[Bleu50]

I own a vacuum store. We sell 17 different brands of vacuums-new. We also sell everything of quality used. We fix everything under the sun, and do warranty work for several brands.

The Filter Queen is the best canister vacuum, period. We use a 1965 model (year) to clean out other vacuums, and have been doing so with the same vacuum for 25 years. The bad news is that they are expensive ($1800) and are only sold new door to door. The good news is that the older ones (over 5 years old) are of better quality and are selling with warranties at vac stores for around $4-500.

The best upright under $300 is any bag type Panasonic MC series. Period.

My favorite in the $300-$500 range is the ProTeam upright. It is the old Electrolux commercial unit in a different color. The "Electrolux" of today (sold at Lowes, Etc) is really a rebadged Eureka Oxygen, which in my HO is one of the worst pieces of junk made.

Ah, the Dyson. We get them as tradeins all the time. Changing something as simple as the belt is an exercise in futility. The Dyson is a prime example of "If you say it enough, people will start believing it."

Also, the "idea" of the Dyson (Vortec funnels spinning out the dirt, so the machine doesnt lose power) was invented by the Filter Queen inventor around 1928. Dyson's designer claims in a commercial that he did 5000 prototypes in a 14 year time span. That is approx 1 new prototype per day for 14 years!!!!!! (I'm calling BS on his claim).


The roomba is cool. It is more of a sweeper than a vacuum though.
I hope this helps.