I am looking for vaccum recomendations. We have a full sized one that we are happy with and a little black and decker dustbuster. The dustbuster just died after 4 years of light use (I use it about once a month to vaccum the cars and things like that). We are trying to decide if we should replace the dust buster with another one or get a shop vac for the cars, or not bother with either and use the hose attachment from the regular vaccum. We live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, and we have limited storage space, so it is nice to have the little dust buster to carry up and down to the cars, plus it runs on a rechargable battery, so no extension cords are needed. I originally chose this brand because it has no cord and the charging station is wall mounted which is nice. I am not thrilled with hauling the full sized vaccum up and down to the cars. I am also not thrilled with trying to store a shop-vac, but my experience with them has been that they are long lived.
So basically I am trying to decide what would fit our usage/space needs the best and I want something that is durable. With the infrequent usage, I really was expecting more than 4 years out of the dustbuster I currently own. If I do replace the dustbuster, I would love to hear your advice on brand/models you like (or if there is a better option, I would love to hear about that too).
I also am aware of the fancy brands like dyson that have the do-it-all vaccumes, but we can not afford the vaccums that cost more than my car is worth :) and we are not looking to replace the regular vaccum as it is holding up well and has been quite effective for our needs.
Thanks for your recommendations ladies!!!!
I have the black & decker 18 volt dustbuster. Love it. It is at least 3 years old & shows no signs of dying. In your position I would get this. Doesn't take up much space. Lots of power. Very portable.
We recently bought the Dyson Ball. It's great! As the advertisements promise, there is NO loss of suction and it is very easy to maneuver. Also, the handle slides down at the push of a button so it becomes much shorter for storage. It's a small vacuum, but works very well. I have been very pleased in the 6 months I've had it.
sorry did not read the full post before answering the first time. Sounds like the dustbuster worked well for a long time and might be the best situation for apartment living with stairs and value. I only have an upright and a huge shop vac and they are heavy. BUT I have also seen little mini shop vacs at lowes.
Good luck
we've had two shop vacs and they both died. and they are a pain to store. i wouldnt recommend unless you really need a shop vac and it sounds like a dustbuster meets your needs.
we bought an expensive vaccuum and dustbuster when we bought our house. normally i like to buy long term quality items and not fill up the landfills replacing things. we bought the expensive dustbuster the first time for that reason. it went 3 years and died (not heavy use either). this time we bought the cheapest one they make for 20 bucks (on sale from 30 bucks at fred meyer) and figured we would toss it when it died. so far it's over 2 yrs (heavier use now that we have a kid) and still working well.
I've used the Shark cordless in the past. I had a large house at the time and it wore out fairly quick. However, based on my experience it might be great for apartment use. It just plugs in whenever you're not using it. :)
~ Ann
