I have a Kirby myself. It still works fine 5 years after I bought it, and with my house for sale I use it several times a week. Before the Kirby, I went through a vacuum about once a year. However, I really wouldn’t recommend them because they’re way too expensive in this economy. (I was stupid and let one of those door-to-door salesmen talk me into it years ago.) Plus, you can only buy the bags from an authorized Kirby resaler. They don’t have them at Walmart or Target like other vacuum brands. However, I do know people who have Kirby vacuums that are 20 years old and are still going strong.

Sinclair: I have used bagged all my life until a few years ago. I am disappointed in the bagless vacs. It is filter paper, not the kind you can rinse off. I suppose the vacuum manufacturers purposely made it so we couldn’t reuse them? Like I said, it’s the same with the ink cartridges. And filters are right around $10 to $25. That’s robbery for a piece of crimped paper.

Carole: I had a Hoover for EONS, too. It was given to me by someone who had used it for EONS. After that died, I got another “modern” Hoover, and it was awful. I guess since productions moved to China, we’ve seen this noticeable difference in quality. It’s a crying shame.