I looked back at a thread regarding the best vacuum cleaners. It appears that there was one brand discussed the most-Dyson. What model of Dyson is the best to get to clean up after the Gs. My present vacuum cleaner has officially "died".
They have "animal" models with brushes, etc. designed to deal with shed fur.
I bought the Dyson Animal and, though it is a good vacuum, I don't know that I'd buy another. So many popular and reliable brands, such as Bissell, have jumped on the bandwagon to operate more like the Dyson that I'd give one of those another shot before I'd spend the Dyson money again. The reason I say this is because, though it does a good job, in general, I found it seemed less powerful over time, it is heavy and unwieldy, and cleaning the stairs is all but impossible without someone hanging onto it as you go. The "17 ft" hose extends no more than 5 or 6 ft before toppling the machine because it is coiled so tightly. Also, I find that, no matter how well it cleans, following behind it with my Bissell steam cleaner results in rolls of wet hair that were not picked up by the Dyson and have to be scraped up by hand.
Why not ask some folks who have the other popular brands to describe their hair success?
Teresa bought her Animal about the time I got mine. Maybe she'll weigh in on it's continued service.
janilee
Regina do you have carpet in your house??
I bought a miele vacum a couple of months ago for only about $300. I find it great. Although, we only had wooden floors in that house and have also opted for wooden floors in the new place (just because its so much easier to keep clean) it also has brushes and other heads that are great for getting fur off our lounges and their cat tree, but the zoom groom brush is great for that too
I'm not sure it would do so well on carpet. I'm currently leaving at my parents house and their carpet is just full of cat hair.
Regina, I have the animal Dyson,I love it.
Mine came with a 5 or 7 year warranty on it bumper to bumper that includes the belt,not sure if that is standard or just were I bought it from.
I can reach all the way up my stairs to sweep without it tipping over,I stretch it from the bottom all the way up and trust me it is stretched tight all most can't reach the top.
I all so have hard wood floors that I run it on ,I like the fact that I can turn brushes off to run on hardwood floors.
I'm not that impressed with the under bed attachment as my bed frame sets to low to run it under.
I do like the on board hose even tho, I stretch the heck out of it ,,it has not lost it;s shape stays nice and coiled.
Probably not terribly practical, but cute!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewdbilSWjaM
I have a small red Eureka upright, it's bagless with hepa filter. It is quite powerful and comes with a hose and powerclaw attachment. My only complaint is that since the carpet in my apt. is brand new.. all of the fiber coming off when I vacuum fills the tank so I have to empty it every time. It is not all that easy.. but perhaps I'll get the hang of it in time. Size was a factor in buying a vac since I have virtually no storage anymore.
Mine is just a cheap thing lol....I use the brush attatchment though, and that helps alot on the furniture...I have mostly wooden floors...apart from the lounge and dining room...so it is not too bad. I do need to buy a new Vacuum though hehe
I have the animal Dyson which I really like, but also like Janiliee - if I'm purchasing again, I'm probably going to go with a Kenmore like we have here at our library. It got rave reviews and was even rated highly for picking up cat fur, and about 1/2 the cost of the Dyson.
We have a basic Eureka upright with a bag and HEPA filter. It was one that was highly reviewed by Consumer Reports a few years ago. It is very powerful and has performed quite well with only one problem. The original attachment for furniture, the "power paw" was not great and then broke. We replaced it with another model of attachment, I think it was 15 dollars, and it works much better and is more robust. Basically the power paw is a small hose attachment with a brush that spins by air turbulence. I think the vac cost 120 dollars free shipping on Amazon. It seems so effective at picking up dirt I really can't imagine that anything else could be much more effective.
Our cat hates it, BTW, and as soon as it comes out of the broom closet, the cat makes himself very scarce!
I used to have a Sebo which was fantastic and lasted me 10 years. When I wanted to replace it Sebo were too expensive so we bought a Dyson which I hated!! The Dyson died a sudden death in January and was replaced by a cheap (£50) Panasonic. The Panasonic is great, much better than the Dyson in all ways. It's lighter, easier to clean the filters, more effective tools and oh so much cheaper. The only negative is that the container for all of the muck is a bot small so with so many cats and carpets it has to be emptied every time I use it but it is very easy to empty. For a cheap vaccuum cleaner it really is good. I will be interested to see how long it lasts but the intention was always to only have it until we could afford to replace it with a new Sebo.