jdproconsumer's Full Review: Milwaukee Tool 8955 Upright Vacuum
I must begin by pointing out that I'm writing this review after two years of owning this vacuum. So we've certainly been able to put it through its paces and learn of all its quirks.
Prior to buying this machine we've gone through a string of vacuums from various other manufacturers: Hoover, Eureka, Fantom, etc. We had the Consumer Reports top-rated Hoover Self-propelled vacuum that we purchased for $260 before switching to Riccar.
The Hoover broke three times in the 2 years we owned it. The third time was outside of warranty and I really felt like I had enough. The vacuum store owner asked if I wanted to look at Riccars, when I brought the Hoover for repair. I reluctantly agreed because I was sure it would be outrageously expensive. Well, only the MSRP is ridiculously high ($700 I think), but he sold it to me for $299 including 12 microfiltration bags and a vacuum attachments kit (original Riccar, not cheap junk). That's basically the same price as I paid for the Hoover junk!
The first and most important thing that distinguishes this vacuum from all the rest I've used before is the 5-year warranty. Now I KNOW I will get my money's worth.
The second important thing is the free annual service (I think for the first 3 or maybe all 5 years of warranty) under which they clean the vacuum, lubricate all that needs to be lubricated, replace the belt if necessary, and most importantly replace the HEPA filter for FREE. That's at least a $30 value every year. I've done it twice now.
Now to the vacuum's features:
PROS:
* Very powerful. The suction is very strong for both the normal usage and attachments usage.
* Self-adjusting carpet height brush works great.
* Extremely well built: steel handle, steel roller brush, steel bottom plate. Very sturdy.
* Not as heavy as some other vacuums I've owned, though not light either.
* Convenient cord management.
* On-board tools: extendable wand, crevice tool, stairs tool, furniture tool (with soft brush). There is no on-board hardwood floors tool; you have to get it in a separate attachments kit.
CONS:
* The built-in attachments hose is a bit too short.
* To attach tools to the built-in hose you have to disconnect the hose from the bottom portion of the vacuum, which is not as convenient as some other systems I've experienced.
* To attach the long hose that comes in the hardwood floor cleaning kit, you flip open a port at the back top of the vacuum (which is very convenient), but to attach the hose, you simply push it in hard and it's supposed to be held in place by friction. Well, even though we're using the original Riccar kit, it doesn't stay in place well; so we've stopped using it. Instead we just use the vacuum itself without any attachments on the hardwood floors; just turn off the brush. The mechanism for attaching external hose is the biggest flaw of this vacuum.
Overall, we are very happy with the vacuum and will happily buy another one (hopefully 10 years from now).
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