Good on carpet, less so on hard floors... odd way to empty the cannister.
928258
Works exceptionally well on carpet, less well on wood floors.  I asked Customer Service if they have a special attachment for hard floors and I was told to use the main attachment.  Surprised, as it seems so much less effective on the floor compared to the carpet.  The attachments are easy to change. The dust bin is very unusual to empty. I read and re-read the minimal instructions and could not get it done. It took my neighbor (a big Dyson fan and owner of similar Dyson cordless vacuum) 15-20 minutes to figure it out. Now that I can work it, I am still not crazy about this drop-door style of cleaning the canister. You cannot turn it on and go; you have to keep depressing the ON button for the vacuum to work.  Makes my hands tired. Despite the drawbacks, I find I vacuum more often with this than my Miele.
848121
Works good but don't expect this to replace an upright. It just isn't powerful enough to do the job an upright would do especially with pet hair and carpeting. It works goo for cleaning up small messes, steps, kitchen, things like that. The attachments are cheap and the holder is super cheap, I wish it could be put on the canister instead of the hose. It empties easily and is easy to clean, it pulls well. The hose connections are cheap and only slip together, there are no clips to hold them, they seem to stay together pretty well though. I don't like that it is a large footprint for the power this has, it needs to be a little more compact I think so it would be easier to store.
4582974
This is a pretty good vacuum. In comparing it to my last Hoover, this sucks up more but also much louder.

PROS:
- pretty good and picking up dirt, definitely has good suction. when it's on, you can feel it "clinging" to the carpet like it's trying to suck up the carpet itself.... so it's harder to push.
- large head for wider cleaning area
- relatively light weight in comparing to my previous smaller Hoover
- nice top air filter gauge. So as it gets more and more clogged, you can see the gauge turn red.

CONS:
- That air filter gets clogged too quickly. Essentially gotta clean 1 - 2 times per vacuuming session.
- Hose is a slightly too short. My last few vacuums had much longer hoses and extensions.
- Loud! I suppose that's the trade off... the more powerful the suction, the louder the motor.
1190480
Pros - It really sucks, which is good for a vacuum.  It picked up cat hair that my Hoover stick vac left behind.  It also sucked up/moved my small area rug, so you might want to keep a foot on there.  It has two speeds: one for hard floors and another for carpet.  The second speed uses the rolling brushes on the bottom to get down into carpets. It has a low clearance head and it is almost completely flat to get under furniture that a higher/fatter head couldn't clear. It is not very loud and one of my cats is more curious than scared.  And the best part for me - a really long cord, much longer than any other vacuum I've ever used.  I can vacuum my downstairs with only unplugging/replugging once.  In comparison, my older Panasonic vacuum plug needs to use five outlets for the same size area.  The various pieces provide numerous combinations for cleaning floors, carpet, stairs, drapes, ceiling fans, etc.

Cons - Because the motor is at the top, it is top heavy and causes some strain on your hand/wrist/forearm if you are cleaning a large area.  If you don't use the wall mount, you will have to take the motor head off the middle pole to store the vacuum, as it doesn't stand up on its own.  When in use, you cannot tell if the small bagless canister/recepticle is full. You will have to remove the pole and hold it at a 90 degree angle to see if it needs emptying.  The canister/recepticle has plastic middle piece that makes it difficult to clean.  Long hair gets wrapped around it, causing some manual effort to clean. I also found the way the canister/recepticle is cleaned to be "unnatural." The bottom pops down and most of the time the dirt misses the garbage can and ends up on the floor or carpet.

Neutral - the filter is easy to clean, but does need to be cleaned at least monthly, more often for heavy use, or if you are cleaning very dusty areas (we use to clean up cat litter tracked on the carpet from the cat's paws).
1324655
And, that's a big deal in our home with different types of carpeting and endless throw rugs on Pergo flooring and tile.

It's a good vacuum - it's lightweight compared to some and it's easy to clean.  The suction is good and it is also good using the extension.  The cord does not self-wind which is a big plus for those of us who have problems bending over to wrap a cord around the back of a vacuum and usually end up with a clump of cord hanging from the back instead.

We have some very thick hall runners that the vacuum just would not budge on, no matter which way I pushed it.  And I nearly lost a throw rug with the suction - no vacuuming those either.

And, yes, you can de-activate the brushroll, but the brushroll is what gets up the dirt, hair, etc.

It did great on the tile and Pergo flooring and very low pile carpeting, but this would be an expensive vacuum to just do certain flooring in your home.

My suggestion would be to go someplace and try one out before purchasing it.  And, really try it out!  Make them throw down a piece of super thick, plush carpeting if necessary and then explain to you why there is no height adjustment......
4108719
I've waited a while to write this review because I wanted to make sure I had adequate time with the product.

I do like this product and it does seem to leave the floor clean, and so I will recommend it, but it's not "GREAT!"

The sweeper function does work, but it's not the best system for removing dirt.  While I will sit there and keep going over the same spec of dirt until it gets "swept" in (There is no vacuum) - it would probably be better to just go over the floor first with a vacuum cleaner.

I am 6'8" and consider myself relatively strong, and I find it very difficult to push this sucker sometimes.  When you're steaming there is intermittant resistance to sliding on floors that you either have to push REALLY hard, or you have to keep picking it up and moving it forward and then pulling it back on the floor.  It seems to pull a lot easier than push at times.  Although, most of the time it does glide quite easily.

The floor does seem pretty clean when you're done steaming it, and I like the "hot" that you get on the floor that if nothing else, gives you the warm fuzzy feeling that you've just killed lots of microbs, but I kind of miss the smell of a good liquid cleaner like lysol or whatever that leaves you with that fresh smell.  I've noticed that initally you think it's going to smell bad but then when you're done there's "no smell", which I guess is actually really good, but I personally just like the lemony goodness when you're done...  I've thought about adding just a little something to the water, but they say that the water should be as pure as possible, so I've resisted doing that...

Over all, I'm happy with the product and would recommend.
3949166
Other reviewers seemed to like this one the best.  I thought my floors were pretty clean already, but this thing makes them clean enough to eat off of them!  An there is no residual cleaner left on the floor to attract more dirt!  However there are some issues.  The pads that are made for it tend to "peel" off, a pain in the ass.  I designed my own using old towels with straps that wrap around the handle and keep it from moving.  If you do the same, be careful that you don't use material that is too thick.  Otherwise the steam will cool before it gets to the floor. My water is quite hard and I am concerned that the dissolved salts will eventually clog the heater, so I collected snow melt for it.  In the summer I plan to use dehumidifier water in it, but distilled water isn't THAT expensive.  My son is using it in his personal training gym and it works great!
2937757
This is the second one i have owned.  first one got where the sweeper wouldn't rotate.  Replacement of belt was not successful.  Now Have 2 chargers and 2 batteries so i always have an extra battery charged.

It does a good job on carpet and hardwood except you have to keep it on a flat surface - not enough suction to pick up what the sweeper doesn't flick up.
3499483
I like the Roomba 400 I bought.  There are a few issues.  When it goes from carpet to hardwood, it seems to leave a cluster of the dust cup contents right where it transitions from carpet to floor.  Specifically, I have a runner in a hallway that always has pet hair around the edges from where the Roomba leaves it behind.  I have 1 dog and 1 cat.  Also, the hair/dust seems to collect on the filter and it has to be emptied after about 15-20 minutes, otherwise it stops really picking anything up.  If allowed to run the entire 45 minute cycle, I find it most effective to empty 2-3 times if possible.  Overall, it's a good product.  I was just hoping to eliminate the dustpan, but you still have to use it.
577877
I bought this vacuum because it had been rated well for hard floors and pet hair.  What no one tells you is that for hard floors you have to take the motorized head off and put the very-common-no-moving-parts-head on.  Well, geez, any vacuum can clean a hard floor once you do that but unfortunately, on this model, that head constantly falls off while in use.  With the motorized head on, it will not pick up sand off a tile floor.  With the no-moving parts head on, it still takes repeated passes over sand to pick it up.  The no-moving parts head does work fine on pet hair on the tile floor, if it would stay on.  This vacuum works fine on my rugs. The best thing about this vacuum was how easy it was to empty the canister and how easy it was to pull the canister around.  The automatic cord winder is nice too. Otherwise this vacuum was inferior to my old Hoover upright in every way.  I have returned the unit.  Amazon was great about making that easy for me so I will do more research and order a different one from Amazon.
920349
This is a fine canister for the price, but it has a few drawbacks.
The good news:
- it has a deep suction, which is adjustable
- it's lightweight and easy to assemble
- the machine, without the hose, has a very small footprint
The not-so-good news:
- there is a fixed, slim brush rather than rotating beaters (the deep suction partially compensates for that lack)
- the hose is so long and unwieldy that it takes more room to store than other vacuums
- the bagless cup must be emptied frequently (this is true of all bagless cups) and fine particulates spray EVERYWHERE. I strongly advise placing the cup deeply inside a trash bag before emptying it; otherwise, dirt goes into your face and onto the floor and just plain floats in the air

However, the price is good. If you're looking for an affordable, hard-working, easy to use canister vacuum, this should suit you.

A lot of people seem to pull this along by the hose. I don't recommend that, as most of the parts are plastic and this will wear them out faster. I shove it along with my foot instead. As for storage, it fits my space better when I disengage the hose, but I dislike having a hose (presumably with loose dirt lining it) in my closet, so I keep it assembled and just cram it into my closet.
3145669
This is a great vacuum for dust, but not so great for larger sized items. The floor roller component is very low to the ground and will not pick up things like dried peas, cheerios, etc. that are often found on the floor in homes with kids. Fine for dust and hair and very small crumbs, but pretty annoying to have to do a second pass with the nozzle attachment to pick up the larger stuff.
295384
Great for keeping the floors relatively clean.  It pools the dog hair on the carpet.  So not ideal.  But at least it leaves the clumps, which are easy to clean up.  I would buy again.
1369850
I like the vacuum--sucks up everything on the hard floors.  I'd never use it for carpet though--wouldn't get it clean enough. The vacuum is easy to use, but I misplaced the extra 'foam filters' that came with it and now can't find replacements for those.  Very frustrating.
766870
works great on hard surfaces, a bit tricky on carpet, does not raise up far enough even on short nap. bogs down even though it is set on highest setting
1180908
I've had this one for about 9 months now.  I wanted a cannister for the lightness, my back can't take dragging a heavy upright up and down stairs anymore.  I use it about 3 times a week to vacuum hardwood, tile, and a wool rug as I kept my upright to use upstairs on carpet.  I have two large dogs so pet hair is not lacking in my house.

This vac has some good points:
=it is pretty light
=the power cord retracts easily
=it transitions easily from hardwood and tile onto thin floor rugs and doesn't get the rug or mat caught up in it
=very easy to empty the cannister straight into the trash without it all landing on my shoes
=washable filters
=picks up a lot of dog hair on hard floors

On the down side:
=the hose can easily get kinked and have the air flow blocked, you have to be sure to keep it straight
=the suction is not fantastic - small things like bits of paper sometimes have to be vacuumed over multiple times
=is definitely not as good on carpet or thick rugs as on hard wood.  Right when you turn on the switch to activate the beater bar, it will sometimes spit out a bunch of hair, etc. and you have to try to vacuum all that up again off the rug/carpet.

For the sale price I paid, it is fine and does a good enough job for me to continue using it.  But if I had it to do again, I'd likely spend more and go with the Kenmore 21514.
962087
Did better on carpet than on the hard floors where it tends to just push the dirt around without actualy getting it in the dust pan to empty.  Construction could be improved as far as actual parts staying in place.  But for a quick pickup on the carpet when you don't have time to do a heavy vacuum job, it's great!