Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Just wondering if anyone knows if Miele are stopping their S7 production? I've heard an industry rumour that they are to stop making the S7.

Venson wrote:

Hello Venson:

A hard learned lesson for many of the best and brightest!  Whether vacuum makers, financial moguls, and/or gaming giants.

Carmine D.

I agree, thanks for all the detective work. However I've just been to Miele's site in Germany and the S7 still hasn't appeared on their pages.

A Miele spokeswoman phoned me this morning to say that the S7 is still in production and Miele have no intention of stopping it but she will email me later to find out why it is not listed on their home German website. However this wouldn't be the first time Miele have lied to me; they promised me a trial way back in July 2008 when the first models came and by November 2008 I just cancelled the whole trial programme thing. I'm also have concerns with their new HyClean bags (my review of it appears online) as the bags I've had for my S4 and S571 don't appear to close upon removal. Miele want me to send in the bags so you can imagine what I'll be remembering to do each time a bag gets full. I can't understand why they went with this silly inner seal flap; mine gets stuck on the dirt so that when you pull out the bag the dirt hampers the seal opening. IF anyone also suffers from the same problem please let me know.

I miss the IntensiveClean bags to be honest - the pull flap was so much easier and Miele could learn a trick or two from Sebo with their fold over caps on their Felix/Dart uprights.

vacmanuk wrote:
Hi vacumanuk,

The niftiest self-sealing disposable bag remains the one that Aerus/Electrolux. A cardboard seal is automatically broken when you close the bag chamber's lid and a rubber membrane close around the cardboard tab to seal off the bag's contents upon removal. I suppose there's a patent that keeps others from using the idea and that Miele looked for the next best way to go.

Miele self-sealing device looks a ittle elaborate but it works well for me. The HyClean bags have been working wonderfully too. Self-sealing mechanisms may be better for the more sensitive among us. I've been shaking out cloth bags, changing disposable bags of all types for years with never so much as tickle in my snout. Nonetheless, for people like nette who have very real issues with dust sensitity maybe self-sealing makes a real difference.

As for filtering effectiveness, I have seen I don't know how many throw-away bags and heard uncountable numbers of claims regarding dust capture. Despite how much I scream about expense, Miele's high-filtration bags so far are the only only that look like the real deal. The inner wall of the bag chamber in either of mine stays clean. That's best indication that the bags up to snuff. The only cleaner that I've seen offer comparable filtering ability is Filter Queen. Unfortunately FQ, due to design, requires extra care by dust sensitive users when emptying.

Venson

Williams-Sonoma has done something totally out of character. The Miele Pirouette upright "exclusively" designed for (No big deal. It's just a different paint job) has been dropped to $799.

WS continues to carry the Miele Capricorn at for $1,200 and has added the Rotho Twin wet-and-dry to its roster for almost $1,600. I would however note that a large amount of the vacuums on the WS page are listed as exclusives and can be purchased via the internet only. This leads me to think Williams-Sonoma is not putting its neck on the line. No sale, no loss.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/homekeeping/vacuums/index.cfm?cm%5Ftype=gnav

Venson

My biggest concerns as far as the new miele bags are:

1. on some models, when you open the dust compartment lid the bag pops outward. Sometimes you see that it happened but other times it is so slight you don't notice. This results in the neck of the lid crushing or bending the bag collar. it breaks the seal and debris rushes into the vacuum. VERY messy! A clean vacuum is why you by a Miele! LOL. Tell your customers...whenever the lid is opened, ALWAYS RE-SEAT the bag before closing.

2. The increased cost and perceived value. 2 dollars more and 1 less bag!

As regards vacmanuk's question I received the following via email:

Dear Mr. Venson Thomas,

Thank you for contacting Miele customer support.

I passed your question along to our Floor Care Product Development manager. He stated, the S 7 line is very successful and that there is no chance of that line retiring from production.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Thank you

Matthew White
Customer Support
Miele, USA
Tele: (800) 843-7231
Email: moreinfo@mieleusa.com
Web site: www.miele.com

Hi Venson:

Thanks for posting the response from MIELE ref S7 upright line.  Sounds like buyers are as please with the new MIELE uprights as you.  Good to know and hear.  I place much more faith and belief in new product assessments from experts in the industry who I know and trust.

Carmine D.

Another reply I got earlier this week:

"Miele is not stopping production of the S7. However to reply to your next question of where the S7 is sold, it has only been released in the UK, USA and Canada."

Now why doesn't Miele produce an upright vacuum in their own German country? Sebo have a big market share there and its not as if cylinder vacuums are the most popular in Germany.

vacmanuk wrote:

Hello vacmanuk:

Since these markets [UK, USA, and Canada markets] already have been selling dyson uprights with some degree of success, MIELE wants to compete in them head on with dyson.  Consumers are then given an act of choice:  $600 for a Malaysian built/made upright vacuum versus $600 plus for a German made one?  Dah! 

At some point, probably soon, the new MIELE S7 uprights will be in Germany.   However, I would tend to disagree with your statement.  I'd say that canisters [cylinders] are still the preference among German vacuum buyers over full size uprights.

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:
I would not buy any item simply because it was manufactured in Germany.  Japanese cars and electronics are better.  Vacuums likely are just as good from other countries.