The word on Miele Canister Vacuums

[billybud21]

OK, so does anybody have the word on Miele canister vacuums in terms of quality and durability? I just read an interesting thread on the waning quality and innovation of brands like Kirby, Aerus, Tri-Star, etc., and I would like to know if Miele is in the same tailspin.

 

[danemodsandy]

In My Experience....

....Miele is a very decent vacuum of its kind. My experience was with a Miele White Star belonging briefly to my late partner. There were no arguments with its overall quality, nor with its filtration. However, the machine was put on eBay and sold when less than a year old, because it was ultimately a disappointment.

There were some reservations about a couple of things. Bags were outrageously expensive, and the HEPA filter was too. The vacuum was supplied with a turbo rug nozzle that was supposed to be "as good as a power nozzle," and was major, major NOT. A true PN could be added, if you cared to spend an additional amount of money sufficient to purchase an MOL Kenmore canister with a PN, which we did not.

But the biggest reservation I had was - this was a plastic machine, and plastic is not really all that long-lived. We've all seen plastics from the '50s and '60 that are shrunken or deformed or which have turned color. And we've all had the frustration of finding a desirable collectible vac with a damaged plastic part that could be replaced only if we found a donor machine. Mieles are new now, but the day will come when their plastics will cause their owners trouble.

I just don't think ANY plastic vacuum can ever truly be considered an investment-quality machine. I know the difference between Lexan and ABS. I know higher-end manufacturers take more care with molding and other manufacturing processes. It's still plastic, and it's still unstable, and it still probably won't last a lifetime, which is what I expect at the price point of a Miele.

 

[twocvbloke]

Seeing as I've owned two, all I can say is, "Could be better", the designs could be better, the connections for hoses and extension wands, the filters, the bags, the motors, the electronics, pretty much everything could be improved upon, or even simplified, if they put their minds to it... :&#92

And my two were old models (S147 "stick" vac (weighed a flippin' tonne!!!), and S316i cannister)...

 

[joshdonnell]

Well

I love my miele, 20 years is all i want to keep a vaccum. Heck central. Vacs are better then any filthy kirby or tristar.

 

[danemodsandy]

Um, Josh:

Can you share your thoughts on why you think a quadruple-filtration TriStar is "filthy?"

I for one am all ears.

 

[joshdonnell]

Well

I like tristar

 

[danemodsandy]

Ah.

TriStars are filthy, but you like them.

Ohhhhh-kayyyyyyyyy....

 

[joshdonnell]

I meant

Kirbys . But after i get a home of my own im buying a central vacuum

 

[venson]

It's a "to each his own" thing . . .

Hi billybud,

It wasn't so much due to worry over the waning quality of the American niche-brand vacuums you mentioned that I bought Miele. I'd heard the Miele promo schtick regarding good cleaning, high filtration AND quiet operation for so long that I guess they wore me down.

So, I took the bait -- and then the plunge -- just to see where fact ended and fiction began re all the stuff I'd been told. (Besides, you can't tell people much about vacuums unless you've had hands-on experience.)

Mad money was more available at the time and I ended up buying not one but two. First the Capricorn with an SEB234 power nozzle (fluorescent floor light instead of LED) which I still have and, later, the S7 Tango. Much to my surprise they lived up to claims. Great cleaning, quiet operation and style that even says you spent a little money on something good.

Regarding all around high-level filtration, my benchmark had been Filter Queen but I found Miele to be a match -- if the high-filtration bags are used.

Using my Capricorn has been pure pleasure. Everything -- switches for the machine and PN, speed/suction control) are right there on the the hose's hand grip. Stand it on end and its great on stairs or for storing. Fine tuning suction for lightweight rugs and other material is easy as pie.

Now what I don't like . . .

Though the machine itself is certainly durable, since day one it's been obvious that the matte finish paint job on my Capricorn is lousy. Also, it has no blower. When you start spending as much as required for Miele you want to see things done just right and not get the feeling you're being nickled and dimed..

I also agree that costs for bags and filters are ridiculous. This applies to optional accessories as well. The turbo-brush and the other "kits" are not worth the $75.00 and up asked. The badly designed swivelly bare floor (70 or 100 bucks depending upon the size you choose) categorizes as "cute but not stunning". It needs a baffle plate -- ala ye old Electrolux bare floor tool -- to get a little more oomph out of the air flow.

That particular attachment spends most of its time in my broom closet as I did invest a silly amount of money -- $75.00 -- for a Miele straight suction rug/floor nozzle that actually offers convenience that I, cretin that I am, can appreciate.

That said, the company should also cull some of the superflouous junk from its sales roster. The way too wide range of canisters and uprights is silly. Mieles cost too much to be expected to become every man's vacuum. I have no time for the brand's also-rans and will be glad when the idea of concentrating on merely making one or two good machines you can actually be proud of comes into vogue again for manufacturers.

Nonetheless, Miele is a luxury item and if that is solidly understood by potential buyers I haven't much to say. We've got to have our Chevies and our Caddies too. However, I would never and will never recommend the brand as a be all/end all product. There are much less expensive brands and machines, new and used, that will serve as well.

 

[sebo_fan]

Miele isn't always marvellous...

Well said Venson!

Everyone is in a tailspin. But it's pretty one minded to think of "waning quality and innovation," with just one circumstance. What you might think is "waning quality" from the zip of a soft bag breaking to another consumers thought of poor silver coating paint on the exterior body can't be judged 100%.

In terms of quality and durability, I was to learn the hard way that Miele motors hate water! My elderly aunt was using our Miele S4212 one day picking up, what she thought was a huge amount of dry grit on the floor mat at the front door. Turned out to be wet grit someone had brought into the home from the snow outside. Synthetic bag was damp, naturally pushing the wet grit to the bottom of the bag, wetness affected the useless felt motor filter, and water entered the system.

Miele know how to make good vacuum cleaners but because of cost they won't bother putting their design expertise right. It's like a lot of brands out there - they have existing technology but they won't release it. From my point of view, Miele need to protect their motors better and they have to get rid of the top exhaust system where you breathe in the motor air (no matter if its protected by Active Air Clean filters or HEPA) each time you need to change the suction setting.

I have an old S571. I had two but one was sold and the one I have is about 15 years old. It does the job it is supposed to do well. It is sadly, very heavy and over the more modern ones Miele sell, I wouldn't part with it because of the sterling service it has given and for the most part, seems to be better protected than the diddly S2, S4 and newer S6.

Over European brands like Electrolux and Hoover though, Miele are far better at producing vacuums - but at a price! SEBO are now also starting to build good canister machines - they're not as quiet as Miele - but they are better built for extra longevity.

 

[magic-clean]

For the

price....the Miele is quite nice in many ways. But fall short in others. In our experience of being on our 3rd in 12 years; Yes they are refined, elegant, quiet, attractive, powerful and fit-finish is top notch. Additionally, the floor tools are wonderful. However, it would be great if the hoses were a foot or two longer and the cord needs an extra 10 to 15 feet. The "Suzy Homemaker" dusting brush is a toy/nuisance.

Regarding durability; ours were no better than an inexpensive department store machine. Our Platinum and Red Velvet succumbed to electrical problems. Cord reel, hose connections and power nozzle that required repeated costly service. After a few repairs on each, they were sold. Surprisingly they retain value and fetch a good price at reasale. Each machine was in mint condition.

Now have the S5 Leo with 236 power brush. It is the best of the three. It appears the electrical connection shortcomings have been addressed. That said, I handle the machine with "kid" gloves. The air clean bags really hold a lot of dust and eliminate the need for the HEPA cartridge I think. The bag price is a bit much, but the need to change is infrequent in our enviroment.

Still and all, the Miele is a pleasant machine to use and do a great job. When not in use, the Miele shares space in the closet with a workhorse Compact C8. The intimidation factor so far has kept the new Miele at its best behavior!

all the best.......L.P.

 

[suckolux]

I share you sentiment on the hose, oh dear would another foot long kill them? The cord, more please and that silly dusting brush. Mine shares the closet with my lifelong Compact C5, I bet one of them will be going when I am not, care to guess?

 

[joshdonnell]

Well

I see yalls points and i have some complaints! No vacuum cleaner brand perfect. And i can find things i dont like Electoluxs, Kirbys andTristars. If i had the choice and lived in house not in Apartment. like i do now i would choose a Central vacuum over anything . Becuase no portable vacuum can compare. And the one i would choose is a Aqua air . Becuase everything you pick up is not just setting there. It gets drain down and out of the home. No bags and nothing to empty. The bottom line is..... If you have the money and your home already has the pipes for it or thinking about remodeling i would go for it. Verus buying something you just store in the closet. I like portables but there cleaning power isnt as strong as i like. And the filtering is 100 times better.

 

[twocvbloke]

So what you're saying is, all "portable" vacs are junk, and everyone should throw them out and waste money on a central vac, all because you like them?

I'll save my money thanks...

 

[danemodsandy]

Another Thing....

....I did not like about the experience with that Miele White Star was something that wasn't really Miele's fault.

I refer to over-selling, which is epidemic among high-end vacuum manufacturers - and TriStar, whose legacy products I admire, has long been one of the worst.

The Miele was purchased by my partner, not me. My partner was a perfect "mark" for a vacuum salesman, being obsessed about cleanliness (except for doing the hard work necessary to achieve and maintain it; many germophobes are like that), and easily swayed by "logical" sales arguments.

As he told me the story about his interactions with the salesperson, he was "hammered" about all the dread diseases that could be spread by any other vacuum but the one he was considering. It was implied that Miele, and only Miele, had the filtration necessary to eliminate these horrendous pathogens from his life. And as he balked about the price, he was told that the turbo rug nozzle was a perfectly adequate substitute for a power nozzle. I asked him if the salesperson had asked him what kind of carpet he had; I was told the question had never been asked.

The Miele may have had the greatest filtration ever seen by Man, but there were several problems. The biggest was that turbo nozzle, which was not remotely up to the job of picking up Georgia's sandy, clay-ey soil out of 32-ounce off-white nylon plush, let alone cat hair - and a vacuum can hardly be expected to filter out anything it cannot get off the carpet. A return visit to the shop selling this marvel elicited the information that a true PN would take care of the problem, at a price boosting the total cost of the machine to well over $1000. We passed.

And there was one factor that probably wasn't the salesperson's responsibility, but which I still found irksome: Nobody reminded my partner that, to achieve all the benefits claimed for the machine, he would actually have to get behind the damned thing and PUSH. The strong implication in the report I heard of the sales pitch was that the machine was going to do it all, which as anyone here knows, is not the case.

So, over $800 was spent on a machine that could not do the job needed, and which probably wasn't going to be properly used by the purchaser. There is a huge drive among all vacuum manufacturers to push product out the door by any means necessary. No one seems to understand or care that a bad sale may mean immediate revenue, but can foster decades of resentment at a brand whose product is sitting in the closet unused, because it's too complicated for the particular consumer who purchased it, or poorly matched to the consumer's needs, as was the case with the Miele.

I eventually took pity on my partner, put the machine on eBay, and recouped a surprising amount of his purchase price - the things do retain some value, it's true. I just wish there hadn't been such a drive to sell him a machine no matter what. This was an independent vac shop, and a really knowledgeable salesperson would have sent him home with something far cheaper and more useful.

And again, I don't mean this as an indictment of Miele - if my partner had looked into a TriStar or Kirby or Electrolux or Filter Queen or Rainbow, he would have been subjected to much the same thing - get the product out the door, No. Matter. What.

 

[venson]

@danemodsandy

Well . . . look on the bright side -- at least he didn't come home with a Halo.

Seriously, the deal is to sell, sell, sell these days and that isn't going to change. Yes, I'd like to walk into a vac shop or vac department feeling secure I'd actually be helped but instead it usually feels like I'm getting the bum's rush even though probably not intentionally so.

I learned a lot in a brief time through demoing in a major department store's vac aisle. A lot of the staff you encounter are out to cover college tuition or car payments and there are of course those with kids to feed. The store where I did promotions did not pay it's newer sales staff a base salary. Only commissions per sales. This meant that you had people who didn't really want to work the vac department unless someone was interested in an expensive machine.

Even worse the store had decided, for economy's sake, that salespeople should refrain from demonstrating the product. (They had the test rugs in the aisle removed.) The store was obviously attempting to emulate big box stores like Best Buy, Costco, etc., where the customer gets all his information off what's printed off the item's box, makes a decision, takes it to check out if he thinks he can use it and brings it back for a refund when he finds out how much he hates it.

At the store where I worked, sales staff felt better off trying to snag customers come in for large appliance buys.

Miele has hedged its bets I believe and its business and business relationship with dealers is pretty much sewn up. They dictate pricing, etc. Nonetheless, many bona fide vendors are quite prepared to negotiate better deals nicely below suggested retail with serious prospective buyers to get product out.

The root for solutions to the situation for consumers is here, "If you don't take care of yourself, who will?" That line of thought started me taking the hard line as a consumer.

You have to know what you need or want if you're going to figure out what to buy. That's far easier now than in past due to the internet. There are plenty of avenues to travel as far as research is concerned.

You do far better by being able to walk into an independent vac shop and say, "I want an Acme Model 1. What's you're best price." The other way round, merely, "I'm looking for a vacuum," can get you left in the lurch.

 

[danemodsandy]

Venson:

"The other way round, merely, "I'm looking for a vacuum," can get you left in the lurch."

You know that, and I know that, but many people don't, and I don't think they are well served in today's sales environment. The days of the exquisite sales match - where a good, sensitive salesperson finds exactly the item needed by the consumer, no more, no less - are gone.

I personally think it's too bad, because a consumer who has been sent home with exactly what they need, and no more, will come back. The one who has been "hondled" and sent home with too much in the interest of a fast buck won't come back.

I remember old-time Electrolux salesmen, who understood the value of biding their time. They would HELP a customer, making certain they had what they needed. A customer who didn't really need a PN might be sold a 1205 without one. The next customer who might actually need one, but couldn't afford the 1205/PN combo, might be sold a Model L or even a refurb. And both customers would receive friendly reminders for bags and maintenance service.

As they say in the South, them days is gone. Today's sales tactics can sell something ONCE. They're not nearly so effective at gaining customers for life.

 

[joshdonnell]

I didnt mean

All vacuum portable vacuums are junk!

 

[petek]

I've got the older full-sized Miele Allervac and while it's good vacuum I find it a little cumbersome to use compared to my older Electroluxes like the Model G and my Canadian 88/89's It just doesn't roll around on hard floors as easily and that is somewhat irksome. You definitely have to give it a pull whereas with the electroluxes it's like there's no weight there at all. It's no quieter either, they're all quiet. The 88/89 are as quiet on their one regular speed as the Miele is on its lowest. Then the price of the bags.. they're almost $5 each, that's robbery. I don't use it all that much now because of that.. I can only vacuum with it perhaps 3 times and the bag is full of dog hair,, Elux bags are cheap. I'm not that concerned with a bit of "dust" escaping.. to be honest that's all a bunch of marketing hooey, anything to sell a vac. Everyones parents and grandparents used non HEPA vacs for decades and decades and their houses and lungs weren't any worse for wear.