Out of all the vacuums I've had (and most of the time I've had cats):
1960's Kenmore (at the time, made by Panasonic, I think) cannister with power head. Really good, but the power head broke every two years. After 3 repairs, I had spent the entire cost of the vacuum, with no end in sight. Sadly, I gave it up.
Hoover Windtunnel upright. God, I hated that thing. Heavy, and jammed like crazy. Aaarggggh! Was so happy to get rid of it.
Sebo upright. Expensive - at the time, THE most expensive vacuum on the market. Miele wasn't exporting vacuums yet. Really liked the pull-out extendable wand, great for getting ceiling cobwebs (by that time, we had a home with cathedral ceilings). This was a period of no pets. Finally died, and I was tired of changing bags, so I went to....
Hoover Air Cordless cannister, no bags. I LOVED this vacuum and bought 2 of them in succession. If I'd realized they were going to discontinue it (new design) I would have bought a third! Bought extra batteries to swap out and keep vacuuming whole house. Not as powerful as a corded but super-convenient to use. However, it started to die - batteries don't recharge for long, jams are more frequent. Then a stray cat adopted us, and does he ever shed like crazy! I have never in 60 yrs had a short haired cat shed so much. The Hoover could handle it for a while, but as it began to die, couldn't get the cat hair out of the area rugs.
Dyson V7 stick vacuum (cordless). This is a portable vacuum suitable for spot or lightweight cleaning. I dislike 2 things about it: you have to hold the power button down for it to work - the most recent model FINALLY has an on-off switch, I wish this one did. Also, the unit itself is tiring to hold if you're vacuuming ceilings - those lithion-ion batteries are heavy. Like most cordless models, the dust cannister is small, so empty it often. On the good side, attachments slide on/off easily with auto locking system. It is definitely more cheaply made than the Seebo and Miele, and the dustbin design is inferior to both the Miele and Hoover Air.
Miele Blizzard CX1 Vacuum (cannister). Finally bit the bullet and got a Miele thru Amazon. Reviews were very good but still, a couple of issues that are personal:
- This thing is HEAVY. It will seriously give you a workout. The extension tubes are STEEL, not aluminum, so they weigh A LOT just in themselves. And the pair of them nest inside one another, so if you lift it up, you are lifting both tubes, whether you have the length set at short or long. This is their first series that has washable filters, so no bags, which I happen to prefer.
- The powerhead is essential for picking up pet hair, and it too is REALLY heavy. Seriously, by itself it weighs as much or more than the vacuum cannister alone does! It is a 2-button start: start the vacuum, then click a 2nd button on the handle to activate it. On the good side, I was appalled at how much dust and fine dirt it picked up off that rug.
- The cord is a mediocre 25-ft length. That's barely okay for me, but honestly this vacuum is made for a bigger house. It's clumsy for me to work it around furniture corners and reminded me of why I loved my cordless vacuums so much! I would definitely not use this on stairs, it is simply too awkward.
- Adjusting the height of the beater bar and suction on the powerhead isn't difficult, but it isn't as easy as it should be, either. There's also a height adjustment on the cannister itself. In one sense the adjustability is nice; but in another way, it's more to futz with if you're being picky about your floors.
- Filters are washable (there are 2) but they do sell replacements if one wears out or gets damaged. Lots of YouTube videos help the how-to although Miele makes their connecting parts pretty idiot-proof.
- The bin is smaller than expected, so I empty it every time. Clean-out is very easy, however, and it dries in less than 24 hrs so I can just pop it back together and vacuum the next day.
- I will keep this vacuum - I hate vacuuming so tend to leave it too long between uses. And this vacuum really does get up pet hair better than even I expected. I'd say it's more powerful than the Sebo, but it would be better utilized in a 2500 sq. ft. suburban rancher with a combo of W2W, a few area rugs/runners, and tile/HW flooring.
Given a choice, I'd go back to the Seebo upright, although I hate cords and I hate bags. But for a smaller house like mine (<1500 sq. ft., 2 floors) it's a better "fit".