Dyson vs. Miele

vs. a Claire (the crawling human vacuum cleaner, and reason why I care about having clean floors).
We have wood floors and area rugs in our home. Sweeping is sort of annoying to me for some reason. It feels really inefficient. I want to be able to get my floors really clean in one activity.

We bought our Dyson two years ago and I have been happy with it. We purchased it at a Sharper Image store that was going out of business. We happened to stop in about an hour before they were closing their doors forever and they were basically giving everything away. I think we paid $120 for our $500 vacuum.
I like our Dyson. It cleans our rugs like it's nobody's business. The suction is truly incredible. I'm really happy (and a little grossed out) every time I empty the canister into the trash, knowing that all that dust and food crumbs won't be on my floors.

I have to say though, that the Dyson is not the very best on our wood floors. I feel like it doesn't pick up enough on the first pass. Sometimes I just give up and pull out the broom, which is a little frustrating.

The apartment we are staying in here in New York has a Miele (pronounced Mee-lah) canister vacuum. So, after a head to head comparison...
I am totally head over heels in love with the Miele. On area rugs? Works great. Probably just as good as the Dyson. On wood floors? Better than a broom. Even magically gets into nooks and crannies and right up against the wall WITHOUT changing the suction device!

Other amazing qualities? Quiet. Really. I vacuum during nap time. Also, it is so light weight and easy to carry or pull around. Plus, it has a retractable cord. I am endlessly winding with the Dyson. You'll also be happy to hear that the Miele is almost half the price of a Dyson.

My ultimate verdict is that if you have wall to wall carpeting, stick with Dyson, which feels like it is deep cleaning the carpet more. If you have mostly hard surface floors with a few rugs, the Miele is truly a dream.