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With allergies, vacuuming is frequent especially with large in door pets for over 30 years! - have only owned preowned older well maintained high end vacs - only 1 vac has ever burned up motor wise which was a kirby g5 in all those years! Getting ready to pull out a 1977 rainbow "chrome dome" which was given to me free and came from a resale shop - it had a new motor and a newer eureka powerhead. Fabulous vac!

I have two GSD, females, 9 & 10 years old and I grew up with German Shepherds. I have a Royal, (Kirby), and a Rainbow water base vacuum. Rainbow is expensive, but will last 30 years, no joke. My mother had one for 36 years. After 36 years, my dad took it over and used it in his garage. I bought a used Rainbow from E-Bay 17 years ago. It works great on dog hair. Great suction! Good luck.

I'm a vacuum enthusiast and refurbished two Rainbows. I can confirm that filling the basin with water, emptying it mid-vacuum and then cleaning the basin and water separator after each use is a pain. I prefer to grab my Sebo and get the job done without any hassles (changing a bag is not a hassle). The E3 is the sweet spot in the Sebo canister lineup, its portable enough to carry upstairs and if your stairs are carpeted it will tackle that job too. I recommend the handheld turbo brush for upholstery and carpeted stairs and an upgraded bare floor tool like the premium parquet or the turn and clean style parquet brush.

I will get flack for this, but I love my Rainbow. Works great with 3 cats and teenagers.

I like my Rainbow better than the shop vac. It just works better. But the shop vac is nice to have around my old house for stuff like drywall and lead paint chips

Rainbow! Based on your comment, you cannot go wrong with a Rainbow. It uses water as your filter but it 100% removes the dirt. It’s easy to use!  I will say, it’s an investment, so well above your $500 - however it comes with a 10 year 100% warranty coverage and an additional 10 year labor repair coverage. It’ll be the last vacuum you buy - but it will remove the dirt from your home instead of pushing, blowing and spreading the dirt around. It is an air purifier as well 24/7 with numerous attachments for everything in your home. You won’t be disappointed with a Rainbow if you actually want to remove the dirt from your home.

Kenmore canisters for carpet are very good. For hard floors, they’re awful. Obsolete. Deal breakers. Etc. Why not buy a refurbished Miele or Sebo, or if you have wall to wall carpet in most of your home and rarely use attachments, definitely go for a Kirby, or a Rainbow if you have a mix. Goodvac dot com for Kirby parts, Rainvac dot com for Rainbow parts. Miele parts and Sebo parts are easily accessible. Hyla parts are not, in contrast, but they too last a long time. I think they’re easier to use than the Rainbow but they don’t clean carpet very well at all. Kirby is about the best you can get for carpet.

Start with a good template. A vacuum that is engineered from the ground up to last for decades. Then, create a lifespan-oriented criteria. I’ll list some brands below if you want the longest lifespan, but premium vacuums are divided into 2 lifespans. Brand Categories by Lifespan: - Disposable (3 months - 2 years) - Semi-disposable (1 year - 5 years) - Semi-Premium (4 years - 10 years) - Premium (10 - 25 years) - Super premium (30 - 50 years) * Note that 99.99% premium long-lasting vacs are either bagged, filter with water, etc. CRITERIA: - Premium to Super Premium - All individual parts replaceable - Parts replaceable for decades (35 - 50 years) - Part Availability is High - Part Accessibility is good - Easy to repair and service DIY - Fits your needs - Cleans well - Filters really well BRANDS: Kirby The first brand that comes to mind for the longest possible ownership is Kirby. These are much more like your grandma’s old Hoover Convertible. Built like a tank, and built to super-clean carpet better than anything else. And they do. There are Kirby vacs that are 30 - 50 years old still in service, and you can also get them factory remanufactured by the Kirby company no matter how old they are. If you are the original owner, they will do this for a very low cost. You can easily have one for 15 years without breaking it and they’re so easy to repair that when something does need attention, you can fix it yourself. There are factory videos on YouTube showing how to complete disassemble one and put one back together, how to service them for maintenance (if desired), how to diagnose problems, etc. Rainbow Rainbow is like Kirby in that they too last can last for 30 - 50 years and all parts are replaceable, accessible, and easy to repair with so many YouTube videos showing how to repair everything on them. My Mom has owned Rainbow for many years, since 2009, and I can definitely testify to their longevity. They really hold up well, and are very easy to service. They are canisters that filter primarily with water and an air-water separator, and use an H11 HEPA filter in the exhaust to catch super small particulate (e.g., 0.1 micron particles, vapor). Electrolux - Aerus Again, another American brand known for lasting decades. The classic Electrolux canister, sold as the Aerus Classic today, can easily last for 30 - 50 years due to how simple they are and because their motors are very robust. They also sell uprights. Other notable brands that can last for 30 - 50 years include Filter Queen, and Tristar. Sebo is one brand that might be able to last for 30 - 50 years, but like Miele, the brand focuses on validating them for 20 years of use. That is still a very long time, and with both Miele and Sebo, all parts are replaceable. I think you can get a better ownership experience with Sebo or Miele if you can accept a 15 - 30 year lifespan instead of 30 - 50 years. They’re easier to use and overall more well-rounded. I go for Sebo or Kirby for an upright, and Miele or Rainbow (E2B) for a canister.