Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review

With so many great upright and cordless stick vacuum cleaners out there today, canister vacuums often get overlooked, but they have some distinct benefits that are worth considering.  Canister vacuums are much easier to wield, as the heavy part of the vacuum simply rolls along behind you as you clean, and many models collect debris in sizable vacuum bags, making disposal quicker and tidier. 

In the world of canister vacuums, Miele is often regarded as the gold standard and its Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine is a highly rated option with lots of dedicated fans. This mid-priced model offers high suction power, a deep-cleaning floor head, and a self-parking design that makes it easier to store. However, it is more expensive than most upright vacuums, so I was curious if it could compete with the best vacuum cleaners I’ve tested and justify its high price point.

To see if it’s worth the investment, I tried out the Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine for two weeks, using it daily to clean my multi-pet home. After thoroughly reviewing the canister vacuum, I can understand the hype, but there are a few quirks to be aware of before you buy. 

Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review: Price and availability

The Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine is available from Miele.com for $789, and it comes in the color Lotus white. You can also purchase this vacuum from major retailers like Amazon for $715 and Crate & Barrel.  

Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review: Design

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When I unboxed the Miele vacuum, I was surprised at how small the canister itself is—it measures around 18 inches long and 10 inches wide. My parents had a canister vacuum for many years that was twice the size of the Miele, so by comparison, the Miele is quite compact and easy to handle. The vacuum’s wand, which has an ergonomic handle on top, is an average size and telescopes allow you to adjust its height.

This vacuum comes with two floorheads: a non-motorized option called the Parquet Floorhead for hard floors and the large Electro Plus Floorhead for carpeting. The former has a thick layer of soft bristles that help sweep up dust and debris, and the latter has five height options so you can optimize suction on different types of rugs. The vacuum has six suction settings that you can select via a dial on the canister, which is located next to the large, foot-operated buttons to turn the vacuum on and retract its power cord. 

In addition to its two floorheads, this vacuum comes with four other attachments, including a dusting brush, upholstery tool, crevice tool, and mini turbo brush. The three smaller tools clip right onto the vacuum’s hose for on-board storage, but you will need to find a spot to stash the last tool. 

Unlike many upright vacuums, the Miele uses vacuum bags to collect debris, and each bag can hold up to 4.8 quarts. The vacuum was fitted with a bag right out of the box, making for easy setup, but it didn’t come with any extra bags, which was a bit disappointing considering the high price. Even the largest bagless vacuums I’ve used only hold 1 to 2 quarts, so the Miele can go for much longer before needing to be emptied — in fact, it didn’t even fill up entirely after multiple weeks of testing. 

This vacuum has a retractable power cord, which is always convenient for storage, but it’s quite short. The cord only extends to 18 feet, which wasn’t long enough for me to clean my large living room without stopping to switch outlets. By comparison, most upright vacuums have cords that are 25-30 feet long. 

Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review: Performance

I first tried out the Miele C1 on the hardwood floors in my kitchen and dining room using the smaller of the two floorheads. All the controls on the vacuum are down on the canister, and I did find it a bit challenging to press the on/off button with my foot, as you have to use quite a bit of pressure. 

The vacuum takes a second or two to kick on, but from there, it was smooth sailing. I adjusted the wand to a comfortable height, and the floorhead was easy to push around the floor. The canister rolled along behind me as I cleaned, and I didn’t have any issues with it getting stuck or tipping over. It did a great job sucking up small particles and dog hair, and because the bristles are soft, I wasn’t worried about scratching the hardwood. I also like that there’s a little notch on the back of the floorhead that lets you dock it right on the canister if you need to pause cleaning for a second, saving you from having to lean the wand up against something. 

Hard flooring

My biggest complaint about the parquet floorhead is that it’s not the best at sucking up large pieces of debris. I scattered some cereal on the ground to see how it would fare, and because the bristles are so densely packed, it just ended up pushing the pieces around. I had to hold the floorhead at a slight angle before the vacuum would pick up the cereal. Also, when I was finished cleaning, there was a lot of dog hair tangled in the bristles that needed to be pulled out. 

Carpet

When I moved on to cleaning carpeting, I switched over to the vacuum’s Electro Plus Floorhead, which is larger and heavier. Because it’s so substantial, this attachment can stand up on its own, and it has two foot-controlled buttons — one to release the wand from the parked position and another to adjust the height of the brushroll between its five levels. 

The Electro Plus Floorhead has somewhat of a self-propelled design, so as soon as you turn the vacuum on, the floorhead wants to move forward. This makes it easier to push around, especially considering it’s a bit hefty. It took a little trial and error to find the right height level, but I ultimately ended up using the lowest setting to clean my living room’s low-pile rug. I did notice that the floorhead’s brushroll tends to shut off if I drove it off the edge of the rug, but the good news is that there’s a toggle switch right on the vacuum’s handle that lets you turn it back on. 

In terms of cleaning performance, this powerful floorhead did just as good a job as my upright vacuum. It quickly sucked up debris of all sizes, from small pebbles and dust to larger leaves and cereal pieces, and it did a great job pulling up dog hair from the rug, as well. However, after cleaning, there was dog hair tangled around the brushroll that I had to cut off. Considering this vacuum is marketed toward pet owners, I was surprised that it doesn’t have a no-tangle design. 

As someone who owns an upright vacuum (I use the Shark Stratos for my day-to-day cleaning), I was also a bit surprised at how much space was needed to store the Miele canister vacuum. Most upright vacuums tuck neatly into a closet, but the Miele took up more floor space than I had available because of its two-piece design. I was able to stash the vacuum in my laundry room, but it’s something to keep in mind if you have limited storage space.  

Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review: Comparison

Miele has an impressive lineup of canister vacuums that range from $300 to $1,000+. The Classic C1 Pure Suction PowerLine is the most affordable at $349, and while it has many of the same features as the Cat & Dog model, it only comes with one floorhead that’s used on both carpeting and hard floors. 

For households with pets, one of my top vacuum recommendations is the Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum. It retails for $400, making it notably cheaper than the Miele C1 Classic Cat & Dog, but it is an upright model that’s quite heavy, which could make it hard for some people to operate. Still, the Stratos is one of the best-equipped vacuums for pet hair, thanks to its no-tangle dual brushrolls and HEPA filter, and it also has a special feature called Powered Lift-Away that lets you operate the brushroll with the canister detached. This makes it easy to clean under low-profile furniture and hard-to-reach areas.

Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum review: Verdict

If you’re ready to ditch your upright vacuum for a model that’s easier to use, the Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog PowerLine Canister Vacuum offers impressive cleaning abilities in a compact, easy-to-wield form. The body of the vacuum rolls smoothly along behind you as you clean, and its dual floorheads proved efficient for deep-cleaning hard floors and carpeting. Plus, this model is much more adjustable than most vacuums, allowing you to mix and match five brushroll heights and six suction settings to suit your needs. 

That said, there were a few things I didn’t love about this vacuum. I thought the foot controls were a bit awkward to use, requiring more pressure than expected, and the power cord is only 18 feet long, which may not be enough for large rooms. Additionally, for a vacuum that’s marketed toward pet owners, the Cat & Dog didn’t impress me with its handling of pet hair — both floorheads got tangled with dog hair and needed to be cleaned off after each use. The vacuum also takes up significantly more space than an upright model, so it may not be the best fit for smaller homes.