Question by Dilbert: What’s the most cost-effective vacuum cleaner for general home use?
A Kirby salesman came to our door and offered to vacuum and steam clean one of our rooms free. But he spent so much time demonstrating his equipment and trying to sell it to us, that he never had time to finish vacuuming the room, much less steam cleaning it. And his equipment’s retail price was easily 10 times, maybe more, that of other brands of equivalent equipment. And he was trying to use that retail price to sell it to use at a “deep discount” which was still at least several times more than other brands of the same stuff would cost.
But that got me to thinking. If Kirby is the most overpriced brand, what brand has the best price relative to its quality, features, value, etc.? In other words, what brand is the most cost effective?
Best answer:
Answer by clayton
Shark Navigator for 0.00 and a 10 year warranty.
What do you think? Answer below!
Personally, I use about a $50 bagless upright that works just fine for light cleaning (we don’t have much carpet in our house). But I’ve never known anyone that’s spent the money to buy a Dyson that didn’t think it was worth every penny.
Having been a Kirby salesman for about two weeks way back in the day (never sold one because who buys a vacuum cleaner for a thousand dollars?), I can tell you that Kirbys are great, and they will literally last a lifetime, not like most vacuum cleaners that break down after six months and then just blow dust around. They are versatile and indestructible, and odds are your Grandma has one that she bought back in the 1950’s, and it’s still in top shape.
Every other brand is more or less the same. I would just buy a vacuum at a garage sale for five bucks, use it till it breaks, chuck it, and move onto the next garage sale, and so on, and so on, forever.
If I were wanting a vacuum cleaner today, I would go to a used vacuum/service/sales/repair place and buy a used Filter Queen just like the one I have now. It’s almost 30 years old and just had its first repair, a new motor installed for $150. It has had one other service since I got it in around 1988 for $500, which was a good clean after I used it to vacuum a whole house of drywall dust. I expect it to last another 25 years, since there isn’t much else to break on it. And I haven’t been easy on it. I vacuum up whatever will fit through the hose, and I have multiple pets. When I was at the vacuum shop picking mine up, there was one just like it there for $400. It doesn’t have a HEPA filter or any fancy stuff, and you have to buy filters for it, but it works well and reliably. Buying a very high end vacuum used is like buying a used Mercedes or Cadillac. They depreciate fast even though there’s nothing wrong with them.
A $25 USED one from a reputable used appliance store. You pick the brand. They’re all the same
Value is in the eye of the beholder. There are those that don’t want to pay more than $50 to $100 for a vacuum and think they’re being savvy buyers, then, there are those that are willing to spend into the thousands for a “good” vacuum, and think that THEY are savvy buyers. Who’s right? It doesn’t matter, because as long as the vacuum is fulfilling the needs of the user, their minds won’t be swayed.
If you’re looking for a budget vacuum, then the Bissell Cleanview or Hoover brand vacuums are money well spent. These vacuums do a good job and typically last a few years before needing replacement.
http://www.bestvacuumreviews.com/bissell-cleanview.html
If you’re talking strictly about dollars and cents, then probably the Shark Navigator or the Shark Navigator Lift-Away. Both vacuums can be found in the $150 to $200 range, have a good set of features and accessories, and extremely good suction and filtration. These vacuums rival more expensive brands in performance, but mirror the cheaper brands in durability.
http://www.bestvacuumreviews.com/shark-navigator.html
http://www.bestvacuumreviews.com/shark-navigator-lift-away.html
If you’re looking at your vacuum as an investment and want top level performance and durability, then you’ve got to stick with the likes of Dyson, Miele and others of this caliber.
http://www.bestvacuumreviews.com/dyson-dc33.html
http://www.bestvacuumreviews.com/miele-s5-vacuum.html
There are machines far more expensive with good performance and durability, but only the buyer can decide if the price of vacuums such as Kirby, Rainbow, etc., is justifiable. I can tell you that I’ve personally owned a Kirby – bought it brand new in the 70’s for around $1200, and while it never died, it’s performance and filtration were poor. The Kirby was replaced by a VitaVac for around $800. The VitaVac was an excellent machine and it lasted over 10 years before being given to a friend who still uses it. The VitaVac was replaced 6 years ago with a Dyson DC07 for $400 and it’s working just as good today as it did brand new, and it easily out performs the VitaVac. Because I was curious about the hype of the Shark Navigator, I recently got their new Lift-Away that’s being compared to the Dyson DC25. While I believe that the Lift-Away is a good machine, it is not as good as the Dyson.
You can find a great vacuum for under $100, but it always depends on factors like whether you have more carpet or hard floors, the size of your place and the size of your budget. Reading reviews by consumers who’ve purchased low cost models will give you a great idea of what’s best for your needs. For a starting place, try the site below. You’ll find the best consumer rated models under $100.