I went shopping last weekend for a new vacuum. In the past, we've owned a Kenmore upright, a Hoover upright, 2 Bissell uprights (pieces of *junk*), and a Eureka cannister. While the current house has the rough in for a central vac, and we had one in our condo, we have always preferred not to use them. The hose, the cords, storing all the attachments, emptying it...not for us.
This time around, I decided to do my research and invest in a vacuum that will meet our needs for the long haul. I wanted it to meet the following criteria:
- Adjustable height so Mr. Mel and I could both use it comfortably.
- A power head that would work well on pet hair.
- Adjustable suction.
- Cannister that was light weight.
- HEPA-certified as Mr. Mel is Asthmatic and suffers from alleries.
- Had to be within my $800 budget.
Next I started lookling at the German brand Miele (pronounced Mee-Lah). These vacuums are ranked at the top of nearly every consumer list I looked at for both performance and warranty. I was hard pressed to find a single bad review. It met all of my criteria and was within budget. Interesting to note about Miele vacuums: if you buy a Miele brand vacuum from a department store for signifigantly less than you would from a specialty store, be aware that it is because the ones sold in big box stores and department store are manufactured in China, not Germany.
I also researched the German made Sebo brand vacuum. It ended up being nearly identical to the Miele in features and price. It typically shares top spot on consumer lists with the Miele.
It looked like I had a decison to make, so off to the vacuum store we went. Once we had a chat with the salesperson, we elected to go with the Sebo. She said that, while both companies rarely have warranty issues, Sebo is far more attentive to the customer than Miele. So it was done. The unit we bought is the Sebo K3. I comes with the ET-1 powerhead, a parquet brush, crevice tool, dusting brush, upholstery nozzle, is HEPA-certified, uses biodegradeable bags and filters, and is very compact and lightweight. It retails for $879 C, but we managed to negotiate it down to $799 C and had them throw in a package of 10 bags (these retail for about $20 C). Annnnnnnd, it's shiny black which is kinda sexy, no?
I never thought I would be this excited about a vacuum but I can honestly say that I am thrilled with it! My carpets look amazing after using it! I can hardly wait to give it a try on my new hardwoods...hopefully I will be able to show those to you this weekend.
Later taters!
