Originally posted by: Ornery
Selective reading?
Nobody who's coughed up the money for one, is going to admit any misgivings. The question I have, is if they're so good, why don't cleaning companies use them?
Ask someone who vacuums for a living what they use. Their opinion would hold more weight with me, than some fanbois who got sucked into some vacuum hype!
While I like mine, a lot, I do have some negatives (if you have pets):
1) The belt/clutch assembly is NOT (officially) user replaceable. That said, it has lasted a long time (1yr) this far and as long as you take note of the warning noise it makes when the mechanism is struggling (to clear it out) it should last a lot longer. [I've seen a few clutch kits available online now, and instructions to replace, but not at the stores]. I've had to go in and cut away the pet fur from the roller whenever it has made the noise. Now I just do that as maintenance every other time and I haven't gotten the warning noise in probably 6mo's.
2) The animal attachment gets clogged up over time, and there were no instructions to get into the device to remove fur, etc. I was able to figure it out but it's difficult to get two of the (decorative) pieces to snap back in on re-assembly. I've had to clean it twice now to get it working efficiently again.
3) The extension hose will drag the vacuum around on most surfaces. You have to strategically place the vacuum so it doesn't follow you around, such as always having it at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top (I read about someone who had a problem doing that, not me!).
Really, those are mostly minor things and the power is great, it's not too loud (for a vacuum), etc, I think it was worth the money.
Other negatives posted above, and my thoughts on them:
a1) It is a bit heavy, but, I don't mind it.
a2) And emptying the canister is no problem (no worse than a bag imo). I just take it out to the trash, open the trash can, push the release button. I wouldn't empty it inside, just in case it accidentally opened.