Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaners

I recently had to pick up a new vacuum when my old vacuum (an upright that wasn't supposed to lose suction, but which broke down and stopped sucking altogether. At least stopped sucking dirt from the floor, that is) went kaput, and I did some research, trying to find one that was sturdy, had the extra tools, and really picked up dirt. I have two large-ish (50 - 70 pound) dogs that shed a bit, track in some dirt, and can cause carpet chaos, so I really wanted to bring home a powerhouse this time. I liked the early reviews I'd seen on this new Hoover Platinum, and liked how it combined cyclonic action (which I thought was one of those marketing terms, but which actually makes some cleaning sense) and Hoover's own Windtunnel mechanisms (my mom swears by her Hoover she's had forever with this, and hey, you have to be able to trust your mom, right), and so decided it was the vacuum for me. And, I'm darn happy so far that I did. It just picks up more dirt and dog hair from the carpet and upholstery than any vacuum I've had so far, and is great for cleaning all of a big house. Sometimes you just want to spot clean, but if you really want to get at cleaning, and really want cleaning power, this is the vacuum for those jobs. All the tools are a plus, too (especially the long hose and the crevice tool, which are perfect for stairs. Oh, the dusting brush is oddly handy, too. I've never really had one of those that worked that well, but this one's tops. Maybe it's just that the engine and all deliver enough power to make the dusting brush worthwhile, but I use it all the time), and it looks great, and the 6-year warranty is nice, but really, without the suction and dirt-pulling ability, would anything else matter? Nope, which is why I'm glad I made the right choice and went for this new Platinum vaccum, because it really picks up the dirt.

We went through our second Dyson, and decided to switch just for the sake of doing so. Aside from the really high end European models, we opted for this new "prestige" line from Hoover, figuring it would be interesting to see what's the best they can do at a higher price point.

The machine itself looks really good, and when you turn it on, it's like starting a nice car, it almost purrs. The electronic start/stop and the electronic height adjustments are fabulous, very refined. And the machine seems to pick up everything in site.

Now, here are a few things to keep in mind, none of which are deal-breakers, but believe me, this thing is not perfect.

First and foremost, emptying the dirt chamber. At first we thought it was like most other bagless machines, you flick a lever and let the stuff fall in your garbage. But after about a week, we noticed the machine not picking up nearly as well, and we couldn't figure out a thing.

Then we looked carefully and saw that a huge collection of hair and debris had collected inside an inner cup, wrapped around the so-called cyclonic device. Once we got rid of that stuff, the vacuum was like new again. Still, it is hardly referred to in the manual, and it is rather a messy task.

Finally is the "dirt" indicator. It works on some sort of audio principle, sending out sounds which come back distored if they run in to dirt. I find that this works most of the time, but sometimes, it just stays red, and even after going over the area five times, it stays red.

I guess one could beef about the extension cord, why they didn't come up with some better way to unreel it and attach it to the machine. This is just like every other vacuum in that respect, but the cord seems longer.

I think I would buy it again, but the bag emptying procedure is sloppy and very unsophisticated. I'd be looking for machines that might do that job better.