When all you own are bagless vacuums

[niclonnic]

Do you know someone who has almost exclusively owned bagless vacuums? I know I am among one of those. This is a counter-thread to the one about only owning vintage-looking vacuums.

I have come up with a few factors. The first one is prevalence. It seems like this is the type of vacuum that younger generations (born in the 1990s and later) have become accustomed to. My parents had a bagged Eureka Ultra in my childhood apartment, but then got hit by the Dyson/Fantom bug of the mid/late 90s. They bought a Fantom Fury around 1996/97 after falling for its infomercial. I can only imagine how monumental it was for them to transition to a vacuum that operates without a bag, not to mention with tools on board. As a kid, it was so fascinating to see the dirt swirling around in the translucent collection bin. Alongside the Fantom, the old Eureka was relegated to being a "burner" vacuum for cleaning out the fireplace. In retrospect, this made sense, as my mom didn't want to clog up the Fury with ash. After moving out of the apartment and getting rid of the Fantom, my parents, as well as myself later on, have exclusively bought bagless vacuums, avoiding bagged ones like the plague, albeit with one exception. I got a cordless Oreck for Christmas back in 2020, but I later sold it after only a year of ownership.

Another factor is convenience. With a bagless vacuum, there is no need to buy bags, which saves time, money and memory (remembering the correct bag to buy). This is something that my family greatly values.

Bagless vacuums are also known for their ease of use. The clear bin enables me to see how well the vacuum is working, and I can always see when it needs to be emptied. Because of my pets, I have to empty the bin after every single use. Call it instant gratification, in contrast with a bagged vacuum. I can also see if I've accidentally vacuumed up something valuable, such as jewelry or coins. That way, I don't have to tear open a filthy bag.

Finally, Dyson's influence has played a major part. Sir James' pioneering work, combined with the brand's prominent marketing and "brainwashing" tactics, were major factors in the adoption of bagless models. This also applies to Fantom and their infomercials.

This is NOT to say that I'm boycotting bagged vacuums; these are factors I've come up with as to why bagless is the norm for younger generations. Do you agree with my sentiments?

 

[panasonicvac]

More than one person I can think of have always owned bagless vacuums at least from what I recall. They're examples of what I should NOT own, coming from someone who has mild allergies. While bagless machines don't need any bags, you're forgetting they have filters that do eventually need to be replaced unless if you have a Vacuflo true cyclonic central vacuum for example. You'd be surprised to hear by how many people would buy incorrect filters for their bagless vacuums. For saving money, well the problem with bagless machines is the cyclones and primary filter don't filter as well as a bagged machine thus reducing the life of the motor with so much dust inside of them where you'd end up having to spend on buying a new vacuum. This is why alot of commercial vacuums are bagged. Another problem is they can be a mess to clean, I don't like having to smell or even touch the dust as I maintain them. Although this doesn't happen with like a Rainbow for example but even those still have to be cleaned every time I use them. I only empty out bags once in a while like whenever the bag check indicator goes on. For my ideal vacuum to own, an MD central vacuum, I probably would change my bag out once a year or longer since they're so huge and I'm a type of person that'd keep a very clean house. I'll admit, you brought a good point where you can see what you're vacuuming up and retrieve something you'd suck up. However, I rarely vacuum up something I shouldn't. In fact I always check my floors before I start vacuuming. And with seeing what you're sucking up, I can guarantee if you went over with another vacuum it'd for certain pick something up that your bagless vacuum would leave behind even if you don't see anything else coming into the dirt bin. Whatever Dyson is preaching to me, I'm sticking with bagged machines.

 

[vac14012]

As far as I can tell, it seems Dyson is the only company that still makes a quality bagless unit. The latest (maybe last?) upright they sell, and even their stick vacuums, have fairly effectively cyclones (although I prefer pre-ball setups) that keep the filters clean, and maintenance isn't too bad.

For some reason even though a lot of their cyclone patents have expired, all the Bissels/Sharks/Walmart Shelf Brands etc still use like a shitty single cyclone setup, so all the filters get clogged instantly, and suction dies. Miele did the same thing with their stick vacuum line, almost unusable with how fast the filters clog up. So if you really need bagless, I'd say get a Dyson, otherwise bagged is the way to go imo.

I wish someone would sell a DC07 clone, i'd buy that so fast.