My roommate and I are going our seperate ways soon. Unfortunately, this means that I’ll need to buy my own vacuum cleaner (among other things). Looking at the vacuums in Best Buy, I noticed than many of them are bagless. I like the idea of not having to change bags, but a coworker says that the filters for those vacuums end up costing more than the bags would. And frankly, changing a bag isn’t that much of an inconvenience that I want to spend more money to avoid it.
What are your experiences with bagless vaccums? Are they better than vacuums with bags? How long do the filters last? (I know the filters are kinda expensive, but if they last a really long time, it might be worth it.) And before anyone mentions it, a Dyson is absolutely not in my budget.
Diceman, we have a bagless - it’s a Hoover Foldaway. and we have had it for a number of (I think four) years. I just asked Mr2U about the filters - he’s only purchased one replacement filter - that was two years ago and it wasn’t that expensive. Like $10 or something. In the interim, he blows them out (there are two I think) with his air compressor, or he uses a dustbuster to vacuum the filer, and once in a great while rinses them out and then lets them dry (even though it says not to - he’s not into “directions” ). In any event, they hold up very very well - and I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bagged vacuum that worked as well as this one - it cuts down on our allergies and vacuums up dog hair like a trooper. I would NEVER EVER go back to a bag vacuum.
My mom has a bagless. I do maintenance on it for her every few months - I clean the filters, unclog anything that’s clogged itself, clean off the belt (and replace it if necessary), et cetera. Because of this maintenance, she’s never had to buy a filter and has only had to replace the belt once. The huge downside to the bagless vaccuums is that you have to empty them into a grocery bag or something and tie it off, because the dust will get EVERYWHERE if you just dump it into your garbage can (or just take it out to the dumpster, like my mom does).
I have a bag vacuum. I do maintenance on it every few months as well, and the only downside is that I have to remember what kind of bags I need.
Cheap vacuums aren’t even worth the maintenance, IMHO, but I still do it because it prolongs the life of the vacuum, filters, and belt. Not a lot of people seem to, though. shrug
If you have a bad memory, bagless is for you - you don’t have to remember which letter to buy. If you have strong aversions to dust and cleaning air filters, stick with the old fashioned bag kind.
I love my bagless because of my dog. I’ll empty out the container 3 times before I’m done vacuuming… a luxury I wouldn’t have if I had to worry about changing the bag. I’ve had it about 3 years and haven’t gotten a new filter, although I’m sure I’m due. I just slam it against a fence to get as much dust and dirt out of it as possible and stick it back on.
I remember a thread here about a year ago where folks were discussing their Dyson vacuums. IIRC, they were all quite happy with them.
I don’t think I’ll ever be convince to go bagless though, unless maybe if I could afford a Dyson, but I don’t think so even then.
Here’s a testimonial against the lower-end bagless varieties though. Last year, when we moved my Dad from his tiny one bedroom apartment and were cleaning it up, I had to empty that cup three times, with much of that accumulated dust, dust mites and other icky junk puffing up into the air and into my nostrils. Even then, the carpets still had to be gone over again by my sister, to the tune of another couple cups’ worth. And it was nearly impossible to push over the higher pile of the bedroom carpet. I wish I could remember what brand it was but there was simply no way to adjust for that on it.
Now, my Dad lives next door to me in a larger one-bedroom apartment, the size and layout of which is identical to mine. He still has to empty the cup twice when vacuuming. I only have to change the bag on my higher-end Hoover every 8 or 10 vacuumings. And my Dad has been talking lately of borrowing mine because he’s finally realized that the suction power of his is wimpy, wimpy, wimpy.
The moral of the story is, if you absolutely must have a bagless, don’t go low-end!
No experience with bagless, but I do find it hysterical when that Oreck guy, on his vacuum cleaner infomercials, tries to explain why bagged vacuums are better, and the only thing he can come up with is that dirt particles are released in the air when you empty a bagless vacuum. Yeah, when done in the purposefully sloppy manner shown in your commercials. When you empty if carefully, or outside even, little or no dirt escapes. Really, is that the best he could come up with?
I guess I’m assuming I’d have to change a bag as often or nearly as often as emptying my container. I’ve never owned a dog and a bag-type vacuum at once… do they hold substantially more than a similarly sized tub?
It’s not that big a nuisance to take out the canister, dump it into the trash, and put it back in. I’d rather do that than change a bag after every single vacuuming session.
I have cats that shed a LOT, and we always had to change the bag after every vacuum, which was really inconvenient. It was really a joy to go bagless. (Granted, I do have a Dyson, which only requires you to wash the filter, but if I had to buy a filter every time I washed mine, it would still be cheaper and way more convenient than changing bags).
In my observation, you have to empty the container on a bagless much more often than one with a bag. AND you have to go outside to do it, or you will have a lot of the finer particles of dust, etc., right back where they were. Not too bad if you’re vacuuming, say, the front hall, but if you’re upstairs in the back bedroom, well, you still have to lug the thing down the stairs & out the door.
We have one rather expensive (and heavy) bagless and I hate it. Not that I love the bagged one, but if I have to use one I’d rather the latter.
Oh, and another thing – why are upright vacuum cleaners so much heavier than the used to be?
My only bagless was a hand-vacuum (Dirt Devil Platnum, IIRC) and I hate it. It doesn’t suck hardly at all and tends to reflux its contents as soon as it is turned off and moved. You cannot empty bagless without making something of a mess. I agree the infomercial is overly dramatic, but it is not a clean process. Oh, and I’ve been looking for a replacement filter for umm…about 5 years. I have a normal upright bagged vacuum that sucks right-nice. I use it to vacuum the filter of the bagless about once a month. Unless you want to invest in two vacuums, I’d go for a bag. I have a fluffy cat and track in alot of vegetative material and I change the bag maybe 4 times a year. In comparing my bagged to my sister’s bagless (both similarly sized and engineered and priced Hoover uprights) I would say that mine sucks more, unless the bag is full and definitely clogs less. YMMV
Exactly. It’s so easy to pop off the canister thing, empty it and resume vacuuming. As long as you stick the canister down into the trash can before opening it, the dirt doesn’t fly around. It’s never been a problem for me, anyway.
I was also bad at remembering to write down the bag number, so I’d often find myself at Sears, remember I needed bags, and of course realize I had no idea what type I needed.
I love my bagless vacuum.
No, you don’t. Here’s how I do it: Get a trash bag and open it. Put the cannister inside the trashbag, and close it tightly. Feel through the plastic until you find the trigger. Pull and empty the cannister, giving it a shake or two to make sure you’ve gotten out all of the dirt. Wait thirty seconds, then open the bag and take out the cannister.
Dysons ROCK! I utterly* love* mine. It works better than any vaccum I’ve ever had, and I’ve always had high-quality vaccum cleaners.
If you go with the baggie kind, remember to change bags when the bag is half full. The suction seriously falls off after that. Also, find out how tricky the bag change is. Some are truly a pain.
That’s why I got rid of my bagged vac. The suction dropped off dramatically when it was just half-filled, and it was a huge pain to change. When you pulled it off the tube, it always ‘popped’ off and made a little dust cloud. Getting the new one on was hard, too. You had to jam it on and was at a weird angle.
I don’t. My Panosonic has a bypass valve that opens if the vacuum falls off and it is always when the bag is full.
Stick bagless vacuums should be outlawed. They leak. Dysons are at least $150 more than a quality bag vacuum cleaner. If you have the extra $150 and have the patience to dispose of the dust in a controlled manner than go for the bagless.
I had a reasonably expensive bagless vacuum and I HATE HATE HATED it. It was a piece of crap. It was so tempermental.
I just dont get why people would want to SEE the crap inside their vacuums or would want to TOUCH all the crap inside their vacuums. I think it’s a giant step backwards, a gimmick. They make vacuum bags just fine.
It’s like cleaning poop out of a diaper when you can just buy disposable diapers.
After having that clunker died I bought a new one (the bag type). What I noticed was that the $300.00 vacuums had the same size motors as the $60.00 ones. I figured I could treat the cheaper one like shit and just buy another one if it broke. Of course it lasted longer than that other one.
I have to echo the sentiments of Black Train Song. I bought a bagless Wertheim with a powerhead 2 years ago, (costing more than a week’s rent then) and it’s given me nothing but trouble.
Every single time I’ve had to depend on it, it’s completely broken down on me. I’ve bought new filters, cleaned the hose, bought a new hose, taken it back, gotten it fixed and it’s just not worth it.
I just recarpeted (it looks lovely ) but it’s wool, and as it’s new, it fluffs a little. Do you think the million dollar vacuum cleaner with all it’s bells and whistles can deal with a little bit of fluff? NO. And then I borrowed my friend’s 10 year old one from KMart and it worked at treat.
I have a canister vacuum, by Dirt Devil I believe. I prefer seeing just how full it is, rather than guessing with a bag version. When you pull a bag out, it’s nearly impossible not to squeeze it somehow, and the dust goes flying. With a canister, I hit the unlock button, take it to the outside trash bin, tip it out and I’m done. Every couple of months or so, I’ll brush the filter outside and get rid of the tightly packed dust. You’re supposed to change the filter once a year on my model, but I hardly vacuum, so I’ll wait longer.
It was under $100, so it’s not the greatest, but it works just fine for me.
). In any event, they hold up very very well - and I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bagged vacuum that worked as well as this one - it cuts down on our allergies and vacuums up dog hair like a trooper. I would NEVER EVER go back to a bag vacuum.
) but it’s wool, and as it’s new, it fluffs a little. Do you think the million dollar vacuum cleaner with all it’s bells and whistles can deal with a little bit of fluff? NO. And then I borrowed my friend’s 10 year old one from KMart and it worked at treat.