George
Running these analyses costs money. Buy through my links to help keep lights on! I may get a small commission.
Reddit Reviews
100% shop vac. If you’re in Europe a popular one are those red or green Henry/George vacs. Afaik the green one can do wet vacuum too. Some shop vacs use bags that help with suction and disposing but they aren’t necessary to function.
My husband says I change Hoover's too often so I feel like a bit of an expert. We had a shark and got rid of it quickly because it couldn't handle the pet hair from one short haired moggy in a small flat. The tube was constantly blocked, I had to unblock it every time I used it. Have also had various Vax, Dyson, Beldray, other cheap knock-off Hoover's and they all work ok for a while but then just give up the ghost after about a year. Have just bought a green Henry and so far I'm impressed, it's meant for commercial use so is powerful and is obviously as indestructible as a regular Henry. Doesn't weigh much. My friend has a Miele C3 which she swears by, if I was getting another one I'd get one of those.
My Shark was useless. Anti wrap was not effective. I got a green Henry and it is so powerful I can barely push it across the carpet.
I got the green one too, so powerful, sucks up everything, from building waste to hair.
Henry- heads etc are easy to replace if you need to. You can swap out the filter for odour neutralising. There’s a pet head. You could go for the direct animal model. George is a wet and dry hoover, and we have had one, but these days we have Henry and a Bessel carpet cleaner specifically for washing the carpets. Worth stating that most hoovers will fail to completely pull hairs up and so it’s useful to also have a rubber brush, or a window squidgee. You will be supposed at how much hair those things pull up
Numatic George. Not cheap but it’s a 15litre capacity regular vacuum and a wet vac/carpet/upholstery cleaner. It’s also quiet.
The ones I always recommend are not cordless and definitely not cheap but they’re built to last. Henry (dry) or George (wet/dry) by Numatic. My George is 30 years old, it’s had new hoses and new cables, it’s a bit louder than it used to be. Numatic vacuums are designed to be used all day every day so they’re relatively quiet and just work.
O have a George that does wet and dry clean. But it’s so heavy and wired that it’s a real chore to use it. So I also have a Dyson that’s cordless so that if I want to do the vacuuming in the kitchen quickly after a meal it only take 5 minutes and no setup.
Numatic George. Hate the mess of bagless so went for a George over a Henry to also replace the kitchen mop as George is wet and dry.
It's not much of a faff but if you wash the floors regularly you'll probably want a dedicated machine. I needed to save space and wanted to have something adaptive for hoovering, washing the hard floors, washing carpets and dry and wet in the car. George can do it all. The only annoying thing is he is a tad heavy and moving him up and down the stairs is not something for anyone unable to lift stuff. The only annoying thing about switching to wet is being in a hard water area the spray nozzle gets clogged so I have to unblock it every time. The great thing about ANY numatic machine is how compatible the attachments are, an ancient Henry or other model can use the brand new attachments and bags. Plus Numatic sell spares, including replacement switches etc. The only exception is the new Henry and Hetty Quick, they use their own attachments. I serviced an old Henry Hound, needed new internal contacts. Got a kit off Amazon, simple to install just a few screws.
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Cleaning stairs

Top pick
SEBO - AIRBELT E3 Premium
Best for Deep cleaning thick carpets

Top pick
SEBO - AIRBELT E3 Premium
Best for Hardwood and delicate floors

Top pick
SEBO - AIRBELT E3 Premium
Best for Heavy pet shedding

Top pick
SEBO - AIRBELT E3 Premium
Best for Long-term durability (buy it for life)

Top pick
Numatic International - Henry Canister Series
Best for Quick daily maintenance

Top pick
Dyson - V15 Detect Series





