Eureka 437AZ Upright Cleaner

I owned the previous green version in college and loved it. The newer red version includes a HEPA filter and a new Power Paw that helps vacuum the vertical and horizontal parts of stairs. It's super light-weight and not as loud as other full-size vacuums. A lot of fine dirt will accumulate around the HEPA filter, but it doesn't seem to lose any suction. The looped handle adjusts in height for taller people or for better reach under tables and such.

Cleaning out the filter is messy, but it can be washed instead of banging it out. The instuctions suggest washing it a maximum of 6 times. I'm happy with it because it's small, but mechanically powerful enough to vacuum my 650 square feet apartment. Plus, it's quite inexpensive on eBay.

For the money, this is one of the best vacuum deals around. Its my second one. I still have and use my original Eureka Optima vacuum 431DX, which I've had for over 5 years. It has strong suction, is very light and versatile and is great for vacuuming stairs. The construction is fair, and I've had to screw or duct tape some broken plastic parts over the years, but it just keeps on going. You have to replace the filters every so often. They run about $10-15. Our dogs chewed one of the wheels up, and we found some excellent ( better) wheel replacements for it on E bay. I paid less that $50 each for both vacuums. I also have a Kirby for the main house vacuuming.

This serves well as a second vacuum. While it does a good job, it seems necessary to clean off the dust bunnies that appear as if they might clog the HEPA filter after each use. Perhaps I'm just being overly fastidious. Our particular machine gave off a strong creosote odor that is becoming less of a problem over time. Since it was purchased used, perhaps the original owner used the machine to vacumm something unusual resulting in this odor. The hose is a bit short for anything more than casual use. But the portability of the machine helps to compensate for that.

This vacuum works SO well and is REALLY well priced. I have a dog and she shed a lot; this vacuum includes a HEPA filter and it gets up all the allergens. My boyfriend is allergic and due to this vacuum has no allergic reactions anymore.

I have only used it a couple of times for light vacuuming...the hose constantly falls off the vacuum cleaner, it easily cloggs and is just not a good vacuum cleaner..I wish I would have gone with another name brand