I am so irritated! A few weeks ago I bought a new vacuum cleaner. It’s a Dirt Devil and I can’t really tell if it has an actual model number or name, but it says “D2″ and “Reaction Fresh” on it. I resisted getting the super-fancy super-expensive Dyson because I thought it was silly to spend that much money on a vacuum cleaner. Maybe if I just had tons of money burning a hole in my pocket, but as a normal person, no. So I bought the “mid-range,” I guess… I don’t remember exactly how much it cost but probably like $130-$150?
I used to have a great vacuum cleaner that I got as a wedding present in 2000 and then I got rid of it in 2006 when I moved… I don’t remember why now. I think maybe it died… it must have, I wouldn’t have just thrown it away for no good reason. Anyway after that I had a crappy little thing that I bought for like $30 because I didn’t have much money to spare. Finally I got sick of it and even though I hate spending money I decided to buy a better one. But maybe this wasn’t a better one after all! You know what it does? It shoots a bunch of stuff out the back! I was trying to figure out how that even could happen, and I can’t see anyway. So I don’t understand. I haven’t taken it apart or anything yet, because first I want to talk to the manufacturer (I already tried calling but they’re closed on Sundays; I’ll try back tomorrow even though they’ll probably be out for the holiday, so it’ll probably be Tuesday before I talk to them).
Can anyone recommend a good vacuum cleaner that actually works? I don’t want to keep throwing money away (and really I think I should get my money back, or a replacement that works, for this one). Having a clean home is very important to my mental health. I cannot function well in a space that is not clean. And that brings me to another rant… my ex used to make fun of me about that. Never again!! It is not okay to mock something that’s important to me, especially when it’s, oh, not being a slob like your nasty ass. Anyway. That’s another rant for another time. Right now I just want to get to the bottom of this vacuum cleaner issue!
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16 Responses to "Annoyed!!"
We have been very happy Roomba customers for three years. And about once a week we get use a cheap stick vacuum to get the corners that the Roomba can’t get to.
But I also have a friend that swears by his Dyson.
Our Dyson is so awesome on the carpet and so worth it. If you can afford it, get it. (Not so impressive on smooth surfaces.)
OMG, a Roomba. That’s what I need!!
Re: the Dyson not being great on smooth surfaces, we have concrete floors (with a few area rugs). When we move we’ll likely have hardwoods. So thanks for letting me know it might not be worth the investment.
But the Roomba… yes. Plus, it’s cute!
Any reviews on the Roomba for wood/concrete floors?
I had a Dirt Devil and was okay with it. I really think the new Dyson, the little one, is really cute. And it looks like it might be better with floors instead of carpet.
Of course, with floors, I prefer a Swiffer.
Well damn! Now I want a Roomba! I need a vacuum anyway since my roommate took his when he moved out. Are the lower-end ones any good? As a student, the cheaper, the better.
Yep, you can’t go wrong w. a Swiffer.
Oh, huh. I wasn’t aware Swiffer came in vacuum form. The more you know…
I just went out today to get a new vacuum. It’s a Eureka. I’ll let you know how well it does. It was in the $140 price range.
I have a Roomba, and a Miele canister vac. Neither are cheap, both are useful. The Miele cost a small fortune (300-400, if I remember right. It was years ago). but its a great vacuum. Best I’ve ever owned.
Roomba’s are interesting… I’ve owned 3. Before this latest model, their reliability sucked. The latest model supposedly fixed that. They work great on hardwood, tile, concrete, etc. Flat out suck - in a bad way, for a vacuum, on carpet. You have to clean the roomba periodically.
Pets are baffled by it. My dogs want to kill it. My parrots are all convinced it primarily lives on parrot flesh. Still, the roomba does a good job. I can put it in what I swear is a clean room, and its compartment gets noticable amounts of pet hair, and parrot dander.
P.S - You seem to like birds. If you are a neat freak, never own any! I adore birds, but they are the messiest animals you’ll ever own.
Whoops - forgot to mention on the Roomba - the latest ones have a programmable interface. (They are robots, after all). So you can have some fun with that. They aren’t perfect though - on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate them about a 7. But I’m a slob. The roomba doesn’t have an easy life, here.
Richard, funny, Amber has kept birds almost her whole life :) But zebra finches aren’t nearly as messy as the larger birds like parrots.
Then rewrite my comment to say “Never own Parrots!” Unless you have a powerful tolerance for noise, mess, and demanding little suckers. Though finches are messier than most folks realize. Still, kudos to Amber then, for being a neat freak and still finding finches worth keeping. That speaks of a true love of birds. (Anyone who loves birds isn’t all bad.)
I have a Bissell Momentum Cyclonic, which was about $100 on amazon. I didn’t want anything too expensive, so I combed the Amazon.com reviews to see what I could get. This seemed like the best bagless, and it definitely picks everything up.
Also, the reason your Dirt Devil is shooting stuff out the back is that the rotating brush is meant to be used on carpet. On a wood floor, instead of combing things out from the fibers of the rug, it’s zooming faster without ruggy resistance and pushing stuff too quickly past the suction. Thus, it shoots out the back.
Now, I have carpets so I haven’t been doing too much blank-floor vacuuming. It might be best to look for a vacuum that’s meant for wood floors, like the Roomba. I know they make some smaller upright ones with a little less power that are specifically for floors because you don’t need as much suction if there are no rug fibers to pull stuff out of. Good luck!
Alyssa, I never knew you were such a fount of knowledge about vacuum cleaners! :D
[...] I’m the type of person who meticulously researches anything new (aside from a few unfortunate exceptions) and tries to be as educated as possible before making important decisions, I’ve basically [...]
I have a Dirt Devil Vibe, which I like a lot for the price. It has impressive suction and is light and easy to maneuver. Also, it works pretty well on my hardwood floors, which I can’t say of vacs in general.
I also had a Roomba…suction not so good, but its erratic cleaning pattern leaves portion of the floor that I wouldn’t even think of clean. Yippee.
And I have a Floormate, which is finicky but works o.k.
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