We got a Miele Marin vac with a power head for use on our wool blend Berber loop carpeting, despite the warnings. We researched, and spoke to everyone we could, and originally placed an order for an Alize. Went home with a non-power head loaner vac the day we placed the order. DH used it to vacuum the bedroom carpeting once, and we called the store right away to change our order to the Marin. Granted, the loaner vac wasn't a Miele, but we were pretty sure that even a Miele non-power head wouldn't have done all that much better at picking up the kitty litter that tracked in (from a room down the hall).

Supposedly, the roller brush (on the power head option we chose) is a soft bristled brush, and is gentle on carpet fibers. We've had both the carpet and the vacuum for over a year and a half now, and the carpet isn't showing any signs of wear from the power head/brush.

Awesome, thanks for the followup. There are soooo many Miele options it makes my head hurt.

Best thing to do is read up on the models, and go to a store and check them out in person. We got ours from someone who knew a lot about the Miele vacs, and helped us choose the power-head (the other option's brushes were shorter/stiffer, which would have been too aggressive for our carpeting).

If you live anywhere near Northern NJ, I can highly recommend the store where we purchased ours.

I use an Aerus Lux - what used to be the American Electrolux, upright on my wool Axminster and level loop carpets. Very easy to maneuver and fairly light weight. I have over 6000 sq ft of wool carpet, 4000ish in a light commercial situation and the remaining in my homes. Over the years we have tried many vacuums, and I have to say that an upright is more practical then a canister.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lux Gaurdian Vacuum

An upright vacuum is usually recommended for low level wall to wall carpet. Like you I like both the miele and the panasonic. I have a miele marin and old miele champagne which both do fine on the carpet with the power head; just be sure to adjust the level on the brush and dial back on the suction to the icon labeled carpet. I've used the Sebo sometimes badged as a miele upright and panasonics with great success.

It's important to be sure both the filter and the bag are clean and not full respectively. You would have a lot of lint from wool carpet when it is new, not so much from a synthetic. If you have pets like I do, it adds to the volume of the hair/lint in the bag.

Bagless uprights are a mess to clean. If you don't clean them regularly, it is an even bigger mess and may cause the motor to burn out. Given that, Dysons are overpriced, cheaper Eurekas don't have much suction, and Hoover wind tunnels are useless. If you have carpet, the stick vacuums probably won't work for more than a fast pick-up. Yes, I had to work my way through the vacuum appliance aisle to finally learn that you get what you pay for.

Good Luck

For soft carpeting, Mohawk.com recommends using a vacuum cleaner with adjustable height settings. If the vacuum's height is set too high, it won't give you the proper suction. If it is set too low, it could end up damaging your carpet.

A wide range of Miele vacuum cleaners made Mohawk's recommended soft carpet vacuum cleaner list, but there are several other models available from Bissell, Eureka, and Maytag. We've compiled a list of Mohawk-recommended soft carpet vacuums to help make your choice a little easier.

Cat_mom,

i live n northern NJ and would love your recommendation for the vacuum store you used. I have wool runners in my home and need a new vavacuum cleaner. Thanks.

I have wool carpet in my living areas and hardwood floor in others, and i have found the the vacuum needs adjustable height setting for the different floor types, I have a soniclean which works well on the thick carpet.