I Want to Suck!
by Kym on May 21, 2007
No, I’m not feeling crummy about myself again. No, I’m not going gothic on you. I’ve got a different sort of problem.
It manifests itself in weird choking type sounds, hairballs, and bits of debris everywhere.
No, it’s not a cat. But I may as well have a cat for how thoroughly gross my carpets are right now.
Yup. My vacuum cleaner is dying a slow, tortured death. We’ve tried to revive it with a new bag, even performed major surgery, but sometimes, it’s just someone’s time, you know?
I would pause now for a moment of respectful silence were it not for the fact that, I hated that vacuum. I am now trying to restrain myself from dancing around the house rejoicing. “Ding Dong, the Vacuum’s dead!”
I don’t want Neil to suspect sabotage, after all. I’ve been pleading for a new vacuum for years now, and he knows my deviousness. Oh yes, he knows it too well.
I may have hastened the vacuum’s demise a wee bit. I won’t go into gory details, but letting Emma roam the house with various snack foods did come into it.
So I need some advice, gals. It’s been six years since my last (actually first) new vacuum, and I’m out of the loop. I’m also feeling way too lazy to do the research myself.
Any advice? If not, please comment anyway so I can show Neil how many women are supporting my “Buy Kim a Spiffy New Vacuum” campaign.
32 comments
No advice here . . . because I’m in the same situation . . . without the deviousness that is Kim of course! ;) jk
by Kate on May 21, 2007 at 4:22 pm. #
We had an Oreck for years that we would hug and kiss and tuck in bed at night because how much we loved it. We now have a dorky cheap one.
by PJ on May 21, 2007 at 4:24 pm. #
My MIL bought me a Kenmore brand from Sears that has been running great for about 3 years… I hate spending money on things like vaccums!!
by Jenny on May 21, 2007 at 4:32 pm. #
The bagless vacuums are all the rage now. The most noted of this kind is the Dyson. We bought a new vac back in March (not a Dyson). As Dyson’s are suppose to be the bomb their prices are high. We bought our bagless vac at Costco for a reasonable price (less than $100). It’s a Eureka and for the most part I love it. I have to get used to adjusting the carpet setting as well as emptying the dirt container, filter and secondary filter thingy. It does have this nifty static wand duster thingy too. I haven’t used it but it seems cool. :) I wish you all the best if securing a new one for yourself!
by Deanne on May 21, 2007 at 4:38 pm. #
I need a new vacuum too. Mine sucks or doesn’t really suck, which is what you want for your vacuum, for it to suck really:(
I want a Dyson. My sil has one and it’s not bad. It’s not perfect cuz I still need to push it around but not bad really.
by shay on May 21, 2007 at 5:51 pm. #
I, apparently, have the same bagless eureka as Deanne does. It ran about $130 at Costco here in Grande Prairie, adn we love it. Our only complaint is that you have to empty the canister after every room, and clean the filters regularly, but honestly, that’s not really a hardship considering how amazing the vacuum.
Because we live in a new neighbourhood that is very dusty, our vacuum has certainly earned the praise we heap upon it. The top soil here is this soft, fine silt that gets onto everything (If I were so inclined I could dust and get results every single day), and the Eureka we have just sucks that gunk up without complaints. It also works really well on linoleum, which is something I’d never done before.
It’s basically this model (only ours is yellow)
http://www.eureka.com/products/upright/2996avz/2996avz.jsp
by Nurse Pickles on May 21, 2007 at 6:39 pm. #
Personally, this is one of those situations where I would spend a little extra money for the vacuum that you know would survive toddlers in the house. I can’t wait to get a Dyson or a Miele. Everyone I know who has these, LOVES them!
by An Ordinary Mom on May 21, 2007 at 6:40 pm. #
Can’t help you much. I’m using my hubby’s cheap work vac and it stinks. It’s bagless but it doesn’t adjust to the carpet height at all. I’m going big when I finally get a new one.
(Someday in a hazily distant future!)
by Dedee on May 21, 2007 at 8:19 pm. #
May I suggest a Dyson? Ahem.–>
by Annie on May 21, 2007 at 8:28 pm. #
When you own a Dyson, you don’t call it “the vacuum”, you call it “the Dyson”. Just like if you owned a Porsche, you wouldn’t call it “the car”, you call it “the Porsche”. You Dyson owners know what I am talking about.
by Annie on May 21, 2007 at 8:31 pm. #
Dang it! Payney got here before I did. I wanted to use her line about buying the Porsche of vacuums! I think you get what you spend in the vacuum dept.
by Elizabeth-W on May 21, 2007 at 9:22 pm. #
Mine is a central air vac.
I have heard the Eureka bagless one is pretty good. And of course, the Dyson.
What does Kim want??
-A vacuum!
When does she want it?
-Now!
I hate that cheer :P
by No Cool Story on May 21, 2007 at 9:46 pm. #
We just could’t spring for the $$ required for a Dyson and bought a Eureka The Boss vacuum after our Oreck XL VERY basic with no attachments bit the dust. (It got a crack in the tube that carries the dust to the bag… so it didn’t suck anymore.)
We have been pleased, but I am having a hard time finding the replacement bags. It’s not quite full, and I haven’t tried that hard yet, but just having to find bags is a little bit of a nuisance…
Would I still spend less for the hassle? You bet… No $500 vacuum in my budget right now.
by Lauren on May 21, 2007 at 10:19 pm. #
We have a Sanatiare that my husband bought at a custodial supply shop. All the parts are replaceable and it is not bagless, but it has great suction!
by Jennifer B. on May 21, 2007 at 10:48 pm. #
I have an Oreck. I have six kids that break stuff. Oreck comes with a lifetime warranty. This is a good thing.
Wanna know the best part? My child slave labor team runs the vacuum while I sit and blog at my leisure. Buy something lightweight enough for Emma to take over vacuuming duties!
By the way, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Good Mail. I love the element of anticipatory surprise that only a package with a content declaration sticker can bring. It said 4 Chocolate Bars. And you didn’t lie, kimberly! I’m juggling a million thing at the moment but rest assured your Good Mail is top priority.
by elasticwaistbandlady on May 21, 2007 at 11:00 pm. #
i have no carpet, so i have no vacuum. but i will support your vacuum plea to neil. good luck! i hope you get a good one.
by aubrey on May 21, 2007 at 11:30 pm. #
hi kim: your post made me giggle when you said ding dong the ….
thanks for the smile and the emails today while i was at work. i love hearing from ya everytime.
~chow baby, kathleen :)
by so grateful to be Mormon! on May 22, 2007 at 2:00 am. #
I’ve been doing the same research, and it sounds like my vacuum died the same kind of death. I’ve got a lot of non-carpeted flooring, and am thinking of going with a canister vacuum that has all sorts of nifty attachments. It will come with a suction only thing for the tile flooring, and a mechanical brush thing for our two carpeted areas.
BUT….if I had the money, or if someone had given me what I registered for last year for our wedding, I’d be wielding a Dyson. My parents love theirs. The only downfall of it is that it’s kind of heavy. But it does an incredible job, and you don’t have to empty the see-through container thingy too often.
Look for a HEPA filter that will help keep the dust from going back into the air while you vacuum.
Tell Neil that I think he should swing for the Porsche. =)
by Inkling on May 22, 2007 at 4:51 am. #
I defintely like the bagless vacuums. Someday I would like a Dyson. I’ve hinted to my hubby that our next vacuum should be a Dyson. Most definitely pink of course!
by Amanda on May 22, 2007 at 5:17 am. #
I got a Dyson for Christmas and I LOVE IT!!!!!!! That’s my vote.
by Laine on May 22, 2007 at 1:46 pm. #
We got a Eureka Altima recently. It cost around $90 and works really well. It is a bagless, which is nice and really gross. It really makes me want to vacuum more often. You can see everything it picks up. It does really well on the normal dirt and random food, but it also does great on dog hair as well. It has a duster in it as well as an attachment for the stairs. I really like it!
by Tirzah on May 22, 2007 at 1:51 pm. #
I do have to add that my Eureka Boss works great and has a HEPA filter. Our house smells cleaner after we vacuum. And I figured out the letter code for the bag, so hopefully it will easier to figure out which replacements I need to purchase. Only drawback- it’s heavy and hubby totes it p the stairs for me. I could, but not with Bear around. Both of us would get crushed.
Tech Mom found a Hoover Z thing for $99 on clearance at their hoover store. It is their answer to the dyson. The original model is a little awkward, so they were selling them for $99 instead of $499. My complainte about it- it’s awkward. The dust catcher fills up really quickly if you have pets. I hate the “poof” that bagless vacuums send up when you empty their canisters, for some reason I feel like the bags filter better. Weird, I know.
Your tackle it Tuesday project: find Kim a new vacuum & buy one!
by Lauren on May 22, 2007 at 3:29 pm. #
I hate when my vacuum isn’t working.
BUY KIM A NEW AWESEOM VACUUM!
by Brown Eyed Girl on May 22, 2007 at 3:41 pm. #
My vacuum is a butthole.
Which means I have no advice.
by That Chick Over There on May 22, 2007 at 3:44 pm. #
Neil is insisting that the old one can be fixed. Help. Me.
by Kimberly on May 22, 2007 at 6:34 pm. #
Can be fixed… perhaps. But here are the things I had to consider regarding my old Oreck.
1) How much did we pay for it. We got a good deal, paid $150, and it lasted 6 1/2 years. Maybe 7. To fix it would cost $30 service fee plus actual repairs, minimum 1/3 what we paid for it. We tried salvaging it with electrical tape and duct tape, to no avail.
2) Was it meeting my needs well before it broke? In my case, no. It was a basic model with no attachments. That meant crud got stuck by the baseboards and I couldn’t vacuum out firniture REALLY well. Or cobwebs. Or blinds.
3)How long would said “repairs” last, how much will they cost, will they be worth the effort for a temorary patch (will the vacuum suck well enough to truly do its job after it has been repaired)?
I might still have my oreck repaired so we don’t have to lug the heavy one upstairs so often. But it lacked several features I needed to clean more thoroughly.
don’t know if that helps you any, but that’s what I had to consider. Hubby wanted to just fix mine his way. He’s just not all that mechanical and since it required more than dict tape, I got my new vacuum. You can see how it works on my carpet on today’s post. (Note, it did not suck up the blocks.)
by Lauren on May 22, 2007 at 7:48 pm. #
Wanta bust on the Dyson bandwagon….it ranks high on consumer reports….but not the highest! The one that outcleans the Dyson by 60%, yes that is right ladies…we bought the consumer reports best all around vacuum….and I heart it! Plus I heart that it was less than half the price of the Dyson….which I really wanted…until I logged into consumer Reports…..
drum roll please…I chose the
Eureka “the boss 4870″ for $150…can be purchased at Walmart, or Sears. Good luck.
by SoDak Angel on May 22, 2007 at 8:41 pm. #
re: repairs
My rule has always been repair it twice and then replace it. This is for a couple of reasons.
1 – I am lazy. If I have to lug something back and forth to the repair place, I’m gonna get mad.
2 – replacement parts are, for some bizarre reason, not as good as the original parts, and so the item winds up breaking again way faster, setting up a vicious circle of repairs that eventually cost a fortune.
(this doesn’t count with cars. I will repair a car until it is held together by rust and twist-ties.)
by Nurse Pickles on May 22, 2007 at 8:56 pm. #
Awesome advice everyone! I found a good value vacuum that has a five star rating on Amazon.com despite 53 people having reviewed it (all who heart it to pieces). It’s available through Sears, our only option for getting it semi-locally, and I THINK Neil is considering it.
Fingers majorly crossed here! He heard my case, and then went completely quiet. This is a good sign. It means he’s mulling it over, and in a few hours will share his opinion. Agh! I swear, I’ve got butterflies!
by Kimberly on May 23, 2007 at 2:47 am. #
sodak angel and i have the same vacuum. :-)
i can hardly stand the suspense!
by Lauren on May 23, 2007 at 4:30 am. #
crossing my fingers with ya kimmy girl :) kathleen
drum roll please ….
by so grateful to be Mormon! on May 23, 2007 at 12:50 pm. #
I agree with all the Dyson lovers. And Annie is right. You will totally refer to it as ‘the Dyson’.
I’ll share my Dyson story, now: Our old vaccuum was crap. And I wanted to get rent a Rug Doctor to steam clean the carpets, but first you have to vaccuum. I asked to borrow my mom’s Dyson, and when I used it, it was so magnificent, it is really beyond words.
After three trips through the living room, dining room, and hallway, I realized that we didn’t need to steam clean after all. Our worthless ass old vaccuum didn’t pick up ANYTHING for MONTHS, apparently, and all the discoloration was animal hair and dirt. Charming, no? Ordered a Dyson the next day. The End.
by HeatherAnn Fragglehead on May 23, 2007 at 9:23 pm. #