Mighty Mite 3670M

I did a deep dive once on this on reddit, and people repeated recommended this vac, including some vacuum pros, like store owners: Eureka 3670M Canister Cleaner. It's $65. Super powerful. Literally the best vacuum I've ever owned, and I've owned some expensive ones over the years. I even since bought a fancy cordless one with auto emptying. I use it for small day to day jobs like to hit the kitchen quickly. But for real cleaning I use the Eureka.

I have a shark and a Hoover for pets that I saved from someone that was ignorant to the fact that vacuum cleaners must be cleaned. So badly treated and the person had animals that had lots of hair and for some reason they thought they could vacuum water too. What a mess-I use both regularly and they both have different plus and minus attributes and both do well. The shark has a big plus with a switch on the handle that has three settings for more suction. 1 is for bare floor and the second low pile third thicker. This is great for two reasons against the other vac. The first is it’s easier to go from carpet to floor without having to bend over and adjust the height of the vac head. The second is it’s easier to use the hose end and switch from more suction for furniture or baseboard to less on thick pile for getting dust off smooth surfaces or kitchen drawers without sucking up items you don’t want to. If it does go too much on something you can just switch to lower and it lessens the grip on said item. All that said, my favorite vac of all time was my eureka, ugly yellow with a cat paw illustration on it - can’t ever remember the name- that thing could suck two monkeys though 30’ of garden hose. The shark is strong for how quiet it is too. Last, the owner of the vacuum cleaner store here said he really hated shark and it wasn’t anything to do with the workings of the machine but rather the fact that the company has no replacement parts available. So if you go with the shark do not lose the attachments or you will have to go to eBay or what I did was bought a set of universal attachments on Amazon that has an adapter for the size and shape of shark’s specific hose end.

Unfortunately, a canister with a powerhead, parquet floor tool and full suite of hand attachments is really your best bet for the needs you listed. Sure, you can get an upright with a hose attachment/tools, but they always tip over (not great for the machine) and for hard floors, even with the brushroll off, they leave a lot behind/can't get into tight spaces. Once you get used to (a good) canister, there's really nothing as versatile. Even my favorite uprights can only do what they're designed for, so I would need an additional canister like a Mighty Mite to cover all my bases if air quality weren't a concern. But air quality is a big concern for me and my cleaning clients, so I use a Miele with an SEB228 powerhead/tools almost exclusively.

We use a purple Bissell Ting in our gym for bare floors. Bought it years ago for $39 shipped direct from Bissell. Eureka Mighty Mite is another good choice. Both corded and bagged which is the holy grail of good vacuum design. A cheap bagged shop vac would probably work ok too, but they don't usually come with a very good floor tool. Eureka tools are probably better and bags probably easier to find. Fit all style attachments so easy to upgrade to horsehair floor tool and dust brush if you so choose.

This is one of those times when Costco is not your friend. Yes they'll take it back after you inevitably find some reason to not like it or feel it doesn't work as well as the minute you unboxed it. But they don't usually sell good vacuums. Well, they do sell Miele in Canada so that should be your signal that Miele is ok. If you have 100% bare floors aka wood/tile/vinyl, no wall to wall carpet, a few throw rugs I'd suggest a straight suction canister. Miele C1 Turbo or similar with both regular and turbo floor brushes. Use the parquet brush for wood/tile, turbo brush for rugs. Every 10 minutes or so you'll need to remove the wand/brush from the hose and use the hose to vigorously clean accumulated/stuck hair and lint from the brushes. There is not a vacuum on the planet that does not require some effort on the part of its owner. If you want to go really cheap you could get a Eureka Mighty Mite which is just about as powerful as the Miele (make sure it's 1200 watts, there seem to be some variants) but has some IMO manageable negatives. No bumpers so you have to watch where you drag it-bonus it's small and easy to maneuver. Hard floor tool and crevice tool are probably fine. Dust/upholstery brush is garbage and should be replaced with separate horsehair versions ($10 each max). Upholstery tools with red directional fabric work well too for lint and hair. You'd need to buy a turbo tool such as the Wessel Werk tk 286. Eureka tools are standard 1-1/4 inch (32mm) friction-fit so replacements should be the same and easy to find. It's not as well sealed as the Miele and no hepa filter though I've read some people hacking the rear port to add a filter. But if you buy genuine Eureka bags and replace them before they get jammed full you should be fine. Finally no automatic cord rewind so you'll have to wind the cord on the bottom of the machine. I prefer this because cord rewinds break. This is a $200 option. IMO even if you buy an upright a second vacuum like this is great for above the floor cleaning.

Mighty Mite but you may need to buy a better upholstery tool. You're going to have to scrub and periodically use the hose wand to clean the removed hair off the brush. If you see hair it works! Same with a floor tool re hair. I wouldn't start with a turbo brush, I think either one of these will work better if the included one doesn't. https://a.co/d/0iW5R992 https://a.co/d/061sZ1kT

Bagged > bagless, corded > cordless. Sanitaire 888 has a 2000 hour (365 hrs/days\*5=1825) motor designed for brutally hard commercial/food service use on carpet. Only carpet. Same basic model for over 40 years. Parts widely available, most user replaceable. Back that up with just about any straight suction canister from a mighty mite to a metrovac or (used) tristar. Tristar and metrovac being all metal will last forever though you may have to replace the motor at some point simply because it's worn out if you really vacuum every single day for an hour per machine. All three of these are basically the same as they were when I worked in a vac shop in the 80s. Of the thousands of random vacuums I saw over 3-4 years of servicing vacs, I distinctly remember these 3 as being dead simple and with the metal canisters, bulletproof. Metrovac requires a bit of care as it has no bumpers to hit walls and furniture and it may roll too easily for its own good in that respect.

Mighty Mite had to make compromises to get you a vacuum that sells for $59. Not great sealing. But you can buy enviro bags and replace the pre motor filter with a hepa one from Amazon. On certain models you can even get a rear hepa exhaust filter. If you can afford and need extreme dust capture I'd get a model that's sealed better and has hepa style filtration designed in from the start.

Eureka Mighty Mite is your vacuum. Excellent suction similar to the most expensive canisters out there. Try the included tools first but I suggest you replace the upholstery and dust brush with horsehair versions from Amazon for about $5 each. Horsehair is softer and more flexible so won't scratch delicate items and the brushes have lots of bristles to dislodge stuff. TBH any bagged cordless straight suction vacuum over about 9 amps will do a fantastic job for tool duty. MM is just the cheapest and swings well above its price. Same basic vacuum has been in production for well over 40 years.

Yeah I get all of that! I'd probably choose a Mighty Mite for a canister. And also looking at a Ryobi stick as I have lots of batteries and cats to constantly clean up after. Central vac as main though.

Suction on bagged corded is always going to be better as bagless suction starts declining rapidly as soon as vacuuming occurs. Bags generally clean on a linear level until about 3/4 full bag. Straight suction bagged vacuums are pretty simple and IMO no need to bling out on them unless you just want to have the best. Eureka Mighty Mite or purple Bissell Zing are below $100. Simplicity Jill, Prolux Tritan around $200, Miele C1 $320 currently and a great deal. Sebo K2 is $500 and they go up from there. All of those will have similar suction. Miele and Sebo will have better tools, though you can spend an additional $25 on the lower models for horsehair brushed tools. Buying bags in bulk (9+) reduces cost and do research on which non-oem bags to get as some can be better than oem for less coin. You didn't mention whole house cleaning but the above models are mostly for bare floors. The Prolux does come with a turbo floor nozzle which will work for a few rugs but not really for wall to wall carpet. If you have wall to wall carpet, you need a model with a powerhead.

If you don't need the hose a Sanitaire 888/889 would probably be more reliable as the same model has been in service for over 40 years in brutal commercial and restaurant environments. It's a one trick pony: carpet. You may find you don't actually need new carpet after using a Sanitaire. If you need a hose just get a cheap straight suction canister like a mighty mite or purple zing which will do a far better job. Always bagged and corded.

It has no wheels so I'd pick a mighty mite or purple zing over the porta power. Porta power is kinda cool but kinda not. Almost better used in a stationary position like a car vac or shop or built in a RV. Maybe if you used the shoulder strap but honestly who is gonna do that in a house?

Mighty Mite or purple Zing will be fine for all bare floor apartment. If desired, replace brush tools with horsehair versions.

Honestly a Mighty Mite with 2-3 upgraded horsehair tools is all you probably need. A slight upgrade is the purple Zing with metal wands and a bit better filtration. A little bit more is the Prolux Tritan which comes with a turbo floor tool. It's the strongest motor at 12 amps. If you have any rugs you could get a turbo brush but a good floor brush and vigorous back and forth will dislodge most of it. Don't get a cordless or bagless. All 3 of the above are vastly superior to any disposable stick.

I get that it can be a pain to carry around a canister with powerhead. Definitely best to vacuum moving forward as you go. But stairs. Have to learn the least friction pattern such as start at the bottom, vacuum 2/3 of the flight, move to the top and vac the last 1/3. Then continue on forward. Another less gangly option we used to suggest to people was to buy 2 vacuums. Solid upright for carpeted areas + solid straight suction canister (no powerhead) for bare floors and above the floor. Straight suction canisters are much lighter and easier to move around. Almost any one will do a similar job. Something like a Mighty Mite or the purple Zing are super light and easy to store and pull out for quick clean ups. A simple upright is also easy to store and pull out without all the bells and whistles, hoses, tools hanging off it. You could also consider an upright like Kenmore Intuition, Sebo Dart or Felix any of which can do all surfaces. It can be a bit problematic to use the hose with tools on an upright as they have a tendency to tip over. And unless they have a dedicated bare floor brush vs just turning off the brushroll, I don't think they work as well as a canister. I do think a canister with powerhead is the best single machine multi-surface cleaner overall. Above suggestions are all bagged and corded.

Eureka Mighty Mite vacuum. I have 2 siberian huskies who shed extreme amounts of hair and this vacuum blows any other one i’ve had out of the water (and only $80!!!)