A Dyson! With five cats, my family is a challenge to any vacuum cleaner and the Dyson has turned out to be worth every penny. And even though they're pricey, I bought mine at Bed Bath and Beyond with one of their 20% off coupons. Highly recommended!
Ruth, mine is several years old now and I don't think they had a fur specific one when I bought mine. It was just a basic model but it does an amazing job on pet fur. It collects the fur in a plastic cup (no bags!) and I'm always shocked at what comes off my floor. It literally looks like an entire cat every three days or so.
I have a Dyson too and it was worth every penny. My family is VERY hard on vacuums and we would go through one every 18 mos or so (if I am recalling correctly). We bought the Dyson and it has lasted us 4 years so far and is still going strong. It works SO great! Of course, I have not had to use it recently. I love having teenagers.
A few years back, I had a nice upright Eureka. It did just fine. But you know, you have to change the bag, and I got swept away by all the hype about bagless vacuums... Yeah, you can probably see where this is heading.
Anyway, I bought a Bissell. It was one of those uprights-but-can-take-off-canister ones. Oh goodie, I thought, my problems are solved.
Well, they weren't. First of all, the thing weighed a ton. But that's only minor. It was the *&$#@)*^ bagless part that became a total pain. Because, I had to dump out the collector. (Did I mention my allergies? Did I mention that there is no way to dump a collector without a dust plume?) But wait--not only that, but there were the two filters that had to be washed every time. And the collector container would get dirty, so had to be rinsed out. In other words, every time I vacuumed, I had to wash out the (*#@)*^ insides of the vacuum! And to top it all off, the thing never did pick up well.
After a couple of years, I'd had enough. I was very sad that I had gotten rid of my Eureka upright, bags and all. I gave the Bissell away--took it to Goodwill.
Now I have a Kenmore Progressive canister vac from Sears. I love it. Yes, it has bags--you can use HEPA bags, or just their high-end non-HEPA bags, which do fine. It wheels around nicely. It has all the attachments I need. I works great. AND I don't have to wash the insides or wash any filters or dump and rinse any collector. It has filters that have to be replaced every few months, but this is no big deal.
I admit to being a bit cowed by washable cups and rinsable filters. I do like just taking the bag out and pitching it. Does the Dyson have all kinds of gadgets that need attention every time you use it?
I'm going to check out the Kenmores too.
Susan, I've never washed the plastic dirt cup on my Dyson. I just empty it in the trash and give it a few taps on the side of the trash can to get all the dirt out. Then pop the cup back in and I'm ready to go. I clean the filters every six months or so. It takes about five minutes and is no big deal. I'd never go back to using bags (and I can't afford it!)
DH and I also have a Dyson and LOVE it! We have the purple one, which is called The Animal. We have 4 cats, and it works perfectly. As far as attachments... no, it is not high maintenance to use at all... very simple. The few attachments it has are clicked right onto it - they clip right off when you need to use one.
As far as the bag/bagless issue is concerned... my DH does most of the vacuuming (I am very lucky), and he almost always empties the canister outside, straight into a trash bag. He has allergies. I just asked him about this, and he said, he might get a small poof of dust while emptying, but it's just not a big deal. Since he's outside (unless weather is bad), any dust dissipates quickly.
These are the reasons why he feels it's worth it, despite getting a little bit of dust when emptying....
1. not having bags is more environmentally friendly
2. you can't beat the pull of a dyson - 7x the pull of gravity
3. dysons never lose their pull
4. they pick everything up!!!
5. no belts or complicated parts
6. extra long cord
7. easy to push
BTW, we bought ours on Overstock.com almost 4 years ago. We got a "refurbished" one and have never had a bit of trouble with it. Got free shipping. So, we paid over $100.00 less than they cost at most stores.
Our really, really old Kirby was great, but the new ones don't work nearly as well. I vote for Dyson! They rock!!! (We bought a Dyson when we realized our Oreck wasn't doing anything. To test we did this: We used the Oreck to vacuum the living room. Then we vacuumed with the Dyson. The Oreck picked up NOTHING and the Dyson's canister was filled!)
I used to work for a vacuum cleaner company back in the day...and the fact is, the kinds with the cannisters or recepticals that you dump are much more effective than the kinds with the bags.
The reason, is because for the bags to be effective, there must be airflow. During the first couple of times that you use one with a bag, the pores in the bag get blocked with dust and dirt VERY quickly. When this happens, the machine picks up SOME of what is on your floor...but not everything. Unless you put a brand new bag in every time you use it, it isn't getting everything.
Also, if you are allergy sensitive, machines with bags are horrible. When you start up the machine, you get the "smell". You know, the smell that you get when you turn it on. That is SOME of the dust, dander, skin cells, dust mites, etc. puffing through the pores in the bag. This is why bagged machines often get that little layer of dusty debris on them. Horrible for allergy sufferers...
I want a Dyson so bad....maybe I can talk DH into buying me one for Christmas....romantic, I know, but we've been married long enough where vacuum cleaners excite me more than diamonds.
A New Vacuum?
That is SOME of the dust, dander, skin cells, dust mites, etc. puffing through the pores in the bag. This is why bagged machines often get that little layer of dusty debris on them. Horrible for allergy sufferers...
