I've had a Miele - I liked it but it lasted only 4 years. I now have a Sebo (it's a German brand - see here: https://www.sebo.co.uk/) and I really think it's fantastic. Suction is great and it's quiet and good quality. Worth throwing into the usual mix as it's really good.

Thanks to the input from everyone we just purchased a Miele U1 Cat and Dog. It is the best vacuum we've ever owned. We've never owned a Dyson but compared to Hoover, Hetty, and other brands it dominates. It has rotating roller agitation, just the right amount of suction, nice hefty weight with quality construction, and yet is the most maneuverable uprights we've ever owned. Thanks to all for the feedback.

My upright Dyson with the ball thingy was not worth the money. Constantly jamming and way too heavy for me to lift.

However I now have a cordless one and that's brilliant. Light and great suction. Downside is that you don't get enough charge to do whole house.

We've had two different models of the upright ones, the first one was a bit more compact but when that was totally useless (out cleaner used a dustpan and brush instead of it!) we bought the bigger one thinking it'd have more staying power, less blockages and more suction. Worst money I've ever spent!

Which model Dyson do you have?

Our Dyson is one of the worst purchases I've ever made and couldn't recommend it to anyone. It doesn't pick up dirt, rolls over the same bits again and again, gets blocked up really quickly and needs cleaning and taking apart at least once every 4 weeks.

Don't buy a dyson, I'll never make the mistake again!

I've enjoyed reading the debate over vacuum cleaners. I continued to hear great things about Henry so I bought one (actually a Hetty). We tried it for about a day and then decided to return it. The suction was the best part but that also seemed to be one of its faults. There was so much suction that you could barely move the attachment around the carpet or wood floor without the entire wand apparatus coming apart. The hose/wand apparatus was put together with three or four friction-fit pieces. That didn't really seem like good quality to us. (Couldn't the pieces have snapped or had some sort of retention piece?) Basically there was nothing holding the pieces of the host together other than friction so basically every time we tried to push or pull it across the floor it wanted to come apart. Plus there were no rotating bristles to agitate the dirt and break it loose from the carpeting so we just kept sweeping over the same area over and over until the dirt came loose.

It seems to me the Henry might be a great "shop vac" for sucking up lots of dirt from building or from a shop floor. But we didn't find it acceptable for a relatively clean home that just needs normal vacuuming over a combination of wood floors and rugs. Can anyone comment on whether they would agree with this statement and what might be better given our goals?

We're shopping because our Hoover of less than one year broke down (we're not going with that brand again). We'd heard great things about Dyson but now I'm going to research Miele as well.

I also owned the 'Dog and Cat' model from John Lewis - even though I had no pets!

We got through 2 x Miele's in 5 years which is probably unlucky. I then bought a cheap Henry and it is brilliant. Equally as good as the Miele. They are so robust and simple machines. Highly recommended

We have a Henry for the builders and it does an excellent job, but once our new carpets go down it will be good to have a new one.
Funny how the media raves about Dyson - but I guess it might be yet another invention where they forgot about practicality.
Miele seems like an overall winner though and to be honest Miele washing machines and tumble dryers are pretty amazing too, so I think we will go with Miele. But! There is so many of them, so now the question is:
Which Miele Vacuum? Any thoughts please?
Ecoline or Cat&Dog? or something else perhaps?
Thank you all for your input!
Kate

We've got S 8340 Ecoline

Well there is an old saying;

"Buy Cheap Buy Twice" - or somesuch.

I have had Hoovers, Electrolux, Dyson and others over the years but Miele is by far the most reliable.

I'm so impressed with them I have replaced my washing machine with a Miele model - it just oozes quality (but of course is nearly 50% more than a Bosch equivalent.

It seems to me that Miele builds up to a quality whereas all other makers build down to a price!

Henry's are good for Victorian houses as long hoses reach all the way up the stairs. Plus they are easy and cheap to fix if anything bits need replacing. They can also survive children climbing on them, chucking them down stairs and dragging them around by the hose.

Miele Cat & Dog every time, have tried others, always go back to a Miele, but they don't like building dust! Henry hoover is the only one which copes with builders dust and rubble.

We've got a Miele Cat & Dog (despite no pets) after previously having had a Dyson. It's excellent for us and I'll definitely buy another one in the future.