apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

FWIW, I recently noticed the Dyson animal vac on sale at my local Target; it was ~$50 off.

Thanks for this great review. I've been pondering getting a new vacuum with a HEPA filter but had reservations about a non-Dyson bagless. After seeing your results, the bagless Kenmore is definitely topping my list.

And I like the Barney purple. :)

I'd like to recommend the Oreck XL. According to their website it uses less power than other uprights (though admittedly, it's a little hard to find specifics on power usage) and certainly has a lot less of that nasty molded plastic. Sure, it uses bags, but they're paper and will certainly degrade faster than the huge amount of plastic in the two models mentioned it this post. Also, if you get the XL 21 model, it has a 21 year warranty with free yearly tune-ups. I doubt most other vacuums would last that long. And, I have to say, it's by far the best vacuum I've owned.

I got a Dyson at Target for $299. It's red, which I can live with.

I'm not sure why you would compromise cleaning in the name of an "ethically-sound" choice. Because I think this might not have been it.

Why not get the one that actually cleans better - thus saving electricity when you spend less time vacuuming for the same effect?

And the bags? You can re-use them a bunch before you switch them out. And you can purchase paper ones (I have a Kenmore, too, so I'm certain this is true). I get three or four uses out of a bag, which is a year's worth of vacuuming.

So really - one bag a year? Which is paper, and thus recyclable anyway? Plus less electricity use, better cleaning, and less time on chores?

Are you really sure you made the right choice?

I was going to say the same thing as brenjay. We only change out bags once a year. Plus, bagless generally let more particles back into your environment which essentially means you're just stirring up dust and projecting it across your home.

I have had the absolute worst luck with bagless vacuums. The filters always seem to get so clogged so fast that I end up not even being able to finish a small, uncarpeted room without having to use a q-tip of whatever to clean out every groove of the filter. I have changed the filter several times but it always does this so quickly.

I'm in the market for a new vacuum and I am quite confident I will not go with another bagless.

I was going to say essentially the same thing as brenjay. I agree completely, and I have a feeling the choice made here was not, ultimately, particularly "green".

The only thing I would add to brenjay's comments is that a vacuum of lesser quality is more likely to be replaced sooner, creating more waste.

I have an Electrolux with a HEPA filter and paper S-bags (which I empty and reuse until they are falling apart, at which point they go into the recycling bin). I also have a 2000 SF house and two dogs. I vacuum at least once a week. I've had the vacuum for 2-1/2 years, and am presently on my third bag. The HEPA filter has not yet needed replacing.

As long as we're talking vacuums...

One of the most important things to consider when buying a vacuum is whether or not there are replacement parts available for the model you're interested in -- and that it can be serviced. Vacuums have a lot of parts that can go bad, but in "the old days", people didn't throw the whole vacuum away if it stopped working (just ask anyone who's mother has been using the same Electrolux for 40 years!), they had it repaired. A lot of new, cheap vacuums are meant to be disposable. I don't know if that's the case with this particular vacuum, but I do know from experience that is true for a LOT of the newer Kenmore products. Sears just does not make or sell all of the parts, and because there is so much flimsy plastic involved, there are a million things that can break even in a beltless system. They may not even service the vacuum, but instead just offer a replacement within the warranty period. Sad, but very true.

The most ecologically-sound choice is almost always to buy the best quality product, and to have it repaired and serviced over the years, rather than having to toss it in a landfill when it breaks.

I really don't mean to attack your vacuum cleaner purchase, but I think this is worth discussing beyond what SEEMS to be the "greenest" option on the surface.

Anna -

Agreed. Because what's going to happen here is that this vacuum is going to suck (or not, ha!), and in two years, it's going into a landfill, to be replaced with another that actually does its job well. Which is certainly not green at all.

But I can't bash Kenmore in this case, at least not so far. I have a high-end Kenmore vacuum, and it's been going strong for 8 years in a house with two cats. Though, really? I don't know what the prospects are for repair. On the other hand, if you can't afford an Oreck or a Dyson (and I couldn't at that time), it was a good choice for me.

Perhaps others can chime in about what vacuums can and can't be repaired? This would be good information - vacuums are a big purchase, and in my opinion, make cleaning that much more or less miserable a task.

I mean, how many of us have struggled with a crappy vacuum, doing the thing where you vacuum something five times, and it doesn't go up, so you pick it up, take a look at it, and then put it down - you know - to give the vacuum ONE MORE CHANCE?

Don't do it! Buy the one that works!

I switched to a bagless vacuum a few years ago. I dunno. It's kind of a mess to empty the container. I generally just dump the dirt in my outside garbage bin, but *fwoomp* dust everywhere. I'm less and less convinced that bags are really that horrible.

Unless you live in a mud hut outfitted with solar panels and power your wireless router with compost, you really can't get on someone's back for not make a "green" enough investment or change.

The Kenmore vacuum is good, look in any consumer report and you'll see its scores are high and it is, indeed, the best value. I have a canister version that works well for my 475 square feet and it was dirt cheap. At some point a vacuum is just a vacuum.

empirewaste -

Yes, that's true for the bagged one that they *didn't* buy.

They bought the bagless, the one on the right, without all the good ratings, NOT the best buy, the one that doesn't work nearly so well. Entirely because it was bagless. That's the conversation here.

I'm completely bummed that I got rid of my grandmother's vacuum that she passed down to me. It was about 30 years old and worked like a champ and took paper bags. I replaced it with a new vacuum that was a wedding gift. It broke after about 1 year and the sucktion.. well...sucked!Sob :

I don't know about the rest of you...but I get out the vacuum AT LEAST every other day...my mother with pets never even puts hers away. Thinking about getting out the dirt devil quarterly, and only using one bag a year may be greener, but it's def. not the way to go.

The filter is the way.

I vacuum at least three times a week, myself.

It just takes two or three months to fill up the bag to the point where it needs emptying. Then you just pop it back on, and it's good to go for another couple-three months of every-other-day vacuuming.

I'm sure we all vacuum far more than quarterly!

And the bagged models have hepa filters, too.

Sorry if my post is pointless... but I bought a bloom the other day,
and it works great.

We have two dogs, and their hair is everywhere.
We cannot have time to vacuum rather than weekend,
but it is not nearly enough. We found the bloom at an indian
store near by our place.
The bloom has a soft and big sweeping part, and the edge has
angle; so it can reach any narrow areas, and collect hair and dust.
I use portable vacuum to suck the dust and hair before they fly away. (This part is not green... you can use a dust pan if you
don't need to deal with the hair balls)
In this way, I don't need drag the big vacuum around the house,
and I can clean anytime and partially when I see dog's hair.
We still use our Dyson to clean the house on weekends,
but the cleaning with the bloom on weekdays totally work for us.
It works because we have hardwood floor, but the bloom was only
$3-4. It was great purchase for us.

I usually vacuum nearly daily, but I've decided to stop entirely. Because it's the greener choice. All the dog hair in my rugs will eventually turn to compost, thereby enhancing the greenness of my decision.

I have a bagless dirt devil upright and it is a nightmare to empty. If i don't empty it several times when vacuuming my house it looses suction and clogs the HEPA filter. In my experience the filters last much longer in a model with a bag.

Why not just compost your full vacuum bag?

Wow. I can't believe the people that only have to change their vacuum bags a couple time a year. I have two cats, no carpets, and I fill up my bagless Dyson every time I vacuum - once a week.

pyewacket, I used to have a bagless Hoover, and I had to empty it all the time, too. My Electrolux uses bags, though, and I very seldom have to take the bag out (whether to dump/reuse or toss). The bags hold a LOT more than the canisters -- for whatever reason, the debris inside gets much more compacted. It takes a LONG time to fill up a vacuum bag. Bagged vacuums also require the filter to be changed out far less frequently.

If you've got dust mite allergies, going bagless is not a good idea. Great way to make vacuuming a miserable chore. Bagless vacuums also tend to be less durable.

Those two factors meant I *only* looked at vacuums with bags. I didn't want to have the vacuum for a year or two and then find that it was broken or making me sick. Neither one is green at all.

Shawn - I laughed out loud at your comment. It reminded me of my boyfriend who insisted he was "conserving water" by not showering at all.

A small step towards being green is a good step. Are we all always the "greenest" with our decisions? Hell, no. But it's great to hear about some people making a conscious effort to do so. Plenty of other people make no effort whatsoever.

I bought a vacuum and I didn't care if it was bagless or not, if it used more amps or not... I bought it because it was yellow and I like yellow. Of course, I bought it before I was trying to be more environmentally conscious, and if I ever need to purchase another vacuum, I will likely be more mindful of my considerations. In the meantime, I make efforts in other areas when I can (biking to work and to the store, buying fewer harsh cleaning products, recycling, installing energy efficient bulbs and windows, cutting down on A/C use, turning off electronics with phantom power, taking shorter showers, etc).

i like barney purple.

I got my dyson animal vac on ebay about the same price as the vac that you ended up buying. And no, it wasn't reconditioned. it was new in the box, though reconditioned vacs can be had for even cheaper on ebay. I would have shopped around a little more before deciding that a dyson was completely out of reach.

About the filter. Every so often I have to rinse it out and let it dry, but it's not a big deal. You can reduce the dust and gunk coming out of the canister when you empty it by tightly wrapping the garbage bag around the canister before you pull the lever that opens it. I've been very happy with my dyson and think it works better than any vac I've used before, including electrolux, a panasonic bagged upright, and a miele. The dyson really doesn't loose suction as you use it.

Or you can get a seasonal job at Bed Bath and Beyond around Christmas time. They have a week where all employees get 30% off. That's how I bought my dyson and couldn't be happier.