Miele S7260 Cat & Dog Upright Vacuum Cleaner (Old Model)

Though this vaccum comes with a hefty price it is German made.My comments here are based on my first use of this product.Back story, I have had other vacuum cleaners to include Filter Queen, Hoover, Eureka, Dust Devil or any of the numerous other cheep-oh's being made in the past twenty-five years.I have an American Eskimo dog, white, sheds hand fills everyday and brushing her fills the area with loose white dog fur galore. This is not my first nor my last Eskimo. When I did the vacuuming after brushing her she barked and chased or ran from the Eureka. This Miele replaces a Eureka of several years. The moment I started the Miele I was taken back by how quiet this machine is when operating. My dog started to carry on then realized this machine was not as loud and she settled down quickly.I vacuumed the entire first floor (which usually leaves me whipped) but no so today.Miele cleans as good as the propaganda says it will.Did I mention it is QUIET? No need to wear shooting muffs to protect already damaged ears. Cleaning? The Eureka picked up only a fraction of what the Miele picks up (everything).Jamming? I think with common sense, cleaning the machine after use to prevent the long dog hair from jamming anything is my best bet.39 foot electrical cord, genius for my house, only had to plug it in once and finished the first floor without changing plugs, nice.I researched this machine and found reviews claiming hefty weight. I find the weight not an issue so far.Remember this is only my first impression of this Miele.Yes it is expensive.Yes bags are expensive.Yes accessories are expensive.What this machine does, how it handles negates the cost for me. Your milage may vary.This machine cleans up the loose dog fur efficiently and quietly.For me, so far this is a purchase I have liked from opening the box, reading the instructions and using.More should there be any changes in my impression.NOW ONE MONTH LATER (give or take);After having this machine for a little over a month I have filled one bag full of America Eskimo dog hair and other household crud my old vac just didn't pickup.I have no complaints so far. My dog sheds everyday and the machine is used every other day. Of course the dog is brushed just before using the Miele.I have not experienced what other reviewers here have.I can state that this machine vacuum's kitchen and bathroom floors. I did not go bare foot in the house until after I bought the Miele. Now I can go barefoot through the house and not have dust, dirt, dog hair, or dirt from outside on the bottoms of my feet, nice to have this level of clean.Nothing gets past the Miele filters on my Miele that seems to be an issue for other folks. As for accessories, they are quality Miele parts and or accessories, delivered on time, intact and useable immediately.I have had no jams, clogs or other cleaning related problems.Bottom line? I make this purchase again. End of this segment, more should it arise.

the good: This machine is very quiet and seems to work ok for cleaning.the bad: The "twist" element of this machine makes it difficult to push and control - takes muscle to keep it going where you want. The "twist" element also does not latch well so the top of the machine which is quite heavy seems to flop regularly whether in storage or while pausing in cleaning activity.the ugly: The "twist" element made the top of the machine topple yesterday while the cord was being switched to a different outlet. The topple resulted in the plastic cracking, and breaking the lever to release the upper portion to vacuum position. I've had it for 3 months and can no longer return it via Amazon. I'm stuck and have to go through the hassle of trying to find a warrantee repair.Bottom line: Do not buy this expensive machine. Between Miele and Volkswagen, the myth of German engineering is quickly eroding!

Here are my thoughts about the Miele Cat and Dog S7260 VacuumFirst, I would like to preface this review with some information I think is relevant. Prior to my purchase of the Miele Cat and Dog, I owned a Royal canister vacuum for about 14 years. It was extremely powerful, and for 14 years I thought it was the greatest vacuum cleaner ever. Mostly. The only things I didn't like about it were that it was a little unwieldy to lug up and down the stairs and the air that it spewed didn't smell very good. Oh, and truthfully it really wasn't pretty (a minor thing, but still). So naturally when it came time to find a new vacuum I checked out Royals first. Well, let's just say the quality has gone way down hill for that company. Still looking for a high-quality, powerful vacuum, my research then led me to Miele. I ended up deciding on the S7260 partly because we have a cat and dog, but also because I decided an upright might be easier to deal with and because the long hose attachment made it have the compactness of an upright with the flexibility of the canister. Also, I am okay with not paying extra for the "automatic" features of the more expensive vacuums in this line since I am mostly interested in the suction power. In many ways it has lived up to expectations, but I have had some quality issues described below. So here are some specifics:Pros* The maneuverability of this machine is amazing. And I realize that I have been out of the vacuum market for quite some time, but really it rocks. I can get to places I was never able to with my old vacuum. This is by far my favorite thing about the C&D and you don't know how great it is until you try it (even if you watch the promotional videos).* The suction power combined with the speed of the rotating brush make my carpets feel better than they ever have. I guess this is really the best feature and should have been first, but I was expecting power.* The bags and filters are wonderful. Not only does it not smell bad, I now realize how much dirt I must have been spewing back out into the house with my old vacuum. The vacuum bags are amazing (and I know this because I dissected one) and trap so much stuff - so much more of the fine stuff than my old vacuum bags - and then there are two additional filters. I haven't even tried the hepa filters yet because I think the ones that come with it already do a significantly better job than the bag and "filter" in my old vacuum. The bags are also pretty big (bigger than my old vacuum for sure) so I think they will last a while.* It's pretty. Although I would have rather had another color than white, the vacuum does look nice. Again, not really a big deal, but a nice bonus.* It is compact and pretty easy to haul around. I don't know how it compares in this regard to other uprights, but it is much easier to store than my canister was with the big long hose flopping around.Cons (yes, there are some)* It is a little heavy. I don't know if this is really a con for me, but if you are looking for something light weight, this isn't it. I want cleaning power so I am willing to put up with the weight.* The instructions say that if you want to clean up against the wall that you need to use the front of the machine. In some vacuums you can clean along the wall with one side or the other. Not a huge deal until you come to the hallway and have to keep twisting the vacuum so the front is against the wall. And even with the super-manueverability of the vacuum, there are some places in my house where this just isn't possible without much furniture moving. I think if I had lots of long narrow hallways I would hate this feature. And truth be told even with the front against the wall, I don't think it does a fabulous job on the edges. I know that's what the crevice tool is for, but I hate using that.* One of the supposed selling points of this vacuum is the extra hand tool that you get. I say "meh." First of all there is no place to store it on the machine, so I have a hard time keeping track of it. Second, I am not all that impressed with it. The air driven brush stops turning unless you hold it in a very specific way and I think that when you hold it that way there is less suction. I find it difficult to use and really not any better at picking up fur than the standard attachments.Also, if you live in a small town away from major cities you may have difficulty getting it repaired. Which leads me to my main "con." I have owned this about a year and it has already been to the repair shop twice. I am not sure what happened the first time, but I believe is was a result of shipping damage (and I will say it was not packaged all that well, just in what looked like the Miele packaging the store received it in) that was not immediately apparent. The second time was definitely a quality issue as the on/off switch got stuck in the "on" position and the repair guy said this is not an unusual problem. Thankfully - and kudos to Miele for this - both repairs were covered under the warranty, but still it is a pain to have to take your vacuum in to get repaired and in my case since I live in the boonies it takes forever to get parts and the vacuum is at the repair shop for a month. I am especially disappointed because I had an expectation that, being a Miele, (and with the expensive price tag) this would be an extremely reliable machine. Now I just keep wondering what will happen next. If I had reviewed this vacuum when I first got it I probably would have given it 5 stars, but I have to drop it down to 3 stars because of the lack of reliability I have experienced so far. I also have to say that I am not so sure buying this particular item online was the best way to go.