This is probably the oddest post I've ever done about pets on the itchmo site - well, maybe not given some of my posts.   But I just got a new vacuum after the failure of my old expensive Hoover upright to be fixable apparently. I bought a fairly inexpensive Bissell upright bagless vacuum, with filters for the motor and a hepa filter for the room air and "cyclonic" suction action, like several other well known vacuum brands advertise.
While the vacuum will be ultimately fairly expensive to operate because of the two filters replacement costs, I am just astounded by how much pet hair and dirt it picks up off my carpets/floors and furniture.
So I thought I'd pass this type of vacuum information along for comment. Anyone else had this
aha experience on the new generation of vacuum cleaners? Even the pets seem to notice the difference in floor and furniture texture and feel and seem to approve. Plus the noise level reduction
is great, too. Cats aren't nearly as afraid of it.

This one was recommended by Consumer Reports. So I'm not selling Bissells per say.
You can find these online for right around $100 (I found mine at Target). It's the Momentum
model. But if you can afford to spend more, some of the Dyson's were also recommended.
Emptying the dust collector is a hazard because of the dust. And I think probably the filters
are going to run about $15 to $20 every several months, but maybe there's a cheap source
besides Bissell I don't know about yet.

And it could just be my old Hoover was working very badly for a long time. So there's lots of pet
hair to pick up. But the newer vacuum is doing it. I can see a difference in my old carpets. So
good luck.

I've had a regular (yellow) Dyson for about five years and it is awesome.  Great suction!  The biggest drawback I'm encountering is that I now need to replace the belt and brushes for the carpet part, which on ordinary vacuums I can easily do myself, but on the Dyson requires a visit to a vacuum repair place.

Emptying the Dyson is the easiest I've ever encountered on any vacuum.  I have allergies, but I place a plastic bag around the base of the part that empties, fasten it with the handy large rubber band that came with the vacuum for this purpose, and flip the emptying trigger.  Then I remove the band (the dust is all contained and can't disperse), tie it shut, and discard it in the trash.

You can also get a special "powered" furniture head for the Dyson, which has rotating brushes to get off pet hair.  I regret that I didn't get the model that came with that.

Thanks all. Yeah, motorized head=rotating brush head. I'd like something that has great suction without that rotating brush thing. My mom's Miele does a really good job without it. Probably about the same $$$ as a Dyson.

Sorry, bug, this would not be a vacuum for your berber.

Leslie, any tips on best sources for Bissell motor filter and hepa filter and belts?

Thanks, Leslie. It would be nice to have backup motor filter for when other was drying or self
destructs. And replacement hepa filter and belt on hand. How long have they been lasting you
generally if you've paid attention? I noticed Bisselll was available at K-mart now that that's owned
by Sears. So I'm going check it out and will post.

Some products for Bissell vacuums are available at KMart under the Ultracare line of apparently Chinese products. The prices appear slightly higher than Bissell's website [at least for my model] and most products are only sold online at kmart.com Requires some kmart.com site searching to bring up the Ultracare vacuum line of products. Some Bissell products also appear to be sold by a chain called Lowe's [like home improvement stores] according to Bissell.