Miele released their first bagless vacuum in 2016 for customers in the UK and Germany, and just recently in 2018 they were released in the USA.
It’s interesting to see Miele move into the bagless market and compete with the likes of Dyson, Shark, and the other bagless juggernauts. This overview has been updated with information about the different Miele Blizzard CX-1 Models, and the latest Compact C1 and C2 Series vacuums.
Miele Vacuums – Choose Your Style
Miele Canister Vacuums
Canisters are Miele’s specialty, and you will notice there are significantly more models to choose from than the other categories. They have industry leading filtration and cleaning performance. Miele vacuums are tested to last 20 years, so it’s important to pick a vacuum that has the features you need, or at least gives you the option of buying additional attachments later on.
If you’re considering a canister vacuum, the most important thing to pay attention to is the cleaner head. While canisters are generally more versatile than uprights, Miele has models that come standard with cleaner heads for vacuuming different flooring types. Some are more versatile than others.
With Miele’s canisters, the cleaner head is swappable to various different types of brushes and attachments meant for cleaning different surfaces. One caveat is that the electrobrush is only compatible with models that have an electrical connection built into the hose and handle. We’ve outlined the models that come with the the electrobrush below. If you know you’ll be vacuuming carpet, getting the electrobrush is worth the extra cost.
Each of the Miele C1, C2, and C3 Series are capable of cleaning bare (i.e. hardwood) flooring, but some models will require you to purchase a different cleaner head for vacuuming carpet. You can avoid buying extra attachments if you follow this guide and make sure you get the right standard features you need.
Most Common Canister Attachments:
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Combination Tool (SBD 285-3,SBD 350-3) – Low-pile carpet and bare flooring (Hardwood, Linoleum, Tile, …) |
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Parquett Twister (SBB300-3) – Specialized Bare Flooring Brush. |
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TurboBrush (STB205-3) – Air-driven brushroll for cleaning low-pile carpet or bare flooring. |
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ElectroBrush (SEB217-3, SEB228, SEB236) – Electric brushroll that can handle any carpet or bare flooring. (SEB236 or 228 recommended for very thick carpet or rugs) |
Miele Upright Vacuums
If an upright is more your style, Miele has a few models that have the same industry-leading filtration as their canisters.
They’re also priced on the low to mid range relative to the canister models.
With uprights there is no worrying about which attachment to use on which floor type. The dustbags used with Miele uprights are 5.45 quarts instead of the 4.76 quarts used with the larger canister vacuums.
The primary difference between the different Dynamic U1 models is the type of filter included (HEPA or not) and the accessories. The Maverick is the basic model and has all the essentials. The Jazz has a HEPA filter included as well LED headlights. The Cat & Dog has a carbon AirClean filter for removing pet odors, LED headlight, and a mini turbobrush nozzle for the hose for cleaning upholstery.
Miele Robot Vacuums
Miele Stick Vacuums
Miele For Allergy, Asthma, & COPD Sufferers
HEPA filters aim to remove 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or larger.
So, how does that affect which vacuum I should buy?
Mold spores and pollen are relatively large particles, so any decent vacuum has an easy time of removing them from their exhausted air. The problem is when smaller particles, such as dust mite allergens, germs, cat allergens, light dust, and soot, are not filtered efficiently and get recirculated into the air in your home by the exhausted air from your vacuum.
Think of it like driving a car down a dry, dusty road and a cloud of dirt billowing up behind the car. Once the dust is settled on a surface, if left undisturbed, it doesn’t affect your air quality, but once it’s suspended in the air it becomes a problem.
That’s why people that suffer from allergies, asthma, or COPD have to take extra care to maintain air quality in their home. If you’re just now realizing your vacuum can affect your air quality at home, then getting a Miele vacuum with the AirClean Sealed System is a great place to start.
How well does the Miele AirClean Sealed System work?
Let’s start with understanding the significance of the term “Sealed.”
For any filter to be effective, all of the air drawn into the vacuum must pass through the filter. A vacuum may use a “HEPA” filter, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is built so that all the air passes through it. That’s why Miele’s design includes seals to make sure no air escapes the vacuum without passing through the filter.
As you can see, a HEPA filter is not enough to produce HEPA filtration. You need the whole package. That’s the AirClean Sealed System.
A combination of the Miele filterbags, HEPA filters, rubber seals, and gaskets ensures that all the air leaving your Miele vacuum is free of allergens.
The Miele AirClean system has been independently certified to exceed U.S. and European HEPA filtration standards, making Miele vacuums the most hygienic vacuum cleaners on the market. How hygienic? The current EU standard for HEPA filters requires filtration of 99.95% of particles 0.1 microns and larger.
AirClean System Vs. AirClean Sealed System
Though we don’t have data to compare the performance of the basic AirClean System (found in Classic C1 models) and the AirClean Sealed System (found in the Compact C1, C2 and Complete C3 models or equivalent), what we can say is that Miele has made a noticeable effort to make all of their newer models include the AirClean Sealed System.
Much of the Classic C1 line has been made obsolete by the newer Compact C1 and C2 models. You can now get the AirClean Sealed System in a fully-featured Miele canister for the same price that a top-end Classic C1 model (like the Titan) would have cost you just a few years ago.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t want to spend that much on a new model, the Miele Classic C1 vacuums have extremely good filtration that’s better than nearly any other similarly priced vacuum from other manufacturers. If you find a great deal on a Classic C1 model, then don’t hesitate!
Noise
Noise is an overlooked characteristic of vacuums. We’ve just come to accept that vacuuming is a loud experience, and we have no choice in the matter, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Miele vacuums are surprisingly quiet. After hitting the power button, the motor quietly purrs into action.
Louder does not mean stronger suction. Instead, noise can be an indicator of a poorly sealed suction system. That’s yet another advantage of the AirClean Sealed System. Since the vacuum is properly sealed, that’s one of the main reasons Miele vacuums are so quiet. You can literally hear the better design.
You can test this on your current vacuum. Apply pressure to your bagless dustbin where it connects to the vacuum body or around seals on hoses and you’ll notice a change in the sound when you find a poorly sealed connection.
Miele Bags & Filters
Miele packages its AirClean filters and bags together, and calls the bags, “FilterBags.” The bags are part of the filtration process as well. The AirClean FilterBags are made from randomly spun fibers and are equipped with an auto-seal, a self-locking collar that keeps dust and allergens trapped inside when you remove it.
The Miele HEPA and Active Carbon filters come individually and all last for 1 year. They have a time-release strip on the side which you activate when you first insert it into the vacuum to let you know when the year is up.
Canister Filterbags and Standard AirClean Filters
Canister HEPA and Active (Carbon) Filters
Upright & Stick Bags and Filters
For uprights, the Dynamic U1 Series have 5.45 Quart bags, whereas the largest Miele canister vacuums have 4.76 Quart bags. The Swing H1 stick vacuum has a relatively small bag at 2.6 Quarts, but a box comes with 5 bags instead of the usual 4.
The Dynamic U1 Uprights use the SF-HA 30 and SF-AA 30 filters shown above if you want enhanced filtration over the standard AirClean filters.
Miele’s Classic C1 Series Comparison Table
Miele Classic C1 Limited Edition
Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog
Miele’s Compact C1 and C2 Series Comparison Table
Miele Compact C1 Pure Suction
Miele Compact C1 Turbo
Miele Compact C2 Electro+
Miele’s Complete C3 Series Comparison Table
Miele Complete C3 Calima
Miele Complete C3 Alize
Miele Complete C3 Kona
Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog
Miele Complete C3 Marin
Miele Complete C3 Brilliant
Miele’s Dynamic U1 Series Comparison Table
Miele Dynamic U1 Maverick
Miele Dynamic U1 Jazz
Miele Dynamic U1 Cat & Dog
About Miele Canister Attachments
With canisters you get versatility from being able to swap between attachments for cleaning different surfaces. This can be a great thing if you have a home with a variety of flooring.
It is important to note that even though most attachments are interchangeable between Miele canisters, the powerbrush (electrically-driven brushroll) attachment is only compatible with certain canister models since it receives power from the vacuum hose. The weaker alternative for the canisters without power at the hose, is the turbobrush. It is powered from suction alone and is recommended for low to medium-pile carpet.
Carpet Attachments
For Miele canisters that don’t have an electrically driven brush, the STB 205-3 Turbobrush is essential if you want to get anything done on carpet.
Even if you don’t have pets you will still find the Turbobrush is essential for agitating debris from carpet fibers. Without a brushroll, it is difficult to remove hair, lint, and dust from carpet.
The standard FiberTeQ attachment that comes with the Miele Classic C1 Olympus (and an equivalent is included with the Limited Edition) is an attachment that Miele claims can clean low-pile carpet. It can, but you will be disappointed with its performance on anything but hard (bare) floors. With low-pile carpet less agitation is needed to release debris from carpet fibers, but having a brushroll is essential if you want to avoid making multiple passes to pick up stuck-in debris.
SBD 470-3 FiberTeQ
The FiberTeQ is intended for low-pile carpet and bare floors. It has two rear wheels with a soft rubber coating. You can toggle the switch from bare floors to carpet with your foot. The carpet setting just lets the head slide across the floor. There is no brushroll. Anything but low-pile carpet won’t get much cleaning from this attachment. The FiberTeQ will fit on any Miele canister vacuum.
Low-pile carpet is like what you might see in a doctor’s office or many commercial office buildings. In the bare floor mode, a brush lowers from the front which has roughly 0.3 inch openings across along the brush which allows larger debris to slip past and get sucked in by the vacuum.
Though this brush is fine for any bare floor, you may find the Parquet tool to be an improvement since it has a much softer and longer brush.
STB 205-3 Turbobrush
The Turbobrush is essential if you’re cleaning carpet. Even though the FiberTeQ is acceptable on low-pile carpet, you will be so much happier with the Turbobrush.
The Turbobrush relies on the airflow from the vacuum to spin up the brushroll. This is weaker than the Electrobrush, but works great on low or medium-pile carpet.
In order to keep the brushroll working properly, you must keep hair from building up. The more things that get tangled onto the brushroll the slower it will go and you won’t get good agitation on your carpet.
Cleaning vehicle interiors or furniture is possible with the Turbobrush. You often need some agitation to break hair and debris from vehicle upholstery. The other alternative is the STB 101 Mini Turbobrush (found below) which will fit into tight spaces better than the full-size version.
The Turbobrush works on any Miele canister model, so if you’ve got something like the Miele Classic C1 Olympus and want better carpet performance then this is the way to go.
SEB 217-3 Electrobrush
The SEB-217-3 Electrobrush, Miele’s mid-size model, is 10″ wide and has a swivel neck like most Miele attachments. It is recommended for up to medium-pile carpeting.
The Electrobrush is only compatible with certain models because it requires electrical power from the hose. So the Classic C1 Olympus or Limited Edition, for example, couldn’t use this attachment.
You will get better agitation with this attachment than the Turbobrush. However, it’s still important to keep hair from building up on the brushroll. It can damage the Electrobrush motor and cause added wear to the belt, which you will have to replace.
SEB-228 Electrobrush
The SEB 228 is the largest Miele Electrobrush at 14″ wide. It has a five-level height adjustment and is suitable for low to high-pile carpet and plush carpet.
If you have one of the Miele models that uses the SEB 217-3 Electrobrush you can optionally buy this one as an upgrade. It will fit any model that also uses an electrobrush.
Hard (Bare) Floor Attachments
SBD 470-3 FiberTeQ
As mentioned before, the FiberTeQ is best suited for bare flooring. It has a single brush that lowers from the from with the flip of the toggle switch. The brush is short and you may have to lift the cleaner head to pick up larger debris.
The Parquet attachments have longer and softer brushes, so considering upgrading if you are mostly cleaning bare floors.
Overall the FiberTeQ is a great entry-level bare floor attachment that will handle any type of bare floor.
SBB 300-3 Parquet Twister
The Parquet Twister is made with a mix of polyamide and natural hair that acts as a gentle cushion when cleaning tile, wood, and other bare flooring. You can use the Parquet Twister on any Miele canister. This version of the Parquet Twister is 12.5 inches wide.
The longer bristles with alternating high and low spacing provide room for larger debris to be captured while still picking up fine dust and hair that clings to bare flooring.
This and the Parquet Twister XL are the best bare flooring attachments that Miele offers.
SBB 400-3 Parquet Twister XL
The XL version of the Parquet Twister is 16 inches wide. Other than the width, the XL version is the exact same attachment. You can cover more area faster with the XL.
SBD 650-3 AirTeq
The AirTeQ is very similar to the FiberTeQ, but has an additional brush that lowers from the rear of the cleaner head instead of just one in the front like the FiberTeQ. It is an improvement over the FiberTeQ for cleaning bare flooring. Don’t expect much on anything but low-pile carpeting.
Upholstery Attachments
STB 101 Mini Turbobrush
Lastly, the Mini Turbobrush is the best tool for cleaning vehicles or furniture. You could use the full-size Turbobrush. but you just can’t get in tight spaces in vehicles very well. Also, it’s excellent for cleaning stairs.
The Mini Turbobrush can be bough separately and attached to any Miele vacuum. You can use it with the canister or upright Miele vacuums.
Other Miele Accessories
Miele offers an accessory kit that comes with an SF-AA 50 Active AirClean filter, flexible crevice tool, hygiene cap, and the Mini Turbobrush.
The hygiene cap allows you to detach the hose and store it separately from the canister body. You put the hygiene cap over the hose connection on the canister body so that no smells or debris can escape.
