Sorry ~ I too am looking for the best, but can offer advice on one to stay away from. We have over 2500 ft of hardwood and tile and last year I followed the advice of CR and purchased the Sears Upright bagless model that retails for around $300. Please don't waste your money on this one. It takes several passes on the hardwood to get it clean and the wand and utensils are cheap and break easily. Based on my new research, I am also leaning towards a Dyson or Electrolux. I can't imagine going back to a bag (from bagless), but am also looking at the new Dyson canisters. They seem like they would be easier to maneuver on all of this wood.

I use a Sears Kenmore Progressive canister. Has separate floor brush and Powermate (for rugs), but half the time I just use the floor brush, even on the rugs.

I have a Eureka rechargeable stick vacuum that I run on the kitchen hardwoods every day, but it's not near as good as the Kenmore and it's bagless, which means emptying is a pain. I much prefer bags.

Next vacuum will be a Sebo. Pricey, but impressive!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sebo

Oh, I know this is going to sound tacky, but I couldn't find a vacuum I liked and since we were doing DIY stuff, I had a our small shop vac out and started using that as a temporary fix. After a couple of years, I finally just quit looking because I couldn't find anything that would work as well in my price range. We use a Miele upstairs for the carpet but for the downstairs it works great, I really can't complain, it does a good job and the 40.00 price didn't break the bank.

Ann, that's one of the things I love about Dysons. They're incredibly easy to maneuver.

The fun thing for me is watching dust bunnies come out from under furniture because the suction is so strong.

Lukkiirish, I love the shop vacs! They are extremely strong and we used that to vacuum the concrete floor for months until the end when they put in the wood. And they're lightweight too.

Not tacky at all. Practical!

Well, since my last one died, I have been using DH's shop vac. It cleans great but is one of the huge, bulky ones. Oakleyok, if you don't mind, what model do you have?

I agree...shop vacs can be pretty handy in so many ways.

I also have the Dyson "Animal" model. I originally bought it cause it was on sale and it was purple (matched my other cleaning products...I know CRAZY). I love it though as it is easy to maneuver, really picks up the dust and like the no-bag option.

I have an upright floor cleaner (vacuums, washes, dries) but haven't had time to fire it up and see how it works...confessions of an appliance junky!!!

Sears Progressive.

I have read in several places that it's best to get a vacuum with rubber wheels, as plastic wheels have the potential to scratch hardwood floors.

Love our Sebo. DH bought it when our last vac died. It is a little heavy to carry up and down stairs, but self-powered and does a great job on rugs and floors.

i use the swiffer rechargeable; whatever the cloth can't pick up, the vacuum part picks up. also dusts the floors at the same time; i love it.

Thanks Oakleyok! I appreciate that!

Sebo Felix. Lightweight, maneuvers easily and cleans well.

I have wood floors/tile floors throughout my house, along with two oriental rugs. For years I used used our upright vac with the hose attachment, don't ask me why. Finally, this January I purchased the Miele Olympus cannister vacuum. The store manager suggested this one as opposed to the next step up higher priced Miele as it was more appropriate for homes with hard surfaces as opposed to carpet. I really love this machine. It is estremely light weight, maneuvers wonderfully (has rubber wheels), and has multiple power settings for suction. It comes with a carpet/smooth surface tool. However, since I mainly have hard surfaces, the store gave me the Parquet Twister Floor Brush. You may want to investigate it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Olympus

I love my Miele....it is going strong after 9 years, and works great on my hardwood floors and area rugs- and I have a dog.

Gmnolen, do yourself a favor and visit a vacuum cleaner store. Best lesson in vacuum cleaners I ever had! I took my Kenmore Progressive there to get fixed and while waiting on the estimate shopped vacuums. The top two contenders would have been Miele and Sebo. Fortunately, for my wallet, the Progressive was repairable at a reasonable cost, so I put off buying new. But someday I will and more than likely it'll be a Sebo. It's nice to see other happy owners here.

I had a Progressive for a long time and loved it, since we have hardwoods, rugs, and carpeting. I would still be using it now it the hose had not developed so many cracks--but it took over 10 years for that to happen.

I now have a reconditioned Electrolux canister. I love it! FYI, the current "Electrolux" is not the same product or company as before. If you want your mother's vacuum, you'll have to look up Aerus.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aerus

I bought a Sear Progressive upright with bag when we firss moved into our new home as an extra vacumm. I really don't like it. I feel my 15 year old wind tunnel is much more powerful. Too many other fish to fry to put up $$$ for a vacumm right now but I will consider a Dyson or Miele next time around.

I sold my Electrolux upright, (which I loved), and got a great deal on a Dyson when Best Buy had them on sale. I got mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond, using the Best Buy sale price as a comparison, and a 20% off coupon from BB&B. It saved me over $100, and I've been in love with my vacuum ever since! We have hardwood downstairs, carpet up, and tile in the bathrooms, and it works great on all surfaces. It's so easy to maneuver, and light enough for me to carry up and down stairs with no effort. I also love the fact that there are no bags to buy ever again!!!

I clean houses and the best vacuum I've found for cleaning all floors is The Shark Navigator. It works wonderful for picking up hair on tile and hardwood. And the great thing about the vacuum it only weighs 11 pounds.

I like the Oreck, it's light weight and uses bags. My whole house is hardwood and tile.

I actually really like my Hoover lynx for my hardwood floors. I don't like hauling a massive vac over them. That little thing is awesome. I use a regular upright for carpets and I have a canister for baseboards and my drapes.

I have the Hoover Anniversary Wind Tunnel bagged canister. I purchased it last June and it's a terrific vacuum at a reasonable price. I got it at a vacuum store so I had the opportunity to test drive quite a few vacuums, including the Miele and Simplicity. The Simplicity and Hoover were within $100 of each other. For the extra $$$ I didn't feel the Simplicity warranted spending the extra $$. Hoover has a 3 year warranty, which was the closer for me.

Interesting thread. We have no carpet in our home and I'm thinking of getting a smaller/lighter vac. I have a rainbow that we've had for years and has been a GREAT vac. It's wonderful for carpet. However, it's a bit heavy and a pain to drag around. I do love all the attachments and would keep it would occasional use.

I don't think the Dyson's are pricey at all - not after what we spent on a Rainbow. The Miele, Sebo, etc. are pretty $$$ but I've heard wonderful things about Miele, just not sure how these are for hardwood. I don't need a *pet* model as our pup doesn't shed.

tina

I wouldn't part with my Miele Aluminium for anything! We used to do the Sears Progressive vacuums; always seemed to last 4 - 5 years and then break. Talked hubby into the cost of the Miele and I can still say, many years later, that it is the best gift he gave me. I have carpet and tile upstairs, hardwood and tile down. The Meile works wonderfully on all surfaces. The canister itself is HEPA sealed and what goes in, stays clean. You wouldn't believe how clean the inside of my vacuum cleaner still is all these years later. I have 3 kids, 2 cats, 2 dogs and burn wood 24/7 in the cold months. Like I said, wouldn't give up my Miele for anything!

I like my Oreck for my hardwood. I also have a Dyson for the carpet upstairs.
I personally HATE the Dyson bc I hate emptying the dirt. It flies everywhere. I take it to the garage and open the trash can lid and release the dirt but it still flies everywhere. I have tried opening it into a baggy but it still flies everywhere. My Oreck is a breeze to unzip and throw the bag safely away.

Am I the only one with an Electrolux/ Aerus? It is fabulous on hardwoods but a pain changing from motor to floor brush.

Love my Meile Aquarius. The nice big brush for hardwoods is great..also ditto what was mentioned above about how clean the canister is inside! And I might add that it is wonderfully quiet; can even talk on the phone while using the lower suction settings. I had an Oreck, and didn't mind the light weight-ness, but what a noisy thing! I picked the Aquarius after much research based on suction, noise, filters, weight, and wheels :) Good luck!

I have an Oreck as well, it's really GREAT on my wood floors, better than anything else I have had/tried. The main reason is that it only sucks air up it doesn't blow air out. This was the biggest issue with others, with 5 cats and 2 dogs, regular vaccuuming is a must and pet hair would usually just be blown from one place to another, but not with my Oreck.

The down side is that I dont really care for how it transitions from floor to carpets. It's a low speed for the floors and then switched to the higher speed for the carpet/rugs.

I love my Miele Polaris. It was $400 but I really needed a good HEPA filter due to allergies. it works wonderfully, I love how the head and handle swivel to go under low furniture, and it is SOOOOO quiet. It's also cute as the dickens :)
My only slight beef with it is that the cord is fairly short, but the flip side of that is that it's very light to move around the house. It is by FAR the best vacuum I have ever used.

I agree with the Swiffer rechargable vac. Lightweight,easy to get along edges and does a great job. Don't know much about more expensive models but I'd give this a try before investing $$$$.

We have a Miele upright. I'm not sure what model it is, but it's doesn't do well on wood so it's for the upstairs carpet only. We've had it about 5 years now and it needed repair once after 3 years and since we're seldom upstairs, and no animals go up there, I don't use it as often. It works well, but I can't say it was worth the 450.00 we paid for it. I honestly believe that something more economical would have worked just as well.

I also use the shopvac on the wood and tile,and an old Hoover vacuum on the carpet. I hated having a bagless vacuum, would much rather change a bag. I had to take the bagless vacuum outside to empty it because of the dust that escaped every time. Absolutely hated it,!

I agree with the Swiffer rechargeable vac, it does a great job. My only complaint with it, is it doesn't stay charged long enough for my large floor area.

We remodeled our house and do not have any carpet in the house, just hardwood, tile and slate. After the remodel, I purchased the Miele Pisces and it works beautifully. The suction power cleans all areas well, especially the slate flooring because of all the uneveness and crevices. We do, however, have area rugs. The beater brush attachment works well to clean those, but sometimes I use our old Oreck to vacuum a little better. Would highly recommend a Miele canister vacuum. They are quiet, some come with a hepa filter and even though they use bags, are so extremely clean and easy to change. Dust never shoots out of the bag. I am still amazed the area that holds the bag is still so clean after four years.

I've got a Siemens parquet master or something like that. Don't know if it's any better, but what I do like is a brush that I purchased as an accessory and which allows you to do vacuum cleaning and wet wiping in one go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardwood vacuum cleaning and wet wiping brush

Gm, not sure of the model, I'd have to find the papers, it doesn't say on the vacuum itself, unless it's in tiny print.

It's an "all floors" vacuum though, but not the largest model they make.

As far as dust getting everywhere, it did the same with my old bag vacuum. What I do is empty the cannister outside instead of the trash.

I got a Shark Navigator and love it for bare floors. It is lightweight and has a long hose. It really had a strong suck to it and is easy to maneuver. Unfortunately, I have plush carpet and it leaves lines on it that DH doesn't like so I'm going to have to take it back but if I had berber or a low pile carpet or just hard floors, I'd buy it in a second.

Like Tina, I have my older Rainbow that I paid an arm and a leg for. It works great, even though it is a PITA to get out of the closet, fill with water, and get ready to go. But it does a WONDERFUL job on wood floors. The rollers glide very smoothly, no scratching, and the hard floor attachment has a very soft, wide bristle brush that actually shines your floors as well as picking up dirt. The separate power nozzle for carpet worked well also, but I do not have any carpet at all anymore - do use it on my area rugs. So basically, I only use my Rainbow when I am ready to do a "whole house" cleaning job....there is an attachment for everything. The hose has a couple of long extenders and I put the small round brush on the end of it which is great for cleaning tops of drapes, door facings, cobwebs in the corners, ceiling fans, etc.

I have a cheap Bissel from Walmart that I use for quick vacuuming of area rugs, which surprisingly has a lot of suction, and the old faithful swiffer when I am in a hurry for wood. Couldn't live without my swiffers.

I will more than likely (eventually) replace all with a Dyson.

Tuesday

I use a Dyson, set on bare floors and all of my rooms except one bedroom on first floor are wood. Love Dysons
and I recommend them to everyone, worth the money!!

I've been using a Kenmore canister for about five years now on our all hard surface (plus two area rugs) house. I remember thinking $200 was crazy to spend on a vacuum. Ha!

I think our house would be a great place to test drive vacuums. We have two Newfoundland dogs (so that's about 270 pounds of dog ... most of it fur) and live 500 feet from the beach so there is always sand around. Frankly I'm impressed the Kenmore still even runs.

But it's definitely slowing down. I can vacuum the rugs and still "scrape" off hair with the bottom of my shoe.

Because I know a lot of people with Newfoundlands, vacuums are a big topic. I know several people with Dyson who have an unnatural love for them for the first year or so, but as they age (the vacuums, not the people) I'm hearing more complaints. I've definitely heard more complaints about the Dyson canisters than the uprights, but plenty of those too. The Rainbows are pretty much held to be the gold standard and most people I know bought them used.

For me, I think a Miele is probably going to be my next vacuum.

Please be careful with the Sebo as well....I have 3000 sq ft of beautiful oak HW floors....I went to my local Vacuum Shop and they said Sebo was "the best" for HW floors. So I forked out the cash and now I am here on this forum looking another "best" vacuum for HW floors. The Sebo has trashed my floors (significant light surface scratches)....to the point that I need to have another surface coat of urethane put on. grrrrrrrr I think I'm going back to the dust mop and taking the Sebo upstairs to see how it does on carpet.

Lots of good info here! Glad to hear such positive thoughts on the Miele, that is definitely one I plan to look at. I have also wondered about the Orek.

Tuesday, I do the same with my rainbow. I use it more when I am doing more of a whole house, deep cleaning - not every time I vacuum. Hubby loves it and he does alot of the vacuuming. It does do a great job on hardwood, no scratching whatsoever.

We have had our rainbow for over 12 years because it was bought before we built this house. It has never been serviced. I did buy a new seal, gasket or something like that a few years back. I don't know anyone personally who has bought a used rainbow, but it would be great if you could get a discounted price!

I really like how no dust, ect. is released when using the rainbow. When we purchase a new vac, I will definitely go with a HEPA filter. Those with allergies should really pay attention to that feature. Do the Dyson's have a HEPA?

tina

My 10 year-old Panasonic still rocks on hw floors and carpet. I would buy another Panasonic in a heartbeat.

Dyson animal. Love it and have owned most of the "best" vacuums over the years. They can't touch the Dyson.

Love my Oreck!

I think Dysons are like shop vacs. They are incredible. We had a Panasonic for years. Once we bought the Dyson, we were amazed at how much stuff it sucked out of the carpet that had been vacuumed regularly by the Panasonic. There was so much packed dirt that the Panasonic just couldn't suck out of the fibers. With the Dyson, our carpets were immediately lighter and softer underfoot. Nothing escapes the Dyson. We vacuumed concrete dust/chips during our remodel when we first got it. I can't believe that it is still going strong after all of the work it's done. Well worth the $500 we spent five or six years ago.

I second the poster who suggested you visit a store that sells vacuums. After reading lots of reviews I thought I wanted a top of the line Miele canister - until I tried to vacuum with it in the store. After only a few minutes I quickly discovered that it was hurting my wrist when I tried to maneuver the power head and this was on a low nap commercial carpet. I mentioned this to the owner and he said that he had heard that comment before.

I ended up sticking with my Kenmore Progressive canister that I've had for 8 years. It has several features that I really like - not only is there a light on the power head but also on the end of the wand so if you disconnect the power head and use the upholstery brush or crevice tool you still have a light. Love that feature! Plus you can turn the beater bar off and control the strength of the suction from the handle by turning a little ring. That is perfect for my Oriental rugs and other area rugs. My house has mixed floor coverings - hardwood, ceramic, wall to wall, area rugs etc. and I use my Kenmore on all of them.

Not a fan of a central vacuum systems, to be honest.

Another vote for Oreck. If you're looking for something durable, it might be a good option for you. I have hardwood floors and rugs, and the thing I love most (besides the fact that it is quiet!) is that there is a switch on the handle that lets you change back and forth from hardwood to rugs/carpet without having to stop and change attachments.

Or as an alternative - look for a Dyson.