I have a first generation Dyson upright. While it definitely could have more suction power going back to bags is unthinkable. I also like the fact that it still works. Before the Dyson I had many Hoover and other crap vacuums (I really couldn’t afford anything better at the time) that seemed to break after every use.

+1

I have the same model.

Not all Dyson products are created equally. I wouldn't touch the Dyson ball vacuum; stupid gimmick.

... and it is very easy. In years I can't remember when is last time I cleaned my canister Dyson filter. I clean my handheld filter once every six months, I think.
By very easy I mean that you pull it out in less than 5 seconds, clean it under water, let it dry for a while, and put it back in less than 5 seconds.

I'd never go back to bags either. Probably I used poor products before, but every time I changed bag I had dust all over the place. Emptying both the handheld and the canister Dyson is quite simpler and less messy for me.

Also, I know form theory that when the filter is dirty they have less suction power, but I would not be able to notice.

This S5 Deep Clean is the exact one I bought - 2200W, HEPA, 4.5 litre Bag, 220 quid. Still seems like the best deal going.

Can you buy Kirby's retail in the US? In the UK I think they are only sold in-home using high-pressure sales. A former colleague did it for a couple of years and was apparently very successful but gave it up because he couldn't handle the unethical sales methods required. A friend of my parents apparently endured a three hour pitch and was "forced" to give them the names of five friends before they would leave (I would have physically removed them myself long before then, but they are wet lettuces).

Kirby sells only through their stupid door-to-door thugs. I'm amazed they sell like a half million units a year that way. They are also stupidly expensive. Since they are immortal, they are easy to find refurbished at vacuum specialty shops. I was lucky, I got mine new (well, unused) with all it's accessories at a garage sale for $40. All in original packaging. Somebody had bought it 20 something years earlier and never used it.

Ha! So it's Kirby that sell like that.

I can remember being sat at an ex-girlfriends house one time (she lived with her mother), I am going back 15-16 years. This guy was trying to flog her Mum a Kirby, spent about 3 hours trying to sell it, she kept asking for a price, he kept on selling, she kept on asking, eventually he got out his price card and it was something totally unbelievable like £4,400.

Now, for me it would have been quite clear from the moment of stepping through the front door that these people didn't have £4.40 to spend on a vacuum !!! It took him 3 hours and us literally laughing him our of the door for the penny to drop.

I have to say through, he did a cracking job of cleaning the whole house during the demo.

Cheers

Cris

Indeed. I bad this happen to me also. One day they contacted my wife, asking if she would be interested in a demo. (i'm guessing one of her friends provided them her name). This guy also showed up and did a demo of a couple of hours, up to shampooing the carpets. He was willing to answer every question, except when it came to the price. I asked him several times, but he brushed me off every time,saying we would discuss this when the demo had ended.

So then the demo ended and he started writing. Even then he would not simply tell me the price. First he made a complete list of everything the thing could do and what extras came with the unit. The he drew a line under that all and wrote "3300". I told him "that better be the serial number you're writing now, otherwise we're done talking". But he still wouldn't give up, saying he'd ask his district manager to pass by. And indeed, no more than 5 minutes later a second van showed up with an even slicker sales person in it. He started the sales pitch again, but by then I had lost all interest. It took a whole lot of effort to get rid of them both, and I found them very pushy.

It took a whole lot of effort and every fiber of my good upbringing not just to kick them out, but I managed in the end.

Result: the product Kirby itself left an immensely good impression, but I was absolutely disgusted by the way they try to sell them. I can't believe there are still people that actually go for it, but I guess a lot of them are intmidated and simply give in. It's a real shame that a company, which makes a smashing product, wants to lower itself to such seller tactics. It brings the whole brand down IMO.

There is simply no other way they could possibly sell a vacuum cleaner that costs three or four thousand dollars. Their margins must be fantastic, so they don't have to make up for it with volume.

tanstaafl.

Three to four thousand dollars??? And yet I still have to push it around, and it doesn't make my morning coffee?
I know I'm cheap, but that is just crazy money IMO.

I've heard that they sell for $1400 usd, and a quick google search confirms this. I've had mine like 30 years.

SWMBO is talking about buying a new vacuum clearer, a canister type. I'm trying to figure out the differences between the Miele S2 S6 and S8 ranges. I think the S6 and S8 have a "Silence motor" and the the S8 has "Integrated Tool Storage". Figuring out the sub-models have given me a headache for now.