s terrible loud and goes over the same place constantly. I’m very meh over the 2023 model.
I second this. Have a Roomba that goes a couple times a week and it is great for picking up cat hair!
Third. Love my roomba, works well to keep the dog hair to a minimum. We’ve also got a Shark which is also great. Both were quite expensive but I’d say worth it. I love not having to hoover regularly but having the shark for spot jobs and upstairs now and then really helps too.
Since you are in Germany, buy a sebo. Great power and supposedly inexpensive since they are made in Germany. Some of them come with 10 year warranties and replacement parts are readily available.
Also if you want repairability, do not buy a Shark. They have 900 models and getting replacement parts can be extremely hard because they don’t make the same model for very long. Dyson is slightly better in that regard but not much.
I second this, OP. I have a sebo, I’m very happy with it.
