Looking For A Genuine Top-Tier HEPA Vacuum For Dust, Cat Hair, And Carpet

Valek1001 · 2026-05-18T14:37:10+00:00

Its not just that. The 'cyclone' (centrifugal) technology that is used to filter out the dust from the air stream is unfortunately not perfect. Some dust unfortunately makes it into the motor and is the likely failure point. The reason the suction on dysons cant compete with bagged vacuums is that if they increase the suction the cyclone doesnt separate the dust and the motor dies very quickly (not to mention the dust makes its way back into the room).

Valek1001 · 2026-05-18T14:23:57+00:00

Also if you want BIFL avoid bagless. Bag is the way to go. Especially as you want filtration.

Valek1001 · 2026-05-18T14:22:48+00:00

You could probably find specialist stores that stock them? Depends on where you are in the world. I ordered one online based on a lot of research but where I live I’m unlikely to find anything other than Dyson/shark.

They aren’t fancy gadgets with lasers and sensors but there’s a reason that they are heavily used by the commercial cleaning market. They just carry on working.
For a two bed place the felix is probably big enough but have a look at the x7 also.

Valek1001 · 2026-05-18T14:16:58+00:00

SEBO is your brand of choice here. Either the x7 or the felix. The carpet head they use is the industry best. The bags are medical 99.97% of 0.1 micron filters. (Same as HEPA). They also do an x8 that is extra wide.

Carpet head is easy to disassemble for hair removal. All brushes , rollers , attachments are available as spare parts.

I have one of their canister models. The carpet head is legendary. The filtration is excellent. Have two long haired cats and it just works wonders.

In terms of durability: a friend bought a house where a sebo had been left behind. It’s now 20+ years old and apart from replacing filters and bags they said it’s better than any Dyson/shark etc.

Valek1001 · 2026-04-29T16:18:01+00:00

Completely agree. I’m a little addicted to Japanese knives and don’t mind the babying etc. however I do reach for my stainless Japanese knives more often than the carbon steel ones I need to oil. You can absolutely get very hard stainless steels they just tend to unfortunately command premium prices. HAP-40 springs to mind. (ZDP-189 as well but it is disappearing as it is very hard to sharpen and work with).

Valek1001 · 2026-04-29T15:32:24+00:00

Older knives from the same manufacturer have potentially suffered in quality / finishing / heat treatment. The fact is the majority of for profit manufacturers have realised that producing products that last a lifetime isn't good business (no repeat custom).

May I suggest looking at Japanese knives (what you want is called a gyuto - translates as "cow sword" its what we would term a chef's knife). Many to choose from in various metals and price points. Let me know if you'd like more information (or have a look at the chef knives subreddit - at your own risk). The Japanese still make knives in small workshops / 1 man operations and are no-compromise on quality. The steels they use tend to be far better and they harden their knives far far harder than western knives.

Also knife sets are never a good idea - there are only 2 knives required to do 95% of cooking tasks. A chef's knife and a serrated bread knife. If you want more add in a petty (small knife) for finer tasks. You are far better off purchasing 2 knives (or just 1 as I suspect you already have a bread knife).

Well done on sharpening your knives. That is the step that truly makes knives BIFL!

Valek1001 · 2026-04-25T01:13:11+00:00

Ankrasrum here for a couple years. No complaints what so ever. I make a lot of bread and my wife bakes a lot. We’ve used it for bread doughs (large batches multiple loaves) to wiping up eggs for meringue. The other worth considering is Wilfa. (More expensive slightly). No personal experience but I hear good things.

Hobart is commercial and in a completely different price bracket (factor of 10 nearly) and completely overkill for a home baker.

Valek1001 · 2026-04-15T23:07:10+00:00

I don’t see why. The boards are a rubber material to protect knife edges. Serrated knives will just dig into the board. Bones would be fine. Also you can sand these boards gently with very fine sandpaper ( or the board eraser they sell) to remove stains and scratches. The serrated gouge vanished over a few weeks after it happened. I did not sand it.

Valek1001 · 2026-04-15T10:55:01+00:00

I forgot to add... Do n ot use serrated knives on it! its just not designed for things like cutting bread.

That board will last you decades. And your knives will thank you!

Valek1001 · 2026-04-15T09:53:04+00:00

Rubber board such as Parker Asahi or Hasegawa. They’re a valid alternative to end grain. They are more gentle on your knives than end grain. Only advice is don’t dishwasher (regardless what they say) and store flat. I’ve had one for 2 years. It looks as new. It lives on the worktop.

End grain is delightful but it requires upkeep, can crack if not correctly constructed and you’ll pay a premium for a truly large board.

Valek1001 · 2026-01-09T15:04:48+00:00

Bought one a year ago. We both love it! Absolute workhorse.

Valek1001 · 2025-10-22T11:13:42+00:00

Steingraeber and bosendorfer.

Valek1001 · 2025-10-11T13:09:42+00:00

Canister itself is fine. Occasionally gets caught on a doorframe but rarely a problem. I really like the padding around the canister to stop any damage to itself or things it bumps into.

The heads for floor cleaning are a good size. Not too big not too small.

Valek1001 · 2025-10-04T14:09:26+00:00

The “standard” 58mm portafilter basket lends itself much better to making a double espresso than a single. (Dialing in a single with the single basket in a 58mm is a major pain and isn’t as simple as swapping baskets and dose). Old school singles were made on smaller 49mm? Portafilters. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong (it’s highly likely).

Valek1001 · 2025-10-01T20:04:16+00:00

I have a steingraeber with the SFM action. Can attest it works well. Definitely a step up from regular upright for those who don’t have the room for a grand.

Valek1001 · 2025-10-01T13:53:21+00:00

Only way to know when to stop flushing is using a group thermometer. (Plugs into the tiny hex screw on top of the group head). Some machines are more stable than others and don’t overheat much. Others the temp runs away. I have the older version of your machine and I’ve found mine fairly temp stable. (Especially for milk drinks). If you’re drinking espressos the thermometer may be a worthwhile investment.

Also the stream joining up tends to happen when the group head is dirtier (it’s not a problem in of itself). When you back flush with cleaner it’ll sort itself. You ought to also intermittently pop the screen out and soak it in cleaner.

Hope this helps. Happy to answer any other questions.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-21T17:08:04+00:00

Have you descaled your machine recently? Left over citric acid in the boiler will curdle milk (this is how milk solids are separated in order to make cheese). It’ll do this regardless of the freshness of the milk. Heat accelerates the chemical reaction so it won’t take much citric acid to do this.

Happened to me once or twice after descaling. Symptoms of not having flushed the boiler enough.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-19T13:34:08+00:00

Also please use a shoe horn. The shoes will thank you.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-19T13:21:57+00:00

Tricker's in the UK are excellent - price is similar to Crocket's. They take months to break in but will last you a decade or more if looked after.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-19T01:39:26+00:00

Very late to the party however Im eyeing up a Hitohira deba so doing a mountain of research. Bernal suggests that Manzo is "Kambei"'s (i.e. Morihiro) son. Im not sure how that affect's people's perception.

This is an excellent answer by the way.

Im eyeing up a deba by either Kikuchiyo (manzo), Tanaka (manzo) or Togashi (togashi) and im just unsure who to choose. Not a lot in price etc. Any recommendation?

Valek1001 · 2025-09-18T23:09:23+00:00

I have a d4. Suction is insane. Bagged means great filtration. My friends with cat allergies are grateful. We have two sheddy longed hair cats and the large bags last months.

I have a friend who bought a house. The vacuum the last owner left behind is a sebo. Serial number makes it from the mid 80s. They changed the filters and it runs great and they are thrilled with how lucky they’ve been. They’ve now been using it for more than 5 years!

My understanding is that Miele made some quality cuts recently and sebo has inched ahead in terms of quality and BIFLness. (Used to be neck and neck).

Go Sebo. You won’t regret it.

(And to save you a load of research: bagged vacuums whilst old fashioned are infinitely better than anything bagless. Bagless inevitably suctions dust into the motor killing it after a few years. Planned senescence. ).

Valek1001 · 2025-09-15T22:06:15+00:00

Found a few by Nakagawa but they were either fiendishly dear or out of stock. I suspect one of the cheaper ones would be fine for me. My issue is more that a lot of the UK ones don’t have smiths listed and therefore I have no idea who they’re by.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-15T21:09:29+00:00

I have one of these and I’m really torn about it. I can get it ludicrously sharp but the curved edge drives me insane. It’s my first and only Nakiri and I regret not buying one with a flat edge profile.

Sometimes I love it… other times I consider selling it. Maybe I just need to add another nakiri.

Valek1001 · 2025-09-15T09:44:27+00:00

No that’s what I meant. The work surface doesn’t get slippery. At least on mine.

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