In a world of disposable vacuums, machines that last a good 20 years or more are increasingly hard to find. We’ve long said that if you want a buy-it-for-life vacuum, you’re going to want a Miele. Their made-in-Germany canisters are consistently some of the best vacuums we’ve come across. But as good as they are, not everyone wants to deal with dust bags that need periodic replacement, whether due to reasons related to finances, time management, on the environment.

If you’d like the advantages of Miele construction and reliability paired with bag-free convenience, you’ll want to check out their Blizzard Cx1 line. Currently there are only three models: the low-end Blizzard Cx1 Hard Floor, the mid-range Blizzard Cx1 Total Care, and the high-end model we’ll review today: the Miele 41KCE037CDN Blizzard Cx1 Cat and Dog Cleaner in Autumn Red. We’ll also compare all three models as well as the Compact C2 and Complete C3 versions of the Cat & Dog to see where they stand on the price-to-value continuum. To summarize our thoughts, you’ll want the Complete C3 Cat & Dog for the best value and greatest cleaning power, followed by the Compact C2. The Cx1 Cat & Dog is the best of the Cx1 models. Our full review is below, and you can buy the Cx1 Cat & Dog here.

Pros, cons, and key features of the Miele Blizzard Cx1 Cat and Dog Cleaner

The Cx1 Cat & Dog Cleaner is the highest tier model in Miele’s bagless canister lineup. The Blizzard Cx1 bagless line has been available in Europe for years but was only brought to the Canadian market in 2017; it’s still unavailable in the United States. The other two members of the Cx1 club available in Canada are the mid-range Total Care Cleaner and the low-end Hard Floor Cleaner. Additional Miele canisters you can only buy in Canada include the Compact C1 Celebration and the Classic C1 Cat & Dog at the C1 level, the Compact C2 Cat and Dog, Total Care, and Hard Floor, and the Complete C3 HomeCare, Total Care, Power Plus, and Limited Edition. To help you tell them apart, read our reviews of all Miele canisters here.

Key features in the Blizzard Cx1 Cat & Dog include its bagless design; it doesn’t use the standard Miele GN or FJM bags but a high-density plastic reusable dust bin to collect and empty dirt. The Cat & Dog is powered by a 1,200 watt motor and includes a lifetime-rated HEPA exhaust filter to make the air in your home cleaner after vacuuming than it was before. You have 33 feet (10 m) of operating radius that comes from 21 feet (6.5 m) of power cord and 12 feet of crush-proof hosing and electro-telescopic tubing. The cord rewinds at the touch of a button and the tube has electrical connectors that allow it to power both motor-driven and air-driven floor heads. The canister weighs 19 pounds (8.6 kg) assembled.

Instead of the six power settings available in standard Miele bagged canisters, you only get four in the Cx1 line. While the overall power range is the same, we feel suction isn’t quite as strong on the upper end with the same head matched to a bagged canister (e.g., the Compact C2 Cat & Dog). We also noticed the absence of Miele’s famed silent mode; you can still vacuum around sleeping babies, but you’ll have to tread more carefully with the Cx1 than you would with a Miele that featured the dedicated silent mode.

A textured rotatory power knob allows you to move from one power level to the next with a satisfying click. You also get to enjoy a park and stand mode normally only present on Complete C3-level Mieles; it lets you pause the vacuum and stand the cleaning head by it while you walk away to deal with whatever interruptions life has thrown at you. The canister includes a fine dust filter in to keep dust in the bin and out of the air when you empty it. The bad news is that it needs cleaning from time to time; the good news is that the vacuum senses those times and cleans it automatically.

Which accessories and cleaning heads are included with the Cx1 Cat & Dog?

The Cx1 Cat & Dog includes three accessories: a crevice nozzle and compact upholstery nozzle, both of which can be stored behind the canister for easy retrieval, and an integrated dusting brush that’s connected to the vacuum’s handle. It’s a convenient way to clean upholstery, countertops, shelves, and computer keyboards. The telescoping wand slides into the handle and the brush surrounds it neatly.

Miele ranks the Cx1 models the way they do with the C1, C2, and C3 lines: by the effectiveness of their cleaning heads. As the Cx1 Cat & Dog is the high-end model, it includes the most equipment, making it capable of cleaning bare floors and low- to medium-pile carpets and area rugs with the default cleaning heads.  The Parquet brush SBB 300-3 Twister efficiently deals with hardwood, engineered wood, vinyl, laminate, ceramic tiles, marble, bamboo, concrete, brick, and similar surfaces while the SEB 217-3 electrobrush will handle low-to medium-pile Saxonies, berbers,and  cut and loop carpets and area rugs.

However, to deal with high-pile carpets, friezes, or soft carpets, you’ll want to upgrade it to the SEB 228 electrobrush or buy a vacuum that already includes it like the Compact C2 Electro+ or Tayberry Red Complete C3 Cat & Dog. You also get an STB 101 mini turbobrush to clean stairs and upholstery; it has a wider coverage than the integrated dusting brush and a cleaning head that makes it more efficient when removing pet hair and other fibers.

What’s the difference between the Miele Blizzard Cx1 Cat and Dog, Cx1 Total Care, Cx1 Hard Floor, Compact C2 Cat & Dog, and Complete C3 Cat & Dog?

Between the Cx1 models, the main differences aside from color and price involve cleaning heads. The Hard Floor comes solely with a combination floor head that’s really only good for bare floors. The Total Care adds a Parquet head that does a better job on bare floors and a TurboBrush that can tackle low-pile carpets and some medium-pile carpets. The Cat & Dog keeps the Parquet head, swaps the TurboBrush for the SEB 217-3 electric brush, which is more powerful and does a better job on medium-pile carpets, and adds a mini turbo brush. All three are bagless designs, and the Cx1 Cat & Dog is the best of the bunch.

The Compact C2 Cat & Dog and Complete C3 Cat & Dog are both bagged traditional Miele canisters. The C3 has a larger cleaning radius at 36 feet than the C2 and Cx1, which are both capped at 31 feet. The C3 and C2 are lighter (11.9 and 10.6 pounds respectively) than the Cx1 at 19 pounds, and both the C3 and C2 come with six power settings (including a silent mode) compared to four (without a silent mode) in the Cx1. All three can accept electric power heads and all three ship with a Parquet head; however, the C2 and Cx1 include the SEB 217-3 electrobrush while the C3 uses the more powerful and more adjustable SEB 228 head, giving it the power to clean high pile and soft carpets as well as any other floor on the market. The Cx1 does include a mini turbobrush not found on either of the bagged Miele canisters. The C3 also includes foot-switches to change power levels instead of a rotary dial as on the C2 and Cx1.

Why buy the Blizzard Cx1 Cat & Dog?

We’d recommend buying the Cx1 Cat & Dog if your heart is set on a bagless Miele canister, as it’s the best on the market right now. It’ll allow you to clean everything from bare floors to medium-pile carpets while giving you the ability to upgrade to the SEB 228 electrobrush in the future should you desire. However, if you want the same power (or rather, a little more) in a much lighter canister while spending less money and are willing to use bags, we’d suggest getting the Compact C2 Cat & Dog instead. And if you want to be able to clean any floor in existence out of the box while still saving weight, we’d get the Complete C3 Cat & Dog instead. It doesn’t cost any more than the Cx1 but is a much more powerful machine.

Canadians can buy the Miele Blizzard Cx1 Cat and Dog here or save a bit of money with the Blizzard Cx1 Total Care here. However, we’d recommend an upgrade to the Complete C3 Cat & Dog in Tayberry Red if a much stronger cleaning head,  greater range, and lower weight, and  electric powerhead upgradability are priorities. Alternatively, you can save money while still obtaining more power and less weight with the Compact C2 Cat & Dog here.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home cleaning tools by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.