I killed my vacuum..

[Blue Mermaid]

With shed hairs! UGH! I'm not talking "it stopped" I'm talking smoke coming out of it, burning smell, whole nine yards. There's NO saving it. Anyone have recommendations for a vacuum that won't quit the first time it gets clogged with hair? It wasn't even like hair was wrapped around and around the roller, there were maybe 10-15 hairs, which I cut and pulled loose before starting the vacuum. It still died. Really looking for something under 100$ if at all possible.

[Zesty]

Do you have carpet? If you're working with bare floors, you could get a cannister vacuum with an attachment that doesn't have a beater bar. I don't know any specific brands/models/prices though.

[Glitch]

Oh my gosh I had no idea vacuums could really "die" from shed hairs, yikes! I myself jam up the vacuum sometimes, good to know.

I'm not very savvy on the different types of vacuums out there, but hope you're able to find a good one soon!

[embee]

Been there done that, smoke and all. No idea what are good machines now, but I'd recommend sweeping with a broom first if you can. That really gets up a lot of stuff.

[Glitch]

Been there done that, smoke and all. No idea what are good machines now, but I'd recommend sweeping with a broom first if you can. That really gets up a lot of stuff.

And if it's a carpeted area, there's a "mini carpet roller" thing (really wish I could remember the name) available in dollar stores etc. that you just brush over and it effortlessly eats up all the shed hair

[akurah]

Dyson. Woot periodically has big sales on them.

[EdG]

Does the beater bar turn freely?

My Kenmore/Panasonic vacuum would accumulate hair behind the bearings. These could not be removed. After replacing the beater bar several times, I found that the vacuum did an adequate job without it. The beater-less vacuum now gets hair caught only in its wheels.
Ed

[Blue Mermaid]

Yes my apartment is 80% carpet.

No, the beater bar does not turn freely. Since my apartment is becoming overwhelmed with cat fuzz, I decided to impulse buy a dirt devil max pet. Hopefully I'll remember to check back in a year to see how its holding up.

[Katia_k]

I use a Shark lift-away vacuum. Now that we have a seam-ripper for the pet attachment, it works pretty well (which, by the way, is a great suggestion I got from someone here for de-hairing a vacuum, and it has worked wonders).

Unfortunately Sharks are like 170. But I recommend them highly for hair, both human and cat.

[lunalocks]

After replacing many motors (on Sear's brand canisters) we now use a small shop vac, with a bag inside. It works.