If you’re fed up with cheap vacuums that don’t last more than a year or two before needing replacement, you might be ready for a buy-it-for-life vacuum. While there are a few brands to choose from, including SEBO, we find the best combination of power, durability, and affordability in Miele’s canister vacuums. We’ve reviewed dozens of them and are convinced there’s not much better out there if you want a vacuum to last for 20 years or more. However, if you want a vacuum to do a good job, you need to pair it with the right cleaning heads. If you’re only dealing with bare floors in your home, a Miele with a Parquet head will do a fine job (avoid the combination heads; they’re a poor compromise for most floors). But if you need a machine that can tackle bare floors as well as carpets, you’ll need at least a turbo head and potentially an electric brush head.
Today we’ll review an upgrade to the combination floor tool for carpet work, the Miele STB 205-3 Turbo Plus Power Nozzle Attachment (which is also sold as the Miele STB205-3 Turbo Comfort Turbo Brush). We’ll also compare it to the Miele SEB 228 Electro Plus Full-Size Electrobrush (which we reviewed earlier here) to help you figure out which is better for your needs. To summarize our thoughts in ten seconds, buy the SEB 228 to clean any bare or carpeted surface on the market as long as you have a canister that originally shipped with an electric brush head, and buy the STB 205-3 if you primarily have low pile carpets at home. Our full review is below, and you can buy the STB 205-3 here. If you’re in Canada, buy the STB 205-3 here.
Pros, cons, and key features of the Miele STB 205-3 Turbo Plus Power Nozzle Attachment
The STB 205-3 turbo brush is an air-powered brush head for Miele’s canister vacuum line. Made in Germany, it’s black, sparsely labeled, and is designed to clean bare floors and low- to medium-pile carpets. It features an internal air-driven rotating roller brush designed to clear dirt, dust, and other debris from flat and textured surfaces. Because the brushes are air driven and non-adjustable in height, it cannot be used with higher or denser carpet piles. The cleaning head is 11.8 inches wide and connects to a telescoping cleaning wand. The STB 205-3 is marketed as an upgrade from the entry-level rug and bare floor combination heads sold with cheaper Miele canisters.
How well does the STB 205-3 Turbo Comfort Turbo Brush clean bare floors and low-, medium-, and high-pile carpets compared to the SEB 228 Electro Plus Electrobrush?
While we like the affordability of the STB 205-3, the SEB 228 is by far the better cleaning head. The cleaning path is wider at 14 inches vs 12, meaning you cover more ground per minute spent vacuuming. The height range is adjustable in 5 steps, allowing you to clean bare floors, low-pile carpets, medium-pile carpets, high-pile carpets, and soft and plush carpets. The brushes are more powerful because they’re electrically driven, meaning you won’t get bogged down or stuck when cleaning higher or denser carpet piles. The STB 205-3, in contrast, is most comfortable with bare floors and low-pile carpets; you can use it with some medium-pile carpets, but it will struggle with others. It is helpless with high-pile and soft carpets.
Something important to note is that while you can use the STB 205-3 with any Miele canister, you can only use the SEB 228 with Miele canisters that originally shipped with electric brush heads (e.g., the SEB 217-3, the SEB 228, or the SEB 236), as it requires a telescoping wand with electrical connectors. Miele canisters that originally only shipped with air-powered heads won’t include the necessary electrical connectors to power the SEB 228.
Which current US and Canadian Miele canisters already include the STB 205-3 Turbo Brush or the SEB 228?
In the US and Canada, currently sold Miele canisters that naturally ship with the STB 205-3 include the Compact C1 Turbo, Classic C1 Olympus, Complete C2 Hard Floor, Compact C2 Onyx, and Complete C3 Calima. The SEB 228 is found on the Compact C2 Electro+, Classic C1 Cat & Dog, the Complete C3 Soft Carpet, the Complete C3 Kona, and the Complete C3 Cat & Dog.
Currently sold Miele canisters only available in Canada that include the STB 205-3 include the Compact C2 Total Care. The Blizzard Cx1 Total Care Cleaner includes the TurboTeQ brush, which is basically the STB 205-3 under another name with a more futuristic shape. Canada-exclusive canisters that include the SEB 228 include the Complete C3 Cat & Dog in Tayberry Red.
Why buy the STB 205-3?
We’d recommend buying the STB 205-3 if you own a Miele canister and want to be able to clean more than you’ll ever be able to with the stock combination rug and bare floor tool. However, if your Miele is already wired for an electric brush head, we’d strongly recommend skipping the STB 205-3 for the SEB 228 electrobrush. If you don’t yet have a Miele and are debating between a model with a non-powered brush head and a model with an electric brush head (e.g., the SEB 217-3, SEB 228, or SEB 236), we’d suggest choosing a model that can take electric heads, as they open up an entirely new world of cleaning potential.
You can buy the Miele STB 205-3 turbo nozzle here on Amazon or upgrade to the Miele SEB 228 electrobrush here. The cheapest Miele canisters that ship with the electrobrush are the Miele Compact C2 Electro+ and the Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog. The best all-around Miele is likely the Complete C3 Cat & Dog.
Canadians can buy the Miele STB 205-3 turbo nozzle here on Amazon, but we’d recommend buying the Miele SEB 228 electrobrush here instead. To buy it bundled with a canister, the cheapest Canadian option is the Miele Compact C2 Electro+ . For a high-end do-everything Miele, we’d recommend the Complete C3 Cat & Dog in Tayberry Red.
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