Kenmore 81414 Bagged Canister Vacuum Cleaning Tools, 400 Series + Telescoping Wand, Red

I’m nearly 50 and this is my first canister vacuum ever. I’ve owned upright vacuums made by Dyson, Oreck, Shark, and Hoover for the most part over the years. Dyson seems to put more money into marketing than performance these days. Shark is great until they lose suction which happens within a year or so for me. And Oreck is wonderful but overpriced. So, I did a lot of reading. I knew I wanted a canister to be more maneuverable than an upright. I knew I wanted a bagged vacuum because bagless, while convenient, ends up with a filthy machine and dirt flying when emptying it. I knew I wanted a power roller. And I knew I didn’t want to spend an absolute fortune. So, this Kenmore fit the bill. When I received it, I vacuumed with my existing Shark Rotator Professional. Then I put the Kenmore to action to see what it picked up. The Kenmore picked up about another half a bag of dust. For reference my house is a little under 1800 sq ft. As of yet I haven’t noticed any loss of power or suction as the bag fills up. I love that you can switch from hard floor to carpet/rugs with the slide of a button on the handle and also change the suction strength in the same spot. I have all sorts of flooring from tile to hardwood to deep shag rugs and it handled them all with ease. The hose length is plenty long enough to reach my ceilings and the onboard tools are easily accessible. The self-retracting cord is a nice feature too. I estimate that a bag should last me about a month and there are plenty of third party bags on Amazon that are far less expensive than the OEM ones. My one minor complaint is that the handle is top-heavy and has a tendency to fall over if you’re not very careful about how you store it. Otherwise I’m very happy with my purchase

I love this vacuum! It does a really good job and I believe the value is excellent. If there’s anything that I would change, I would appreciate if the cord was longer I have large rooms and I can’t vacuum an entire room without having to plug the cord in on the other side. I would still purchase this all over again. It’s been a wonderful vacuum and I’ve had it over a year!

Every time I use this thing I tell myself I'm going to go back on Amazon and write a bad review. Today is the day. The ONLY redeeming quality of this vacuum is that it sucks and sucks with a lot of force. Everything else about it is horrible. The "convenient" silly trick way of connecting the floor tool on the go works maybe 30% of the time. The hose exits the canister vertically which leads to the thing not wanting to follow you. Instead when you tug it it flips onto its side. The tube part is made from paper thin aluminum and lots of plastic reinforcement, not the chrome plated metal you may be used to. This means you have huge cumbersome connections for your tools. They are really big too. Always loved being able to shove your vacuum between your fridge and cabinets? Forget it!! There is no way to bleed off suction like you may be used to either. Nope, instead, you slow the motor down with a slide switch, so you can bet you will still suck up and jam on those bathroom carpets! As a bonus, it is located right where you will constantly rub against it when you don't want to. You cannot leave the vacuum standing upright like ALL the Kenmores used to do. Nope, the hose is either too heavy or the friction at the knuckle joint too light. It crashes to the floor every time. You need to stand it up against something. The knuckle, which would always rotate 180 degrees now does NOT. 100 degrees maybe. I lost my ability to roll the vacuum under the bottom shelf in my linen closet, rotate the handle and shut the door. I had been doing that since 1994. The connection of the tube for the knuckle is enormous. When you have (manually, because you got frustrated) attached the floor tool to it, it hits every thing. I used to be able to slide the floor tool behind my cat's dishes and the wall gracefully. Now the huge plastic monstrosity swipes against the dishes, sending food and water spilling out. When trying to swipe along the toe-kick under your cabinets, you now scrape along the bottom of all the cabinet doors as you go along. All in all this is the worst experience I have had with a canister vacuum in my life. There is so much bad engineering in this thing that it makes an already mundane chore positively nauseating.

This is the THIRD vacuum cleaner I've bought in the past year, after 20+ years of using a great Kenmore canister. I broke an essential element of the older Kenmore, and I figure that maybe it was a sign to buy a new one. So, I bought the Kenmore "Ultra Plush" at about $400 a year ago. It worked all right, but was a bit too large and incredibly heavy. Gave it to my sister. Next up: my first-ever upright, the Kenmore Intuition at about half the price. HOW do people use uprights? Maybe it's my wonky shoulder, but pushing that thing around was crazy, and the whole changing-tools/functions process seemed a bit much. Gave it to my community theatre. And here we are with this, 200 Series, 81214 (Orange). PROS: Lightweight., great suction. CONS: On/Off is on the canister instead of the hose handle; no headlight (I knew that, but I thought it wouldn't matter—it does); swivel head (like the other two, and I'll never understand why that feature has been introduced—I want to shift to the right, and the head is insisting on going left), and ... the Power Brush Indicator light on the new one doesn't work. NOT the end of the world, but new vacuum, all features should function (the power brush, itself, DOES work). I called Kenmore Customer Service, it took the guy forever to say he couldn't find this model, and when he found one similar, I asked that I be sent a new Power Head. Nope. He said to PACK UP THE WHOLE THING and return it to Amazon. If you've bought a vacuum recently, you KNOW what a nonstarter REPACKING and schlepping a vacuum cleaner to UPS is. I asked why he can't just send a replacement powerhead. He finally said that he could send me one that has the Indicator, but that it would be a different color. Is it really possible that, in all of Kenmoreville, they don't have another 200 Series in Orange?? Whatever, I asked that he send it. AND ... it's out of stock. He hopes he gets it in a couple of weeks. WHAT is the story with Kenmore? Again, the unit seems good, but I've used it for only 10 minutes, the indicator doesn't work, and the whole Kenmore experience is less than encouraging. What has happened to this company? February 22: I received the new powerhead. And the Brushroll Indicator light doesn't light. I decided to CAREFULLY read the Use/Care Guide, and the only mention of the Indicator light is in the Overload Protection section and notes that if there is an overload, the Indicator light will show red. Stupid me: I thought the Indicator light would light whenever the Brushroll was in use, to confirm that element was engaged. So. Now I have two Powerheads and a renewed sense of idiocy. (It still would be better if it didn't swivel, if it had a headlight, and if the On/Off were on the handle v the body of the canister. But all in all, a powerful, functioning Kenmore.)

Growing up, my family had a Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner that just wouldn't die. It must have lasted for more than 30 years. To this day, I still have and use the floor cleaning attachment. After years of using short-lived upright vacuum cleaners, including a series of somewhat weak battery-powered vacuums, I broke down and purchased this Kenmore 400 series canister vacuum cleaner. I've had it for several months and I’ve used it a number of times, so I now feel knowledgeable enough to give it a thorough review. What do I like about the Kenmore 400 series vacuum cleaner? First of all, it is an extremely powerful vacuum cleaner, with plenty of suction. The suction level is adjustable to facilitate vacuuming more delicate things such as curtains. However, for floors and most of my other uses, I keep the vacuum suction level on maximum. I really like that the vacuum cleaner has an automatic shut off of the rotating brush when it encounters rug fringe and other items that could tear and get jammed in the rotating head. We have wooden floors throughout our house and lots of area rugs with fringe. (Many are missing fringe because of previous vacuums that would voraciously attack the fringe and not release it voluntarily.) This shutoff function activates extremely quickly and usually before any damage is done! Simply turn the vacuum cleaner off and then back on to resume using the rotating head. I like that the wand can be extended as it enables one to find just the right wand length for their particular height. That feature is a back saver! I also love the controls located on the wand handle. Very convenient! What don’t I like about the vacuum cleaner? Well, I find it difficult to pull the cleaner easily and on a straight line using the hose. The canister has two large wheels in the back, each with rubber treads, and one small rotating wheel in the front. However, it simply does not pull easily, and it rarely pulls in a straight line, probably because I’m pulling it by the hose. I would like for it to be a little easier to pull, so that I can exert less energy moving it from one location to another. It also gets a little tiring having to frequently redirect the device from pieces of furniture, door jambs, and anything else that it can find to get stuck on. Another thing that I don’t particularly care for is the attachment holder that attaches to the wand itself. I have a tendency to knock the whole assembly off when I change hand positions, and the hose attachments occasionally fall off too. I would much prefer something that’s permanently mounted, preferably on the vacuum cleaner itself, rather than being on the wand. The other thing that’s a minor annoyance is that the small floor attachment doesn’t really lock into position in its designated cubby on the vacuum cleaner. So, it occasionally falls out when I carry the vacuum by its handle. Overall, however, I really like the vacuum cleaner, and especially it’s powerful suction, powerful, rotating head, and the fact that it gets my floors cleaner than they’ve ever been with any other vacuum cleaner. So, I can overlook some of the vacuum cleaner's quirks to enjoy the level of cleanliness the vacuum provides.

This a very good vacuum cleaner, this is my first canister. Far more powerful than the upright, I you decide on a canister make sure you choose a motorized vacuum head that makes a world of difference regarding the cleaning performance. I made a mistake purchasing a canister vacuum with an air turbo cleaning head, the performance was poor. I retuned the vacuum, Miele C1. This Kenmore cost less than the Miele and the performance far exceeded the Miele. If you decide on the Miele get the C3 with the power head but be prepared to spend a lot more money. In short buy the Kenmore series 400 it is an excellent vacuum.

This is going to be a very 50/50 review. A long time ago I had a Kenmore vacuum cleaner, it lasted me 15 years without any issues. Kenmore products now are a just as terrible as most other products and do not last at all. This is my third one of this exact Kenmore vacuum. Why do I keep buying it? Because I've tried other brands and they're even worse, so I feel stuck. I like canisters better than uprights, especially with pets. Uprights cannot get into small places like a canister can. There are good points to this vacuum and bad ones: PROS: Great suction, long cord, extended wand, long hose easy to get into small places, easy to find filters and replacement parts. Power button and carpet buttons are on the hose itself, so you don't have to keep bending down to turn it on and off. CONS: Very heavy and bulky, seems to break after a year or two, the end piece for floors and the small brush are terrible. Not at all easy to get the floor piece on and off. I will give you a couple of pointers since I've had a few of these. 1) Go onto a Kenmore or vacuum parts website and order a replacement small brush piece and end piece for floors. We shouldn't have to, I know. But they will send you the old kind that work MUCH better and they fit just fine. 2) I know it's tempting to just tug the heck out of the hose to lift the canister but don't, it will rip easily. Again, huge pain but lift from the front of the canister. 3) Keep an eye on the filters more often than you should. My last one had some kind of issue where the motor was not exhausting properly and I was spewing black stuff all over my house. The filter would get filthy even after the first 2 times of changing it. I tried taking it for repairs and it didn't work. If I could afford a really expensive vacuum I would. But to me it's highway robbery that we have to keep buying things after a year or two that cost several hundred dollars because companies can't or won't care anymore about quality. But as I've said, I've tried several other brands and a few seemed fine at first and then the suction wasn't working well at all after a short time. So what's the point? I went back to this one and I guess have no choice but to deal with the issues and hope it lasts longer this time.

I own the same model of this vacuum from 25 years ago. I loved that vacuum more than I can say. Tried to get it repaired, but they no longer sell the parts, which is unfortunate. The newer one, though, has all the features I loved plus one that I really need, but didn't know I needed. I also own a Miele canister vacuum so I'll share some notable differences. PROS 1. This vacuum has a light (and it the light is operational even when you disconnect the powered floor nozzle and use only the part made for hardwood floors). Mieles with similar price points do not have any light, and the light is really useful for illuminating where the dirt is under couches and under furniture, esp if you have pet hair. 2. The suction is incredibly strong and adjustable. Could probably suck up a small cat from about 30 feet away. j/k but it's intense. Miele's has great suction too. 3. The on/off switch is located on the handle, so you don't have to bend down. Miele has the power switch on the canister itself. Ostensibly you can use your foot to turn the switch on/off on the Miele, but I've had to bend down often to get it to turn on, and often the canister is far away, so if you want to turn the suction up or down or turn off the machine momentarily, say to pick something up, the location of the switch makes a big difference. 4. The floor cleaning nozzle is two-in-one (one powered for carpets and one unpowered made for hardwood that just glides effortlessly and picks up everything on the first try). When I have used the (un)powered Miele floor brush attachment, it often makes smaller bits (like cat litter) shoot all over the place. Miele has a similar tool, but you have to bend down to change the nozzle head and it still doesn't pick up small bits on hardwood as well. With the Kenmore, you just use your foot to pull out the floor brush from the motorized nozzle. Easy and quick and no fussing with finding a different attachment and bending down to affix it. 5. All of the attachments (including the powered pet mate attachment) are stored inside the canister with a lid. Miele's storage is flimsy and not contained, so I found that the attachments would routinely fell off their caddy. 6. Power cord is retractable (same as Miele, but the button on the Kenmore is larger and easier to use). 7. Both the suction tube connecting the floor wand to the canister AND the power cord are significantly longer than the Miele's. I have a very small apartment, and this still annoyed me. If you want to be able to clean without having to plug and unplug the vacuum regularly, the extra length is lovely. 8. The floor nozzle on the Kenmore can almost go flush with the ground and the attachment still stays level so it can vacuum under furniture effectively even if it's quite a distance back. The Miele's floor attachment pops up (becomes unlevel with the floor) when you try to make the handle level with the floor. I do have to say, my 25 yo Kenmore could go completely flush with the ground, perhaps even lower and still remain level. So I'm bummed that the new one can't go completely flush, but it's still able to vacuum more flush than the Miele. 9. Kenmore is cheaper than most Mieles. Having enjoyed most of the above features on my 25 year old Kenmore, I was disappointed by the Miele. CONS 1. The canister and wand on the Kenmore are heavier than the Miele. The weight of the canister is annoying if you need to carry it up and down stairs. And although I don't have any stairs, I imagine the Miele would be easier for stairs. 2. The wheels don't work perfectly on the Kenmore (they were fabulous on my older model). So while canister vacuums are always a little clumsy, I find maneuvering with the Miele easier. That's about it. I like having both vacuums, but if I had to choose one, it would no contest: I would go with the Kenmore. If money weren't an object, perhaps the top-of-the-line Mieles would match the features on this Kenmore, but for twice the price or more.