Way OT... vacuum cleaners

[OakLeaf]

Kenmore Progressive gear-driven bagless upright. Ours came with an extension hose (if it doesn't come with, an accessory extension hose is available) so stairs are no more problem than they would be with a canister vac. The hose is only long enough to do half the stairs, so we do have to carry the unit up or down in the middle of the job... but we'd have to move it up or down to do the whole house anyway, so no biggie.

Cleans great, HEPA filter really works. (Don't plan on saving any money by going bagless though, since the filters are pretty expensive.) The only dings I'd give it is (1) the accessory scrubber is air-driven, so it doesn't work all that wonderfully, and (2) the dirt sensor frequently gets "stuck" on a bit of dust or hair that's stuck in the wrong place.

And they're on sale now.

ETA: we have two, one's 5 years old and the other I think 7, and they've been great, no problems.