Miele Canister Vacuum review: Is it worth the $900 price tag?

Is the Miele canister vacuum worth the hefty price tag attached?

Last year while working out of town, I hired a contractor to do a bathroom renovation and build a mini room/enormous closet in my New York City apartment. After lots of money and stress, I came home after a few months to a beautiful new bathroom and closet – and a thick layer of dust over every single surface and in every conceivable nook and cranny.

Dust is always a problem in the city, especially when, like me, you often leave the windows open and aren't the most consistent cleaner. The dust left over from a home renovation is of a more resistant nature than your run-of-the-mill everyday variety; it's the kind that clings defiantly to objects and requires scrubbing (and many, many loads of laundry) to remove.

Up until my renovation experience, I’d managed with a small handheld vacuum and broom, and dustpan. My apartment does have hardwood floors and area rugs after all so I had never seen the need for a full-size vacuum. It was obvious to me though that my ten-year-old dustbuster didn't stand a chance. So, I polled some friends at work, did some research, read a ton of reviews, and settled on a Miele Canister Vacuum.

Miele makes several different models of canister vacuums ranging in price from around $350 to $1800. Normally priced between $825 and $900, the C3 Calima is one of their mid-range models. I choose this particular one because of the HEPA filter (it's the only Miele model that has one), the fact that it has a removable, disposable bag, and, if I’m being completely honest, the bright yellow color.

Also, the more expensive models are engineered with heavy carpet cleaning in mind – which I didn't need.

Miele C3 Calima Canister Vacuum – $880.33

This bundle comes with the STB 305-3 turbo brush for carpets and rugs and the SBB300-3 parquet floor brush, as well as the crevice tool, dusting brush, upholstery tool, 16 filter bags, 4 pre-motor protection filters, and a HEPA filter.

The vacuum arrived with minor assembly required; I just needed to attach the hose, which is both sturdy and flexible. The entire appliance seems very well made, incredibly sturdy, and, thanks to the bright canary yellow color, quite attractive for a vacuum cleaner.

There are six suction levels, indicated by icons on the top of the canister. The minimum setting is for drapes and the maximum is for carpets. When turned all the way up, this vacuum will swallow pretty much anything in its path. In its highest setting, I could hardly move it back and forth as the rug beneath it was held firmly against the brush. I would suspect that if one were not cautious, the Calima would attempt to inhale an entire blanket – or anything else that wasn't anchored down.

The carpet turbo brush is a rotating roller contraption that loosens the dirt, then sweeps up fluff, hair, thread, sawdust, sheetrock debris, small nails, etcetera. After an initial sweep, my rugs looked as if they were brand new.

The parquet floor brush twists in a 90-degree rotation which allows it to go flat under baseboards, low under furniture, tight up against kick jams, and around chair legs with ease. The dusting brush miraculously sucked the dirt off the filter on my window AC unit (that my contractor neglected to cover with plastic) and the crevice tool dislodged ancient debris stuck in the coils of my antique steam heat registers; both of which completely justifies the price as far as I’m concerned.

The canister is lightweight enough to easily carry and the wheels work well, allowing you to pull it along by the hose if you like. It also has a super long, self-retracting cord. Oh, and it's quiet which makes it suitable for early morning apartment vacuuming or, as one reviewer pointed out; watching TV while vacuuming.

After a few months of use that included a week of moving every piece of furniture in my apartment and cleaning every surface, I would say that, yes, the Miele Canister Vacuum is worth the price. I can honestly say my home has never been cleaner.

Now if I can only implement a regular cleaning schedule...