When we bought a new (for us) house in 2001, we also bought a new vacuum cleaner. The house is about 3,000 square feet and our old vacuum cleaner ran out of gas. I double check every major purchase - if I'm not happy with something it usually ends up with a replacement, so it's cheaper to buy the first time. When I asked a mechanic at a fairly large vacuum shop who fixed my old vacuum what ER would buy for his family, he said he would buy Lindhaus (never heard of them and the shop didn't sell them). He gave a variety of reasons including performance, build quality, reliability, cost of ownership, etc. etc. Considering he spoke so highly of them without even being able to sell me one, it seemed like a really big one to be praise. I added them to my list to check out. Getting to the point, after much research and shopping from various brands, I bought a Lindhaus Healthcare Pro 14 inch vacuum cleaner online. I also bought a number of accessories (extended hoses). vacuuming ceiling lights, etc.) I am very happy with my purchase. It is quite powerful, relatively quiet, easy to use and cleans very well. To date it has not required any repairs - no belts, no brushes, no problem. The bags don't get dirty, they are durable, easy to change and manage. You can use hepa filters or standard filters and there is an extra filter that comes with the bags. It doesn't 'smell' or raise dust into the air. It's been very well thought out and engineered - right down to the very long and well made power cord. It still looks the same as the day we bought it. Lindhaus vacuums are widely used in hospitals and other establishments and have performed well on allergy committees I have recommended Lindhaus to my sister who is not happy with her Orek She is much happier with the Lindhaus remarking that it 'just cleans better' and she didn't have to do anything on hers either (she had to change the straps on her Oreck regularly).Lindhaus weighs about 5 pounds more than her Oreck, the only downside.These vacuums cost more than the average vacuum but less than high-end ones models.It was more than I originally thought for a vacuum cleaner (x2) but I'm glad I took the plunge.It's 9 years old now and I don't see any Reason why it shouldn't last 20 years and give great service to everyone. Highly recommended. Update: 17 years old now and it still works like new. Bought him a new brush 8 months ago. It will probably outlive me.