Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

We just had wool berber wall-to-wall carpeting installed in several rooms of our home. The manufacturer recommends a suction only vacuum, without a beater bar to "avoid excessive fuzzing."
First, is a beater bar and a brush roll the same thing on a vacuum?
And second what's my best bet for a vacuum? We have 700-square-feet of wool berber carpets, 600-square-feet of laminate and 200-square-feet of tile (including stairs) to vacuum. We own two boxers (dogs) that shed short hair and live in a dusty (agricultural) area.
At the recommendation of a local shop we tried out a Miele Titan (with 217 head) with the brush roll on (they're some of the softest brushes according to sales person). We used it for a while on a remnant of our carpet and I noticed what I think is some fuzzing so I worry that with extended use we will really wear into the carpet. Is there anything with some kind of brush roll or option other than straight suction to really get the dog hair up? Or something with enough suction not to worry about it?
The Miele seemed to do a very nice job but we're struggling for an accurate comparison point.

THANK YOU!!!

For those interested here are a few snippets from Which's latest vacuum cleaner tests (UK):

Dyson DC33 (new, basic upright - DC14 w/clutch, with improved DC27/28 cyclone pack and tools, and new lightweight ABS extension wand): 'This Best Buy upright vacuum cleaner from Dyson gives outstanding results on all types of flooring, and excels at removing stubborn pet hair. The filtration system is so effective that it locks virtually all of the dust and allergens away safely, so it's a great choice for those with allergies.'

Oreck XL3: '...it's mediocre on carpet, good on laminate, and poor on floorboards - where it fails to extract the dirt from the cracks.

It leaves a large rim or dust around the edge of the room as the suction only works underneath the head. This cleaner has a headlight at the front - perhaps so that you can see what you're missing.'

Vax Mach Zen: '...removes impressive amounts of dirt from floorboards, reaching deep into the crevices. It's also good on laminates and carpets, and the head gets close to the skirting to clean right up to the edges.
(TTi)

vacmanuk wrote:

Thanks VacmanUK on the Which? latest, especially DC33.  Consumer Reports has not tested yet, but appears that this "budget" model may finally make the CR hall of fame, rather than hall of shame.  Interestingly, most retailers in the USA are selling this latest and greatest dyson, which has an MSRP of $399, for 20-25 percent off MSRP at $289-$299.  For the first time in awhile perhaps a dyson worth the price.   

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:

Also reinforces what I have said about Oreck for years.  $400 for a vac that will not remove dirt.  

HARDSELL wrote:
Doesnt really reinforce anything, HS. I'm already in dispute with Which having found quite a few errors in their test reviews where they are prepared to let mass produced European named products win "Best Buy," award seals where the Oreck's performance is poor. It isn't exactly black and white with this company!

vacmanuk wrote:

One of the features of note on the ORECK XL3 is a longer softer tuft of brush roll hair vice the traditional stiffer ORECK brush rolls.  Hence, I'm not surprised by the mediocre results claimed by Which? on carpets in concert with the lesser suction of a full sized upright vacuum.  The softer tufts work well on hard surfaces than on rugs.  It's a trade off [softer bristles] on rugs and edge cleaning vice the Classic ORECK's and stiffer brush roll hair.  Also, the XL3 is sold in concert with the ORECK compact canister for above the floor and edge cleaning.  Usually both at $299 or less [if you forgo the gifts provided for the in-home trial] on sale by most big box retailers in the USA who are now offering ORECK products.  And the traditional XL sells for $200 minus the compact canister.  Both sales venues, solo upright sales and big box retail sellers for ORECK products, are ORECK's latest marketing features to keep sales humming in the recession and the down USA housing market.

Carmine D.

In my opinion Dyson Models will work  for you. I know how frustrating it is to clean a wool carpet. Wool carpets are sensitive so be careful while you vacuum them.

i like rainbow vaccum cleaner.

Cleaning wool Berber carpets, laminate and tile is very tricky, anyone can't clean it simply. It is very trickier to clean this carpet, this carpets are made up of wool, so you have to give extra care while cleaning this carpet, you have to put extra precautions that will clean the wool demands, to clean this carpet make sure that buy a vacuum without beater bar, regular vacuuming is your best tool in keeping this tough. So use the best vacuum cleaner to clean to this carpet.

Brush rolls haven't had beater bars in a long time. It used to be that brush rolls had one or two rows of bristles and another row with a hard bar nearly as long as the bristles that literally beat the carpet as the brush roll turned. Great for bouncing dirt out of the nap and into the airflow where it was sucked into the vacuum. Nobody that I am aware of sells a modern vacuum with a beater bar brush roll but there are certainly plenty of older machines soldiering on out there with these old beater bar brush rolls hence the warning not to use them on your carpet. I'm not sure if considerations of carpet wear or the desire to sell quiet vacuums are what killed the beater bar. It certainly is an effective way to deep clean carpets but it was usually noisier than we are accustomed to today.

I don't know what your budget looks like, but I have the Shark Navigator Rotator at home and it works great. Costco (or Amazon) sells them for ~$200