Mighty Maid Heavy Duty Vacuum with Power Wand

My review is based on comparison to our last four bagged uprights (2 Kenmore, a Hoover, and a Eureka). Overall, we’re disappointed considering the price point of this vacuum, which we purchased at Costco (which no longer sells it).KEY POINTS: This model has performance drawbacks when using on either hard floors or carpeting/rugs. It does not have a turnoff for the brushroller, so it tends to scatter particles of dirt, sand, etc. on hard floors. It does raise off the floor when in the upright position, but never turns off. There is another Mighty Maid model that costs about $50 more for the brushroller turn-off feature. Also, because none of the Mighty Maid models are equipped with a brushroller height adjustment, you can't adjust it for carpet height/cleaning depth. We have medium height carpet, and the the vacuum tends to just skim over the top. The manufacturer claims the roller it is "self adjusting," but there is no actual "adjustment" mechanism, and that claim is simply deceiving. Also--HEPA filters, bags, belts, and brushrollers tend to be more expensive and harder to find than for many of the more common upright brands.HANDLING: The vac is on the heavier side as uprights go, but it feels and handles like a lighter model, moving back and forth and turning relatively easy on hard surfaces, and carpet (likely due to no cleaning depth adjustment feature). The vac is equipped with a carry handle in the back, but the vac is relatively big/bulky, and this combined with the weight could be an issue if carrying up and down stairs (we don't have any).SUCTION: The suction overall is similar to other vacs we've owned, which is not surprising, since they all use 12 amp motors (common for even most of the cheaper upright models). Pickup is excellent on hard floors, but not so much in medium to deep carpet (again, no means to control cleaning depth). The exhaust is directed out the vacuum front after it goes through the HEPA filter, but we found air also coming out of the left side where 2 plastic pieces do not fit tightly together. This means part of the exhaust air is leaking out of the unit before passing through the HEPA filter. This is either a design flaw, poor assembly, or both. I sealed it with clear silicone caulk.EDGE CLEANING: Edge cleaning is poor for two reasons. The belt is located on the far left end of the brush roller, which results in a solid metal plate on the bottom left side that is about 2 and 1/2 inches wide. There is a couple of shallow grooves in the plate bottom to help improve suction along this edge, but pickup is poor. The instructions tell you to use the right side for edge cleaning, which is not always practical. The other models tend to place the belt closer to the center of the roller, which enables good edge cleaning on both sides, with no real performance issues overall. The other issue is that some other vacuums have a very low and wide profile up front along the edges to allow you to skim under furniture and cabinets an inch or two while moving alongside them. Not so on this vac. Moving directly toward furniture or cabinets is the only way to get under them, and the front, though sloped, is no lower than most other vacs. There is a rubber protective guard around the front and sides, but it is a little narrow and low and doesn't fully protect some of our furniture and baseboards. It is also not well secured and wants to come off. The guard also tends to leave behind rubber marks on whatever it rubs up against. The front light is relatively good, and provides a wider beam than some other vacs.BRUSH ROLLER: The roller itself is metal, which sounds great, but this also means it's more expensive to replace, and we've never had a plastic roller fail on our other vacs. What tends to happen is the brushes attached to the roller wear out/down, especially if you use the vac on hard floors. You typically replace the entire roller when this happens. The Mighty Maid roller costs $60 or more to replace (vs. $15 to $30 for other more common vac brands). You can replace the 4 brushes on this particular roller, but the brushes alone are hard to find and cost almost the same as a new roller equipped with brushes, and there are no instructions for removing and attaching them to the roller. When I asked a Fuller Brush rep (who took a few days to respond) about changing brushes, he recommended sending the roller to a dealer to change brushes. But this is nonsense because of course this comes with the added cost of shipping, labor, and parts markup, not to mention being without the vac's services for days or weeks.TELESCOPIC WAND: An important selling feature for us was the telescopic wand, which is solid aluminum and easy to use, with no bending over to disconnect/reconnect or deal with added wand extensions. Unfortunately, the two metal pieces are held together by cheap plastic parts and a tiny screw that tends to unscrew on its own. Also, when extending the wand, it locks in place by a tiny metal part that wears down over time because of direct metal to metal friction when extending or retracting the wand. It continually wears down until the wand will no longer lock when extended. Wand parts are not replaceable/sold. Only the entire wand is. Our wand lasted about 6 months. New wands cost around $40-$60. While the wand itself is aluminum, it is flawed due to a combination of poor design and cheap internal parts. I’ve read reviews elsewhere with similar complaints on this vac's wand, and their failure to get it replaced even when within a year since the vac's purchase. There does not appear to be any real warranty for this vac.HOSE AND ATTACHMENTS: The hose is flexible although not very long. The low center of gravity of the vac means it will tend to follow you around when stretching it. It will tip over, but not as easily as some other upright vacs. We find we typically have to hold the vac with one hand while using the wand with the other. We've had the hose detach from the vac a number of times, and reattaching it is not easy. There are 2 attachments that come with the vac: a small brush and a crevice tool. The brush tool opening is narrow and the long bristles catch much of the lint and hair, quickly clogging/blocking the opening, so you must periodically pull this stuff out to keep the opening clear. Other attachments like a brush roller for furniture, stairs, etc., or longer hose must be purchased separately.AIRFLOW ADJUSTMENT: There is a valve on the backside of the vac to adjust the flow of air, if desired, when using attachments. However, it is relatively low and there are no clear markings to show whether, or how much, the valve is open or closed. You have have to bend over 90 degrees, get on your knees, or tip the vacuum forward to see what position it is in. It should normally be closed, unless you want reduced suction.CORD: The cord is thicker, heavier, and more cumbersome to manage than the other vacuums. Not sure why, since all the vacs have 12 amp motors. You will inevitably step on it, and if you are not wearing slippers or shoes, you will experience annoying discomfort/pain. The cord tends to get in the way during use as it is attached only about half way up. We tied it off farther up on the handle to help keep it out of the way. The cord is also just over 29 feet, vs 30 feet claimed, and is the shortest "30 ft" cord we've had on a vacuum. We added a 3-foot extension cord (14 AWG) to enable it to reach places we normally could reach with other vacs without having to change outlets. Finally, the cord leaves black marks on anything it rubs against. If you have light-colored baseboards, corners of walls, or furniture, it will be particularly noticeable. The very flimsy plastic cord wrap hook on the back of the vac was already broken out of the box.MANUAL AND CUSTOMER SERVICE: The included pamphlet is exceptionally thin, brief, and short on details, and includes nothing about changing rollers or brushes, nothing about the valve on the back used to adjust the flow of air, and no part numbers other than for the bag, filter, and belt. There is no "full" or more extensive manual available online or otherwise. In our experience, customer service/support is almost nonexistent.

This I vacuum was an unknown brand to me. I purchased this about a year ago and love it. The bristles are made from horse hair and are gentle but effective on expensive hand knotted wool and silk rugs.I loved this vacuum so much I purchased one for my mother in law.

It does everything it advertises, however it's a bit heavy - I don't recommend it for the elderly or the no strength type.

Excellent vaccum, does everything very well and it does not seem to tangle hair in brush like the Panasonic I had. You can not Vaccum rugs with this as it is too powerful and suck them up.

Great vacume. Been using Fullers for years. Great vacuum and suction power is awesome.

My review is based on comparison to previous bagged uprights we've owned including two Sears Kenmore vacuums, a Hoover WindTunnel, and a Eureka model. Overall, we like the vacuum because of the build quality, telescopic wand, ease in handling/maneuverability, and because it is not as noisy as most other vacuums we've used. However, we're disappointed regarding some other aspects, and expected more considering the price point of this model.Be aware this Mighty Maid model does not have a turnoff for the brushroller. It does raise off the floor somewhat when it is in the upright position, but never turns off. There is another Might Maid model that costs around 50 dollars more for this added feature.An important feature for us was the telescopic wand, which is high quality and easy to use, with no bending over to disconnect/reconnect or deal with multiple attachments. The end is plastic and partially angled, which makes it less likely to damage or "stick" to surfaces. There is a valve on the back of the vacuum used to adjust the flow of air, if desired, when using tools. However, there are no markings on the valve that indicates whether, or how much, the valve is open or closed, and you have to need to get on one knee or tip the vacuum to see what position it is in. It should normally be closed, unless you want reduced suction. The hose is flexible although not very long. The lower center of gravity of the vacuum means it will tend to follow you around, vs. tipping over like most others do when stretching the hose to its maximum length.Although not lightweight, the vacuum itself feels and handles like its lightweight, moving back and forth and turning easier than any other we've used, on hard surfaces or carpet, including much lighter-weight models. The front light is good, and provides a wider beam than most.Edge cleaning is not good for two reasons. This manufacturer chose to place the belt on the very left end of the roller, which results in a solid metal plate underneath on the left side that is about 2 & 1/2 inches wide. There is a couple of indented grooves in the plate bottom to improve suction, but the left side will pick up little more than very loose hair or dust. The instructions tell you to use the right side for edge cleaning, which is not always practical. The other models tend to place the belt closer to the center of the roller, which enables good edge cleaning on both sides, with no real performance issues overall. The other issue is that some other models have a very low and wide profile up front along the edges, which allows you to skim under furniture and cabinets an inch or two while moving alongside it. Not so on this model. Moving perpendicular or directly toward furniture or cabinets is the only way to get under them at all, and the front profile is no lower than the other models. There is a rubber protective guard around the front and sides, but I find it to be a little narrow and low for some of our furniture and baseboards.The suction overall is similar to the other models we've owned, which is not surprising, since they all use 12 amp motors. Pickup is excellent on hard floors, but not so much in carpet, especially deep carpet. Likely due to the fact there is no roller height adjustment. The manufacturer claims its "self-adjusting," but we do not notice any adjustment going from tile to deep carpet, and can see no self-adjusting mechanism on the bottom. Besides the better wheels/bearings on this vacuum, this is probably why it glides so easily over carpet. We notice the carpeting is also less disturbed after running over it vs. other models with manual roller height adjustments, which enables you to adjust cleaning depth.The roller is metal, which sounds great, but we've never had a plastic roller fail on our other models. What tends to wear out is the brushes attached to the roller. They tend to shorten over time, especially if you use it on hard floors, and you normally replace the entire roller when this happens, which is typically between 15 and 30 dollars, depending on the vacuum. For the Might Maid, the cost is 55 to 60 dollars. You can actually replace the four brushes on this particular roller, but the four brushes cost almost as much as a new roller (with the brushes included and attached), and there are no instructions provided in the brief manual for removing and attaching brushes to the roller. When I asked a Fuller Brush representative about the changing brushes, who took a few days to respond, he recommended sending it to a dealer to change brushes, which would cost you even more, not to mention the wait.The cord is thicker and heavier than the other vacuums. It is also closer to 29 feet vs 30 feet claimed, and is the shortest we've had on a vacuum. This is the first time we added a 3-foot extension cord (14 AWG) to enable it reach places we normally could reach with the other models without having to change outlets. However, the cord does not have a tendency to bind or stay twisted when unwound like some of the other cords. The cheap plastic cord wrap hook on the back was broken out of the box.The manual is exceptionally brief and short on instructions, including nothing about changing rollers or brushes, and nothing about the valve on the back used to adjust the flow of air, if desired, when using tools.

We purchased this unit for our house with carpet and hardwood floors. it only has to setting,carpet and non-carpet.I found you have to leave in carpet mode on hardwood floors or it will not pickup. The removeable side wand works great,wellbuilt and very easy to use for catching the edges. the power cord is very short and so is the cord hooks to secure it when notin use making a pain in the butt to wind,unwind and I am constantly changing to other outlets going room to room. My mistake in that I did not realize it uses a vacuum bag which after my last bagless vacuum is a major downfall.my old vac had lever which released the container containing the debri for easy disposal.the bags are small and I have pets with hair so I now changing bags every other use and now I have to buy bags as longas I own this vacuum. You can find bagless vacuums for the same cash which are cheaper and for more easier to maintain.