Miele S7280

We chose this vacuum because of my partner's asthma. It's very effective, managing everything from building rubble to broken glass, but it's not ideal.

It's very heavy. I'm a well-built, fairly strong, 5 foot 8 woman, but I struggle to push it and lift it.

The swivel ball makes it easier to steer, and it goes wonderfully flat and reaches under low furniture. The hose attachment has good suction, but is very short and tight, more than once I've been using the hose on something a foot or two away and been hit by the handle at the machine falls over, or the machine itself.

Important note: The machine is only allergenic if you use Miele vacuum bags. These are not reusable, and cost £10 each - an expensive outlay on top of an already expensive item.

The weight and the hose problem mean I daren't use it on stairs. The weight means I can't easily get it out of the cupboard - as a result my partner now does most of the cleaning, not ideal as he's the one who wheezes when he's near dust.

Annoyingly there is no lead retraction, so you have to wind the cable (which is quite long) each time you use it and fix it out of the way. It's very tiresome.

We carried out thorough research via Which before we bought the item, but nothing replaces actually going into a store and trying something out. It was our first home, and the first appliance we ever bought, we're still paying the price for our foolish innocence.

This really is a beast of a vacuum for rich, muscle-bound people, so if you're an asthmatic with access to a passing Chippendale then go ahead!

The Miele S7280 Allervac is BIG beast and an expensive one. It's a vacuum on steroids and it performs the same way. Probably a good 15-20cm taller than your present machine and heavier - but boy, does it work! The brush/beater is operated by a separate motor and switch; you can actually watch it renovating your carpets but it will do them damage if you don't use it properly. That can be difficult: there's a rotary suction motor power control on the front but, confusingly, it's calibrated according to floor types! The swivel neck works on the same principle as a 'ball' and does it just as well. Not quite so well built as you might expect from Miele, though: there are often problems with the one-time-slot-in handle and its electrical connections. Like many other makes, there are two hooks for winding the cable round, one of which swivels to release the spool - on ours, it fell out at the first use but a little TLC seems to have fixed it. Despite the niggles, this is a seriously capable bit of kit - and you'll probably never need another.