I now own a new Miele Twist vacuum. Woo!

Isn’t it purty?

After our vacuum met an unfortunate end, Mr. FG and I read review after review and article after article (and all of the comments you guys left) and we eventually decided to go to a store that specializes in vacuums. This turned out to be a great decision for several reasons.

• At a vacuum store, you can actually try out a bunch of different vacuums, whereas in a big box store, the vacuums are all in, well, boxes.

• The people there are knowledgeable and can tell you all about the different brands and what they offer.

• Since vacuum stores repair vacuums, the employees there are really knowledgeable about how reliable certain brands are and what problems some vacuums tend to have.

We found it to be a really helpful experience, and I feel glad to now know of a place I can take my vacuum should it need repairs in the future.

After chatting with the people at the vacuum store, we decided that we didn’t want something bagless, and it became clear to use that a Miele upright is what would best fit our needs. (We considered a Riccar, but the equivalent to the Miele was more expensive and the salesperson said it was no better.)

Oh, and we already knew that we didn’t want to get a cheap vacuum, since we’re really trying to buy stuff that lasts a long time.

The vacuum we ended up choosing was the Miele Twist, which is the least expensive upright that they offer ($399.99). The next several levels of upgrades are actually the same body with some niceties added in, like a headlight and a nicer filter. I didn’t really need the bells and whistles, though, as the base model is still quite a fabulous improvement over what I had before!

What do I like about this vacuum so far?

• The twist feature is pretty stinking awesome. I didn’t think I’d be super jazzed about it, but I am! It’s really, really easy to fit in the vacuum into tight spaces and to vacuum around things like bunk bed ladders and couch corners. It just takes a little twist of the wrist.

• It’s not noisy. No vacuum is perfectly quiet, but this is a lot quieter than my previous vacuums.

• It rolls easily. It’s not self-propelled, but it’s got high-quality wheels on it, so it’s a breeze to push in comparison to my old vacuum.

• The hand tool is very easy to use. The handle is a great feature and since the tube expands, it’s got plenty of length to reach things like cold air returns and ceiling fan blades. This is miles better than my Kenmore’s hand tool.

The whole thing just feels a whole lot more solid than the cheaper vacuums I’ve owned…the engineering and build quality are on a whole new level.

For example (and this is a small thing), you know how you secure most vacuum cords with a little notch on the plug? And you know how sometimes when you wind it up, the plug ends up in a place that’s not handy for securing?

Well, the Miele is designed with a clip that can be moved anywhere on the cord, so no matter how you wind it up, it’s very easy to neatly snap the clip into place.

Oh, and this one comes with an automatic shutoff feature to prevent burning up the motor. You know, in case anyone decides to vacuum up a curtain again.

Ahem.

Now, since most vacuums are pretty decent right out of the box, the true test of this vacuum will be time. Am I still going to love it in three years? five years? ten years?

I don’t know, but I’m quite optimistic since the build quality of this machine is far superior to that of any vacuum I’ve owned so far. And if it outlasts my other vacuums, I’ll consider the extra money to have been well spent.

I’ll keep you all updated, maybe revisiting this post once a year to let you know how things are going.

Oh, and I should add that though this was an expensive purchase, we had money in our home maintenance account for it, we were able to support a small local business, and we bought a vacuum that wasn’t made in China. So, it’s all good in my mind.

P.S. I know all of these pictures show the vacuum on my wood floor, but I really tend to only use it on carpet (we sweep our hard floors). It’s just that the only spot in my house with enough light to take photos yesterday was the kitchen. 😉

P.P.S. Miele has no idea who I am and I forked over cold, hard cash of my own to pay for the vacuum.