Vacuum Recommendations?

Submitted by Bluegodzi11a t3_zyfub8 in BuyItForLife

I am hard on vacuums. Anyone have suggestions for ones that are easy to repair, aren't plastic that falls to pieces in a year, and have a nice array of attachments? New or old.

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Random-task1973 t1_j25lnly wrote

Was a Miele fan for years and then tried some Dyson vacuums. ( v7 V9 V11, and the ball shaped one ) Now back to Miele. Irony of them being BIFL is I’ve never had same one for more than few years. But Miele seem to have the best build quality and don’t cheap out on parts. Dyson wasn’t cheap either but VERY cheap build imo

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the_journeyman3 t1_j25squ5 wrote

That's been our experience with Dyson. Expensive. Not high quality. Lots of plastic.

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swampcholla t1_j25m8nf wrote

Vintage Kirby D-50.

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SwimTechnical8122 t1_j25xmcp wrote

> Kirby D-50

Agreed, but the newer models are solid, too. I bought a used Gsix in 2004 and, in 18 years, it has only needed belts and bags.

Kirby vacs are heavy & ugly, but are built like tanks and are easily repairable.

The best part about buying a used Kirby is not having to let a Kirby salesperson into your house.

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bubbanbrenda t1_j272ng1 wrote

I have a G4 that’s still a beast

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swampcholla t1_j278u45 wrote

mine was my Aunt's purchased in the late 50s. Have every accessory. Replaced the bag, one wheel, and the belt. I used it to clean te shop, it even picks up nails.

Mine did eventually fry a motor winding, and I need to find a new one. I damaged the rotor when I took it apart, otherwise i'd have it re-wound and back together.

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jesseberdinka t1_j2afmzj wrote

Any Kirby is almost entirely rebuildable. Built like tanks. Heavy but so worth it

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ComprehensiveRow4189 t1_j25yyrb wrote

Henry Hoover.

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cleena t1_j2742af wrote

I love my Henry. It's repairable, works great on hardwood or carpet, and is one of the quietest vacuums on the market.

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calmdowndearsir t1_j28a7j8 wrote

Loads of hotels use Henry Hoovers, I’ve noticed, which is a good indication of standing up under hard use

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morecoffeepleeease t1_j25pagc wrote

Miele if you want a canister and are happy to drop big bucks on one. Otherwise, Shark all day.

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trojankiller t1_j26b656 wrote

SEBO Airbelt E3, because SEBO as a vacuum brand is one of the more repair-friendly ones, and one of the reasons why I decided to go with it over Miele. It also has a decent selection of attachments that you can choose from, if you want to add onto the existing ones you get. Kirby upright vacuums are extremely sturdy, but they likely don't have the attachments you want.

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UghAreWeThereYet t1_j26mtdu wrote

I'm a huge fan of my Oreck XL upright. I've had it for 20 yrs now. One of my best BIFL purchases.

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armsinstead t1_j27m6ng wrote

My Oreck isn’t pretty, but it’s 16 years old and works as good as the day we got it. No bells and whistles, but it will suck every single thing out of a rug. The maintenance service deal that came with it is amazing too.

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UghAreWeThereYet t1_j2bou9d wrote

Absolutely correct! It may not be the most fashionable or sexy vacuum but that thing will suck a golf ball through a garden hose!

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EnrichedUranium235 t1_j2ev7nr wrote

Same here. I am on my third impeller but that is user error with random metal pieces getting caught and not removing them.

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quality_control_test t1_j295zpl wrote

Sanitaire commercial upright fits the bill. Easy maintenance, BIFL quality.

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Quail-a-lot t1_j275au1 wrote

If you are tough on vacuums, Rigid Wet-Dry Vac. Many of the old Kirby attachments can be fit on with an adapter but I don't really find I use many of them anyhow. Take a look at which ones you actually use. My life is sawdust and drywall and this is the way.

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PrimaryThrowawayName t1_j25wti3 wrote

Kirby. Check Craigslist or OfferUp, marketplace, whatever, and your local second hand store. Got mine brand new full price. Don’t be me.

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Billypisschips t1_j263di5 wrote

Kirby. Solidly built, but the wife says it is "like pushing a small car around".

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Jillredhanded t1_j26osl5 wrote

My Dyson D14 is still going strong after 20 some years.

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Nappykid77 t1_j27peez wrote

I gave up. 😔 Sorry

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SimpleVegetable5715 t1_j2a9lat wrote

Kirby (in my opinion the models prior to the Sentria) or for a basic upright the commercial Sanitaires. I'm sure there's plenty of info out there on the Kirbys, and I love my Ultimate G, but she's very heavy, and her attachments take up a lot of room. She's like the spend the whole day removing all the dust bunnies vacuum, kinda cumbersome.

But the Sanitaires clean carpets and clean carpets well for half the price of a professionally refurbished Kirby (so just grab a canister vacuum for the attachments to clean above the floor, like an old Kenmore Progressive canister). My Kirby, idk, the price point makes me worried I'll hurt it, even though I know that's probably almost impossible.

The Sanitaires are the same design as the mid century Eurekas, my family's Eureka was from the 1960's, and still worked perfectly when my mom rolled it out to the curb in the early 00's. No idea why she did that, aside from "the FiLtRaTiOn", but I bought a commercial Sanitaire last year, it's a workhorse, and it's like, oh I remember all of this from that old vacuum. It's the definition of, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", the design hasn't needed to change, because it works. Except it has an upgraded allergy filtration bag, and seems to be heavier duty since it's commercial grade not residential grade. The parts are extremely easy to come by, it's direct air, so it will clean the carpet and the padding underneath the carpet, it has insane CFM. The brushroll is metal and has bristles and a beater bar, but it vibrates the carpet clean, it doesn't damage carpet fibers for such a powerful machine. Both the Kirby and the Sanitaire will get all the sand out of your carpet, which is what cuts the carpet fibers like tiny pieces of glass. The only parts you'll probably ever have to replace are the bags, the belt, and maybe the fan if you vacuum up bullets and bolts. VacLab on YouTube does good reviews on vacuums.

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lukashovanova t1_j26lsia wrote

Love our Miele upright (for cat and dog) and our Sebo canister vacuum. Expect both to last at least a decade if not a lifetime (the Miele we got used off Facebook a few years back).

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Muncie4 t1_j26iz2j wrote

If you are hard on vacuums you will wreck any suggestions given here unless you stop being an asshat to your vacuum. Stop kicking the shit out of your vacuum, yanking the cord out of the socket from 20 feet away and slamming the filter closed with the Wrath of Khan.

Or likely the issue is your previous vacuums were the $89 specials from Walmart as there are many BIFL plastic vacuums as long as you don't make it a habit of giving them the People's Elbow when the head gets wedged under the couch.

Riccar and Miele are the kings really and feature a lot of plastic, but they are NOT your $89 Walmart stick vac plastic. Your bigger failure points are we don't know your budget and floor type as those are the #1 and #2 metrics of purchase and we know neither.

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bassjam1 t1_j263ku2 wrote

Just buy a $100 vacuum every year. I had a Dyson, got tired of fixing it. Thought a Miele was the ticket, I've taken it apart countless times, I've never had a vacuum so prone to clogging but so difficult to disassemble. Made it 18 whole months (and two heads) before my wife refused to use it anymore.

Now I just buy a new $100 vacuum every year. She's happy. I'm happy.

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SaintOctober t1_j27saky wrote

Isn’t this opposed to the very idea of this subreddit?

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bassjam1 t1_j28zqft wrote

Probably, but I don't believe there is a "buy for life" vacuum. Miele is often touted as the cream of the crop and it wasn't any better than any other vacuum I've owned. It was worse in fact when you consider the cost of ownership and how easily it clogged.

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the_journeyman3 t1_j26sgun wrote

I mean we have unlimited space in landfills for junk. Right?

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bassjam1 t1_j28yz2j wrote

When I can't buy a cost effective vacuum, sure. I'm not paying $500 for a vacuum to take a shit in 18 months when a $100 vacuum will last 12 months.

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