Is the DustBuster the best of the little portable, cordless, hand-held vacuums or is there something better?
I'm looking for light cleanup for spills and such around the house.
Thanks
-- Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com (11/09/04)
You'll be far ahead with a good natural bristle whisk broom, dustpan, and a roll of Bounty paper towels.
-> Is the DustBuster the best of the little portable, cordless, hand-held
-> vacuums or is there something better?
->
-> I'm looking for light cleanup for spills and such around the house.
I've never been happy with the DustBuster, in spite of having owned a couple of them. They both got weaker over time and became virtually useless. And I did change the little filter/bag several times, so that wasn't it.
I might try a small vac like that again, but I'd probably go for a better brand.
I do have a little dirt devil, but it has a cord. It is a very long cord, and that's a plus. I'm happy with its performance, especially since it has a rotating brush that's excellent for vacuuming couches and cat trees. It also has an attached hose with one of those long, thin attachements for vacuuming cracks and crevices. It will hold more dust and dirt than a DustBuster, too, but you have to buy little bags. I suppose you could reuse the bags if you wanted to.
The dustpan and wisk broom are also a good idea!
That's the problem exactly. After a couple of years, the battery just doesn't hold a charge very well. The batteries and NiCad on my model, but it doesn't look like they are meant to be replaced.
What is a better brand?
I'll check those out, too.
I have a dustpan. It's good for some things, but the cordless vacs have their place.
Thanks
-- Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com (11/09/04)
I like the Shark.
Worthless crap, in my opinion.
Hi TS
Every small cordless hand vac I have owned allowed dust to bypass the bag and blow out of the cracks around the housing!
I have had two corded hand vacs that were slightly better, but not by much.
My newest one (sorry can't remember the name) is Red in color with a large bag that a filter bag fits into. It has a rotating brush on the front and the hose can be disconnected from the brush section and used with the onboard mounted crevice tool. The power cord is very long! It does NOT have a blower feature on this model, so I rarely if ever use it. I'm guessing, but I think it's a Dirt Devil? I'm in my office and it's down at the house.
When we open our Christmas presents, there is a Roomba Deluxe under the tree, just waiting to be turned loose, hi hi.....
TTUL Gary
-> ->
-> >I might try a small vac like that again, but I'd probably
-> >go for a better brand.
->
-> What is a better brand?
Oreck?
-> When we open our Christmas presents, there is a Roomba Deluxe under
-> the tree, just waiting to be turned loose, hi hi.....
I'd love to have a Roomba, but with 5 dogs and 5 cats it would be going all the time!!! And it would have to have a much larger "bag" (or whatever holds the dirt).
I'm waiting for a Roomba-type vac that transports (like in Star Trek) the dirt to a landfill!!
Hi Sue
When I first saw them I didn't think much of them either, since they are just sweepers. My Aunt bought one and loved it so much she bought a second one for another part of the house. (They cannot cross threshholds!) She has two long haired pooches and it nabs their hair and the leaves they drag in.
The one I bought and wrapped for under the Christmas tree, while Debi was at work I charged it up so she could use it. I couldn't resist turning it loose in den to see how it did. We have 4 dogs, two went and hid, one chased it, the other just barked her fool head off at it. The one that chased it, when it turned around and came toward her, took to the couch and just sat up there watching it for awhile.
Needless to say, we don't move out the couch very often for cleaning. This little thing goes right under the couch and makes a path along the baseboards then turns and comes back until it hits a leg, goes around it and ends up covering every spot under the couch at least twice. It got full and ran back to it's charging stand to wait to be emptied. It got everything from a chewed up pencil to BBs a couple of marbles from a game, lots of dust bunnies and lots of dog hair.
Well, it charged back up and was neatly packed away, nicely gift wrapped and is just waiting to be turned loose again!
Based on only about 15 minutes of watching this little critter, I think it will be a welcome addition to our home.
The only thing I fear is WHAT IF, it finds a hidden gift from a pooch before we do, hi hi.....
TTUL Gary
-> Hi Sue
->
-> When I first saw them I didn't think much of them either, since they
-> are just sweepers.
-> My Aunt bought one and loved it so much she bought a second one for
-> another part of the house. (They cannot cross threshholds!) She has
-> two long haired pooches and it nabs their hair and the leaves they
-> drag in.
->
-> The one I bought and wrapped for under the Christmas tree, while Debi
-> was at work I charged it up so she could use it. I couldn't resist
-> turning it loose in den to see how it did. We have 4 dogs, two went
-> and hid, one chased it, the other just barked her fool head off at it.
-> The one that chased it, when it turned around and came toward her,
-> took to the couch and just sat up there watching it for awhile.
->
-> Needless to say, we don't move out the couch very often for cleaning.
-> This little thing goes right under the couch and makes a path along
-> the baseboards then turns and comes back until it hits a leg, goes
-> around it and ends up covering every spot under the couch at least
-> twice. It got full and ran back to it's charging stand to wait to be
-> emptied. It got everything from a chewed up pencil to BBs a couple of
-> marbles from a game, lots of dust bunnies and lots of dog hair.
->
-> Well, it charged back up and was neatly packed away, nicely gift
-> wrapped and is just waiting to be turned loose again!
->
-> Based on only about 15 minutes of watching this little critter, I
-> think it will be a welcome addition to our home.
->
-> The only thing I fear is WHAT IF, it finds a hidden gift from a pooch
-> before we do, hi hi.....
->
-> TTUL
-> Gary
Well, once I get a job, maybe I'll get one!
Please let me know what does happen when it finally finds that hidden gift!
"Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr." wrote
Thanks for the report, Gary. I've been considering one, too, but wondered how it would do w/ dog hair, and, how my dog would do with it.
Which model did you get? It fit under the sofa, eh? Hmmm. Nice! Would you mind posting an update in a month or so? I'd be interested in reading your second impression.
Many thanks, S
Hi S
I can give you a pretty good rundown on them already based on folks I know who already have them, that have dogs and dogs and birds. What they liked and didn't like about them.
The two my aunt owns are the 3100R (known also as the Pro Elite) and Discovery (not Discovery SE). She loves the older 3100R much better than the newer Discovery as for as how quickly it cleans a room. Both of these are the upper end priced Roomba's. The 3100R's dirt bin is small, the Discovery's is twice the size.
3100R The brushes need a screwdriver to remove. Discovery they pop out for easier cleaning. The reason she likes the 3100R better, despite it's more work for her, is that the Discovery model seems, as she put it, simple minded, compared to 3100R. It also gets lost and only finds its way back to the charging stand maybe every other time if she's lucky. The remote is basically to play with it like a toy. She only used the remote the first day and it has sat in a drawer ever since.She recommended to me that I should clean the bin after each use, clean the brushes (she uses a seam ripper to get the hair out) at least once every 5 uses or it gets too hard to clean the brushes after that.
Keep telephone and extension cords away from it, pick up shoes with shoelaces, etc.
The ones with buttons to select spot clean and max clean only cause it to stay in a tighter circle. Both just run in circles until they hit something, then they go off a few feet and start going in circles again. So it's best to keep them in one room at a time.
Here is list of the Roomba's made, can't gurantee this list is real accurate though.
Original Roomba (probably model 2001R) Silver - Loud when running, runs 1 Hr, cost $199.95. Roomba (model 3000R) Silver - Loud when running, runs 1-1/2 Hrs, cost $195.00. Roomba Pro (model unknown) Slate Blue, Loud when running, new feature 'spot cleaning mode', known defect 'problem with charger', runs 1-1/2 Hrs, cost $229.99. Roomba Pre Elite (model 3100R) Merlin Red (Maroon), Only 3/4 as Loud when running, new features 'Max cleaning mode', 'Remote control', runs
1-1/2 Hrs, known defect 'problem with charger', cost $249.99. Roomba Discovery (model unknown) Silver, 1/2 as Loud when running, new feature 'docking station', Twice as powerful as Original Roomba, Remote control, larger dust bin, runs 2 Hrs., known defect 'gets lost' and/or 'runs in circles', cost $249.95. Roomba Discovery SE, (model unkown) Black, all features of Discovery above, new feature upgraded CPU, $269.95. Roomba Red (model unknown) Red, all features of Discovery SE above EXCEPT Remote and Docking station, new features 'active dirt response system,' (automatic replaces Spot and Max buttons), larger dirt catcher, upgraded CPU, runs 2 HRS, cost only $149.95Note, both the Roomba Pro and Pro Elite have had major charging problems, the FIX for this problem did not work.
Although my original plan was to buy the Discovery SE model, their most expensive, after speaking with other owners of this and other models and finding out it's shortfalls I decided on the purchasing the newest edition, the Roomba Red for a hundred bucks less.
About the Roomba Red: Like all previous models, you place it at it's starting point, then return it to the charger when it's finished. You don't have to guess at room sizes or select Spot or Max modes. Why? Because it has a new sensor that senses extra dirt and/or areas of heavy debris and switches to Spot mode automatically, else it's always in Max clean mode. It has the new CPU and the larger dirt catcher. For all intensive purposes, it's the Descovery SE without a Remote Control that no one uses anyhow, nor a charging base it only finds every other try.
Problems with all Roomba's is the insides get coated with dust, which covers the optical sensors after awhile. Cleaning the inside is best done with a crevace tool on a regular vacuum. Although the Roomba handles pet hair with ease, some of this hair will wrap around the brush ends. My aunt says a seam ripper is the best thing to get it out before it becomes too much and you have to remove the brushes.
Someone asked about the height of the Roomba? The 3100R is about 2-1/2 inches, all the newer ones are only 2 inches. If there is a spot on that china hutch it can get under, it will find it. After cleaning underneath, if it cannot find it's way out right away, it will shut off the brushes to save energy and keep looking.
A new feature of the Roomba Red, that I don't know if it is in older models is that, if it does get stuck somewhere. Wheels turning, but the machine itself not moving, it will turn itself off. The early models would just sit there spinning it's wheels until the batteries went dead, often leaving a nice black spot from the tires on the floor or carpet.
Since Roomba Red is the newest and cheapest, but has all the new internal features of their highest price models, I went for it!
I only played with it for a few minutes after charging it up before wrapping it in gift wrap. I must say, I was quite impressed with all it did in the short time it was 'doing it's thing'! I didn't know about the problem with extension cords at the time, but it didn't get tangled in the two it had to deal with behind the couch.
I'll know more of personal experience after it runs around here a couple of weeks, hi hi.....
TTUL Gary
"Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr." wrote
Wow, that was quite a review - thanks! From what you've written, I agree, Red sounds like a better deal.
RE: cleaning the brushes, the tool they show on the website looks a lot like an inexpensive letter opener (sold at Staples, 2 in a pack for about a buck or given away at various events, etc.). It has a long point and a shielded blade - I'm sure it would work, too.
Thanks again, S
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