Our beloved Roomba has died.
Correction: it is “disabled.” It has lost a lot of its suction power, its parts constantly need replacing, and it’s nearly not as “smart” as it used to be.
So we made the difficult decision to get a replacement vacuum.
I have experienced my share of vacuum frustration over the years, as my parents are neat FREAKS who clean for fun. (No joke. When we were growing up, my father, after grueling 6-day, 70-hour workweeks, would wake the entire family up at 7am every Sunday morning to clean.)
In addition, J likes to walk around the apartment barefoot and so likes his floors spic and span. Oh, and did I mention that he’s allergic to dust? And that we have a baby on the way?
As such, we decided to splurge and I excitedly turned my sights to the Dyson.
Ahh, Dyson. The kings of vacs. The vacuum that claims to never lose suction. And no bags! No filters! HEPA certified! Plenty of satisfied customers!
I carefully considered each Dyson model to try to find one that would best suit our needs: all hardwood floors with some tight spaces (ie, under the bed and sofa). That’s when I realized that an upright would be too heavy and bulky; a canister vacuum would be better for us…and the Dyson canisters start at $699. Oy vey.
Then I happened upon some interesting information about Dyson. Many specialty vacuum retailers actually do not recommend the Dyson for the following reasons:
- A vacuum which says “HEPA certified” almost always means that its filter is HEPA certified. The vacuum itself can still emit tons of dust and particles into the air.
- Bagless does not always mean cleanest. When you are emptying the Dyson canister, you are once again letting all the particles into the air. In cases like this, it is far better to invest in a vacuum with quality bags that will trap and keep the particles inside from the vacuum to the trash.
- Up until the year 2000, Dyson licensed its design to a distributor named Phantom (do you remember these vacuums? I do), which went out of business. The Dyson is actually a rebranded Phantom, with the same design at an increased price, and new marketing efforts.
I then came across this YouTube video:
Granted, this retailer may be biased as his store does not carry Dysons. However, what really drew me in was the particle counter…you can’t fake that!
I proceeded to watch his video on Miele vacuums and became interested in this German brand. I knew it to be a manufacturer of high-end appliances; were their vacuums top-notch as well?
My internet searches found nothing but happy, satisfied, and long-time, loyal customers of Miele vacuums.
The best part? The Miele Polaris, which was designed specifically with hard floor surfaces and low-pile carpeting in mind, was a steal compared to the Dyson at $399.
Not only that — this vacuum is sexy!
We ordered ours online from the many internet vacuum stores that offer free overnight shipping for Miele vacuums and received it today.
I love it.
The Polaris, like all Mieles, comes with various power settings (this particular model, although on the low end of the Miele product line, comes with six) and from my one-time use, even the lowest setting seems to have enough suction power for most household cleaning.
The vacuum hose is crush-proof and the body is lightweight at 11 lbs. The vacuum is quiet — many new users become concerned that the suction power must be sub-par due to its low noise levels; however, the quiet operation is only due to the superior design. Maneuverability is superb — the body follows me easily, and the wand/floor attachment can be used completely horizontal to the ground. This is a lifesaver for cleaning under our king sized bed!
All Miele vacuum bags are made of nonwoven fabric and lined with aluminum foiled plastic. The bags seal closed when removed from the vacuum for the ultimate in clean. Sure, they can be expensive ($19 for a box of 4) but from what I’ve read, each lasts a LONG time.
The best part is that the Miele is truly HEPA. After using it around the house, I can honestly say that the air seems fresher! Gone are the days of the distinct “vacuum smell” that plagues many households after cleaning!
I’m loving this vacuum so much that I’m considering gifting one to my parents! And I highly recommend it to my readers!
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I recently bought a Miele canister vac after years of using cheap uprights. I need to say that I didn’t bother looking at Dysons because I have allergies. I see no purpose in dumping into the air what I spent time vacuuming up. We also get a lot of box elder bugs in our window sills, and I couldn’t imagine having to look at them sitting in the Dyson after they were vacuumed up. After a few weeks of using the Miele, I am sold! I have mostly hardwood floors and area rugs, but I have a formal living and dining room that has a plush carpet in it. I compared the Sebo and Miele pretty closely. At first I thought I would buy the Sebo, but I found that their uprights are a bit better than their canisters. I never thought I’d buy a canister either, but I became convinced after several demonstrations that the canister would be right for my house. I am so grateful that I went with a Miele and a canister! With my cheap upright, I used to take a Swiffer brush in one hand and the vacuum in the other. The Swiffer would get the corners and other places that the vacuum wouldn’t. The Miele is amazing at getting into corners-no special attachment needed-although it comes with them too. I can get the tops of my sunburst windows with the long wand, easily vacuum behind and under couches, and I go easily from wood floor to carpet. This is one advantage the Miele has over the Sebo. The Miele has a switch to turn off the brush on the power head right on the handle (that is the power handle another person was talking about). You have to pay a little more for this type of power head, but if you go to a local vacuum shop, they will probably sell you a canister and power head separately, which cost me less than the prices I see on Amazon, and gave me the combination that I wanted. The Sebo’s on/off button for the brush is on the power head itself. You can hit it with your foot, but it definitely is not as easy to deal with as the Miele, which is right under your thumb. All the Sebo models use the same powerhead. Miele gives you tons of choices, with the best one having a light on it (no light option on Sebo). Miele is quieter and seems to have everything located right where I want it. You can detach the powerhead from the wand with a touch of your foot. With the Sebo, you have to bend down and press a button with your hand. These are little things, but when you add them all up, the Miele is the winner. Buying from a local dealer can help if your machine needs service as well (which might have helped the person who is on a mission to complain about Miele customer service) and helps keep small businesses alive. Judging from the Internet prices I’ve seen, I got a great deal, and some of them will take your old machine as a trade-in, saving you even more money, and giving you something to do with that old Dyson. PS-The shop I was in had a bunch of Dysons lined up for repair. I didn’t see a single Miele in the line. Happy vacuuming!
While I appreciate your experiences with Miele canister vacuums & your review, my experience differs from yours greatly. The reason you don’t see Miele vacuums in for repairs at vacuum shops is they get thrown out instead of repaired, because the cost of the repair parts is CRAZY expensive! I owned a 2004 Miele Red Velvet with the SEB236 powerhead, bought it second hand for $150 in 2008. Within a month of owning it, the powerhead neck broke & cost $120 plus labor & tax to repair at the local vac shop. I put it back in the storage cupboard once it was repaired, since I bought this vacuum to replace an older Electrolux that was slowly dying, & was still using it & wanted to save the Miele to serve as the Electrolux’s replacement. The Miele got used a total of 7, maybe 8 times tops, & very gently I might add, when the powerhead neck broke AGAIN. And this was after only 5 months since it came home from the repair shop! Was NOT impressed, & immediately took the powerhead apart, fixed the powerhead neck wiring myself & jury-rigged it so it could not break again, & bought a spare wand from the local shop to use the floor brush & tools with. The final straw came in 2012 when the cord rewinder stopped working & it no longer provided electricity to the vacuum. The repair shop said it would cost $200 plus labor & tax to replace the cordwinder….at that point, I told him he was crazy & to pitch the darn vacuum in the garbage.
Also, while the quality of the Miele bags & HEPA filter for the vacuum are impressive, & arguably the best in the industry currently, the cost of the bags & filters is ridiculous! Even when you buy the 8 pack of bags for $35 plus tax, that works out to $4.38 a bag! And the HEPA filter is $50 plus tax, & has to be changed once a year. Ya, sure, no thanks, I am NOT spending nearly $5 per bag including taxes just to clean my home! Oh, and the best part? You’re FORCED to use those bags & filters, or you invalidate your 7 year motor warranty.
So, you’re probably wondering, what replaced the Miele & Electrolux? A Simplicity Gusto canister. Much better powerhead, hose, wand & on board tools than Miele has, & bags & filters are much cheaper. And like the Miele, it’s a Sealed HEPA vacuum. Very comparable in cost to the Miele too.
Bought a Dyson a few years back. We loved it at first and told lots of friends and acquaintances first couple years. I now hope I don’t run into those people. First, the cyclone thing is a lark. The dyson has a filter – you have to clean it! Anyone who says otherwise does not know their machine! Do read Geek in Heels note about the Dyson’s HEPA rating – after a couple years it was obvious dust was getting through the filter (that it is not supposed to have, mind you…) so basically I’m sucking the fine particles out of my carpet and blowing them into the air. Nice. I’ve noticed it even smells a little dusty after vacuuming heavily. Then various hoses started to go bad. At about the 4th year, on close inspection I noticed dust all over at the gaskets – a sure sign they are leaking. At the various vaccum shops (4 of then I think) over the last few years it’s been the same thing – I say “So, I’ve got a Dyson…” and at that point this biiiiig smiles comes over the guy’s face. I say “what?” he says “Oh, nothing. Go on.” He’s still grinning. Pretty much he knows he’s going to make some money on parts or repairs. Parts look cheap, but trust me, they cost you! Sounds like labor is worse. The vacuum stores seem not to mind Dyson – they make money selling lotsa parts, but none of the shops I’ve been into will stock them! What does that tell you? They all say the same thing: nearly everyone loves their Dyson at first. After a few years, a FEW people still love them because they haven’t had trouble or haven’t really looked them over (how many Dyson lovers have told you about having to wash out a filter or that the gaskets are leaking? Hmmm?). The guys at vacuum stores tell me, besides those few, most people who’ve had them HATE Dysons and they come in to buy something else. So I guess buying a Dyson at the department stores is good for the vacuum stores too. Why? Because it seems after a couple years most Dyson owners come in frustrated and after flushing $500 down the drain are so happy to see the same money will buy a Sanyo, a Miele, an Electrolux … whatever, that they gladly fork it over. “Have a great day and let me know when you want to buy a real vacuum” was how two of the vacuum stores have said goodbye. They weren’t being mean … they just knew it was a matter of time. I have looked over the Meieles and I totally agree with the prior post on the Camaro v. BMW analogy. The Camaro looks great new, but 4 years later the paint is faded, the chrome is peeling up, the knobs are popping off the dash, the thing runs rough and doesn’t like to start in the cold. The Beemer is just starting to break in. I can’t afford a BMW (or at least I choose not to presently …) to drive, but when it comes to vacuums, the BMW and the Camaro (Dyson) are the same price. Do yourself a favor and go for the quality machine. And if you happened to be one of the people to whom I raved about my Dyson a few years ago, I am so SO sorry, I was so very wrong. Will you please forgive me?
I’m looking for a great vacuum cleaner. I’m going through all the reviews, though seem to be stuck. It seems that there’s always someone who either likes or hates a vacuum cleaner. .
I’m looking for a vacuum cleaner that will have brilliant suction for carpet, but also pick up dust and short needle-like dog hair on tiles and polished floor boards.
Please help.
Buy a Miele, I LOVE mine! I’ve had it for 9 years. Works like the day I bought it, you can’t beet the German quality!!!
I’m a clean freak and have tested against other so called ‘good’ vacuums such as Dyson, Sebo and kenmore. Beets em all…hands down! I’m a clean freak and nothing but a Miele will do i’m convinced.
Bless
Blythe
Have had the cannister Miele Amiente S334i since 1999!!! But, just recently, my attachment door broke off of it’s cheap plastic hinges. Oh, and it is too heavy for me to lift when I do carpeted stairs.
I want a new attachment door, but can’t find one.
Marsha, I have a Miele White Pearl vacuum that I bought new in 1998 that I still love! Mine also recently broke off right next to where the tool lid attaches to the main body of the vacuum. I searched for a replacement with no luck so I decided to try to fix it myself. I ordered JB Plastic Weld epoxy plus JB Plastic Weld putty from Amazon. I first epoxied the 2 pieces together & let that cure, then reinforced over the glued area with the putty. This fix seems pretty secure & the tool lid operates just fine now. I can’t say how it will hold up because I just repaired it. Good luck! I certainly can’t fault Miele for a little plastic part breaking after 15+ years – my vacuum has seen almost daily use during that time & when it dies it will only be another Miele for me!
Hi, love your review but the videos are private! Is there a way to see them? Thanks, Leila
Sorry, if the owner of the videos has chosen to make it private, there’s nothing I can do.
Oops I hit the “post comment” button by accident. I was going to add that there are other similar videos on YouTube just by doing a simple search query: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miele+vs+dyson
The second video that pops up seems to be similar to what I posted in the original video in the post — it compares the Dyson vs a Miele using a particle counter.
Ahh the great Dyson vs Miele debate…. I’ll chime in: since having owned both I can tell you without doubt that Miele makes the superior product. Dyson makes a chinsy vacuum and spends most of their money on advertising. Miele doesn’t advertise anywhere near the extent that Dyson does and they make a fairly robust product. It feels better it it has better fitment and finish. The Dyson is somewhat toyish and cumbersome. I think Miele is a much better choice for the average consumer especially if you have hardwood flooring. The Miele swivel head is amazing to say the least. The Miele looks better sitting in a room, it has a much quiter motor than the Dyson.
Môžem len jednoducho pohodlie nájsť osoba, naozaj chápe ,
čo súzač, diskutovať online . Určite pochopiť,
ako problém na svetlo a urobiť z neho dôležité.
Viac a viac ľudí by čítať a pochopiť túto stranu
zo príbehu. som bol prekvapený nieste čo ste ite mať darček.
Wow, just went (unexpectedly) from Dyson to Miele today. The 2004 DC07 animal has been getting raggedy the past couple years, and somehow got a stress-fracture in the housing assembly (no, I did not throw it down a flight of stairs – but maybe I should have, 6-7 years ago)
Anyway, the repair shop (and vacuum dealer) said it would be prohibitively expensive to replace the housing in the Dyson, and that at 11 years, it’s lasted about 5x as long as all the “modern” Dysons that are broken, and filling their repair room full.
So, while I typically resist a “gotcha,” on-site sales pitch without doing all my homework as far as reviews and pricing, my floor hasn’t been vacuumed in 2 weeks, the Dyson is old and broken, and as soon as I felt and moved the Miele Jazz, I realized this is a quality product. I drive German cars, so I can definitely tell solid build quality and engineering when I see it, and appreciate it. I did some quick calculations, research on my phone, and figured if it gets me 10 years, it’s worth it.
Got it home, realized immediately that what others have posted here about Dyson is true – my gaskets were probably bad for 5 + years because my house is dusty as all hell, we both sneeze, and I change AC filters every 2 months because they are black. This thing has 10x the suction, goes under furniture almost completely horizontal, sucks junk off the hardwoods from 2 inches BESIDE the vacuum, basically the suction is so strong the vac propels itself forward, the turning mechanism is what I envisioned for the Dyson ball but must be much more robust………
I am anxious to see how much this thing cuts down on dusting, filter changes, and sneezing. So far, it’s like trading my 10 year old C class with 200k for a brand new BMW 5 series
Hi! I know I’m commenting on an old post but.. I’ve only recently learned about the Miele vacuums. Are there no official retailers here in the Philippines? There’s focusglobal but from the site it only seems that they’re only selling accessories. If not, may I ask which site you used to order? I’m a bit anxious when it comes to buying online so :<
Thanks a bunch! I look forward to your answer 🙂 I really want a Miele
Hi Cassie,
Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with Miele dealers in the Philippines. What I *can* tell you is that we bought ours (and later, my mother’s too) from http://www.bestvacuum.com/. I’m not sure if they ship overseas, but they have great prices and good customer service too. Hope that helps!
I’m trying to locate information on your statement that the Dyson is actually a Phantom vacuum re-branded. Can you provide a link to back up this claim?
Sorry, I didn’t see your comment until now. When I was researching vacuums, I came across the Phantom-Dyson connection in YouTube video (which I’m having trouble finding at the moment). However, when you do a quick Google search, you can find this article: http://consumer-reporter.blogspot.com/2008/04/dyson-vacuum-cleaner-all-hype-no.html HTH!
Just to correct you on the Fantom-Dyson connection: The Dyson IS NOT a re-brand of the Fantom. It’s actually the opposite. James Dyson’s first vacuum was a bagless dual-cyclonic in Japan called the G-Force that was sold in the late 1980’s. He then designed a machine for SC Johnson Commerical in the early 90’s called the Vectron, which was sold for a short while & was made by Iona Appliances in Welland, Ontario, Canada, under licence to James Dyson & using his dual cyclonic technology. When that machine was discontinued, they made the same machine under the Fantom Thunder name. Of course, they went on to introduce other models until James Dyson cut off the licencing agreement with Fantom Technologies (formerly Iona Appliances) in 2000. Fantom did re-make the Fantom Fury (the current model at the time) into a single cyclonic machine, but they went bankrupt & went out of business in 2001, due to poor quality & the machines breaking down all the time & warranty claims. Dyson then proceeded to enter the market & launch the Dyson DC07 upright in North America after Fantom left the market in 2001.
Miele all the way!!! Hands down it is a far superior product to Dyson! Don’t bother wasting your time with the gimmick Dyson product line. Perhaps if they invested more money into their actual products than they do their advertising, they might stand a chance. Couldn’t fool me!
Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed with Miele vacuums. Its got a solid sleek construction, excellent filtration system and, has absolutely amazing suction! It truly performs like no other vacuum on the market.
I believe that users should really need to invest in a quality vacuum cleaner otherwise they will only end up having to replace it after few months. Your article will be very helpful to take the right decision .
I had 2 Dysons. Both lost suction on the first couple years. The Dc40 never worked well anyways. The bag less is super clumsily. And you have to dig inside of it to clear all the hair that just hugs the filter. Awful. You have to take the whole thing apart to clean all the fine dust that accumulates in those tubes. Since I have other Miele products and I absolutely love them despite the price, I’ve decided that it was time to have a real vacuum.
Great article; thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m in the market for a new vacuum cleaner and initially, I was looking at Dyson, but now I’m certainly leaning towards getting a Miele. The Dyson vs. Miele comparison almost reminds me of the “Grado vs Beats” headphones comparison, where the latter spends more money on advertising and marketing but makes an inferior product, and the former, while not shelling out for advertising and marketing, puts more of their resources into making a superior product.