Bagless all the way - just be careful when putting it in the trash

I have a Dyson animal vacuum and it has a handy button on the top of the canister - so I can put the canister most-of-the-way inside my tall trashcan, and then press the button to release the contents. I've found that it really minimizes the stuff that comes back into the air - and the Dyson gets up SO much that it's worth it.

My main issue with vacuums that use bags is that I would always run out of bags at the most inconvenient time. I have severe allergies AND a very furry cat, so there's a lot of vacuuming to be done. I feel like I would use bag after bag just to get up cat hair before guests come over, and it'd just be generating even more waste...

Love my Dyson! (bagless)

I bought a bagless after my last cleaner wore out. I regret it cause it is so difficult to empty and clean the filter. Fortunately I only vaccuum once a month. I also have a manual carpet sweeper that I use a couple times a week. It is much easier to use in my small space which only houses me and a few tiny spiders - the perfect, self-maintaining, non-pet pet.

Bagless -at my last roommate situation we had a bagless DYSON, best vac EVER, so easy and amazing performance with 3 dogs and 2 cats. When I got married and inherited my husband's bagged vac, its awful, the bags are a pain, they fill up in no time, you have to constantly buy more, emptying it is no easier than a bagless, its awful.

Bagless and haven't looked back!! Who has time/energy/money to buy bags? I sure don't! And my bagless is like septicidals in that it has a button that lets me stick it down in the trash can and then open it, so very minimal dust comes back out. But a little dust near my garbage is so much less than the dust I just sucked up from all over the house! And if it is that big of a deal... empty the bagless outside! Certainly the greener choice!

You're definitely not alone. I can't afford a Dyson, and it may be that the better vacuums are built so that dumping the canister is less of an issue. But the less expensive bagless vacuum I bought was a nightmare to empty. I ended up returning it and buying a vacuum cleaner that uses bags.

I've always just taken the canister directly to the outside dumpster to empty it. I don't know what is so hard about that.

bagless all the way... I have the original dyson and as long as I put it way far into the trash bag, I don't get the puffs of dust coming back up.

I've had too many problems with the bag versions. The bags never come out the right way or it wasn't put one tight enough, or the store stops carrying them.

I've had bagless now for more than 10 years, and I would never go back to bags.

Ideally, I'd be rich enough to get a Rainbow one - the ones that "wash" the air and use water to trap the dust and crap.
Since I'm not rich, I've got a $40 bagless Dirt Devil from Target. It's actually pretty damn powerful, and the canister and filter are easy to clean. Can't go wrong there.

Bagless, but we take the canister outside to empty it into the trash. It lets the dust disperse naturally and we don't have to deal with bags.

Cheap Dirt Devil: Bagless (also from Target). It gets the job done but I do miss my old bagless Shark model because the filters for the Dirt Devil are half the price I paid for the machine in the first place and I have allergies so I do need to change them often. I am saving up for a good one with a washable filter...

Anyway I empty my canister outside and bang the crap out of it (literally even) against the house and over the edge of the balcony. I hate bags. I am not responsible enough to ensure we have a steady supply most of the time. Plus I always have problems inserting them correctly.

I've owned both and am now pretty firmly in the bagless camp. My model is very easy to empty (I just make sure I have an empty trash bag to unload it into). Trying to find vacuum bags, which aren't inexpensive and can be very messy themselves, is a headache I can live without.

Recently bagless (Eureka), and happy with it. I also do the emptying outside. The button on top of the canister makes it very easy.

You've struck a nerve on one of the few things upon which I have an extreme opinion. I'm shocked and disappointed that there is a single person on the planet who actually likes bagless vacuums. I think the person who invented bagless vacuums should be sentenced to go house to house, all day every day for the rest of his life, emptying these filth distributors and cleaning up the vacuums, back porches, driveways and carports that get filthy as a result!

How can you empty a bagless without all of the crap you just vacuumed, being stuck up inside, above the canister, and you have to shake and beat the darn thing to get that nastyness out! But oh; it didn't all come out. So...I have to stick my arm up inside and pull out all the crap! Filth gets all over the vacuume, me and anything nearby! I had two bagless machines in a row and one day, after yet another battle, I just lost it. Cleaned myself up and went to the store to buy a REAL vacuume WITH BAGS! Finally, no mess to clean when I change the bag. Geez vacuum makers; is that so hard?

Is Germany the only place that has REUSABLE BAGS ?
They have a zipper at the bottom, and are really easy to empty (much easier than a bagless vacuum).

We love our bagless Dyson. I think to get around the "dust flying back in your face" you just have to be conscious of how you empty the bin into the garbage can. I also take the trash can & vacuum out on the porch to empty it so what dust does fly away at least goes outdoors (well in the non-winter months anyway).

I currently have a bagless, and it is frustrating how quickly it loses suction, and the filter is impossible to get cleaned out in between uses. That said, my next purchase isn't going to be a bagged vacuum either, and here's why:

In our last house we had a central vacuum system. Yes, they are expensive up front, but if you're in a house I think it's worth it.

1. They are bagless, so very little additional waste to go with all the dust and hair.
2 The canister is HUGE so the cyclone effect really works like it's supposed to, plus you don't have to empty it nearly so often.
3. Amazing suction. (My husband used to tell people "Our house sucks," and laugh at the confused looks.) It's actually so strong you have to be careful what's on the floor when you're working with it.
4. Long-lasting and durable (at least ours was/is), so you recover the up-front cost by not having to buy bags, belts, bearings, beater brushes, and a new upright vacuum every few years.
5. You can locate the motor and canister in your basement or garage. Yes, you still get some dust flying when you empty it out, but not enough to negate the cleaning effect in your house, IMHO. (I always empty the canister before vacuuming, so I can clean up any mess when I start the machine.)
6. All you're toting around the house are the hose and attachments.
7. Speaking of attachments! There are lots, so you can even kind of geek out on your vacuum. There are short hoses, long hoses, stretchy telescoping hoses, pet brushes, keyboard cleaners, ports for your kitchen kickboard, ports to make a dust collection bin for your woodshop, and much more.

I realize that there are many apartment-dwellers among the readers of AT, so this won't work for everyone. But if you have a house and are in the market for a new vacuum, you should at least take a look at what your local dealer has to offer.

BTW, I don't work for or own a vacuum system business, I just really think they're a great option and I never see or hear anyone discussing them when the subject of vacuums comes up.

Bag. Love my Miele!

Bagless, which I don't mind emptying. The problem is the FILTERS. Many have the accordian pleated type filters that clog easily, are a pain to clean (tap clean my a$$) and can only be rinsed once or twice before you must buy a new one. The store that carries the vacuum doesn't carry the filter, either.

Bagless. Bags are annoying to have to buy all the time, plus I make jewelry and inadvertently suck up beads all the time, so it's nice to get them back. I have a system for emptying the canister - I dump the dust in an old shopping bag (yes, I relapse and get one at the grocery store every once in a while) right before I vacuum. That way any stray dust gets cleaned up right away, and I can clean the litterbox and use that bag for the waste.

Also, Hoover made this really cool vacuum that let you switch from bagged to bagless...I LOVED it until it broke and I found out that the replacement part was more than the vac was worth.

I like bagless vacs. more than ones with bags. They are better for the environment and you don't have to keep buying bags all the time.