tell me what vacuum to get, under $250

[DaisyO]

Hey,

I need to buy a vacuum, but am not able to understand the "reviews" online, many of which appear to be hoaxes perpetrated by vacuum companies, and others of which appear to be the nearly arbitrary ramblings of lonely people.

So, what should I get!  I need to buy one, like, a.s.a.p.  Have mostly hardwood floors plus two Turkish rugs.  I want to be able to clean very well around the walls near baseboards, so I think I must get a canister vacuum with a "crevice" tool.  Ideas?

Thanks so much for the info, womyn

D

[nyssaneala]

I can't really recommend a specific vacuum, since ours cost more than $250, but if you have mostly hardwood floors, I would definitely go with a canister instead of an upright, so you are on the right track! 

We have a Riccar vacuum, which I love, love LOVE. But it cost $750. 

Another great brand is Miele, and they do have a canister that is a little closer to your $250, the Miele Olympus. If you have an authorized dealer in your area, you can try out the floor model vacuums, which I found very helpful when we were shopping for one.

http://www.amazon.com/Miele-Olympus-Canister-FiberteQ-SBD350-3/dp/B002YPUO5U/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1348061312&sr=1-1&keywords=miele

I honestly would stay away from most of the brands found in the big-box stores if you can. Eureka, Hoover, even Dyson all have very short life-spans. We bought our Riccar after going through 3 cheaper vacuums in 3 years....and the Riccar has a 10 year warranty, so I figured we would be spending that much over 10 years anyway if we kept buying the cheaper vacuum cleaners.

[Basylica]

I just bought a dyson after wanting one FOREVER.....

but I can impart my exp otherwise!

my first was a dirt devil bagless. it died after about a year and it's filter was IN the dirt cup which was a huge mess and ugh...just NO. so if you buy a bagless make sure the filter is SEPERATE from the dirt cup. never again *shudder*

I then bought a bissel upright with the two seperated (target, 80 bucks ish?) and it was ok. sucked up dirt and all. but they only lasted about 2 years a pop (replaced it with same model) and I don't vac very often since I was traveling constantly....

altho I did have toddlers! lol.

normal family use would probably kill in a year.

I've heard nothing but great about dyson and when this one died i decided it was time. haven't had a chance to do more than a quickie on the livingroom but thus far i'm loving it....but it's so sexy ;)

http://www.vacuum-direct.com/

I got mine here if anyone is interested, 20% off and free ship and no tax.

overstock carries them too.

You might be able to get away with a smaller vac since you have solid floors and rugs, I have wall to wall carpet (the newer dysons boast being able to glide between surfaces and I did mine back and forth across berber and tile with not a skitter) so my needs are diff.

but yeah, avoid the filter/container thing. and bissel was ok but didn't last very long. other than that, I got nothing :)