What's the best household vacuum cleaner on the market?

I get a cheap bissell for $45 bucks. it’s lasting quite awhile.

I love my Shark- lightweight, claims to never lose suction (like the more expensive Dyson Balls), and only about $100

Dyson animal…. (D25) ummm, my family tends to shed!

My wife has the worst luck with vacuum cleaners. after 45 years of marriage, we are on our 10th vacuum cleaner. we have used the novelty “steam and clean” type with no success. most of the vacuums we have used, breaks its belt after about 10 uses. you can smell the rubber burning and we know what is coming. we keep our vacuum cleaner repairman in the bucks with breakdowns and maintenance.

I really cannot advise which vacuum to buy, our luck with vacuum cleaners is no better than yours.

@john65pennington Yeah I agree The Dyson is a great machine.

Was a bit skeptical about the “Pet Hair” attachment.
To my surprise it works better than expected.
If asked would I purchase another Dyson, my answer would be yes.

I have run a cleaning business for 30 years. I have had the opportunity to use a large number of different vacuum cleaners. Although I have never used a Dyson, I can say that all the rest of the bagless vacuums are a total pain in the @ss. They can take hours to properly clean and service, and some of them have costly filters to replace as well. Although the bag vacuums do decrease in suction as they fill, in my experience, they are still easier to use because maintenance mostly consists of replacing a bag.

I prefer vacuums that are easy to unclog myself. Some of them require a trip to the shop if you get a clog in the hose. ThereforeI want a hose that is wide enough and simple enough that I can run a broom stick down it to help unclog it. It also means I want as few extra bells and whistles as possible, because there are less to break.

I used to have a Kirby. It was great. It had a motor that never burnt out, it had a hose that rarely got plugged, and when it did you could unplug it yourself because you could run a broom handle through it from one end to the other. It also had tons of cool attachments. Replacement parts were not expensive, and it ran forever. However, it cost a fortune, and unless you are anal retentive enough to save your receipt for 15 years until it needs factory service, you can forget about getting it repaired. Because they will not help you without proof of purchase, Kirbys are a bad choice in my opinion.

When my Kirby died, I bought a simple, no bells and whistles vacuum. It was the cheapest on the market but it fit (almost) all my requirements. Here’s a link to the one I bought, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=productsearch&cd=1&ved=0CEkQgwgwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16896200210%26nm_mc%3DOTC-Froogle%26cm_mmc%3DOTC-Froogle- What I did not like about this was the fact that it did not do bare floors so well, and the beater bar continues to run if you are using the attachments. I bought mine from a local dealer, but it can be bought online.

and here’s a link to the cannister varriety. http://www.generalhouseware.com/Vacuum_Cleaner/Vacuum_Cleaner_47.html I did read a review that the bags are hard to find, but I would imagine that if they sell the vacuum, they should sell the bags too.

@snowberry All excellent points! The Dyson meets your requirements for having a cleanable hose (with broom handle if desired). It is also the easiest bagless to empty and clean that I have ever used. The filters are good for 3 months of pretty heavy household use (probably more frequent for a pro).

I have a love/hate relationship with my vacuum. I love it because it does such a good job cleaning my carpets and wood floors. I hate it because when it does such a good job I feel like a filthy pig that does nothing but shed hair and skin particles. It’s a Dirt Devil Reaction 2, dual cyclonic bagless thing. It has all the attachments onboard too. We vacuum regularly once a week. Two adults live here and two elderly cats. We empty the canister twice per room on average. It has great suction and is easy to propel. We paid around $150 for it. Never having used a Dyson, I cannot compare but really, I would get another one of this kind in a heartbeat. We got this at Sears and while the salesman was very informative, he didn’t try to “sell” us on any specific type. So, kudos to Sears and Dirt Devil! Good luck on your search.

@elbie I bought a “Dirt Devil” last year (a blue Dirt Devil model), and it broke down within 3 months. I was vacuuming with it one day, and all of a sudden it stopped working! Seemed like it overheated or something, but it never sucked well at all to begin with. The bagless canister’s latch had snapped in half too. And to make things worse, it was heavy and too noisy to use. Sigh.

I might give the Dyson a try, as most here seem to attest it works the best. Just hope it’s not too expensive.

A Rainbow, by far. If not, use a Compact Electra. But whatever you use, keep that bag/filter emptied!