Customer Reviews

Miele S5280 Pisces Canister Vacuum Cleaner w/205 Turbo-Brush

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a dog who sheds (a lot) and my children and I have allergies and asthma. My allergist recommended that I vacuum every day. But the problem was that I *hated* vacuuming - my old vacuum got stuck under my kichen cabinets, had a short hose that couldn't reach high enough to do any dusting, and (although it was a 'hepa' model) it was dirty and dusty. Vacuuming was frustrating and irritating.

It was time for a new vacuum cleaner and so I went to an actual vacuum cleaner store to try out different models. Prior to that visit, I had never even heard of the Miele. After trying out several Dyson models, it was love at first sight with the Miele Callisto! I came home and vacuumed with my old Hoover wind tunnel, then immediately vacuumed with the Miele and couldn't believe how much it picked up! I'm not the type of person who could have ever imagined myself paying this much for a vacuum cleaner, but I'm so glad I did!! It was worth it!!

Here's my summary:

What I like:
* It's so easy to use that I don't mind vacuuming and dusting (as much!).
* The Miele picks up dog hair from all floor types - carpet, linoleum, tile, and hardwood. Yeah!
* I don't sneeze while I'm vacuuming because it's not spitting out any dusty exhaust.
* There's a special setting to use (with lower suction) for cleaning curtains.
* The hose is powered, so the beater brush is powered (I didn't care for the Miele models with air-powered brushes).
* The attachments (except for the hardwood floor attachment) fit on the unit so they won't get lost.
* The turbobrush head swivels, which makes it very easy to vacuum around tables, couches, whatever.
* The Miele has really good suction right up until it's time to change the bag. My Hoover would have great suction for a few times, and then went downhill fast!
* This Miele has a telescoping wand which makes it super easy to clean the tops of paintings, ceiling fans, and chandeliers.
* It's small, and light, and doesn't take up much space in my closet. My old Hoover was a tank... big, awkward, and heavy!

What I didn't like:
* The power cord is too short. If it was about 5' longer, it would be perfect.
* The consumables (bags, HEPA filter) are expensive.

This economy level Miele model, as all the same cleaning ability as the more expensive models, Aquarius, and Capricorn, just without the electronic controls. The machine comes packaged with their mid-size power nozzle, the 217-3. This nozzle is great for medium-low pile carpets, and cleaning bare floors. This nozzle is so versitale you won't have to switch cleaning head going from your rugs to your bare floor, just simply flip the switch on the hose. The only surface this nozzle struggles on is the thicker carpets. You will feel like you have just worked out in the gym for 30 minutes, if you have to vacuum thick carpet with this nozzle. If you have thick carpets, or substantial pet hair, you'll want to move into a machine that comes with the larger 236 power nozzle. We have sold Miele's for long time, and we don't hesitate to put our name behind them. The best canister money can buy! Expect 25+ years of use out of this vacuum.

We had a Miele Flamenco (entry model) for 10 years that finally weakened due to 10 years of Collie hair. The dogs are now gone (RIP) and we impulse bought a Dyson, which was possibly the worst move of my life (negative review in my review section.) Whereas the Miele is light and powerful, the Dyson is clumsy and powerful, twice as heavy, cheaply made (wheel fell off, hand extension won't retract fully), and the attachments were always falling off. I love that the Meile has a foot switch to suck up the chord (Dyson's are old-school, wind it yourself.) All the attachments are in a little cubby in the front of the unit, and the bag is twice the size of our last Miele. It was worth the money loss to get a Miele again. It can get under practically anything, it's powerful but not too loud, and it's looks pretty cool to boot. I expect it to be around 20 years from now, 15 if we get more Collies.

I have used this vacuum for 8 months now and I love it. My house is 1200 square feet and all tile throughout. I have two dogs; one is non shed, and one is a light shedder. The parquet floor attachment is awesome at picking up all dog hair, dust and debris and it turns and angles easily into tight spaces and around corners. This canister vaccuum is very light and easy to pull around the house. I do wish the electrical cord was longer. I don't like the turbo brush at all; I use it on my 5 x 7, non wool, carpet type rug; it does clean the rug, but is very difficult to push on the rug and hair gets caught in the brush easily. If you have carpet or lots of rugs there are other Miele vacuums to choose from which have different carpet/floor attachments, but also include the parquet brush for tile. For me, the Miele suits my needs; definetly keeps the tile floors clean. The suction on the vacuum is very good and the parquet floor brush has a nice large surface area. It doesn't scratch the tile. I imagine it would work just as well on travertine or wood floors. A few times a year I look after a large, heavy shedding dog; I vacuum every day when she's here and the Miele Pisces pick up all of her hair easily. Highly recommend if you have mostly or all tile/hardwood floors. I used to have a Kenmore Progressive canister vacuum; I would use the little hardwood floor attachment on it. I enjoy the Miele so much more and I feel it keeps the house way cleaner and is easier to use.

I have had the Miele Pisces S5280 for several months and I have found the turbro brush and floor brush equally are annoying. The turbo to begin with takes a lot of muscle power to push it which I could live with but after doing one rug the brush is so tangled with hair and dirt I have to cut it away. I live alone so not much traffic, have a dog that is a non-shedder but does leave puffs of "wool", but I have had Electroluxes and have never had this problem. I would try to upgrade the brushes but I found this model one must go to battery. Talk about digressing. I would not recommend this Miele if you have a dog, long hair, a hairy husband, and don't take shoes off at the door.

After long research, I chose the Miele Pisces a year ago. This is the first vacuum I can really say that I love. It's light and has great power. I have mostly bare floors and 3 - 5 long haired dogs in the house at any given time. It it doing great, except the turbo brush just doesn't work well any more despite a thorough cleaning. If you have rugs, you need something else or a power handle Miele.

I purchased this for my wife. She says she loves it because it is so light and yet so powerful. It is not cheap, but we have purchased three other vacuums that don't work as well. Their total cost is more than this one. So I guess it is not that expensive.

So after moving into a home with hardwood floors, the Dyson DC17 seemed like it was not fit for the job; I quickly tired of using an upright's wand attachment to clean most of my house, and figured a solid canister vacuum would allow me to get the job done quicker and easier. Which to get?

The "best," of course! Miele's stuff was so highly regarded here and everywhere else that despite the price, I figured that it must really be all that, with top-notch German engineering and construction that would make my other vacuums seem cheap and as though they were assembled by blind men with buttered fingers, by comparison. Surely the reviews were not just a bunch of people trying to rationalize their expenditure to themselves, right?

Wrong. I'm sorry, but this thing is not what it's billed as. It's construction isn't really anything better than my 7 y/o Dyson. The suction power on the highest setting is BARELY more powerful than my 7 y/o Dyson. BARELY. Geez I don't know where to start here. How about a bullet list since those seem so popular for reviews?

Things I like:
*It's a pretty color

Things I dislike:
*Cord is TOO SHORT. I thought I could overlook this but it's bothersome. I can do the whole house from one outlet with the Dyson, I need to stop and change to 3 different outlets with this thing.
*Doesn't suction so hard as to draw the moon closer in orbit as described in all the outlets & marketing materials.
*wheels are so small that it stops when it comes upon its own cord or any lips in the floor
*floor tool is strange. Seems like it should be MORE maneuverable than the dinky one I bought for my Dyson, but I could not for the life of me get certain corners with it that I can with the Dyson.
*Bags. They're expensive and they're small. I was hoping I could "cheat" and empty them manually and reuse to save some $$ since I'm not really concerned with allergies anyway, but now that I've tried it it's more work than it's worth.
*Filters. My Dyson's HEPA filter is washable and reusable. This thing has 2-3 filters that need to be replaced often enough $$$


Bottom line, in having used it I'm thinking I should have either stuck with the almost decade-old Dyson I already have, or gone to one of THEIR canister models. Suction would be about the same, cost would be less, and the long-term costs would be darned near zilch (no bags or filters to re-buy).

It's definitely a solid-performing vacuum cleaner that in some senses MAY be better in SOME regards than its competition. However they sell it as though it were revolutionary and perhaps decades beyond what else you can get. the reality is that it's made out of the same cheap plastic as everything else, sucks no harder than a decade-old Dyson, and has built-in repeat-business costs that will add up quickly. Seems to me unless you're so allergic to the world that you can't bring yourself to breath our air, then you're probably better off spending your money on something else -- pay vacuum prices for a vacuum, not Bentley prices for one, you know?

I'm returning mine and putting it towards a dyson canister. :-(

I have two mieles. My old one is great. They have cheapened the new models as follows: 1, the hose union with the vacuum no longer swivels. This means the vacuum cleaner goes head over heals and ends up upside-down; 2) the power and cord rewind switches have now been put on angles so that your foot slips off and it is very hard to turn on and off and rewind the cord. They were too stupid to realize that when the appliance is on wheels and you put the switches on at an angle, rather than parallel with the floor, the machine just scoots away. Don't buy.