A little background first...

It seems I never told you about my amazing little canister vacuum by Bosch. When we first moved to the PlayHaven Green Building Project (that was before it was a Farm LLC, LOL), I hired someone to help keep my house clean. She used a nifty little canister vacuum to do pretty much everything! I was still using an old upright with a HEPA filter and since I continued to do all the floor cleaning, I was kinda jealous of her canister vacuum. Anyway, we talked about the qualities she liked in a vacuum and that educated me enough to search for a replacement to my upright (it really was OLD).

And thus it was that I researched what I had learned and found the Bosch canister vacuum with it's good suction (not superior, but good), HEPA filter, bagged collection, good length retracting cord, good length non-kink hose, variable suction, minimal noise (because the dogs hate the sound), and surprisingly low energy consumption.

I love the thing! It's been 10 years and I've only had trouble with wires getting compromised in the handle at the top of the wand so that the power head doesn't spin. The 2nd time that happened was in August 2019 and at that time the repair guy wasn't sure that it could be repaired again... might have to purchase that part ($$) if it happened again. Unfortunately, during the December holidays, it happened again. Heavy sigh. Well, if I was going to have to buy the new part, I might as well start looking at the price of a replacement to compare.

Let me tell you how much fun it ISN'T to price something you HAVE to buy. I had already purchased a little Bissell canister vacuum in August to get me by until the Bosch was repaired. The Bissell has AMAZING suction but it's a cheap thing and doesn't accomodate a power head (I didn't know just how much I'd miss that!) so it's labor intensive to clean rugs and carpets. I've designated it as my back up for bare floors and carrying around for vehicles etc. cuz it is SO LIGHT.

And now we are up-to-date...

I called the repair guy to discuss bringing the Bosch in for service AGAIN and he mentioned that he had a discontinued canister model that he was offering at (or very close to) his cost. It was still much more than I was willing to pay but it put a bug in my ear. (So to speak.) Now I know what you are thinking... I thought about it, too ...did the Bosch just conveniently break so soon so that he could sell me a new vacuum? And to that I say: No. I get a very HONEST vibe from this guy. And I've been conned in the past, so I'm really cynical about people. When appliances start having problems, they continue to have problems, and those problems come more frequently.

I meant to take my Bosch in the next day, but I forgot it. Since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I stopped in and decided to let him show me his canister vacuum. Since it was a discontinued model and his last one (except for the floor model) I thought maybe I could get his price down lower (you know, end of the year, get rid of inventory, that kind of thing). But, it was the lowest he could go, ah well.

I surprised myself and was actually sold on the merits of this Simplicity canister vacuum. See, I had researched Simplicity back when I ended up buying the Bosch. At that time, they were a local company and everything was USA sourced. Since then, they have joined up with an international company and while the Simplicity models were still USA sourced, they were slowly discontinued to favor the other part of the company. I was impressed with Simplicity back then and it was only the price that put me off. Well, here was one of the last of the USA sourced/made Simplicity canister vacuums at half the usual price.

I bought it. As I waited for the repair guy to write it up, I had buyers remorse and almost hyperventilated because I never considered I would EVER spend SO MUCH on a vacuum! Even at the reduced price! He guaranteed his products and if I wasn't happy, I could bring it back ... regardless of it being a discontinued model.

This is what I bought: Simplicity Wonder Tandem Air Premium Canister Vacuum.

(from internet advertising) Powered by Tandem Air technology, this canister vacuum is designed to do the heavy lifting in your home. It will tackle bare floor, carpet, area rugs, stairs, upholstery, baseboards, blinds and just about any other place dirt will try to hide. And once it finds that dirt and dust, Wonder's self-sealing HEPA media bag keeps it in the bag and out of your home. In situations where you don't need THAT much power, there's an adjustable suction control that lets you dial it down for a gentle cleaning.

In addition, the repair guy threw in a power head for upholstery (unlike the one in the picture) it has a rotating brush and motor for suction at the head... like the big one does for floors.

OH MY GOODNESS!! I now understand why people spend the money for a SUPERIOR VACUUM CLEANER. How can I explain it... OK. So with my old vacuum (even the upright) I had to go over a carpet or area rug from at least a couple of different directions multiple times to get the nap back up and sometimes even that didn't do it. Do you follow me? Well, this vaccum only required ONE PASS. ONE - count it - ONE. The head has a motor for suction IN ADDITION to the suction created by the motor in the canister PLUS that power spinning beater. I was flabbergasted! No more buyer's remorse!! LOL

The cord is SO MUCH LONGER than the Bosch. The HOSE is also much longer and while it isn't "non-kink" the canister swivels SO EASILY and is SO LIGHT that there isn't any issue with the hose (I even have to watch out not to pull on it too hard because the canister moves so quickly, LOL). The only thing that is somewhat annoying is the height of the power head because it doesn't go under all of my furniture any longer. Well, boo hoo hoo, LOL. I should move the furniture more often to clean anyway. Plus, my triceps are getting a nice workout because the handle/wand/power head is a bit heavier than I'm used to and the suction makes pulling it back to me a bit more difficult. :)

What about the Bosch? Well, if it requires a new part, I'm not going to have it repaired. The suction without the power head is good enough for bare floors AND the berber carpet of the upper floor. So I'll just leave it upstairs so I don't have to carry a vacuum up and down the stairs. After all, I JUST bought a year's supply of bags for the Bosch. Go Figure.