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Vacuum Cleaners Reviews
Updated February 2008
Upright vacuum cleaners are best for carpet, say reviews, although most upright vacs can also clean bare floors. However, if you mostly have bare floors with just a few rugs, a canister vacuum is a better choice. Canister vacuums are also easier to carry up stairs or to the garage, though they tend to be more expensive than upright vacuum cleaners. See our separate report on canister vacuums for more information. Consumer Reports performs the best vacuum cleaner testing, and in their latest review, 37 upright vacuums are rated for cleaning ability on carpet, bare floors and with tools, as well as for noise, emissions and ease of use. Consumer Reports editors also test how well vacuums can pick up pet hair on carpet. Which? magazine, the U.K. equivalent of Consumer Reports, also tests upright vacuums. Although not all tested vacs are available in the U.S., editors go into great detail about Dyson vacuums, including reliability issues and company response. Consumer Reports and Which? Online are easily the most comprehensive reviewers of vacuum cleaners. We also found a number of less formal reviews from The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping and Grand Rapids TV station WZZM 13 News. Owner reviews posted to Amazon.com and Epinions are very useful when it comes to upright vacuums. Many vacs at Amazon.com have received hundreds of owner-written ratings, giving us a good picture of long-term reliability and ease of use. Dyson vacuum cleaners are credited with shaking up the whole market in the
last few years. However, we saw some conflicting reviews regarding Dyson upright
vacuum cleaners. Which? Online has taken Dyson to task for its below-average
repair record, which the magazine reported after its surveys of hundreds of
Dyson owners. In its 2006 vacuum tests, editors excluded Dyson from the list
of recommended models based not on the vacuums' performance, but on its poor
reliability. However, the newest Dyson vacuums appear to have improved. Although
responses to the Which? reliability survey still place Dyson at the bottom
of the list, owners are reporting fewer breakdowns, and the newest Dyson machines
appear to be better built than in the past. In addition, Dyson (perhaps in
response to complaints) has upped the warranty for new purchases to a full
five years. This five-year warranty also applies to U.S. Dyson vacuum cleaners. A couple of reviews take a close look at Dyson and its claim to have the best suction. The Wall Street Journal and testers at Grand Rapids-based WZZM News tested a Dyson vacuum alongside competitors, finding that Dyson didn't hold any particular advantage. Consumer Reports puts Dyson to the test with pet hair. The company claims its ‘Animal' line, which consists of the DC17 Absolute Animal (*est. $550) along with the DC07, DC14 and DC15 Animal, is better at picking up pet hair from upholstery. Consumer Reports tested the Dyson vacuums along with dozens of others on their ability to pick up pet hair from carpet, but Dyson vacuums weren't a particular standout. However, hundreds of consumer reviews at Amazon.com and Epinions highly rate most Dyson vacuums, despite their high cost. Although the positive reviews are sprinkled with complaints about heavy weight, awkward controls, hard-to-find replacement parts and breakdowns, most owners say the extra cost was worth it. Reviews are particularly positive for the Dyson DC17 Animal (*est. $550) , which owners say is more powerful and easier to push and pull than the older Dyson DC14. Other reviews also say this model improves on ease-of-pushing, one of the few consistent complaints in reviews. However, Dyson vacuums cost twice or three times that of competing vacuums, and several reviews say a Dyson vacuum isn't for everyone. Dyson vacuums are bulky and heavy; most models weigh about 20 pounds. If you have a lot of stairs or have limited mobility, a lighter vacuum is a better bet. The 16-pound Dyson DC18 Slim All Floors (*est. $470) does well in reviews, earning a "Best Buy" rating from Which? Online and a nod from Good Housekeeping and The Independent (UK). Still, unless you have your heart set on a Dyson vacuum, there are other top-rated lightweights available for much less. Although the Hoover Savvy Bagless Upright U8174-900 (*est. $200) did well in a now-outdated comparative review, owner feedback is consistently poor. The Savvy is supposed to come with a 'lifetime' belt that's never supposed to break. Nonetheless, we read many complaints about breaking belts, faulty electronics and poor suction. Owners posting to Amazon.com give the Savvy a very poor average of 2 stars out of 5, with two thirds of users rating it a single star. Reviews on Epinions follow the same pattern, and one disappointed customer goes so far as to call the failure-prone lifetime belt a "scam." Emissions are a problem in some reviews. Vacuum cleaners are supposed to keep all the dust in the machine or in the bag. According to reviews, however, some models spit dust back out into the air. The Eureka Optima 431BX (*est. $75) receives low marks in one review for emissions, and it doesn't do that well with pet hair. Although testers say it performs well on carpet, it doesn't do a great job on bare floors, and some reviewers say it's hard to maneuver. User reviews are mixed. Some owners say it works well for such an inexpensive vacuum. Others find it messy and awkward and say the suction is too weak to be effective. In this price range, we found far better reviews for the Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900 (*est. $70) . ... Continued
Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
Dyson vacuum cleaners get the most buzz in reviews, and experts say overall durability and ease of use looks to be improving with the latest models, the Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal and the Dyson DC18 Slim. If $550 is more than you want to spend on a vacuum, the Kenmore Progressive 35922 and Eureka SmartVac 4870GZ get good reviews overall, and both are less expensive than a Dyson. We found excellent reviews for the simple and inexpensive Hoover Tempo Widepath, despite the mixed reviews for some other Hoover vacuum cleaners. The SEBO X4 is recommended for allergy and asthma sufferers because of its superior filtration, but reviews say many other vacuums also do a good job with emissions. Advertisement
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© 2008. ConsumerSearch, Inc. A service from 
, a part of The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
ConsumerSearch and ConsumerSearch.com are registered trademarks of ConsumerSearch, Inc. Other trademarks or service marks on this site are the property of their respective owners. ConsumerSearch is not sponsored by any source reviewed, and we accept no consideration or payment for including, excluding, or ranking any reviews, products or services in our reports.
* Pricing information is approximate as of the time this report was written and is based on observed market selling prices and/or list prices. Actual selling prices may differ.
