Pick my new vacuum! (requirements below/inside)

[Anonymous]

It doesn't quite fit all your parameters, but we recently bought a Panasonic canister (MC-CH917) and have been happy. Bought online for $230. It has a HEPA filter and bags.

From what I've read, if you want great filtering (as we do, for allergies), you go with bags. And they're not that much of a bother--they contain the dust, and they don't have to be changed all that often.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I just don't want to have a continual expense related to the vacuum - that's why I want bagless. I have the Eureka bagless now, and emptying it is very simple for me.

[Anonymous]

"So what are the cons of the bagless vacuum? Well here we get to talk about the realities for a minute. Do you remember their were a couple of pros for bagless vacuums that I ended with (in theory)? The first was you can save money by having a bagless vacuum and not having to buy bags? The truth of it is that most bagless vacuums have cheap NON WASHABLE Filters that have to be replaced. They usually have to be replaced once a year or so and most HEPA filters cost about 30 dollars on average. In other words by the time you replace the HEPA filters it actually cost more that if you had bags that you had to buy. So the way around that is to buy a vacuum with a WASHABLE filters. So when it comes time to replace the filter you just wash it, let it dry, and put it back. The other one I mentioned was that on a bagless vacuum you wont lose suction as your dirt chamber fills up. The reality of it is as your filter gets clogged with dirt you lose suction. Depending on the vacuum and filter sometimes this can be worse than with a bag filling up and losing suction. The third and main con to using a bagless vacuum is they are still messy when you dump them. You really need to take your dirt champer outside and hold your breath and dump it out and then tie it up in a garbage sack."

http://www.greatvacs.com/education/bagless-vs-bagged.html