As the “woman of the house” I SHOULD be up on the latest in cleaning technology. Fortunately, Sandy doesn’t really care whether I’ve got a Robot or a Ultra-Fast, Self-propelled, uber cleaning Mega-Monster. She comes with her own “equipment” which includes a good old fashioned sponge, mop, vacuum and some Fabuloso (so I’ll know by the smell that the mansion is clean).
Sandy is NOT LIVE IN HELP. She arrives in the morning and leaves when she’s finished. So, what happens after she leaves if Mr. S leaves crumbs on the counter or knocks over a box of cereal if he wants a midnight snack? Unfortunately, the burden falls on me. WHY? Because Mr. S is EVEN WORSE than I am at cleaning, cooking, etc. The ONE item that I find that I need the MOST when it’s just the two of us is one of those small hand-held vacuums.
I’ve been using the same one for years with no thought about if I could be doing or using something better. So, when Dirt Devil offered to send me the NEWEST hand vac to review – I thought – OK, I’ll review it….BUT….a vacuum’s a vacuum. There’s really no difference.
My first impression of the Dirt Devil BD10165 Gator Energy-Star 15.6-Volt Cordless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner with Detachable Brushroll
Dinnertime meant that there was kibble surrounding Clem’s “dining” area. So, out came the Dirt Devil. Right from the first push of the “on” button, I could hear the power behind my newest cleaning apparatus. It sucked up that kibble like there was no tomorrow. I immediately walked over the the trash, lifted the lid and pressed the “empty” button. Most of the junk that the Dirt Devil had collected just slid in to the trash, with little effort on my part (I did find that I had to “help” some of the dust that had collected towards the bag along into the garbage.
Armed wit
h my trendy new cleaning machine, I set out to find other things around the mansion that I could test it on. Mr. S was sitting in front of the television enjoying a light snack. No plate under the muffin in his hand, crumbs flying everywhere……this was going to be a test for the brushroll (oh – did I mention that this little vacuum actually came with a BEATER BRUSH???). An easy fit, the brush started rotating around quickly, just like the one on my BIG vacuum. Since some of the crumbs had hit the scatter rug (I wonder if THAT’S why they call it a scatter run – the crumbs SCATTER) this feature meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about the crumbs getting ground in. My FORMER hand-held vac wouldn’t pick up from carpet or rugs and I’d either have to wait for Sandy to return the following day, or drag out the BIG vacuum on my own. Now WHAT’S the point of having a small hand held unit, if I STILL have to schlepp the big vac to actually clean.
The Good: As I stated above, I no longer have to drag out a full sized vacuum in order to do a small pick up of dirt on carpets. The beater brush works almost out-performs my old vacuum on this task. The one touch empty is a nice feature (as there’s nothing worse than fighting with the dirt cup and having to re-clean everything because you’ve made a MESS. It also has a BUILT-IN crevice tool, so all you have to do is slide it out. I liked that as I’ve been known to LOSE tools that go with some of my small appliances.
The Bad: Unfortunately, because of all of these special features this little vac is a bit heavy. It’s just not as easy to pick up and go as other hand-held vacuums. Also, the dirt cup doesn’t hold as much as a traditional hand held vacuum, so if Mr. S makes a bigger mess, I’d either have to use this vac in stages or still pull out the full sized one.
Overall: For convenience, the features on this model are certainly handy to have. The price point is fair and I think that having a beater brush on a smaller hand-held makes this small vacuum indispensable for picking up dirt left on carpets and rugs.
Thank you for Dirt Devil Vacuum’s for providing us with a free vacuum for this review.
Review by Broad “Z:- Zippy
Specs
ENERGY STAR approval rating
· Motorized brushroll for cleaning stairs, cars, and especially pet hair
· Gator SeriesTM Dirt Cup for easy emptying
· Reusable filter – simply rinse to clean
· Powerful suction for quick clean ups
· Built-in crevice tool for cleaning tight spaces
The new Dirt Devil Handheld Vacuum Cleaner with Detachable Brushroll
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