Once Again---The Great Vacuum Debate

My old vacuum threw a bearing the other day, so I'm now in the market for something much, much better. I've read past threads, and I'm totally up in the air about what brand to buy. At this point, I'm not going to worry (much) about the price; I want something that will do the job and do it well.
So, a household with 6 cats and 2 humans, one of whom has long hair. Two room of carpet and several throw/area rugs.
Do I need an pet-hair-specific vacuum, or an all-floor-types vacuum? Which is better---dirt cup or bags? I want something that doesn't weigh a ton and a half and is easy to empty. Inexpensive filters would be a huge plus.
What are your recommendations and which ones would you never recommend to anyone?

I love my old faithful Hetty, she is a female version of Henry and I have no complaints whatsoever, I have 6 cats, 1 long haired, there's 5 humans and a nightmare black carpet (with a white shedding cat ). x

I have a Shark Navigator (Costco $158) and I love it so much that I just bought one for son and DIL who have 2 cats and are parents of new triplets still in NICU. I tried their old canister vac while DIL was in the hospital, and gave up when I could still see cat fur on the carpet after cleaning. Yesterday I bought the new Shark, and they are amazed at all it pics up. It's lightweight too and advertises that it never loses suction, which I believe is true as long as you take care of it and clean the filter occasionally.

This vac also comes with plenty of attachment including a hose extender and a super long crevice tool, and more. I love it and wouldn't have anything else.

Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom

I have a Shark Navigator (Costco $158) and I love it so much that I just bought one for son and DIL who have 2 cats and are parents of new triplets still in NICU. I tried their old canister vac while DIL was in the hospital, and gave up when I could still see cat fur on the carpet after cleaning. Yesterday I bought the new Shark, and they are amazed at all it pics up. It's lightweight too and advertises that it never loses suction, which I believe is true as long as you take care of it and clean the filter occasionally.

This vac also comes with plenty of attachment including a hose extender and a super long crevice tool, and more. I love it and wouldn't have anything else.

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I also have one, and is trully, unbelivable! The pethair tool is awesome too!
Plus it is super easy to empty - push one button and the dust, hair and all the nasty stuff just falls right off. I love love love this vacuum! Super awesome. It really doesn't lose succion, and really pulls stuff fromm deep in the carpet - you can not believe all the cat hair it catches!

I just read a couple of pages of reviews on the Shark Navigator. The 2 biggest flaws that quite a few people mentioned were: 1) the dust cup is very small and needs to be emptied frequently and 2) it has a small wheelbase the causes it to tip easily when using the attachments.
Are these a problem?

The cup IS small, and it picks up so much that you do need to empty often, but it is SO EASY to empty, that it is not a problem at all.
I do not have a problem with tipping - i Like the smaller head as it makes it easier to navigate through the house, under furniture, etc... Not a problem to me.

I just watched a video on the Shark Navigator and now I'm a bit confused. Is the pet hair brush a separate attachment?

I loved my Kenmore Elite when I first got it, but with the bagless canister, it needs constant attention to keep it dust free. I shouldn't complain with 3 dogs, 10 cats, and constant construction in this house. The suction is great on it and it has a fairly large canister.

Bagless is nice to have, but check out how often you need to change the filters and how much filters cost.

I've found a solution to vacuum cleaners - I'm about to rip out all the carpet in my house and replace it all with bamboo.

Originally Posted by libby74

I just watched a video on the Shark Navigator and now I'm a bit confused. Is the pet hair brush a separate attachment?

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It is a separate attachment with a powerful rotating brush in it. You use it on your furniture, bed, cat tree, etc... For the floor you just use the vacuum.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I loved my Kenmore Elite when I first got it, but with the bagless canister, it needs constant attention to keep it dust free. I shouldn't complain with 3 dogs, 10 cats, and constant construction in this house. The suction is great on it and it has a fairly large canister.

Bagless is nice to have, but check out how often you need to change the filters and how much filters cost.

I've found a solution to vacuum cleaners - I'm about to rip out all the carpet in my house and replace it all with bamboo.

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Sharky navigator is Cyclonic, doensn't really have those filters you are used to. It has a couple of "lifetime" washable filters you wash every few months, made of sponge, and just in case they come with a couple of each extra for free. You should be set for the life of the vacuum with them.
I should also mention the vacuum comes with a 5yr warranty...

I have a Dyson Animal and love it as much today as I did when I bought it 4 years ago!

but after a few ppl here I moved to bagged again and MUCH happier. Have 33 cats and allergies. I can vacuum the house(only 2 rooms are carpeted now due to the constanly peeing/crapping dog

I was in middle of looking when mom surprised me with a Hoover Tempo breath easy. think it was 90 or so. I vac the cat litter/trees/bedding and the carpet. The carpet looked better then when I used a bagless-it made it very fluffy again. its a bit heavy if your going up steps but its great at getting the trees done with ease.

This months consumer reports has a small article on pet hair vaccums. They liked a Hoover Wind Tunnel model.
I stopped at my local vaccum shop as I would rather have a cannister vs an upright an the owner recommened at Simplicity (at $700). My Eureka sanitaire is 13-15 yrs old and will bit the dust soon! He carries a wide range of vaccums and does not like Dyson's even though he carries them. He mentioned he gets 3-5/week in for repair jobs. He also mentioned that many run into problems once they reach 3-5 yrs of age.

I'm waiting if I can until the Consumer Reports issue comes out with recommendations.

Just curious, why would you prefer a canister vac? I just used my DIL's before I bought the Shark, and it wouldn't pick up anything on the carpet. Worked OK on the tile, but awful on the carpet. And it was heavy and cumbersome. I absolutely love the Shark! And Costco has the best price. Plus if you buy it at Costco and don't like it, you can return it. I would never spend $700 on a vacuum!

I have an Electrolux canister vac. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was expensive, but it is the tank of vacs. My Mommy had one. I got it in the divorce. Enough said.

Interesting point about the 3-5 year issue with Dysons. Both of my brothers and SIL's have had their Dysons (different models) for 3 and 6 years respectively with no issue. I know other folks with Dysons who haven't had problems either and swear by them. One thing I've seen in various articles about Dysons and heard from my brothers is the importance of regularly cleaning the filters. Apparently, a lot of folks don't maintain their Dysons properly and this leads to problem.

After extensive research, I'm just about ready to buy a Dyson. Just haven't decided which model.

I agree $700 is a bit steep! We have what is called a quad level house. We have both carpeting and tile and two levels with once level being hardwood floors. The steps are all hardwood hence the canister.
Only one Costco in Wisconsin and its two hours away.
I would like to have only one vacuum instead of two for the house (not counting the shop vac's!)

Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom

Just curious, why would you prefer a canister vac? I just used my DIL's before I bought the Shark, and it wouldn't pick up anything on the carpet. Worked OK on the tile, but awful on the carpet. And it was heavy and cumbersome. I absolutely love the Shark! And Costco has the best price. Plus if you buy it at Costco and don't like it, you can return it. I would never spend $700 on a vacuum!

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I've had a $40 Eureka canister model from K-Mart for 6 or 7 years now, and 9 cats later, that thing STILL sucks big-time...and I mean that in a good way!

I was at K Mart earlier and found a Shark vacuum for $69; I'm assuming that is not the one everyone raves about. I couldn't find a model number on the box. I wondered if it might be a re-conditioned vacuum, but couldn't find that on the box, either.

Originally Posted by libby74

I was at K Mart earlier and found a Shark vacuum for $69; I'm assuming that is not the one everyone raves about. I couldn't find a model number on the box. I wondered if it might be a re-conditioned vacuum, but couldn't find that on the box, either.

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There is a Shark, and a Shark Navigator, the cyclonic vacuum we are talking about... very different ones. The $69 was very likely the Shark.