New vacuum or repair old? If new, which? Especially on carpeted stairs?
September 9, 2018 6:13 AM   Subscribe

We have a Shark Rotator Lift-away Pro, purchased refurbished about 5 years ago. Recently it got wet when the basement flooded (not the motor, just the base). We took the base apart to let it dry and when reassembling snapped the little plastic piece that makes it lock upright. It’s annoying. We don’t want to keep using it this way.

We can replace the base for about $80. Is it worth it, though, when I’m reading that the expected life span of a Shark is about 5 years anyway?

If we replace it, what should we get?
- We like bagless upright.
- Not interested in spending more than $200. Might go closer to $300 for really good reason. Don’t mind refurbished. Could wait for Black Friday.
- No pets, no long hair in the house.
- We have carpeted stairs. The Shark attachments and lift away function are ok on the stairs, but not great. Would love to find something really good for stairs, even if that means a separate purchase.
- We only use it on carpet, no bare floors. We have a pretty thick pile carpet and some kind of low profile Berber-ish carpet with a grid texture.

Opinions of Eureka FloorRover, Shark powered lift away, or Hoover Windtunnel 3?
posted by Kriesa to Home & Garden (10 answers total)
 
Did you read the wirecutter recommendations? It indicates that some of your choices aren't comparable.
posted by k8t at 7:09 AM on September 9, 2018


Best answer: You can find Dysons for that price range if you watch for deals, especially if you’re fine with refurbished. We got a refurb Dyson for under $200 seven years ago and it’s still going strong. We have one similar to this - https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-dyson-dc33-multi-floor-upright-vacuum-refurbished
posted by kellygrape at 7:10 AM on September 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: I have the Hoover Windtunnel 3 Pro Pet and I’m really very happy with it! It was comparatively inexpensive, and it’s powerful and effective. I’ve had mine for at least a couple years now and it’s going strong. There are two places on the vacuum with filters, so do remember to rinse out the one at the top of the canister every few months, and your vacuum will perform like new. It’s pretty lightweight and the light at the base serves as a handhold for vacuuming stairs. I have 3 levels in my house, and 4 cats, so this vacuum sees a decent amount of use.
posted by Autumnheart at 7:12 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Not to abuse the edit window, but my house is mostly carpeted with a pretty thick shag. The kitchen and entryways are vinyl.
posted by Autumnheart at 7:20 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: This is the vacuum that I have, and it’s on clearance right now for $135.99 because a newer model is coming out. If you don’t care about having the latest version, that’s a pretty damn good deal.
posted by Autumnheart at 7:37 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


The problem with the Windtunnels is that the hose path through the vacuum has some tight bends. Ours gets clogged pretty regularly and it's a pain to disassemble to clear the clogs. We have two very sheddy cats though so without that additional issue it might serve you well enough.
posted by leslies at 7:38 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Did you read the Wirecutter recommendations? It indicates that some of your choices aren’t comparable.
I’m not finding Wirecutter very useful here, as they seem to focus on pet hair and versatility among floor types. I don’t care about either. They don’t review look at stair vacuuming at all, which is important to me. And I can’t find actual reviews of anything but Sharks, and I’m not sure I love ours enough to just buy another. I can’t even find the list of vacuums that they looked at - it would be nice to see a ranking or comments on other brands.
posted by Kriesa at 8:11 AM on September 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Did you try calling the company and seeing if they will send you a replacement part? We snapped a small but vital piece of our Dyson off, and we called them and they sent us a new part for free even though we were past the warranty by several years.
posted by just_ducky at 10:07 AM on September 9, 2018


Call the company and give them the opportunity to make it right. The bottom line is, they'd rather send you a replacement part than have you put money into Dyson, Eureka or Hoover's company. It behooves THEM to help YOU, give them a chance.

FWIF: my girlfriend LOVES these specific vacuums and has had multiple replacement parts sent to her, up to and including a brand new vacuum. She's brand loyal and has made me a fan as well. Good luck!
posted by AnneBoleyn at 12:50 PM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Really, take a look at the Dyson rechargeable stick vacs. Everything about them is just so easy. I'll never go back to an upright, ever.
posted by sageleaf at 1:03 PM on September 9, 2018


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