Kenmore 81714 Bundle Ultra Plush Lightweight Bagged Canister Vacuum with Pet PowerMate, HEPA, Extended Telescoping Wand, Retractable Cord, and 3 Cleaning Tools, 700 Series, Gold

I've had this for almost a year, and adore it except for one thing. I'll get that out of the way, because your mileage really may vary on my one complaint. (The ONLY) Complaint: The upholstery/pet attachment with the spinning wheel died screaming after about 3 uses cleaning the stairs. I'm going to get it repaired or replace it, but I bear the manufacturer NO ill will, because (read on) PROS! This thing has consumed so much cat hair I can't believe our 5 cats have any fur left. I bought this about a few months after a ridiculously chaotic move after reading SO many reviews and asking SO many people. A few months. Do you have ANY idea how much 5 cats can shed in a few NORMAL months on thick carpet, let alone during and after a stressful move? New carpet in a BEDROOM. With SUNBEAMS. Do you have any idea how much DUST erupts from all the boxes as they go INTO that bedroom and get unpacked? Do you know how much cats just AMBLE AROUND when it's bedtime? Or just loll around in the middle of the night, or get the zoomies? And SHED THE WHOLE TIME? But the Kenmore did not complain. It did not falter. It ATTACKED that carpet with ZERO complaint and made the brand-new carpet look brand-new again. POOF. Was it heavy? NOPE. It made me honestly wonder why may parents had an upright vacuum cleaner while I was growing up. It even GOT THE CAT HAIR off my velvet quilt with one of the other attachments, said hello to a kitty under the bed effortlessly because it's unbelievably maneuverable, and got cobwebs I'm WAY too short to get. And watching the cats react to the retractable cord...well, I love my cats, but that's hilarious EVERY time. So that one attachment surrendered on the stairs. FINE. Honestly, it REALLY wouldn't surprise me if that was partially user error pressing too hard because I didn't know you didn't have to. And I am SO pleased with this vacuum. Even if the cats are deeply suspicious.

Many Repairs and Less Than 3 Years in & It's a Goner I've written snippets of this review in my head through gritted teeth (yes I know if it's in my head it's not THROUGH gritted teeth please allow me some poetic license, it's been a day) while using this god-forsaken POS over the last 2+ year. While vacuuming, I'd alternate this therapeutic writing exercise with fantasizing about the unfiltered diatribe and possibly bodily harm I would visit upon this "machine's" designer if s/he ever had the misfortune to meet me. Today I've been moved to actually sit down and take time out of my day to put fingers to keyboard. Where to begin? I struggled from the onset with the decision to purchase this machine when my Dyson Animal (rival POS) did me the favor of catching fire, giving me license to relieve it of its duty. But that's another review; back to the matter at hand... I'd had a kenmore canister vacuum, similar to this one before the Dyson. So I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I finally relented and bought it because the beater on the carpet attachment is electrified whereas the one on the f-ing Dyson is "air driven" which is about as useful a you know what on a bull. I was not prepared for the hate-at-nearly-first-sight this vacuum provoked. It is HEAVY. It is BULKY. It does not really ROLL without a LOT of yanking (and correlated cursing). Rather than turn, it ROLLS OVER. Did I mention it's HEAVY? Oh, another special feature? It has a light at the base of the wand, near the floor. This is in theory a useful feature. It lights up the area of floor just ahead of where you are vacuuming. HOWEVER, this light stands nearly 2 inches off the level of the wand itself serving to prevent the floor attachment from fitting into SO. MANY. PLACES. So, turns out, this light's actual function is to taunt you as you vacuum, letting you see clearly all of the dust and pet hair that you will have to go get on your hands and knees to clean. Did I mention it's BULKY? What, else. Oh, I have dogs. They get hair on our microfiber sofa. The microfiber is great long term--really does clean up from just about anything. I've even put all of the covers through the washer and dryer and they come out looking brand new. However, the microfiber is a pet hair MAGNET. So one of the main jobs I got this vacuum for was to vacuum my sofa regularly. I was lured in by the electrified beater on the rug attachment AND the upholstery attachment. The upholstery attachment does work pretty well, but it is small. And I have a life outside of vacuuming, so I'd like to get the vacuuming over with. For the big areas of the sofa--about 90% of the surfaces, I'd prefer to use the larger rug attachment. It does FIT directly onto the handle without the wand. It even makes the electrical connection so the beater spins. However, the handle does not have the clip that secures this attachment, SO, you can push it but you CAN'T PULL it. It falls off. This is more than mildly annoying. My old Kenmore allowed this. Not sure why this one is designed without the clip. Let me see, what else does it do? Oh, yes, it BREAKS. Often. I've replaced several parts on it in the last 30 months. Less than two years in, I had to replace the entire hose assembly to the tune of $140. I suspect this broke in part because of all the yanking moving this thing requires. Maybe it wants to be carried? Did I mention it is HEAVY? The front swivel (I use this term loosely--it operates more like a brake) wheel is constructed of brittle, cheap plastic. I've replaced that TWICE. Maybe they should sell them In convenient 6-packs. Of course that would assume the vacuum will last more than 5 years. It has not. ' Not sure what you call it, but the plastic "collar" piece that helps the wand stand up straight when sitting in the rug attachment broke. So, the wand flops, sometimes whips around whacking anything in its path. Basically, most of this thing is plastic and most of the plastic breaks. That brings us to today. Today, near the close of my vacuuming session, the "check bag" alarm sounded. I opened the compartment, replaced the bag and noticed a flat plastic piece on the floor next to the machine. I looked inside the compartment and couldn't spot where this errant piece may have come from. I tried closing the canister and it became immediately apparent that this piece was the clip that holds the canister closed, creating a seal that, you know, creates a VACUUM. I figured it must have popped off and I'd need to pop that bad boy right back on. NOPE. This piece rotates on two little plastic pins that fit into corresponding plastic rings that are part of the entire canister assembly. Yup. That's right. PLASTIC. Did I mention that all of the plastic breaks? One of these tiny rings cracked. So, my replacement part this time, apparently, is the entire VACUUM CANISTER. The way this is built, the failure of an 1/8" piece of plastic has rendered this sucker D-E-A-D. So, that's where my tale ends. For now. Marooned in a vacuum-less house with two shedding dogs and two teenaged boys. I'm dreading what comes next--the search for a suitable replacement. What will it be? Join the Mielle cult for a cool $800?

I have had this cleaner for 4 months. In our house was 5 cats, 1 dog and 4 adults. This vacuum cleaner is the best I have ever owned. It took 4 months before I had to change the bag. The reason for 4 stars is that it is hard to maneuver, the wheels could use some changes. I would recommend it without a doubt.

Although I've used other vacuum cleaners, I've bought 4 of these Kenmore Canister Vacuums over the past 40 years, and I think they are the best available, although they aren't perfect. But they get better with every generation. (I don't know why people buy upright vacuums; it makes no sense. They are harder to use and they only do one job - they can vacuum carpeted floors. Their hose attachments are a joke. I think people buy them because Grandma used them. Well, this Grandpa is telling you to use a canister vacuum, preferable one of the Kenmore units. An upright has a beater bar and can vacuum carpet. These canisters have a beater bar for carpets; PLUS they can do any hard floor better than an upright of a broom, they can do any hard floor easily and well, they can do upholstery, they can do cars. Plus, there is less weight to move back and forth on every square foot of your house. No-brainer: use a canister vacuum and let granny keep her old and obsolete upright.) OK, here is why Kenmore vacuums tend to be better: - Suction control is on the handle. Easy and effective slowdown of the motor when you need to clean a lightweight item. (An expensive brand puts this control down on the canister itself; not very handy. Other brands just have an adjustable hole on the suction wand, not really very effective at all.) - Parts are available from Sears, still. If you are moderately handy, you can easily get parts for these from Sears (on line) and keep them going for many years. - Same bags are used in all of the models over the years; easy to get the bags. (Bagless vacuums are silly and dirty!) - Three filters: the bag, a filter inside the machine, a third filter at the air exit point. Keeps the dirt in the machine, not back in the house. - Upholstery power unit attachment: This little guy is great for power-beating upholstery, cars, lots of things. You won't use it all the time, but it's really handy when you need it. - 9' long hose makes things easier. - 26' cord; I only plug in the the electric outlet once per floor. - Button to retract cord. Retractor works well and it doesn't retract by accident. - Plenty of power; Any more would be too much. -This particular model seems to have better plastic parts; they all work more smoothly than past models. -This model has an interesting "steering" feature for the power head. By turning the wand, the head steers left and right. Handy little feature. -This model has lights on the power head and also on the wand (this lights the floor even for the non-power attachments. Very handy when you are vacuuming and one of those pesky solar eclipses occur.) Drawbacks: - This is rather heavy. Durable but maybe too heavy for some folks. It doesn't bother me, probably because I am a man of average strength. But it is noticeably heavy when I carry it on stairs. However, it is still WAY easier to move all over the house than any upright. - The unpowered floor tool on this model is very loud. The wind rushing through it makes more noise than even the powered carpet tool. Odd. Conclusion: While it has a few detractions that keep me from giving it 5-stars, I believe this model is the best of the brand, and any Kenmore with a power head is better than any other vacuum out there. It works very well, has many good features, and this model seems to be the most polished of all the Kenmore canisters. If you pay more for a vacuum than this one, you are getting much less for your buck.

I love this vacuum cleaner. I grew up with my mom and grandma using Electrolux canister vacuums, and they were able to keep their carpet in mint condition for decades. When we got new carpet in our house, I did my homework and decided to give this vacuum a chance. PROS: I love that I can easily move between carpets and hardwood using only the controls in the handle. I fear I have now become dependent on this feature! I have vacuumed our fairly large house very regularly for the past year and I somehow haven't had to change the bag (so I have never actually seen the bag light come on, though I have checked the bag many times). I have kids, and the pet attachment works really well for cleaning under the couch cushions, in the car, etc. I also like how far the arm extends - good for cleaning cobwebs off my ceilings, and I even used it to retrieve a lost ball over the fence! The suction is also great (so great that the brush roller did completely suck out the fibers on one of my mattresses... oops). There is an auto stop safety feature that has saved me a few times - but it did confuse me the first time it happened because I thought the vacuum had died. CONS: Whoever designed the wheels for this vacuum had never vacuumed before. They are very large and only move in one direction, making the vacuum harder to maneuver than it needs to be. Swivel wheels would be much better. I love the light on the front of the vacuum head, but it only comes on when I am in carpet mode. I would like for it to come on when I am doing hard surfaces too. I also wish there was a light on the handle for when I am cleaning out my car using one of the smaller attachments. I don't love a few of the attachments, though I do like how they are all stored within the vacuum. It's neat that the crevice tool is stored for convenience on the vacuum handle but, BUT I don't understand why the tool has holes in the sides, as it loses suction. All said, I do not regret buying this vacuum. It is actually a delight to clean my house with it. And it is still going strong after 1 year of frequent use.