Recommend me a vacuum cleaner!

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That said, I have had a Dyson Animal for 7 years now and I am completely happy with it. My only complaint is the lack of repair shops in my area. There is only one place in the entire county authorized to repair Dysons, whcih means they can pretty much charge whatever they want to fix it. It's not broken, but after 7 years of neglect it could use a thorough cleaning and a tune-up, swap out the belts, etc.
 
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I have two golden retrievers and my vacuum is an Oreck. It is an upright but it came with a small hand held canister vacuum too. Both are very light and I have absolutely no problems with the dog hair.
 
I love my Roomba. I have Saint Bernards. I send the Roomba out almost every day. I also have a Dyson--I use that for the stairs, etc. I liked my Roomba so much, I bought one for my 80-yr. old mom. I hate to vacuum. If vacuums qualified for neglect/abuse, my vacuum would have been at the front of the line. I'd rather be in the shower or on the computer or taking a nap while Hilda Hustompte does her thing (that's my Roomba's name). Downside--you can't spot clean with it. And, it doesn't do stairs. Upside--it takes up very little space and you can do other things while it vacuums. It also has a very good warranty.I love my Roomba.
 
Vacuuming sucks... :)

Do those Roomba things really work?

Honestly I'd almost rather go to the dentist than vacuum.
Mine works--I've had it for 3 years. I love it. It doesn't do stairs, so those I still 'need to have another vacuum to do those. And, it doesn't spot vacuum. I've had so many vacuums during the course of doing Saint Bernard and Newfoundland dog rescue, you don't want to know. I absolutely love my Roomba. It works. It works very well in my house which is mostly hardwood/ceramic tile, but I still have one room (the living room) that is carpet--and it works there as well. And, I also have dental phobia. I bought the Roomba after one of the people who adopted 2 Saints from our group recommended it. She sent it out 2x / day when the dogs were blowing coat and it worked. She didn't have the "special" pet one, just the regular $300-400 model. That's what I have.
 
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CWS, you must have a different model Roomba to us as ours does do spot cleaning.

It has a spot cleaning button which you click and Roomba spot cleans by going around in circles in one general area...really nifty feature
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Bolle...if you get the Roomba, I am sure you wont be disappointed for the general cleaning it does and the fact that it does to for you, although I would be concerned with the amount of pet hair you have on your floors, as I dont think Roomba would be strong enough to get it all up, all the time
We need to hear from CWS. She has a Roomba and Saint Bernards!
 
CWS, you must have a different model Roomba to us as ours does do spot cleaning.

It has a spot cleaning button which you click and Roomba spot cleans by going around in circles in one general area...really nifty feature
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What I meant was that I can't send it out to clean up a "spot." Mine is a 400 series? I think. I'd have to pull out the manual...
 
We need to hear from CWS. She has a Roomba and Saint Bernards!
Mine works--it is a 400 series--not the pet version. I LOVE it. I got it on the recommendation from a friend who has adopted 3 Saint Bernards from our group and has 3 kids under the age of 8. She runs it every day--during shedding season, she runs it 2x / day. She got hers at Costco. Costco has honored the warranty--she's gotten 4 replacement ones (7 years), all on warranty, no cost to her ( she did send in the warranty card for the first one--it is good for 2 years, I think--she's gotten all of the replacement ones from that card). I absolutely love it--easy to use, clean and it works great on the hardwood, tile, and carpet. I've had Electrolux, Miele, Dyson. shop vacs, Kirby--I've had commercial (industrial) and home versions, yeah, they worked, but they were such a physical pain to haul out of the closet and push/pull around. And, belts would break, the beaters would jam with dog hair, etc. What I like about the Roomba is that I don't have to lug a vaccum out of the closet. And, that I can do other things while it does its thing--and it does do its thing. And, knock on wood, no broken belts, no jammed motor, yet.
 
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There is another good one, it is made by LG...I was telling Fiona about it in another thread...it is another robot vaccum and it is meant to be better than Roomba

When our Roomba dies, we will get the LG one :)
 
I have a Kenmore canister (made by Panasonic). It is 16 years old, and the only thing that I've had to repair on it was a wheel on the main unit, after dropping it down the stairs...

The really cool thing about this Kenmore, is that Sears carries just about every individual part for this even though it is 16 years old. I am not a fan of Sears in recent years, but this vacuum has been a workhorse.

My grandmother's 60's era Electrolux was an unstoppable tank, I have no idea where it is now, but she used it for over 30 years, I bet that they aren't built like that anymore!
 
The other option to consider is central vac. Not common in the States, but very common in Canada. The problem is you need someplace to store the gadzilla hose. A friend got the "kick vents" installed under her kitchen cupboards--all she had to do was sweep the dirt close to those and voila! the stuff was sucked up. You have to empty the canister--friends have had it installed either in the basement or the garage. That would have been my other option--but I find the Roomba and the Dyson work for me. The Dyson is for the stairs. And, I have LOTS of dog hair and sand. I use a shop vac in the basement if I need to vacuum down there--it isn't finished, so vacuuming is more or less related to "shop" activities. Regardless of the type of vacuum I had--canister, bagless, upright--and I've had them all--two Electroluxes (sp)--which were very good vacuums--I never vacuumed as often as I vacuum since I got the Roomba. Which reminds me...I could send it out now.
 
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Thanks for sharing your experience, people! I appreciate it! :)
Seems like people really like the Roomba. But you would have to have another vacuum cleaner aswell I'd think? To do stairs and things like pull out the hose and vacuum in the couch, in the car, in cracks etc?

Central vacuum is definantly high up on my list with heated floors and hard wood walls :cool:
But that won't be quite yet..
 
Thanks for sharing your experience, people! I appreciate it! :)
Seems like people really like the Roomba. But you would have to have another vacuum cleaner aswell I'd think? To do stairs and things like pull out the hose and vacuum in the couch, in the car, in cracks etc?

Central vacuum is definantly high up on my list with heated floors and hard wood walls :cool:
But that won't be quite yet..
A friend got hers as a "reconditioned" central vac. I think she bought it and all the extra venting, etc., for $800. She sold it with the house 9 years later. I don't recall she had any problems. You could go with a Roomba and a shop vac (they are very inexpensive) for the stairs, doing the couch, etc. I have a shop vac at the farm--it works great except that the hose is really big and I have small hands. In hindsight, I would test the size of the hose against my hands re: comfort. Shop vacs are very inexpensive and the filters last a long time.
 
I have a Roombs/irobot and a bagless lightweight vacuum cleaner from Euro Pro. I run the Roomba often, but don't think it gets into the pile of the carpet. Thought about an Oreck, but not sure I want to deal with bags again. If you have hardwood, laminate or tile, the two I mentioned should do the job for picking up dust.

P.S. I follow-up w/ an H2O (steamer mop) for the tiled floors.
 
Take a look at Riccar vacuums. They are made in the US and the most heavily used commercial brand. They also have an excellent warranty. Pricing is similar to dyson, but the machines are better quality. They have metal parts :)

I have a four year old upright and last year someone (not mentioning names) in my household sucked up a bunch of drywall screws doing major damage to the motor, punching holes in the airways and generally chewing up the guts of the vacuum. They rebuilt it, replacing the motor entirely and several other parts. NO CHARGE.

I can't say enough good. Don't be scared off by list prices on their corp website. They are heavily discounted by dealers.

Riccar : Vacuum Cleaners - Upright, Canister, 8-Pound, Central Vacuums
 
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There are tons of canister vacuums out there. The one thing I cannot stand are the kind you can see what you pick up. I sometimes wish I had my old Hoover, where all you had to do change the bag..... never had a problem with it. We have a Dirt Devil Canister vacuum, and it's grosses me out to see everything that gets sucked up in there.
 
Btw, are bagless vacuums a nightmare to empty? Do you need to shower after? Wear a gas mask? Forcefully have your husband do it?
 
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