Vacuum cleaner nervous breakdown -- Please recommend!

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I have the same combo, an old Dyson multi floor and a Roomba and a Gtech for quick whizzing around. I am on my second Roomba. We are away for extended periods and I think the Roomba battery has died even th9ugh I charge it and remove it from the machine to store it.

for the price you wold think the batteries would last...it sounds fantastic the roomba though apparently it takes photos of the room so it knows how much work it has to do
 
for the price you wold think the batteries would last...it sounds fantastic the roomba though apparently it takes photos of the room so it knows how much work it has to do

I was thinking about getting one of those robot things, not that I particularly need it, I just quite like the idea of it going round and vacuuming while I'm out. It'd be one less chore to do.

I've got loads of timer switches in my flat. I set my kettle to start boiling at 05:50, the toaster to toast my crumpets at 05:55 (or the microwave to cook my porridge) and my internet radio to come on, playing France Culture, Europe 1, FIP or LRT Radijas, as these are my favourite stations. Not being a morning person, I find automating all these things helps enormously.
 
I'd buy another Oreck in a shot; my last one lasted 15+ years. There's so little to go wrong with an Oreck plus I like it's old fashioned look; very light-weight and bags easy to by on ebay or amazon. Weight is a huge factor for me. That said I bought a Vax cordless Solo for about £70 from Ideal World, intending to keep it until there was an Oreck TSV but it's working well enough. When we eventually move house I'll probably buy another Oreck. We still have the original Oreck canister vacuum and car vac that came with the upright. The canister copes with brick dust, daughters' long hair, cat and rabbit fur and cold ash from the fireplace; Mr Akimbo has a gizmo from the pound shop to funnel dust from drilling straight into the canister (which makes him disproportionately happy!).
 
I'd buy another Oreck in a shot; my last one lasted 15+ years...Mr Akimbo has a gizmo from the pound shop to funnel dust from drilling straight into the canister (which makes him disproportionately happy!).

Being disproportionately happy is wonderful.
 
If you're after high power and excellent pickup on pet hair, I think a dyson Cinetic big ball upright is a good choice. It's not without its faults - it's big and heavy and some people find it unwieldy. The bin emptying leaves a lot to be desired too (particularly with pet hair, because it gets sort of trapped in it and you have to get your hand in there to pull it out). But I've been happy with it overall just for its cleaning power. It also has a very long cord and and is quiet in operation. I know it's a bit of a marmite machine, but I really like mine.
 
I'd buy another Oreck in a shot; my last one lasted 15+ years. There's so little to go wrong with an Oreck plus I like it's old fashioned look; very light-weight and bags easy to by on ebay or amazon. Weight is a huge factor for me. That said I bought a Vax cordless Solo for about £70 from Ideal World, intending to keep it until there was an Oreck TSV but it's working well enough. When we eventually move house I'll probably buy another Oreck. We still have the original Oreck canister vacuum and car vac that came with the upright. The canister copes with brick dust, daughters' long hair, cat and rabbit fur and cold ash from the fireplace; Mr Akimbo has a gizmo from the pound shop to funnel dust from drilling straight into the canister (which makes him disproportionately happy!).

I heard those Orecks are supposed to be quite good. I've always thought they look like something a housewife might have used in the 1950s but I'm all for simple products that last a long time, and I guess the canister vac reaches the places the upright Oreck cannot. I'd rather have the retro-looking Oreck than a rubbish Dyson that will conk out after a year or 2. I bet the Oreck would go on for much longer.
 
i am really mean i hate buying consumables like hoover bags and filters that puts me off Orek and Miele
 
i am really mean i hate buying consumables like hoover bags and filters that puts me off Orek and Miele

We grew up with cats and an Electrolux cylinder vacuum, never had a problem. These days they are part of the same group as AEG I believe, and are considered the higher end. I had one myself which was perfectly ok until I had decorators in who, I suspect, did a spot of wet clean-up. Sadly it never recovered. I'm now using a Dyson upright and a handheld. Neither bought for anywhere near full price, not from QVC. Dyson's customer service is superb with any parts that need replacing provided free on an a home visit from an engineer which you do pay for it your machine is out of warranty.

I did a summer holiday job as a home help when I was 17 and got to use many museum worthy domestic appliances including very early upright Hoovers. They were clearly going to outlast their elderly owners, such was the build quality. They were made in an era when it was seen as normal to take pride in the longevity and durability and reliability out the appliances you bought. Later it was seen as commercial suicide so things began to be designed to fail within a certain period, and parts and servicing support was withdrawn. In the past a resourceful person with a shed ( usually, but not always, a man) would knock up their own replacement parts, when things were made of metal. Plastic is less easy to repair, prices for repairs cost more than buying a replacement.

I think a reason why people are inclined to turn to German products is because more of the ideal of durable, reliable, high quality, long-lasting goods still seems to prevail.

I'd get the best I can afford, and that should take into consideration warranty, service and breakdown support.
 
We have a Bosch cordless and it’s great for laminate and our stair carpet ....not pet hair I don’t think though
Miele sounds great and Henry /hetty heard good things about them
 
I have six very, very hairy dogs (⬅️ See my pic) & an ancient cat so know where you’re coming from. I have a really ancient hoover, heavy duty, voracious sucker but sadly no longer made to buy) & a Henry. Henry lives upstairs as I can’t lug the hoover up & he’s great on the carpets up there & the stairs.
 
Oh really? Why is that - I've still got my Mk1 which is soldiering on (just) but I was thinking of replacing it with the Mk2.

It doesn't brush to the edges on both sides, it is much harder to push (Mk 1 was almost self-propelled), and it doesn't clean as well IMO. I also don't like the foot switch compared with the handle switch.


Advantages are the lights on the front, and you can see how much has been collected (but they could have had a transparent box on the MK1 if they wanted to).

The batteries are NOT compatible BTW.

IF YOUR MK1 IS ON IT'S LAST LEGS AND VERY NOISY, GTECH WILL SEND YOU ALL NEW INNARDS, THEY DID THIS RECENTLY FOR MINE. They originally used a plastic gearbox which was not up to the job, and if yours has one of these they will provide almost the whole new cleaner with the more robust metal gearbox, for FREE , even if past the guarantee date (the original from Q had a 5 year warranty as far as I can remember)
 
I’ve got the very Shark model you mention in the original post, and think it’s fab! In fact, I got rid of my Henry when I realised how good the shark is.
My spaniel and cat both shed hair like there’s no tomorrow, but I find the shark the best vac I’ve ever had!

I'll second that I've got 2 Dysons a Hoover and an Electrolux none come anywhere to touch the small lightweight Shark Powerhead I have 6 large hairy shedding dogs it really copes exceptionally well My friend has the liftaway and loves it to cope with the shedding of 6 dogs and two cats !! Finding it difficult to contribute to the forum as the page keeps jumping about been like this for a while just don't know how to fix it :-(
 
Madaboutdogs, re the forum troubles,send a PM to Graham. I think a lot of people have had this problem, and I'm pretty sure there's a fix for it.
 
I'll second that I've got 2 Dysons a Hoover and an Electrolux none come anywhere to touch the small lightweight Shark Powerhead I have 6 large hairy shedding dogs it really copes exceptionally well My friend has the liftaway and loves it to cope with the shedding of 6 dogs and two cats !! Finding it difficult to contribute to the forum as the page keeps jumping about been like this for a while just don't know how to fix it :-(

Scroll down to the bottom left and change setting to metro.
 

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