If you’re going to spend $800 on a vacuum, the Miele Complete C3 Kona is one of the best on the market. It’s not as fancy as the Brilliant or Marin, and it isn’t designed to help you manage a small zoo like the Cat & Dog, but if you’re looking for a quiet, powerful, and reliable vacuum to use for the next 10-20 years, you’ll have to search hard to find one much better than the Kona. Let’s look at some of the most frequently asked questions regarding its upkeep, including which filters and bags to use and when to change them, what warranty coverage looks like, and how it compares to some of its fellow C3 canisters. Our Brilliant FAQ is here, the Marin FAQ is here, and the Cat & Dog FAQ is here.

Which dust bags, motor filters, and HEPA filters fit the Kona, where can you buy them, and how often do you change them?

Once you’ve bought a Kona, you’re going to want to know how to keep it going. The Miele manual is rather light on specifics, but one of the important things you’ll need to do is change the filters and bags periodically. The dust bags and motor filters are contained in the Miele GN Airclean 3D Efficiency Dust Bag. When you buy a box, you’ll get four bags and two filters (one for the motor, one for air); we suggest buying several boxes at a time so you aren’t short when you need one. You change the dust bags whenever they’re full and the motor filter every fourth bag change. The recommended HEPA filter is the Miele HEPA AirClean SF-HA 50. You won’t need to change it as often as you will with the bags; it will last for about 50 hours of vacuuming or 12 months of use in a home environment. All of the bags and filters can be bought through the links above.

Do you get a starter bag and filter when you buy the Kona, or do you need to buy them from the start?

Although we recommend buying additional bags and filters when you buy your Kona, the truth is that you don’t have to, and you can wait a bit until you figure out how often you run through them. The Kona will arrive packaged with a bag and both filters already installed and ready to go. Considering it costs more than $800, we’re happy to see Miele didn’t penny pinch here the way a number of other manufacturers would (we’re looking at you, Whirlpool).

How long is the warranty on the Kona, and what does it cover? Also, is it valid when buying from Amazon?

The Kona warranty offers 7 years of protection on the motor and its casing (i.e., the canister) in addition to a full year warranty on the entire system. The complete or full warranty refers to parts and labor. And there’s no need to worry about warranty coverage when buying the Kona from Amazon; just make sure you’re buying it new from an authorized seller. If you see lots of offers for $900 from sellers with lots of good reviews and then see someone selling it for hundreds less with few or no reviews, stay away from that seller.

How does the Kona compare to the Soft Carpet? What are the differences, and which is better?

First of all, it’s important to note that both are excellent vacuum cleaners; most people who own either are perfectly satisfied and many who don’t would gladly own either if given the chance. That said, there are some slight differences between both. The Kona is tuned as an all-around, jack-of-all trades vacuum while the Soft Carpet is tuned for carpeting and rugs. We’ve noted in its review that the Soft Carpet is frequently the best choice for “soft” area rugs and handmade, oriental, or antique carpeting. The Kona comes with greater suction that can make it more difficult to safely vacuum more delicate carpeting. The Soft Carpet, in contrast, includes a setting to reduce suction that’s specifically matched to certain carpet manufacturers’ guides for suction limits (e.g., Mohawk). Besides this difference, the vacuums are nearly identical; they include exactly the same packaging and are built to the same buy-it-for-life standards.

How does the Kona compare to the Marin? Are the differences worth it?

As with the Soft Carpet comparison, the contrast with the Marin will ultimately come down to your preferences. Besides slight cosmetic differences, the main and most significant difference is that the Marin includes an automatic speed setting system that allows the vacuum to change from higher to lower levels of suction without any manual intervention. This comes into play when moving, say, from a hard wood floor to a carpeted surface or from low-pile to medium-pile to high-pile carpeting. It also includes manual controls, but if you enjoy the convenience of having the vacuum make the power and suction decisions on your behalf, you’ll want to look into the Marin. If this difference doesn’t make a difference to you, then save some money and stick with the Kona.

What are the differences between the Kona and the Cat & Dog?

You’ll want to review our comparison of the two for full details, but we’ll give you the short version here: the Cat & Dog has a few extras that make it a particularly strong vacuum for homes with pets and the messes they create. The Kona, on the other hand, is more tuned for general home cleaning of carpeted and uncarpeted surfaces. Both are top of the line; it ultimately comes down to whether you have pets or not. The Cat & Dog will work perfectly well in pet-free homes and the Kona will still do a great job of keeping up with your golden retrievers, labradors, and all kinds of cats–even Maine Coons that shed like it’s going out of style.

You can buy the Miele Complete C3 Kona here on Amazon. You can buy the Brilliant here, you can buy the Marin here, and you can buy the Cat & Dog here. The Soft Carpet is available here. At the end of the day, they’re all good vacuum cleaners; it’s really about choosing which matches your tastes and budget.

Canadians can buy the Cat & Dog here, the Kona here, the Brilliant here, the Marin here, or the Soft Carpet 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.