First of all you need to know that we have a two story house that is about 30 years old, with carpet floors and two lap dogs (corgis that have two coats that they "knock out" per Year). round!)! We learned a long time ago that dust and dog hair are a real problem and we need a vacuum that can handle the job. Tried some expensive ones with all the doo-dads but they broke quickly, lost suction very quickly, couldn't keep up with pet hair. You will get an image. Our last purchase before Orek was one of those "ball" vacuums that supposedly never lose suction - it was supposed to be a real "beast" and the price reflected the hype. But it was so lousy at picking up pet hair that I first had to "rake" the carpet with a small plastic rake to pick up most of the pet hair. It lost suction and the canister filled up so quickly I had to empty it after each room. So I broke down and spent some money on a basic vacuum cleaner with no tricks, just a "vacuum cleaner". The commercial Oreck XL is a real "animal" in this zoo. It NEVER loses suction. Where none of the other vacuums I've owned could pick up pet hair and that powder you put on the carpet to make it smell nice in one pass, the Oreck cleans it all in ONE pass. . The bag in this vacuum cleaner can be changed in about 30 seconds (if you also have one). I could probably vacuum this house twice and still not have to change the bag because it really is that big! And a 40 foot cable! No more constant fork hunting. I hook it up once and do the whole floor. It is built very simply and tuff, as it is a commercial vacuum cleaner and is very light. Oh the handle is really good and you can bend it quite flush with the floor for vacuuming under tables and such. I don't usually take the time to write a proper review as I feel they should do everything right from the start. But this vacuum cleaner deserves a good rating.