See, I decided that it would be too easy to complain about the kind of day I had today. It would be predictable. It’s what pregnant women do. And it’s probably not what you’re interested in reading. But me? I love a challenge. (Can you say three kids in under 3 ½ years?) So I decided that instead of telling you about my rotten day, I’ll tell you about my vacuum cleaner. Something in my life that is supposed to suck.
Ironically, it doesn’t.
Our vacuum was one of the first purchases Alexander and I made after getting married. Neither of us had one so, besides a bed and a couch, it seemed like the most practical use of our wedding reception loot.
Problem #1: We knew nothing about vacuum cleaners. Bagless vs. nonbagless? HEPA filtration? Self propelled? (I’ll date our union a bit by divulging that we got married before the days of Dyson or Roomba).
Problem #2: We’re both cheap. I’ll clarify. I try hard to be practical. Alexander has thrift down to a fine crafted art. If he weren’t so artistically gifted otherwise, I’d say it was his true medium.
Problem #3: We weren’t swimming in money at the time. Alexander hadn’t even finished his undergrad degree when we got married and the prospect of being a starving student spouse after I’d already graduated and found myself (however briefly) gainfully employed was not appealing to me.
Solution: We could make due with a cheap vacuum from our friendly neighborhood superstore.
However, this solution has proved a bit flawed. Firstly, they stopped making the bags for our nonbagless vacuum. We’ve had to resort to jerry-rigging too-large bags. Secondly, I’ve had two kids since getting this vacuum. That’s a lot of post-partum shedding for one economy vacuum to handle. Thirdly, we’ve been in two brand-spankin’-new houses in under a year. And that’s a lot of new carpet fluff to suck up.
So today, as I was walking across our living room carpet with it’s dusting of dried muffin crumbs from the boys’ morning mischief, I found myself thinking: “Should I use the dustbuster or the vacuum?” (You know there’s something wrong when a very pregnant woman would contemplate getting down on hands and knees to dust-bust the whole living room instead of using the upright vacuum). And so I appeal to you…
Keeping in mind that we’d like to avoid taking out a second mortgage on our home to afford it, can you suggest a good vacuum?
4 comments:
When Elfie ripped apart a bottle of fish food (the only reason I can find is because she wanted to fee her pet rock, yes, my dog has a pet rock), I spent yesterday on my hands and knees using my Dustbuster. I thought briefly, near the end of the vaccuming, "Why not use the vaccum?" However, there is such joy, and horror, in seeing how much dirt you collect. I have the most sympathy for you! Pregnant too! AHHH!
we got a good quality Eureka bagless vacuum when we were first married - 4.5 years ago and it's still sucking strong. I think they're between $100 and $200. The models may have changed. I think ours was called a bagless Cyclone or something. We've been really pleased.
sorry so tardy - but I highly recommend an Oreck. Hypoallergenic model. Runs $350 or thereabouts, and we considered it an investment worthy of indebtedness rather than buying cheapo vacuums every year. I ♥ it. So much that when it's my turn to clean our church, I haul it to the church to use because I'm a snob like that and don't want to desecrate my vacuuming experience with a less-than. :) seriously. buy the oreck. I also got a free canister vac with it, which we use a lot, and a free cordless iron.
We have a Kenmore (Sears brand) upright. I love it. It has a bag, so it is easier and cleaner to empty than a bagless. We've had it about 2 years, and it ran us I think $200 or so when we bought it.
Good luck!
(My folks have an oreck, and it works really well, if you can afford it. The "free" canister vac is a great bonus.)
Also, I've heard GREAT things abotu Dyson.
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