Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am somewhat of a vacuum aficionado. I say that not because I love vacuums or vacuuming itself. I hate 3/4 of the vacuums I own. I am a vacuum aficionado for the sole reason that I love the RESULTS of what a good vacuum can achieve. I have 2 furry Papillons and an aging cat that loses tufts of fur daily. The floors throughout my home are of a higher end wood laminate. I have NO carpeting or throw rugs anywhere in my home. I am always looking for an easy way to fight the fur. The fur has thus far always won the battle. I have gotten very weary of trying vacuum after vacuum. Some of them inexpensive and some costing more than I honestly wanted to pay. But then I had the thought that maybe I wasn't paying ENOUGH for a quality vacuum that would tackle the fur onslaught. Maybe there WAS a holy grail of vacuums. I turned to Google and searched for "best vacuums for bare floors". The Miele (which I learned is pronounced Mee-luh, rhyming with Sheila) was one of the top results. On to Amazon's Miele S194 QuickStep Universal page. After viewing the photos on the page and being impressed with the various configurations possible with this model I went on to read the Amazon customer reviews. Since the majority of them were positive I decided to take the plunge and order. The Miele S194 was easy and quick to assemble. A bag and filter comes pre-installed. I unwound the generous power cord (which will allow you clean up to a 28' radius), plugged it in and then got bummed out. The power on switch is located on the motor housing. Since I put the vacuum together in the classic mode (floor tool, motor housing, telescopic rod and then handle), I had to bend down to turn it on. The Miele is quieter than other stick vacs I have used. It didn't freak my dogs out at all. The floor tool has a rocker switch on it to choose between carpet/rug or bare floors mode. Switching this switch brings down a row of brushes. After hearing about the amazing suction powers of this model, I was excited. I tackled the biggest fur blobs first. Then the letdown began. Like many stick vacuums, the S194's floor tool has a small center opening where the debris is sucked up into the bag. The problem is that fur got stuck on the sides of the floor tool. I had to pick up the floor piece and physically stuff the fur (mixed with dried grass the dogs drag in) into the small opening. The vacuum would also not pick up crumbs and tiny bits of leaves that were half caught underneath the baseboards. The normal configuration of the stick vac does not allow one to get underneath furniture. I knew from reviews that it could be reconfigured but I wasn't sure how. The manual is NOT much help in that area. All it did was show a black and white picture of the vacuum with the motor part repositioned higher up near the handle. The text said "you can reconfigure to fit under furniture and other tight spaces." But it didn't really tell HOW! Now, it wasn't hard to figure out that you have to take the thing apart and attach the motor housing to the handle, then the telescopic rod directly to the floor tool. I was disappointed because before I bought it I thought that the motor housing would simply slide up in some way without having to take the thing entirely apart. So, if you frequently vacuum underneath the furniture (which is main reason I wanted the vac) then you would want to keep it in the motor housing higher position. But here is the problem I have with that. The motor housing was heavy enough positioned down further but it being higher made it almost unmanageable. I had to keep switching hands and after I was done my muscles felt like I had been bowling for 6 hours. Now, that might not really be a bad thing but I wasn't taking that thing up and down my stairs. The other problem I found was that using it in the furniture configuration, the floor tool doesn't stay flat against the floor while pushing underneath a sofa or chair so you aren't really getting any of the debris sucked up. Using it as a hand vac is out of the question. It is just too large and heavy to be convenient. The upholstery tools don't work well either because they are just too rigid. You have to get just the right angle and actually contort your wrists holding this heavy vacuum. The bag is stuffed into the well in an odd way. It is folded over itself and there doesn't seem to be enough room for full expansion. There is a tiny filter in that area as well. The refill bags are fairly expensive at 5 for $15.00. The manual stresses that using any other type of bag other than the Miele runs the risk of fire. Bottom Line: I honestly did not see any benefits of this vacuum to justify the cost. Between the weight of it and having to take it completely apart to change configuration, I would avoid taking it out of the closet. So, I packed it back up and returned it to Amazon. My quest for the perfect vacuum for me moves onward.