I’m looking for a relatively quiet, good residential vacuum cleaner.

Marketing efforts seem to indicate that the louder a vacuum is, the more powerful it is.

The Hoover I am presently using sounds like a T-58 engine being run up in a test cell.

Any recommendations in the $300 - $600 price range?

Thanks!

What's a vacuum cleaner?

Hah! Just kidding.

I have two Sears Kenmore Canisters (one for upstairs and one for downstairs). They're about 10 years old and still working fine. Kenmore parts are easily found and replaced when necessary. I like the canister style over the upright because it's lighter to push the power head around than struggling with the whole thing.

Have a yellow Dyson, and it is designed and works very well. I don't think it is louder than any other vacuum cleaner, and not having to buy bags again is nice.

We bought the yellow Dyson a few years ago. A+
No bags, it's light, fairly quiet and it does a good job picking up lab hair (they shed a lot).

I've got an old Kirby in the basement that you could have cheap, but you'll have to carry it up the stairs!

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"I also cook."

Here's a copy/paste of Consumer Reports recommendations for canisters and uprights. It's kind of small but I hope you can read it.

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I have a Hoover Windtunnel that works great! If you've never used a bagless, you're in for a surprise! I've heard good things about Dyson, but never owned one. Always had good luck with Hoovers, which are a bit cheaper, but do a great job with pet hair and enbedded dirt.

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Misty

Oreck XL is very light, easy to change out bag and works great, we have been using one in our family for over 10 years.

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

Another vote for Dyson. It does all floors and does not lose suction like our garage vacuum (Hoover Wind Tunnel bagless).

We bought a refurbed Dyson several years ago from www.overstock.com and it has been working flawlessly.

bob

My vacuum cleaner is the only commercial product that I own that doesn't suck.

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Festina lente - A. Caesar

Sears Customer Care called after I had purchased my vacuum cleaner and asked me if I liked it. I said, "Well, it sucks." She said, "Oh, sorry to hear that."

I bought the Kenmore that CR recommended a couple of years ago. My wife hates it. Whatever you buy, no matter who is recommending it, make sure your wife likes it!

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Insert short witty words here

Do not buy anything until you check out a central Vacuum system.
The noise is in the garage or the basement where the motor is. The dust that is not trapped is vented outdoors. The suction is much greater than a conventional vacuum. Cost is a little more depending on installation but it is REALLY worth it. I have recommended it for several families who now cannot imagine going back to their old vacuum.

http://www.thinkvacuums.com/vacuflo/vacuums.htm

DYSON - the Best I ever had!

Silver Dyson weekly. Hand held Dyson for touch ups. I had a $1500 Kirby for a few years and an equally expensive Electrolux. Dyson beats them both hands down for a fraction of the cost.

Vacuum with something else then go over it again with a dyson. You'll be amazed how much your whatever missed!

We had a 1978 vintage Electrolux Silverado cannister that was mostly metal and nearly bulletproof. In a moment of weakness, I traded it in 1999 for an Electrolux Epic 2000, which has turned out to be an epic piece of plastic excrement. I should have had the old Silverado rebuilt.

Two years ago we bought a yellow Dyson and that has been a wonderfully efficient vacuum. I ran a test on the carpet, vacuuming one area with the Electrosux Epic and a fresh bag. Then I ran the Dyson over the same area. Incredible amount of stuff picked up by the Dyson. Then I did the other half of the experiment -- vacuumed an exual area with the Dyson cleaned out, noted the debris collected, emptied, and vacuumed the same number of strokes over the same area. There was a little more dog hair in the Dyson on the second pass, but that was it.

The Dyson is simply a more efficient machine. We were so impressed that we bought our daughter a Dyson Ball for her dorm room at college. She gets lots of requests to borrow it, and being a chip off the old block, she rents it out at $5 a clip. Weekly income is between $50 and $80. In half a semester she made enough income to buy a replacement Dyson Ball if she had to, but the machine is like an iconic drum-beating pink rabbit.

Noah

My wife uses a thirteen year old Orek XL. She managed to blow a fin off the fan with a live .22LR sucked off our son's carpet. Repaired under warranty but repairman said she should try not to do that again.
She also uses an Orek at work (church with lots of carpet).
Motel that I stay at a lot uses them and the housekeepers fuss if they have to use the "heavy" spare. They keep parts on hand and repair them on site.

I did a lot of research on what the best vaccum was about a year ago. I ended up buying a Miele, it was around $950. I love it.

We've had Hoovers ,Kenmore's, High end Electroluxe, and Filter Queens....uprights and canisters. My Wife has finally settled on Oreck. We have two at home, we have one at my father in law's and bought one each for my daughter and son. That represents about five nice new "J" frames.... :-( ....I have to say I find them the lightest and most effective vacuums I have ever used. especially on stairs. Of course we have the small Oreck hand vac for furniture and curtains.

Another vote for the yellow Dyson. We've had ours for about four years now, and it still works better than anything else we've ever had.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

If you have hairy animals around the house the Dyson Animal is a great machine. A built in wand for hard to reach places and an attachment for upholstered chairs/sofa's. I think my wife considers me one of the hairy animals.

I have a construction company and we use vacuums all the time for final cleanup and all I can say is..... buy a commercial heavy duty vacuum. The commercial vacs are designed to be used a whole lot and are easy to work on and get parts for and are generally more powerful and heavy duty than residential home vacuums. I have bought several Carpetpro commercia vacs but I would see what commercial janitorial companies use in your area and ask what they would recommend and where to buy it locally.

Bought 2 Oreck XLs off the internet web sight. orek.com has good deals -- better than the mall store.

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S&WHF 366

What's the price range for vacuum cleaners?

What are some good brands, other than Hoover?

Is Target a good place to shop for them? Best Buy?

I need one soon.

T-Star

I say have the wife or kids do it, while you're at the range! Should I have read more before I hit the reply button?

About 18 years ago we bought a Rainbow. You fill the container with water. It picks beautifully. use it a while and you have a container of very dirty water that you either flush or throw out. It was featured in a "Everybody Loves Raymond." episode . When they used it at Raymond's house they had disgusting looking water but when they went to "Marie's " house they only got clear water.

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Gun Safety is no accident.

I like my Kirby.

Barb,
I too have a Kenmore cannister that is a great suckbucket. I bought it around 1988. About 5 years ago, the hose split in the area of the handle connection. No replacement hose available. This cleaner was in the neighborhood of $350 1988 dollars. No hose replacemrnt available?? No more Sears suckbuckets for me.
The good news is, after a generous application of rubberized tape to cover the damaged area, this machine still sucks.
Best,
Gary
PS
I would be interested to know more about the Rainbow machines. My neighbor has one he wants to sell. He says he spent $250 to have the motor replaced two years ago. Would it be a good buy at $200? Pros/Cons?

Does it count that I have a Hoover Windtunnel that I empty with my Ridgid shop vac because of:

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John

I have a refurbished Kirby that my Grandma gave us for a wedding present 33 years ago. The gal that cleans my house has to use it, though, my cat, Gracie and I are allergic!

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SWHF

Thanks to all for the great suggestions.

We will start by looking at the Dyson and go from there.

Regards

Ron

Another thought.....Buy one of the newer ones. I think the number is a 14. The telescoping handle is better than the one on the older models.

Holy ****...that's more than I paid for my first house!

We like Oreck. Ours is getting pretty tired after 10 years and we just ordered another Oreck XL off the internet. With their special and a $50 off coupon, we got one delivered for $150.

One lasted for 15 yrs. Oreck offered to rebuild it, but the better half wanted the new Oreck XL.

For the best results get the one your dog hates the most...they know. (o;

You might look at a Riccar. They are made in Missouri and make some that are similar to the Oreck and regular house vacs.

We have two of the lightweights for the RV's and recently bought a large one for the home.

I'm in the carpet business. Much of the worn out, nasty carpet we replace is due to poor vacuums and/or infrequent vacuuming.

Dyson and Simplicity vacuums are my favorites for the money. I own a Simplicity. Kirby is good, but their pushy salespeople are mostly ex-cons, and I'd never let them into my house.

Try to pick one with a carpet/floor setting which allows you to turn off the beater bar. People think I'm nuts because I vacuum my wood floors but it makes things much easier.

Never buy a Walmart Hoover. When it breaks (and it will) you'll find that no service is available and you'll just have to go and buy another inferior unit to replace it. Swallow hard and just spend the money now. You'll be ahead in the long run.

Have an earlier model Dyson, ours is red. Works well, but the bottom hook to wrap the cord on broke. It's also somewhat complex to configure - reminds me of a Transformer.

Wouldn't mind having a newer model, which is likely more refined.

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Don't need no stinkin' sigline

Have had Kirbys for the past 42yrs.

We have been using a Dyson Animal for three years and dearly love it. We really need a good vacumn - we have a couple of hairy dogs

Same here.

We have two Orecks; originally, we got a red commercial version. My wife liked it so much, I got a grey XL for the upstairs. If weight is an issue, Oreck is the way to go. Very light and commercial duty.

First, do you really think you're going to get a valid assessment of vacuum cleaners from a bunch of men whose only experience with them is raising their feet when the wife runs one past them while they are sitting in a chair watching sports on TV?...
I have no idea which one is best, but my wife has had several during her past 46 years of housekeeping...Kenmore, Hoover, Electrolux, Kirby, and has fallen in love with her Oreck XL she's had for about six years. If it ever breaks down it will be replaced with another Oreck.

I have a Simplicity - which I bought because I was assured it was U.S.-made. I was told they had just built a brand-new factory, in Iowa, I believe, to produce product that they had been buying off-shore... ?

Whether true or not, I can't say, but they got my money on that point.

It has been good, but was at the upper end of your target price range. I like it.

Why would you want to clean a vacuum?

I mean, by definition, isn't a vacuum devoid of all matter, including dirt?

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I used to have a Composition teacher who actually counted off for what he called "picking nits."

What are these machines properly called, then?

A dust collector.

What machine?

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

+ 1 For the Oreck. Like it so much I bought the floor scrubber.

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jj