I use a Miele canister with the turbobrush for low pile rugs - I have a husky shepherd too! If it were me I would buy the turbobrush for your existing canister. Miele canisters are great: I have two, one downstairs with the power brush for the basement carpet and the LR long pile rug. Upstairs I have the suction only with the parquet floor and turbo brush tools. Love the lighter weight of that one and it is all I need for upstairs. Since in general I am eliminating carpet from my home (only in the basement now and it is needed there) the suction only Miele is great for me. I think the power brush can be too harsh on those types of rugs in any case. I prefer using the turbobrush and then getting the rugs professionally cleaned once in a while.

Good luck!

Thanks Tina--all else being equal that's definitely the direction we're leaning since we have pretty limited storage space and a cabinet sized to fit the Miele, so the prospect of adding another vacuum to store is not so hot. I think I just balked at the price and wanted to be sure it really made sense to spend the money on the turbobrush versus on an upright or stick vacuum that might do a better job for not much more. We have been really happy with the parquet floor tool for the wood and linoleum floors, though, so I was hoping the turbobrush would perform similarly for carpeting. (We have a black lab so he basically sheds nonstop all over everything---and we also have an almost-crawling baby who is constantly covered in dog hair, so it's time to get the vacuum sorted out... :)

artemis78;

If you want to save some money and just add to your Miele, a turbo brush, for carpets, would help. There is no need to spend so much on a Miele branded turbo brush. Look for a turbo brush for Miele. It will have the larger, European 35mm fitting, which is different from the U.S.'s 32mm fitting. The carpet turbo brush will cost you half as much as the Miele branded. Do a search for "Wessel Werk turbo brush for Miele".

There are also mini turbo brushes, so do not confuse this with what you are looking for.

Thanks geguymw---I didn't realize other brushes would be compatible, so that's perfect! (We already use the non-Miele bags and that was a huge discovery/savings.) I'll check this out. :)

Artemis - where did you find the non-Miele bags?

Have both brushes with my Miele and a combo of floors and area rugs. The turbo brush is much easier to use on rugs than the floor brush and picks up most everything. However, sometimes on the lower pile rugs I do use the floor brush. It sort of "scrubs" them but it requires much more physical effort to use. With doghair and a baby, turbo brush for sure.

Having just vacuumed indigo slipcover lint off the white under-covering on the TV room sofa after stripping off the slipcovers (diet soda spill) I wouldn't trade the adjustable suction for anything.

Thanks all! Does anyone have the Wessel-Werk brush? It's certainly far more affordable so I'm curious as to whether it works as well...probably worth trying regardless.

@maire-cate, we use the Filtrete Miele bags---they're not quite as thick as the actual Miele bags (and my husband swears the sealing gizmo for removing the bag doesn't work as well, though I've never had a problem) but they're $9 for five bags (sometimes less) so no complaints here. You just have to be sure to know the letters for your vacuum to get the compatible bags.

maire_cate;

There are a few brands which market the generic bags for your Miele vacuum cleaner. The most popular brand for large retail are 3M Filtrete and Arm & Hammer[both marketed by AB Electrolux(Electrolux, Eureka)]. You should also not have any trouble finding generic Miele bags and filters in non-Miele vac shops. A popular brand there is called Envirocare.

Artemi78;

W-W is a quality vacuum cleaner attachment supplier in Germany,who supply to many vacuum cleaner brands. Miele is one of them.

A turbo brush uses air movement, from the vacuum cleaner, to turn a turbine which turns the brushroll. The brushroll bristles are very soft and do not protrude from the bottom very much. The turbo brush is designed this way, so that it will not get bogged down and stop turning. If the bristles were very stiff, long and used on thick carpeting, the turbo brush would not work as efficiently. So using this attachment on limited area, short rugs would be okay. Just make sure you do not race through vacuuming the rugs. Allow the turbo brush to clean.