Sebo Vacuums

Sebo has built vacuums in Germany since 1978, and its US arm, Sebo America, is based in Englewood, Colorado. The company sells bagged canisters and uprights through authorized dealers, and that sales model affects the warranty as much as the machine does.

Most of the models listed here are Airbelt canisters, named for the rubber bumper around the body that keeps the machine from marking furniture and baseboards. The letter gives the body size, with K the compact body, E the full-size one and D the largest, and the suffix gives the floor head: Kombi is suction only, while Premium adds the ET-1, a separately motorized brush head that cleans carpet the way an upright does. So the K2 Kombi ($499) suits hard floors, and the K3 Premium ($949), E3 Premium ($1,150) and D4 Premium ($1,449) share the ET-1 head, with bag size and reach growing as the price rises. The Felix 1 Premium ($799) is Sebo's upright. It has a head that turns 180 degrees, and its suction unit lifts off to work on stairs.

Owners describe quiet running, sealed bags that empty without a puff of dust, and filtration that allergy households trust. K2 Kombi owners say it needs extra passes on thick carpet, which is the trade for leaving out the motorized head. E3 owners name the short cord as their top complaint and find bags fill faster than the rating suggests in homes with pets. The D4 answers both with a 40-foot cord and a larger bag, but weighs close to 16 pounds. K3 owners report the telescoping wand stiffening after a few years, and on all the ET-1 models the brush belt is a part that wears out.

The warranty only applies to Sebo products bought from authorized Sebo dealers in the US, so an unauthorized marketplace listing can leave the machine uncovered. Sebo's standard terms for Airbelt canisters and Felix uprights are seven years on motors and five years on parts and labor, with longer terms on its Onyx collection.