Well, I am not a good housekeeper, and I go through one or two vacuums a year. My most recent is the Dyson ball with pet hair attachment. Its the best I've ever had, because the hose part is very long and soft and flexible so the stairs is now an easy job. Sears, about $500. I've been through the cheap ones and the most expensive, I have even used up Kirbys. So for now, this Dyson is my most favorite, because I have a messed up shoulder and the Dyson is very easy to maneuver.
I suppose if I ever took the time to manage my housekeeping better or hire someone who can do it for me, I wouldn't burn up so many appliances.
Oh, and only one room in my house is carpeted. The rest I put in laminate boy-proof floors that look like wood but can handle the inline skates and an occasional live chicken. The dust (we live in a public area by a busy street) here is phenomenal, I find myself vacuuming everytime I am home. This Dyson helps me stay happy about taking care of our place. One kid has asthma, I think the Dyson sucks more out of the air as I clean, too. And there's no bag to buy or discard. And the hose attachment comes apart into whatever length I need at the time, for ceiling fans or blinds or couch cushions or boy's hair, etc.... its very nicely thought out. For noncarpeted floors, I push the red button and the rotator brushes stop and the vacuum sucks close to the floor, its amazing powerful, very neat, pulls all the bits away from the walls and thresholds nicely.
I always wonder if our household dust from the vacuum can go into the compost pile? There's certainly enough of it.......
