Since you brought up the subject of old vacuums, thought I should mention
mine: a Kenmore upright that I bought for $10 back in 1980, when it was
already, what? probably 30 years old. I just used it yesterday.

In the time I've had it, I've replaced the footswitch, repaired the plug
(the cord going into it got a bit frayed, so I epoxied it into the plug),
and that's it. Oh, and it has a resuable filter bag, so no filters to buy.

Hrm... a 50 year old vacuum bag probably doesn't filter dust out like the
disposable bags of today. Other than that I'd prefer a referbed old unit.

Beat that with any of the pieces of **** made today (except for the
expensive, gold-plated ones) ...

Saw an ad for a vacuum using water to catch the dirt and dust instead of a
filter. It SOUNDS like a good idea. They were selling for $200 for two.
That's more than I'll spend to find out how well it works, but at $100 for
one I may have considered. Dumb marketing.

Any idea if the idea of filtering with water is actually a good idea? Maybe
something I should look for when buying the central vac I'll install in the
next year or two when our old canister dies.