The Best Rated Vacuum for Pet Hair Revisited – Miele Vacuum Reins over Dyson

I have gotten a lot of interest in my post, The Best Vacuum for Pets, Miele not Dyson! So I thought it would be beneficial to revisit the issue and provide some additional details regarding Miele canister vacuums and why I believe it is the best vacuum for pet owners and pet hair.

Original list of Pros and Cons

Pros:

Could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch;

The quietest vacuum I have ever seen, we can have a conversation without screaming while it’s running;

The suction motor has a 7 year warranty (That’s two more than Dyson offers if you’re keeping score);

Sealed HEPA and charcoal filter available;

The S5 Callisto Model has been chosen as a Consumers Digest Best Buy

Cons:

Price ($800 for our S5 Callisto Model pictured above);

The glossy finish shows scratches easy;

FJM Bags, replacement HEPA filters, and additional attachments are expensive;

If you do not have a vacuum shop in town you will likely have to order bags and accessories online.

In addition to the original list of pros and cons I have some additional thoughts:

Miele Vacuum Bags
This is probably a turn off to a lot of people shopping for a vacuum. One of the biggest hassles with traditional vacuums is the damn bag. You can never find the right size, they are difficult to change, it spills dust everywhere when you change it, etc. These problems are why the vast majority of vacuums now days are bag-less. The Miele FJM bags are nothing like those. It is extremely easy to change and is more like a thick cloth diaper than a paper sack. Another thing I like about the bag is when you go to remove a full one it’s designed such that part of the removal process closes up the bag. Then you simply toss it in the trash like a full diaper, no dusty mess.

The Sealed HEPA Filter – If you have pets this is really a valuable option. The Miele HEPA filters also come with an integrated charcoal pre-filter. I have been really amazed at how well the charcoal filter reduces the amount of noxious pet odors that would usually be emitted from the vacuum. The downside is the charcoal filter loses its efficiency before the HEPA filter, at least in my house. Unfortunately, there is now way to just change the charcoal portion of the HEPA filter. Since the HEPA filter costs north of $50 you really don’t want to change it more frequently than necessary. For a little less money you can buy an odor filter without the HEPA but then you lose out on the high efficiency filtering.

The filters are really simple to change. They all come with a rubber gasket on the outside and it simply snaps into place and out of place when it’s time for it to be changed.

The Powerbrush – IMO this is another option definitely worth paying for. A lot of the more expensive Miele models come with a powerbrush but it is an option on the others. My Miele Callisto Vacuum model came with the 217-3 model Powerbrush. I have not used the regular Turbobrush but I can tell you the Powerbrush is definitely worth paying for. The product description states it will restore crushed carpets. It isn’t a miracle fix for 15 year old worn out carpet but it is quite impressive. I was amazed at the difference over what our old vacuum used to do.

The Powerbrush does wonders on pet fur and if you have a bird it works really well on feathers, dander, seed and bird food remnants.

Conclusion

So would I recommend that the average household invest in one of the high end Miele vacuums that runs $800+, maybe not. The average household can probably purchase one of the Miele upright vacuums in the $300 – $500 range will do a great job and perform at a high level for a long time.
Also, the people at Miele have now come out with a Miele Cat and Dog vacuum that is already optimized for high traffic, high fur households.

For the rest of us with high traffic, high fur households I do not believe there is and have not seen a better vacuum than the Miele.

Decided you want a Miele, check out my Miele comparison post which provides some useful comparison information.