Miele - S548 Champagne

I just replaced my 20 year old Miele Chapagne with a Sebo D4. The warranty was better than Miele when purchased from a dealer for 10 year motor, 10 year non wear parts and 7 year labor. I also liked that the cosumables are currently a little cheaper.

holy shit god bless you for this lol this is so inside baseball but so great to have omg. have an organization I’m working with trying to figure out a vacuum situation and they’re so sold on the gm80 (obvi great and what I trained with but $$$$ I think someone else sold them on it… rightfully so but it’s just so pricy) but the cost of the museum/rheostat models is obviously so steep it makes me insane. i get sooo frustrated w/ the state of info on this sort of thing– have genuinely always suspected that there’s a lot of opportunity for DIYing this particular aspect (there’s enough crossover with like, dust extractors&some aspects of cnc routing vac/dust remover things that people have had to diy) but obviously the field is so small & “quiet” that it’s been hard to find resources. for OP- i *have* used variable speed Miele vacs with HEPA filters on the “curtains”/drapery settings on some pretty delicate stuff w/ cheesecloth and muslin to dampen and it’s worked fine. also hear decent things about HEPA filter variable speed dust extractors by Festool– they are very well respected/truly Loved in non museum contexts & i know some conservators that use them!! but haven’t been able to personally try them out yet

I don’t even understand how there are still BIFL vacuum threads when Miele exists. You do any searching at all and Miele is the answer. I got my Miele in 2016 and it’s pretty much exactly the same now as the day I bought it. I replaced one of the attachments, because I wanted to level up from nylon brushes to horsehair brushes. Otherwise it’s perfect. Hot tip, I bought mine at the very end of the year after Christmas and they were having a big sale. It was a long time ago so idk if they still have end of the year sales, but worth looking out for one. I also at some point bought the extra long skinny nozzle attachment which has been handy.

I have the model that can use a hepa filter and has the electric head, not just the non-powered brush head. Without the electric head, I don’t think it would be very effective on carpets. The non powered brush is great for my wood floors. The electric head has no issues on carpet and I have long hair (I try to contain my shedding though, if I have a loose hair, I try to put it in the trash). The electric head has 5 settings of how high off the floor you want the brush, and the canister has multiple levels of suction, so you can do pretty much any surface from carpet all the way down to curtains and upholstery. Honestly I remember growing up with my parents’ mediocre vacuums and having hair get wrapped around the roller brush all the time and having be a huge pain in the ass to clean? The Miele seems to have no issues at all. I can’t even really remember ever having to unstick long hair, though maybe I have once or twice. Their instructional videos really emphasize going slow enough to rely on the suction to loosen and pick stuff up. And it is really good. However, I don’t have pets so can’t speak to how that changes things. When I bought it, I remember them saying it was designed to last for a minimum of one (or two?)hour of vacuuming per week for 20 years. Also, it has a pedal you tap with your foot to automatically retract the cord and it is an amazing feature. I just remember how much I loathed to wrap the stupid long ass cord of my parents vacuum. The cord retractor is dope af, makes it all feel like much less of a chore. ETA: Mine is also the mid-range, and when I bought it, it was advertised as being a little more compact than their full sized ones, which it is and I love it. Perfect for an apartment or if you don’t have enough storage space, and it’s easy to move around.

All 3 are excellent. You really can’t do wrong between the 3. Personally I’d place more weight on the price, warranty etc between the two brands. It’s splitting hairs (see what I did there?) but I’d rank them 236, et-1, 228 in the order of cleaning performance alone. Like I said, they’re all great I don’t think there is a “right” or wrong answer here. The removable brush is a huge plus for Sebo. But IMO the Miele cleans better. However the Miele’s are not user serviceable. Also know that while I think the 236 cleans the best (by a narrow margin) it does have this awkward belt placement where it leaves a path of uncleaned carpet about 3/4 off to the side. I use that as a guide on how much to overlap but some people find it annoying.

Check out r/vacuumcleaners As mentioned Miele and Sebo are top brands. You can safely ignore any shark or Dyson recs. They’re garbage. As is anything bagless.

Vacuum wars is a paid shark shill and not to be trusted. Hell Chris even appeared in a shark commercial. BIFL vacuums absolutely exist. They’re corded and bagged made by brands like Miele and Sebo.

Miele, Sebo or Lindhaus. Check out r/vacuumcleaners

This is the answer! You can still get a Miele for only hard flooring.

Agree with J3ttf! The Miele is a worthy splurge!

Miele, Sebo, Henry, Lindhaus. Shark and Dyson are garbage. Check out r/vacuumcleaners

You want to ask r/vacuumcleaners. Miele or Sebo is the correct answer. Corded and bagged. Safely ignore any shark or Dyson recs. Find a local dealer and take a few Miele’s and sebos for a test drive. Specifically the Sebo dart if it’s mostly for carpet.

Prices in Europe are more reasonable for Miele, Sebo and the Henry. Miele S series, Sebo K series and Henry would be the models I'ld be looking at.

Used Miele S series are also really good value and reliable, plus repairs are super easy too.

This right here. I have a Roomba that is programmed to sweep twice a week, a Black & Decker stick vac with removable and rechargeable battery for convenient clean ups, and a Miele bagged canister vac with the electric floor brush for weekly deep carpet and upholstery cleaning. I also have a Vapamore canister steam cleaner for bi-monthly tile floor cleaning.

My Miele canister HEPA vacuum has lasted me thru 3 Labs so far and it is still running great. Yea it is expensive but this is "last forever" kind of vacuum. If you have rugs get the rug attachment head that is motorized (as opposed to the rug attachment where the brush spins based solely on suction). I have had this vacuum now for 18 yrs.

Agree about the Miele. It's not cheap but it's one of those "buy once" and they last. Mine is over 15 yrs old now and 3 dogs (all Labs) later, it's still going. I have the hardwood floor and carpet (motorized) attachments. I feel canister style is the most durable vacuums.

Even if you pay more for the stick, still buy the Miele. :-) I have a Miele HEPA canister and a Dyson V12, with a total cost of about $1000 (on sale). They are more than worth it.

I too vote for having both. My housecleaner uses my Miele HEPA canister to do a deeper clean of all the floors and to vacuum upholstery, baseboards, etc. I use a Dyson V12 ($450 on sale) for quick cleanups on my hard surface floors in between house cleaner visits - basically, what you would use a broom for in the old days. Plus, I use it as a hand vac. Tbh, I also have a second cordless I use for quick vacuums of my carpeted bedrooms in between housecleaner visits. And, a shop vac for the unfinished basement and screened in porch. It might seem extravagant to have paid almost $1500 for this four-vacuum collection. But, I expect them to last me many years, and they keep my house a lot cleaner with less work! Plus, I save money on housecleaning as these vacuums allow me to go longer between cleaning visits. Four less housecleaner visits a year saves $900, so they have already paid for themselves.

I have serious allergies and have a Miele canister HEPA vac (it’s not “bag vs. canister”, canister is a form factor for vacs). I have a version with the electro brush which is needed for carpet - if you don’t have carpet, you don’t need it. It is a true sealed system with a HEPA filter. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this strongly about a vacuum, truly - but I love my Miele. It’s great for vacuuming furniture and everything else you can think of, as there are lots of attachments and it has adjustable suction. Due to my allergies I vacuum just about everything with it.

Sorry to be unclear! I didn’t give the model name because I got a special issue vacuum that isn’t available anymore. But, the two key factors for the Miele models are: 1) Do you need an electrobrush or not (yes if you have carpet or think you might in the future, no otherwise); and is it a HEPA filtered or not. Mine has both. Both of these factors make the vacuum more expensive. HEPA is optional on some of their models IIRC. MIne does not have all the premium bells and whistles like a lighted electrobrush and onboard accessories, as I didn’t feel these were essential to me and I was trying to keep costs down. I think I paid about $550.

Bagged vacuums are needed if you have significant allergies. Once I’ve removed something from my home, I don’t want to have to breath it again when I empty the vacuum canister. I actually have three - a bagged, corded canister (Miele), for deeper cleaning; a bagged cordless (Hoover OnePower) for quick pickups on carpet; and a bagless cordless (Dyson V12) for quick pickups on hard surfaces. This seems to keep my house the cleanest. IMO the Dyson doesn’t have enough suction power for carpet even for quick pickups.

I would say that anyone whose allergies are significant enough that they are concerned about them would benefit from a bagged vacuum with good sealing and a HEPA filter, that also does well at deep cleaning not only floors but upholstery, curtains etc. That’s why I have my Miele. If they are not concerned, they can use whatever vacuum they want. I’ve had people on this sub say they think allergens don’t go into the air when you empty out a bagless vacuum. If someone like that has allergies but prefers a bagless that doesn’t do a good job on carpet, it’s their life.

I'd go on FB marketplace and buy a used Miele or Sebo or any high-end bagged, canister vacuum. They're so worth it. Imo, bagless vacuums/mainstream vacuums all suck equally. They don't do a good job, cleaning/maintenance is not fun, and they break after a while. But if you can't get a high-end one, I'd just buy any cheap & popular shark/Dyson, they'll be good enough. (Just don't get the battery-powered sticks though)