How long should a vacuum cleaner last?
Kasia July 22nd, 2008
I’ve lived on my own for…let’s see…about six years now. In that time, I have owned two vacuum cleaners. The first, a bagless Bissell or some such, was bought for me as a Christmas gift for the Christmas following my move. It died about two years ago, so at about age three.
Then I went and read Consumer Reports, and bought a Eureka bagged vacuum. Let me tell you, either Consumer Reports seriously misjudged that one or I have the worst luck in the world. It’s given me problem after problem after problem. AND, because I was tired of paying ridiculous prices for the bags, I snatched up a great deal I found on bags on Amazon. I’ve got a stack of bags for this stupid thing, and the suction seems to be gone.
My beloved is going to try to check it for blockages this weekend, and if that doesn’t work I may appeal to my father to try to fix it (if he can’t fix something, it’s probably not worth being fixed). But my question to you all is: how long should a vacuum cleaner last? Am I being unreasonable to think a vacuum, even a cheap one, should last more than two or three years? And understanding that I can’t afford one of those thousand-dollar vacuums that people like my mother use, and that I do abuse my vacuums a fair bit, what sort of vacuum do you recommend? (By abuse I mean cat litter and cat fur are the biggest offenders, but I also use it to suck up spiders and insects that I’m afraid to kill any other way. I’m a coward…)
Suggestions would be welcome. I do have mostly hard floors right now, but I also have rugs that quite frankly cannot do without being vacuumed. Not with my cats. And I have furniture that needs vacuuming, and curtains…
We haven’t had our Dyson long enough to know if we’re going to have problems with it, but it seems rather reliable.
Mrs. DJ’s mom has one of those ultra-expensive Kirbys, and I’d rather have my Dyson any day.
Since you mentioned cat hair, you may want to consider a Dyson Animal. It’s designed for homes with pets, and ours does an admirable job in cleaning up after Bobble.
There are three models listed on the Target webpage, ranging in price from $424 (for a model that’s similar to the one we own) to $599.
Random thoughts:
1. Sounds to me like the imprisoned bugs have organized!
2. You do realize that the floor cleaner I lent (gave?) you vacuums as well as mops?
3. Sounds like there’s a jam somewhere in there - The Canuck may be able to find it, or I can, or if not one of us, Dad. (He’ll be back on the East Sy-eed once he’s back from Up North, so he can make 2 house calls for the price of one).
TBS
When we were kids we actually used a shop vac with a reducer for household attachments. Examples
Its good for wet/dry conditions, holds lots of pet hair and dirt without clogging, and isn’t that too expensive.
DJ - Mrs. DJ was singing the praises of your Dyson when she and I were at Wal-Mart together. If I have to buy a new one, I will look at the Animal; but it is more than I’m used to spending on a vacuum. I’d rather see yours last five or ten years before I dropped that kind of cash…
(I remembered my buddy’s mother had a vacuum that cost over a thousand dollars, and I guess I was conflating the two.)
My mother has an Oreck, which is wonderfully lightweight and works very nicely, but her cats don’t shed as much as mine do. (My house has cat-fur tumbleweeds.) It is far less expensive than I thought it was; I just went onto Oreck’s web site and a model that looks a lot like hers is only about $300. So Mom, I’m sorry I said you use a thousand-dollar vacuum!
TBS - I am embarrassed to admit that I had no clue that it vacuums…but if Canuck can’t find the blockage, I would love for you to try. I will buy a new vacuum if I must, but I’d much rather this one lasted at least until my bag stockpile runs out…
AA - the shop-vac idea is quite a good one - those are very reasonably priced!! I wonder what the down sides would be, apart from shop vacs being less user-friendly for covering a lot of ground than uprights. Any thoughts?
I have a Dyson Animal…it’s been 18 months now, still going like the day I got it. Did have to send away for a part that broke, but they sent it for free. Awesome customer service.
I used to be a Hoover die-hard (relatives worked at the factory, had to ensure they got their pensions, etc). Never lasted more than 2 years…that’s not much return on a $150 investment.
Yes, $500 is a lot to spend. I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to do it myself. I made my husband vacuum for a day, and he went right out and got me the Dyson.
Ask for it for Christmas.
I second Michelle´s endorsement of the Dyson Animal. EVERYONE I´ve mentioned it to really loves it and recommends it.
Expensive, yes… but what else are wedding registries for?
Kasia - I believe that the lifespan of a vacuum is inversely proportional to the number of fur-bearing creatures that roam your carpet. Add kids to the mix, well, we were on the 3-year track at best.
We went through a few crappy Kenmores and then bought the upper-middle class Hoover Wind Tunnel, which was good but clogged fast, then got knocked over and down some stairs (bad Wiley!) and had unfixable cracked wheels and axles. Similarly, we have gone through 3 shop vacs between floods, scraping, patching, and painting 2000 sft of he first floor rooms and 4 of the 6 brs in this stupid big barn of a house we bought, and of course untold millions of Christmas tree needles each January. The latest shop vac is for the basement/cat/workroom/garage Beloved domain in the basement. Good for the big and dirty jobs, which tend to be smelly - and you don’t want that blowing around your living room.
We’ve had a Dyson for 19 months now (the big purple one - not the “Animal” which I’d not heard of until recently). It is AWESOME - gets up incredible amounts of pet and long child hair every single day, and no diminishing suck issues over time. Put it on your list!
I have a Hoover wind tunnel, had it for about 8 years, but if it ever goes copout–I’m buying a dyson–”never loses suction!”