Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Our 16+ years old Sebo C3.1 finally died (burnt electrical smell, the motor won't turn on). I recently purchased a handle/hose (last year) and a telescopic wand (three years ago) but the ET-2 powerhead is also probably going going gone (making horrible sounds. I did get a new brush for it a few years ago) note that I made a mistake a while back and purchased way too many extra bags and filters (though probably can sell these) 3500sqft house, very low commercial style carpet in most of the house (tile in entry, kitchen, and bathrooms) one story but have a narrow spiral staircase to a loft (i.e. would like a vacuum to be smaller/lighter weight, though the current C3.1 has been fine) three Samoyed dogs which drag tons of dirt/debris/leaves and shed lots of hair the vacuum will be used daily my wife has asthma, ABPA, and lots of other allergies, including pollen, fungus, dust mites, etc. should I attempt to repair it? if so, I'll probably also have to get a new ET-2 ($350) real soon... but will be able to use the bags/filters and have a newer hose/handle/telescopic wand. or should I look at getting a new one, if so what would you recommend? Sebo E3? D4 might be too large/heavy? Miele C3 (which version? way too many, a bit confusing...)? Lindhaus Aria? TriStar CS? anything else? thanks so much for your advice.

Just me but I would repair the Sebo. I have a Lindhaus Aria and it is nothing special. The hose is truly terrible. It is too soft and kinks just from trying to turn the vacuum on plush carpet. The canister is decent but the plastics remind me of late 2000s Eurekas. There is a built in dust leak where the heat sink on the circuit board fits through a hole in the "sealed" motor compartment to cool it (Miele too). I have the Aria Platinum with the electronic speed control. Don't go there! Every time you un plug it so you can change plugs and vacuum a different room the power setting resets to the middle setting. Sigh. After you start it up and wait, and wait, and wait some more for the ever so slow soft start feature to bring the motor up to speed you have to bend over and scroll back up to full power. Tip, if you absolutely have to by an Aria, if you just can't live without one, buy the Elite with the analog dial for selecting a power setting. I wish I had. Another groaner, the switch to go from carpets to hard floors is on-off-on, canister only on the lower on position, canister and power nozzle on the upper on position. Off is in the middle. The problem is, to go from a hard surface to carpets or vice-versa you have to pass the switch through the off position. The vacuum shuts off then you have to wait while it ever so slowly spins back up on the "soft start" feature. I hate it. The power nozzle, however, is very good. Tristar made their last new vacuum last September. As nice as they are parts and attachments are already hard to come by. Miele is, like Lindhaus, overpriced for what you get. I found an as new C2 Compact Electro at the Salvation Army. Who could resist? For $20 it's a fabulous vacuum, but not for the $900 and something bucks they nick you for a new one. Oh yes, price Miele filters and bags. You can buy a cheap vacuum at Wally World for what a set of filters costs for a Miele. I don't advocate disposable anything always preferring to buy quality goods but with Miele filter and bag prices the economic argument leans towards the cheap disposable vacuum The canisters are well made, the hoses not that much nicer than Lindhaus, simultaneously stiff and yet easy to kink plus the rotating contacts in the handle get dirty and lose contact. Their power nozzles are ok but on a couple of my dense carpets the big Wessel-Werk power nozzle bogs. Set it on 3 and it doesn't pick up anything. Set it on 2 and it bogs. Kludge. Miele has cheap tiny attachments. Their cupcake sized dusting brush is to me particularly offensive. Just fix what you have, maybe buy a used Sebo power nozzle on eBay. They are fairly abundant. I have an ET350 I bought used and cleaned up to use with an old Tristar EX-30 (using a Miracle Mate hose) and it is a great power nozzle. No height adjustment and it never bogs, built like the proverbial brick outhouse. If you are thinking of buying a Patriot, don't. Their bags leak dust like a sieve and because of the angle of the lid, it is darned near impossible to change any open top bag like you would use in a Tristar or Patriots own Stormy bag without a bunch of dirt falling back into the bag chamber. For some reason dirt piles up against the front of the lid right under the hose opening and makes it impossible to open the lid with the dirt going everywhere . You almost need another vacuum to clean up the mess before trying to lift the bag out or dirt falls into the vacuum. Stooooopid. They sell a closed top bag, the "Hybrid" bag that solves the spillover problem but it leaks dust like crazy. Schoettler claims the Hybrid bag is HEPA but they are full of prunes. I put one in a nice freshly washed inner bag, used it till the bag was half full and when I took it out the cloth inner bag was full of fine dust. I had to wash it again. Now I have a synthetic microfiber VAC USA bag in and will try tipping the vacuum towards its rear (exhaust filter end) and tapping it on the floor a few times before opening the lid, hoping that knocks the dust loose. One more gripe, because of the lid's angle it will occasionally clank shut in the middle of a bag change, dumping accumulated futz from inside the lid into the bag chamber and necessitating a clean up before you can put a fresh bag inside. The lid and handle are metal, the rest of the body is actually plastic. Big surprise. It's another vacuum I got cheap and am glad now it was cheap. Oh yeah, that big ugly Medick-Aire exhaust filter costs $189! Ouch. Good for three years so they claim. It better be for that much money. And they are not really that powerful. Just fix your Sebo. You'll be money ahead and I think happier.

I use both Sebo E3 and Miele C3 UniPro, and have found both remarkably similar though Sebo is far cheaper: both work well on ultraplush carpets and bare floors.  Sebo's a  little quieter, lighter, easier to maneuver.  Miele filters better, powerbrush controls easier to access, offers autosuction feature.  I also owned the C3.1 and found it rather loud and quirky, though it did clean decently (it was traded for a Mlele Blue Moon which is still soldiering along)..