Kenmore Canister & Upright Vacuums
If you don't live near a vacuum store and you are disinterested in purchasing a vacuum online, I would consider buying Kenmore vacuum cleaner at Sears. It has been our experience that Kenmore consistently produces the best all around product line available in a discount setting. If you take price out of the equation then a Kenmore vacuum cleaner will not compare very well to a comparably featured Miele vacuum cleaner or a Sebo vacuum. There is a reason you are paying 300 to 600 dollars more for certain Sebo and Miele canisters. They will outperform, outlast and provide a better cleaning experience than almost every other brand. With that being said price is a big factor for most consumers. It would be fair to compare Kenmore vacuums to vacuums made by Dyson, Eureka, Dirt Devil and Hoover. When compared to those brands Kenmore is usually the better choice generally speaking.
Kenmore is also one on the few vacuum brands that make good upright and canister vacuum cleaners (the models that use vacuum bags). Some vacuum brands, even the popular ones aren't as consistent in the quality of their product line as I find Kenmore to be. Kenmore does make some really cheap bagless vacuums but when you see the price tag it is obvious you are buying a lower quality vacuum. We have also noticed that Kmart seems to sell the lower end Kenmore vacuum cleaners for what that is worth.
Kenmore seems to make on of the top rated canister vacuum cleaners in Consumers Digest year after year. Since Kenmore vacuums are only able to purchased from Sears reviews on popular consumer sites are a bit limited. Consumers Digest uses price as a significant factor in our opinion and in the 300 dollar price range it is tough to find a decent canister vacuum that can clean carpet effectively. Kenmore makes a Progressive, Intuition and a Magic Blue series of canister vacuums that are all pretty outstanding when compared to similarly priced canister vacuums from other companies. While Kenmore canisters lack some of the best features found in some of the premium canister vacuum cleaners the full sized models are very effective at removing pet hair from your carpets.
While Kenmore seems to be the vacuum cleaner brand of choice when it comes to competively priced canister vacuums they also make some very good upright models. Kenmore Intuition, Progressive and some Kenmore uprights that do not actually have names that are being made right now are very good, solid vacuum cleaners. We do not recommend any of the bagless Kenmore vacuums. We also do not recommend the QuickClean or the CleanScape unless you really do not have any money to spend on a vacuum. We consider them to be throw aways. They are cheaply made and probably not worth fixing besides replacing a belt and filter occasionally. You should expect to pay 250 to 300 dollars for a good Kenmore upright vacuum cleaner. They are really for carpet only and do not clean hard surface floors effectively. We are generalizing a little bit here but these statement have been true of Kenmore in the past and continue to be in our opinion.
If you are probably going to end up buying a vacuum store at a department store then a Kenmore vacuum would probably be one of your better options if you live near a Sears. The uprights do not seem to be rated as highly as there canister models in some of the consumer rating periodicals but their betteruprights hold there own very well against any vacuum you will see in a Target or Costco for example.
Kenmore Vacuum Cleaner Tips
Most of the better Kenmore upright and canister vacuum cleaner models utilize HEPA filters, chamber filters (motor filters) as well as vacuum bags. Make sure you change the Kenmore vacuum filters every 6 months to a year. On an upright Kenmore, the HEPA filter is typically located in the front of the vacuum cleaner in the door. The Kenmore canister HEPA filter may be located on the top or in the back of the vacuum. My experience is that most Kenmore vacuum owners neglect to change the filters in a timely manner and this is a mistake. The filters are a very important part of any vacuum. If you just bought a Kenmore vacuum it would behoove you to scan the manual so that you are aware of where the filters are located on your specific model.
Kenmore parts can be found online if you can not or choose not to locate the nearest Sears shopping center. Sears is a little expensive as far as replacement parts are concerned (vacuum bags, replacement filters, parts). I would buy Kenmore vacuum parts on the internet because the quality is generally equal to what you would find at Sears and the prices online are better. The best thing you could probably do for your Kenmore vacuum is to buy the cloth Kenmore vacuum bags. They are disposable bags that retain more debris and are less likely to rip or tear than paper vacuum bags. Using this type of vacuum bag will help reduce vacuum emissions. Most Kenmore vacuum parts that are available online are either generic or made by Panasonic. Either way a Kenmore vacuum owners should not have a problems find supplies like bags or even a replacement brush roller when it is time to maintain the vacuum.
Another quick Kenmore tip. A Kenmore canister vacuum that uses a Kenmore Type C vacuum bags can use a Kenmore 50557, 50558 or 5055 bag. Kenmore has changed the bag model number over the years but the bag stays the same size. The best replacement Kenmore vacuum bag that replaces the 5055, 50558 and 50557 would be the newer Kenmore Q bag. The Q bag is made of the synthetic cloth material referenced in the paragraph above. Most of the newer Kenmore canister ship with the Q bag anyway. For Kenmore upright owners who use a 50690 bag, the 50688 is the same size. Kenmore causes a little consumers confusion by changing the vacuum bag models of the bags mentioned above. Hopefully this tip will help a few of you.