Upright Reviews

Do not buy a fantom product. I'am on my third one in two years. They all broke after dishing out big bucks. They are not built to last. I bought them becuse I vacuum every day do to three golden retrivers. This is a terriable product very cheaply made.

Ok, I loved this machine for the first two months. It picks up dirt I never knew I had. It's easy to operate and empty. The tools are also a nice feature. I'm very disappointed that it stopped working already. When vacumming, it has started turning itself on and off causing all the lights in the house to dim when it does this. After a few minutes, it just completely stops working at all. The headlight comes on but no motor. It would be a nice vacuum if it was reliable.

First off I would like to say that alot of people accuse people who write good reviews for this vacuum of working for Euro-Pro/Fantom. I am only 14 years old. I will update this review if the mechine breaks. I had a old Fantom Thunder with Dual Cyclonic Technoligy. It was still working. I bought the Twister.Ran over the 5 by 7 carpet with the Thunder then the Twister. Wow, did it pull out alot that was left behind. I love everything about this vacuum.The bottom empting canaster with the Twister nob you turn, the Hose handle, and its carpet to bare floors setting. Finally, I bought this vacuum new at K-mart
for $159.99 and it even came with the air driven turbo brudsh.Buy it.

the rotating brush on my fantom no longer rotates after less than a year of use. The customer service office is closed "until furthur notice" and the e-mail address for customer service cannot be displayed. I bought the fantom for the filter system and because it is lightweight enough to carry upstairs, but its useless now because i cant find a place to get it repaired.

When I bought this vacum, I had real high expectations because of previous Fantoms that I had owned in the past. Fantom has really gone downhill, because this thing is junk. First, it seems to clog up all the time, I am constantly cleaning the filter out. Second the piece that holds the floor attachment broke off when I slightly bumped something! So it must not of been very well put together! Im giving this thing 2 stars, which is being nice... go buy a Hoover!

I am a very picky - some would say almost finicky - housekeeper and I can highly recommend this product. You can vacuum your carpet with your present vacuum and then pick up some much more dirt with the Fantom. The hepa filter feature and bagless system are the best. I wouldn't use any other product. I have one for every floor in my house. THE BEST!!

I don't get it - this vacuum picks up almost no dirt on carpet or tile floors, yet it manages to destroy any rug it's used on. This product sucks in every way other than the way it's supposed to.

After reading several reviews from buyers who seemed very happy with this vacuum, I went ahead and bought it for my elderly mother who has three cats. At first the vacuum seemed fine, in fact a really great value for the price, so my fiance bought another one for his mother. BIG MISTAKE. Don't be fooled into buying this like we were, especially if you have any animals in your home! The vacuum is constantly getting clogged with pet hair and overheats, then the motor stops working altogether. Initially, I thought there was a defect, but the warranty service center told me that some vacuums have a "tendency" to get clogged. Whenever this happens, I have to remove the cover and manually pull out the pet hair and dust from the tube. This weekly "maintenance" has become normal routine. What a nuisance! Last week I bought a baglass Hoover windtunnel, actually two, because I was so happy with the performance. The Eureka is going in the garbage after only six weeks of ownership, since it is of no use whatsoever. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THIS VACUUM.

I bought this vacuum july 19, 2003. It went to the dump on October 25, 2003. The vacuum is built poorly, the parts keep breaking. When the roller broke, that was the end......threw it away and bought a bissel.

I have had this vacum for about 6 months now. It has great suction but very poor design. The cord is attached to the bottom half of the sweeper and I've run it over several times even when holding the cord in one hand while sweeping. The cord was severed once. It is much too powerful to sweep heavy duty scatter rugs. I've torn several expensive rugs. The body of it is high off the ground and doesn't fit under my kitchen cabinets (between floor and cabient is about 6 inches). It is so heavy to push even with the self-propelled on that the plastic handle broke off and I have it duct-taped on now.

Bottom Line - I do not recommend this sweeper!

While this vacuum may have adequate suction it, like most Dirt Devil uprights, is very poorly designed. The biggest issue is the design of the handheld hose; it comes out the top of the unit so the vacuum constantly falls over when you try to use it mine finally broke. Checkout the owners manual, they have some kludgey way to loop the hose down and hook it to the base, as if that is practical. The lock that holds the vacuum upright wore out twice in four years, the beater brush wore out, the attachments are cheaply made. It does not work on bare floors and cannot even pick up a small piece of gravel due to the design of the brush/pickup. I contacted Dirt Devil about my problems and they said "we don't deal with problems, your only recourse is where you bought it". You may want to check out Bissel (they are inexpensive and they can't be worse).

I am from a family of 8 kids and an average of 20 animals all living in one house at a time. Needless to say, we have gone through many vacuums; inexpensive and expensive. When I got my own apt. I needed something affordable and powerful (I have 5 pets and a husband to clean after)!
I love this vacuum. I had no problem with the canister issue that I have read about by others. I have two bedrooms, a living room, and a dining room to vacuum and I can do it usually without having to empty the canister until the end. As far as I am concerned, I am glad to fill the canister, because it means that the dirt, hair, dust, and etc. is no longer laying on my floor! Even if I have to empty every once in a while in the middle of cleaning, at least I don't have to worry about running out of bags in the middle of cleaning!
I haven't had a problem with the belt yet. I do believe that if you are having a problem with the belt burning so quickly, it could be the result of the height setting being set too low. This would cause constant added resistance to the belt causing the belt to overheat and melt.
The auto-drive did take some getting used to, but I like it now. It makes the vacuum feel a little lighter than it is while your vacuuming. The good thing is the feature can be turned off if you can not get used to it.
This is the best vacuum I have ever used on pet hair. The hand tool works wonderfully, but it is operated with a very small belt that I have not had to change yet. I have never had a hand tool that gets pet hair out of upholstery; I usually use a wet cloth of some type, but I no longer have to do that.
I am very impressed with everything about the vacuum. I have since referred it to my mother and my grandmother and they both bought one today so we will see if they encounter any problems with theirs.
I hope that helps. Good luck with whichever you choose!

So we finally break down during the summer and bought a new vacuum. I was using an old canister put together with masking tape so you'd think that I'd be grateful for just about anything. Not so.

We got the Eureka Whirlwind model 5197A after much consideration and a fabulous sale. We made the switch to bagless a bit unsure about it but figured why not.

Here's what I liked about it;

1) The look of it; very mod looking
2) The suction; it's amazing what you can get out of your carpets, even in a house without pets.

Here's what I don't like about it;

1) The self propelled feature kicks in on it's own even when you don't want it; annoying that the switch between manual and self propelled is right on the handle and the very act of pushing the vacuum jars it into self propelled from manual. Usually just 3-4 pushes and it's back on self propelled. I personally don't like this feature and prefer to go slowly over my carpets and rugs to get ALL the dirt, rather than whizzing over them quickly and missing the dirt.

2) IT'S HEAVY; not only is this thing too heavy but if you're not careful the upright handle can fall. Which it did to me and landed on my foot...set me out of commission for half a day. I mean this thing is HEAVY. What a pain for lifting all the way to our 2nd floor to vacuum. Also...you can't do carpeted steps with it. I seem to recall reading that you are not supposed to but it's not like you can anyhow with the weight of the darn thing. I'm afraid to have my kids around it because it literally could hurt them if the upright part slams down on them.

3) It is eating my floors; so we just pulled up carpet and are waiting to redo our floors so right now I don't care but this is a major problem to me. When I vacuum my area rugs, the floor all around the rugs are scuffed and scraped by this vacuum. How are you supposed to do the edges of the rugs???

4) You can't push the thing when it's off. You have to either carry it or pull it. Just a minor annoyance.

5) I guess I don't like bagless....it's messy and you have to change the canister every time or every other time you vacuum. Maybe it's not as good on the sinuses but I prefer a bag that I can put in and forget about for a few weeks or so.

I just wish I never bought it. SO...what we're going to do when we get some spare $$$ is buy a new vacuum for the first floor and move this monster up to the 2nd floor where it's wall to wall carpet. I do like the suction but that's about all I like.

It's a great vacuum. The cup is easy to empty. The vacuum does a great job of cleaning and really picks up a lot. It is self-propelled, thus easy to push. My only complaint is that there is no switch to turn of the beater bar especially when using the accessories.

I bought this product less than a year ago and it won't recognize a new bag. It is a piece of junk. Don't waste your money.

This has great suction but in my opinion is a cheaply made import. If the belts would not burn up so quickly, then I could give it a better review.(Mail order only) I have used a Hoover Wind Tunnel which was heavy but still runs,a Kirby that was a hand me down but gave it away for it was extremely too heavy for us, a Panasonic 10 amp which we like, plus an Oreck 2600XL upright. (Do not suck up any metal objects or water; no motor bypass!) The free canister is weak on suction also.
The Oreck is great for those with arthritis or back problems but be carefull when ordering. I was told if I bought the extra 1 year cleaning package with the vacuum;the warranty would be extended to 5 yrs. on the motor. Today I was told that was not true by the Oreck Co. They also recommend changing belts every couple months & changing the vac bag every month & changing the outer cloth bag every 2 years. Oh, My aching credit card Batman!

Had this 4 months. Never saw such great suction power and cleaning ability! I gladly overlooked how heavy it seemed, how heavy the cord was, and how loud it was (sometimes it whistles, even!) My only big disappointment was that the on-off switch started malfunctioning (not turning on without lots of jiggling, etc.) the 2nd time I used it! Now it takes a couple minutes of wangling the switch before it turns on. It's warranteed for 1 year, but Euro-Pro's website isn't up and running yet and I haven't been successful getting through to the customer service yet to see where to get it repaired. Too bad so many of these great machines have a defective switch! Who wants to bother packing up a vacuum for service, anyway??

I've owned 2 previous Fantoms and was very pleased with their performance and durability. Yes...I did pay more for them. However, this vacuum is living proof that--YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!! It is a HORRIBLE vacuum. I spend more time bending over with the hose that releases from the bottom...my back is shot. Their nifty "quick release" canister??? A TOTAL JOKE!! You still have to stick your hand in there to get all the lint, hair, etc. from out of it. Oh, did I mention that after you vacuum an area and think you're done...you only turn around to see some of what you just vacuumed mysteriously ends up behind you! Auto-height adjustment?? Great if you have shag carpeting from the '70s. Anything shorter and you're out of luck. DON'T WASTE YOUR $$$$. I just bought the DYSON ANIMAL from Target/Amazon website. After reading ITS customer reviews--I EAGERLY await it's arrival!!! I'd rather pay $500 and get what I expect!!

I have had my old Fantom Fury for at least 8 years and it is still going strong. It was so great for dog hair that I have recommended it to everyone I know with pets. About 6 months ago I saw the new Fantom's and decided I'd get another so I didn't have to keep carrying the old one up and down the stairs. While the new one does have great suction like the old one, it is much more cumbersome to use. It is a lot harder to empty it, harder to maneuver around things, and under things and the on-board tools are harder to use because the hose doesn't stretch well. If you get more than a foot away from it, it falls over. Plus, it is much heavier than the old one. The dirt never comes all the way out of the canister and the dog hairs get stuck in there. Plus, it has gotten clogged more times in 6 months than the old one did in 8 years. This one is also not made as well. One wheel will not stay on ours. I definitely would NOT recommend this new product. I now know why this sells for less than the old ones did.

I haved tried several types of Euro Pro Vacuums (hand-held's, small portables. etc.) and everyone of them is cheaply made, doesn't last, and not worth the money. I've had Fantoms is the past and loved them. Since Euro Pro bought out Fantom the quality went down the [sewer.] The biggest problem is the filter and dust container design. The dust container is triangular and the inner filter is round. As soon as dust starts to accumulate it can't freely move in the dust container requiring it to be emptied (very frequently) due to sudden loss in suction power. Spinning the filter to clean does not completely remove the dust from the filter screen. I have to use an old toothbrush to remove the dust. Very messy. Very disappointed with product and Euro Pro. I will never buy any type of appliance from Euro Pro again.

This vaccuum is extremely loud. After, 9 months the motor died and it is cheaper to get another vaccuum that replace the motor. I am shopping for a new vaccuum now. I don't recommend this at all!!!

I don't have this exact model but one just like it. It doesn't have a lot of power. It can't pick up things like a little piece of napkin off the floor. Also for it to pick up crumbs, I have to go back and forth over it many times. My best friend bought one also and says the same thing. I've had to take it apart to clean it many times. Hair gets caught and every so often it has a burning smell. I'm unhappy and so is my friend and we haven't owned them long. We are looking to buy new vacuums.

I am very pleased with this machine, it is light enough to be able to get in hard to reach areas.It comes with a good selection of onboard tools,very bright headlight,this is a great unit,very powerful I am very pleased. sincerely one very happy customer...

I owned an older version of the Dirt Devil stick vacume and it was pretty good except that it kept falling over and finally broke. I figured that this newer version would be the same, if not better, but I was wrong. The most annoying thing about the machine is the cord holder. On the old model you could just wind the cord around hooks. On this model there's this ridiculous clip thing that your supposed to clip the cord to - but you have to wind the cord into a loop first. The next most annoying thing is that it's very awkward to use the attachments. You pop off the floor attachment and connect the hose to the bottom of the unit and then have to hold the vacume horizontally by another handle. I do, however, find that the unit is very good for quick cleaning and sucking up balls of pet hair, but it doesn't do much beyond that.

I have had a Stick Vac Plus for several years and was very satisfied with its ability to pick up sand and dog hair on a 600 ft slate floor. After looking for a new one for the last year I was pleased to find this one at Amazon.
But after using it I was very disappointed. The primary drawback is that the Triangle Nozzle is smaller and does not swivel like the old one did. This means that it does not sweep corners well and is very awkward to move across the floor. The cord is not convenient because you have to loop it and hang it up. There is no way to hang up the vacuum and it falls down easily. The one good feature is the dust container can be emptied and does not require a bag.
I was so disgusted wuth the new vacuum that I have put it in the garage and am again using the old one!I also sent a letter to Royal Applaince Co.
The next time I'll pay better attention to the reviews at Amazon - Thanks for posting them.

Had one for several years. Have combination tile and carpeted surfaces. Never used anything quite as good for quick clean ups.
Purchased a much more expensive cleaning system and had to hand over a vacuum as part of deal. Never regretted anything more, and have been desparately trying to replace ever since. Most store carry the standard dd powerstick, but it's the edge wedge that really makes the difference. Hope to find a replacement soon.

We bought this vacuum because we thought Hoover had a good reputation. What a mistake! The first time we used it, the motor burned out. Hoover replaced the motor. It worked okay for a year (nothing spectacular) and then the suction stopped working. We got it in to be repaired just before the warranty expired. We used it twice after the repair and now it smells like it's burning when we use it. Our cheapo Eureka that is 10 years old works better than this vacuum. I wish I had read the reviews on here before wasting my money.

I bought this vacuum couple of weeks back and the unit will not turn on for some reason. So I returned it for a replacement, the other unit failed the very second day yielding extremely poor vacuum. Amazon denied replacment of the same again stating that this problem seems to be more widespread than expected so they cannot give another`replacement but I wonder` why they are still selling it especially for such a high price! But I must say, amazon has a great customer service since they have paid for shipping the item 4 times considering the fact that this item is heavy and weighs 30 pounds!

BUY anything from amazon BUT this Hoover!

This vacuum really does a good job of getting up dust and pet hair. We have a large dog who sheds like crazy and 2 cats who do the same. It really cleans up the hair and the onboard tool is pretty cool - it also sucks up hair from the couch in no time. That eliminated my need to use a separate small vac on the furniture. But it IS extremely heavy and I'm surprised it doesn't have the "easy-push" feature most new vacuums come with. We bought this vacuum in March and by December (just as one other reviewer commented) one side of the brushes stopped working. Part of the problem (with this, and most vac's, I've noticed) is that my long hair gets tangled around the brush heads and then burn out the whole thing. Can they NOT come up with a way to fix this? There's no way to avoid vacuuming up your own hair! I was hoping the beltless feature would mean less hassle but we still have problems with this vac. And it's pretty expensive. The noise really isn't an issue for us as I expect a vacuum to be loud. We also like that you can turn off the rotating brushes to vacuum floors and small rugs. But there's just too much room for improvement to justify spending this much on a vacuum. We're just glad that the store we bought it from (Kohl's) has such a great return policy. If it breaks, we take it back. So I don't even mess with trying ot fix it - we just replaced the whole thing when it DID break down. Bottom line - look for a bagless w/HEPA that's easy push for a lower price and you'll probably be happier.