Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start by saying that this vacuum starts off like a champ. It's efficient, cleans well, has a plethora of tools, and is the most amazing vacuum cleaner at an amazing price. Unfortunately, the honeymoon is now over. My wife and I decided to replace our bagged vacuum cleaner with a new vacuum cleaner. I was hell-bent on replacing it with something bagless, since that seemed like a more efficient way to clean the house. Plus, I hated changing bags. So, after careful research, I decided this was the vacuum for us. My wife protested, but I was determined. She was right. We've owned this vacuum cleaner since September, and in those short few months I have come to completely detest this machine. The problem is that it is fatally flawed in its design to be everything that you would expect this vacuum cleaner to be. The first few times we used this machine, it was great; it picked up everything without a complaint and was a joy to use. It has a cup that can be easily removed and dispensed. This part of the vacuum works very well. There is a second cup at the base of the vacuum that is the source of a lot of my complaints about this vacuum. The top cup catches most of the larger items, and some dust, but the bottom cup / filter assembly is really where all of the business-end of this vacuum is done. There are two filters that lead into this cup, which are washable. The problem is these filters catch just about everything that passes through the vacuum, so while the top cup is nice and easy to empty, the bottom cup is far more disgusting to empty. Rest assured that every speck of dust and hair in your house will be neatly compressed onto the filter, and carefully cataloged for later dispersal into just about everywhere when you go to empty this. The filters are indeed washable, and you can easily take the filters out and rinse them in a convenient sink. Unfortunately, the filters are both a heavy foam and a heavy paper, neither of which is particularly easy to dry. So, when you go to wash the filters, you'll put your vacuum out of commission for at least several days while the filters eventually dry out (and nothing, repeat: nothing will speed this process up.) There are cautions about running the vacuum without these filters, and for good reason, because these filters do the lion's share of the air scrubbing that this vacuum does. Also, the filters need to dry thoroughly, or they'll get a remarkable smell, which will permeate your entire house if you don't let them dry thoroughly. Expect about a week for them to completely dry, or plan on buying another set of filters so you can keep one pair out while the other pair is in the vacuum, and swap when it domes time to clean them. Again, this vacuum is great for the first few times you use it, but the filtration design is terrible. I'm seriously thinking of finding another vacuum to replace this vacuum. Having to replace the vacuum is bad enough. Having to admit that my wife was right all along is worse.