I had a dirt devil upright ‘featherlight (model)’ vacuum which many years ago 15+ was a top pick. It was a model which required bags and with that the advice to replace them when the bag is 1/2 full, which I did. I have also heard that bag models are better and that’s why hotels use them, sounds good.
I recently was gifted a bagless ‘vortex’ vacuum which was a discontinued model with a cost of $44, so nothing really out there actually dirt cheap (pardon the pun, I could not resist), even at full cost was about $70. So I went over what I thought was clean (my carpet) and the amount of dust, pet hair, and lint like stuff was well gross and wow so much. I did see stuff fly out of the carpet into the vac as I was using it.
Hoping it will hold up over time, there are 5 separate filters and only the first 2 are washable, but man what a difference, it even seems cleaner.
I also had a Dirt Devil for many years and it seemed like it was doing a good job. It started sparking when I plugged it in one day so I figured it was time to replace it. I bought a Shark and I could not believe the amount of cat hair it sucked out of the carpet. I could’ve crocheted another cat. My carpet is old but it looks and feels newer after using the Shark.
When I first switched from my old bag vacuum to a Shark, I had to empty the canister EIGHT TIMES just vacuuming the rec room. My husband came home and said “it smells good in here.” No, it just smelled less bad.
Any new vacuum SHOULD work better than an older one of relative quality. The seals are still tight, the blower blade is still clean, the motor bearings have less drag, all secondary filters are still wide open.
Yep, I switched from a Dyson to a bagged Meile and had the same “I can’t believe how often I’m filling these bags!” experience. I have a little $45 bagless Dirt Devil I use for small jobs, that picks up an amazing ton, and I have a Roomba, which is my new baby. I have to run it all the time because its canister is tiny and I have a dog and a cat (it takes two days to get through the house, then I start over - but Roomba, I let it charge, push a button, empty it out, charge it, push a button), but the floors look awesome all the time.
I’ve had a Shark Rocket Pro for three years. The roller brush is clogged with my wife’s (long, frequently shed) hair, but otherwise the thing is working just as well as it did on day one. My car has a bunch of annoying crevices just under the trailing edge of the hood where leaves gather, and the shop vac couldn’t pick them up, but the Shark did!
Though it will wreck havoc on your carpet over time in terms of wear - and you have to be very careful if you use it on a hardwood floor that you don’t scratch the hell out of the wood.
I have a Miele upright and I HATE IT! For a $600+ vacuum, I’d expect that it could pick up a goshdarn Cheerio. Nope, just pushes it in front. Vacuum up a dropped price tag? Instant clog. It works tolerably well if I use the attachment, but I have miles of rugs and hardwood floors and two toddlers. I tried a non-upright Miele first, and it was a pain in the back…I had to hunch over to use it.
I had a big Dyson from early 2000s and I wish I still did. That thing was a powerhouse! But I let my ex keep it. I bought a lightweight Dyson after that and it sucks. Or, rather, it doesn’t suck. I kept it for upstairs, but…