I love my handheld vacuum cleaner. My regular vacuum cleaner is almost completely unemployed, while my handheld vac is called into service half a dozen times a day. The regular vacuum has to be hauled out, plugged in, set up; the handheld just has to be grabbed out of its perch. The regular vacuum has choked on a coin, a piece of dental floss, a small flat metal star; the handheld can eat all those things AND an entire crayon and not even flinch.
I have the Black & Decker 15.6V Dust Buster. (Me to my mother, when a sale on the 15.6V brought it to almost the same price as the 14.4V: “What’s the difference?” My mother to me: “Larger number = noisier”) I like it a lot; it’s been a great vacuum. But we broke the piece that keeps stuff from falling back out of the hole it gets sucked into, and so I’m in the market for a new one and looking for input.
For example, there’s this little number to consider: the Black and Decker 18V (2.4 more units of noise!) with a pivoting nose. Awwwwww, yeah. I don’t know what I’d use a pivoting nose for, but it sounds like a plus.
Or this odd cone-shaped one, which comes in lots of different colors. Hello there, Beautiful, what’s YOUR name? (Check out the amusing Product Description on this one. Evidently the Dirt Devil Kone allows us to “reclaim our dignity.” Also, it can be “proudly displayed in any room.” Centerpiece for your next party? CHECK!)
Anything by Dyson is automatically tempting, and this Dyson handheld looks like it would also drill holes, brew coffee, and shoot intruders.
If you own a good handheld vac, I’d love to hear about it. I can definitely justify the purchase.
ha! i think if i bought that dyson one my hubby would be so excited he might actualy USE it. cuz you know, it looks so ‘manly’! hmm i would also love to hear feedback. sorry i am not more useful. but i do have a beige living room rug and a shedding black lab. (bad combo, very very bad)
Kate | June 17th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I have a Shark one, which is okay and was on the cheaper side, but it still has to be plugged in, and it’s not as cool as the ones you talked about….
Kathi | June 17th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I like the way the Kone looks. My husband AND my mom each just bought me a Swivel Sweeper. (We passed one along to my sister.) Not handheld, but it’s easy and the kids like using it. Bonus.
Nowheymama | June 17th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I don’t own a handheld myself - but I have heard mostly negative reviews about the Kone. I’ve heard complaints that it blows dust/dirt around while you’re trying to vacuum it up, that the charge doesn’t hold for more than a couple minutes, etc. Just thought I’d throw that out there!
Christina | June 17th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I have a Dirt Devil Kurv (similar to the Kone) that I like. It works and it’s pretty. Not sure, but I think it might be a little more powerful than the Kone.
Brenna | June 18th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I own the Dyson Root you mention above, and let me tell you: it’s AWESOME. It won’t brew coffee or drill holes, but it will suck up almost anything, I swear. The only downside is that each battery charge gives a total of six minutes of suckage, and it’s WAY tempting to want to use it to vacuum your whole house: that’s how effective it is. Alas, with the six minute limit, you can’t.
jonniker | June 18th, 2008 at 1:11 am
I’ve been researching this, too. The Dyson looks cool, doesn’t it? Cunning: design it to look like a leaf blower and that might get the men to use it.
My only thing is: would a stick vac be better for my back?? The standard hand helds mean a lot of bending, right? Anyway, I saw a cool new stick vac, but I have no idea how well it works: it’s a steam stick machine that cleans hard floors (without chemicals). Pretty cool. Anyhoo, I so agree: handhelds are so much faster and easier than standard machines - which are so huge and clunky. Oh, PS, Consumer Reports has ratings and reviews.
Diane | June 18th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
thanks so much for this article. i clicked on the dyson link and am now in love with their ball swivel all floor cleaner. love. sent the link to hubby saying ‘I WANT IT’ and hope that he thinks it looks manly! then i dont need to buy the handheld since the ball one is so light and effortless
(yes i am rationalizing, whatever)
Kate | June 18th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I LOVE my DustBuster. LOVE it. It’s a Black&Decker 9.6 Volt and it has a removable HEPA filter that you can clean out and it is the best thing I have ever purchased.
Kate | June 20th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I was thinking about this and I got a roomba (100$/craigslist)- it is the older model, not the one with the “garage”. gotta say WOW! It’s like little elves vaccuum overnight or while I am out running errands! Hubby helps remove the chairs and high-chairs and we set it as we go to bed. It does the diningroom & kitchen. Then if it is errand day, I tidy the livingroom and set it. It has swept up a tack, coin, crayon bit etc. Sweet!
deanna | June 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I have a newish dust buster. I think it does a good job for the smaller jobs, but our house is old and large, so we still use the regular vacuum for the weekly run-down.
Dyson is so tempting… MUST RESIST.
Marie Green | June 20th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Just say No to the Kone. I used mine today and it sucks. No wait - it doesn’t. I got sucked in (…um, stopping that now) because it looks neat! and is purple!
Basically it will pick up dust bunnies and that’s about it. I broke a jar of epsom salts today, swept up MOST of it and tried to get the rest with the Kone and no go. Seriously, if it can’t handle SALT, I bet it’s not what you’re lookin’ for.
I want that Dyson one, it makes me laugh. RAWR.
Lara | June 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 am
The Dirt Devil Kone is awful. Don’t be fooled. It picks up nothing and the trap is so small what it does pick up needs to be empited all the time.
It’s not cordless but I use my Dirt Devil Ultra Power Handheld Vacuum about as much as I use my Dyson upright.
ikate | June 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pm