We've had a vacuum for about 4/5 years and I thought we had to buy a new vacuum as after a few minutes of vacuuming it was making strange noises and smells. We tried cleaning the filter and letting it dry overnight as recommended in the manual, but nothing else worked. These new filters were our last chance before getting a new vacuum and I'm so glad we got them! They make the vacuum cleaner feel like new! We also have a cat and she naturally sheds. He has a favorite spot on the couch and it will take some time to get rid of all the cat hair, so cleaning it up now is no problem.