Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog

We've had Miele vacuums for at least 20 years now as we are a multipet household with lots of shedding going on. This is the latest model and works well. It only differs from the standard Guard L1 because of the inclusion of a turbo brush. I supplement my carpet cleaning with my Dyson, although the Dyson filter isn't a fan of my German Shepherd's hair and needs cleaning out more often since the GSD arrived. But that's another story.

My biggest beef with the Guard L1 Cat and Dog is that the vacuum cleaner arrived with an ActiveAirClean 50 exhaust filter which needs replacement after about 50 hours of use. Guard L1 replacement vacuum bags require the Miele TU type. While the box includes replacement exhaust filter cloths, these are not suitable for the ActiveAirClean 50 exhaust filter. You need the open the exhaust filter cartridge to insert the replacement filter cloth, but the ActiveAirClean 50 filter cartridge cannot be opened, so I cannot use the replacement filter cloths provided and will have to separately order an ActiveAirClean 50 replacement filter.

It of course begs the question why the Guard L1 Cat and Dog came with the ActiveAirClean 50 exhaust filter when you need a different filter cartridge to fit the replacement filter cloths.

I can only think this is a money making exercise, which is really quite disappointing.