With the demise of our unloved Dyson we found ourselves in need of a replacement vacuum cleaner. Having bought the Dyson in a fit of suburban snobbery some five years ago we had initially been very pleased with its performance. Within a year, however, its effectiveness began to reduce and slowly deteriorated over time until recently it became increasingly unable to clean anything like efficiently. When it finally gave up the ghost we began the search.
The first problem is choice. There are a huge number of vacuumcleaners around from a multitude of big name manufacturers and the variety of machines on offer is bewildering. Do you want upright or cylinder? Wet or dry, with a bag or bagless (debagged?). Vacuum cleaners are a boring
necessity of domestic life, unloved they are likely to be kept under the stairs except when in use. Do people worry what they look like? Well, since Dyson came to market with his funky, colourful cleaners manufacturers do care what their machines look like and the colours and materials used now show that 'design' has reached this lowliest of domestic appliances.
The criteria for choosing a new vacuum cleaner follows a number of either/or questions, so I'll take you through our decision making process. 1. Do you want to wash your carpets? No we don't. 2. Do you want cylinder or upright? Uprights are tidier and more compact when stored while cylinders with the bulky hoses and attachments can be awkward and messy. But, uprights can be heavier in use and make working on stairs or the car hard work while cylinders are more manoeuvrable. We went for a cylinder cleaner. 3. Bagless? Bagless cleaners are meant to be more efficient and not lose suction in use. Well, our Dyson was bagless and it lost plenty of suction no matter how we maintained it. Bagless is cleaner. Not when you have to go into the garden, wrap the tub in a bin bag and shake at arms length, and then reach into the grey gunk to clear the last remnants it isn't. It's been nice not having to keep a stock dust bags in the house but this question isn't a deal breaker so either would be fine. 4. Do you want a Dyson? Ten years ago Dyson was the aspirational vacuum of choice and like many others we were taken in as well. Vindicated by the envious looks from visitors as we would artlessly leave it in full view when people came knocking. These days Dyson has somewhat fallen from grace and good reviews are few and far between. However, it remains a benchmark against which other models are measured. No, we don't want another Dyson. 5. How much do you want to spend? We didn't want a cheapo model but were determined for it to be cheaper than a Dyson so were looking at around £150.
Having set the criteria we now had to choose the right model. A quick read through of my father in laws Which? magazine showed the Miele S4510 coming top of their test and that's usually good enough for me, a quick price search online and I found the model for £160, including next day delivery, from UKDomestic Appliances.
In the box~ The Miele was delivered in two boxes; the larger of the two contained the cylinder unit itself, neatly packed in polystyrene. The second, smaller box contains the hose, attachments and paperwork. The instruction manual is clear and concise, but then it is just a vacuum cleaner so it's not going to be complicated. The attachments are the usual set of crevice cleaner, small brush and stair head and can be clipped to the main unit. There are two main heads supplied, the standard floor brush and a turbo brush. Also included are two dust bags.
In use~ Although the unit is very compact it is heavier than it looks but still lighter than the old Dyson. With an 1800 watt motor it is quite a powerful machine but even so is not terribly noisy. The cable length is a good couple of metres and this means that you don't have to keep plugging it in too often as you move around the house. The castors are free running and it doesn't take much effort to pull the unit along.
The real question though is is it any good at sucking up the dust? The simple answer to that is yes. The Miele cleans very effectively, sucking up most detritus on the first pass, two or three passes are usually enough to get the toughest hairs and fluff up. The hose is tri-scopic which means it extends to virtually three times its length, which is handy for reaching high corners and over cabinets and the cleaning heads and attachments are easily interchanged. On the unit are two toe pedals; one for retracting the cable and the other for turning it on and off. The cable retractor is satisfyingly brisk and there is none of the creaking we had with the Dyson. It's strange going back to bags but after a month's use we've barely half filled the first (there is a handy indicator on the unit showing how full the bag is getting) and replacement bags clip in simply enough.
The overall construction is very sturdy and robust and the attachments seem well made so hopefully durability will not be a problem. There is no choice of colours with this model so you are stuck with Polar Ice (that'll be white in old money) so it looks a little boring next to the purples, reds and greens you can get elsewhere. But maybe that's just Teutonic minimalism.
Conclusion~ Although this is far from the cheapest model around, so far we have been very happy with this vacuum cleaner and have yet to find fault. While powerful it is relatively quiet and has left our carpets in a better state than the old Dyson did. Its small size means it is easily handled around the house and the overall impression is of a very well made machine.
Pictures of Miele S4510
Miele S4510
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good review think it will be a Miele next time. Is bagged better ? Do Miele do a bagless?
n13roy 22.08.2006 09:19
Really well written, detailed and very informative Vacuum Cleaner review there, I've always found Miele to be an expensive brand, but worth it in the long run.........Roy....
RICHADA 21.08.2006 22:37
We must have been very lucky with our original - still brilliantly performing Dyson, I wouldn't consider another cleaner - and will probably regret it when I do finally replace it with a new one. Richard.
very helpful by (100%):
