I use the Black & Decker CFV120 DustBuster Vacuum for all of the little jobs in my house. Like picking up the clumps of cat hair that manage to accumulate in my kitchen. Or to quickly get rid of the crumbs that I find lurking under the dining room table.

But I don't use it for big jobs. Why? Because it's simply not powerful enough, and doesn't have a big enough charge for anything major.

However, on small jobs, this 12 volt cordless vacuum does a decent job, and is quite convenient to use. It works especially well on non-carpeted floors, where you don't need the brush to turn. The charge will last about 15 minutes. That's definitely long enough to sweep all of the tiled floors in my house.

This vacuum can be run in 3 different modes, but I really only use two of them. Mostly, I use it as a stick vacuum. Its convenient size, and light weight make it super easy to carry from room to room. The handle is comfortable and the controls are within easy reach. Occasionally I'll detach the Dust Buster from the stick, and use it independently. But only in small places, like my car, or behind the litter box. The third mode consists of removing half the stick. Thus you're left with the Dust Buster still attached to the beater brush, but in a hand-held size. I never do this, but I assume it might be convenient at times. Perhaps on steps. (But my house is 1-story, so I really wouldn't know).

As a stick vacuum on non-carpeted floors this vacuum meets my needs. It's powerful enough to get the job done. It's easy to maneuver the head, and can fold down flat to get under beds. And as it's cordless, it is quite convenient to move around the house.

Charging is a simple matter - there's a plug that goes into two holes on the side of the vacuum. This is significantly easier than on my old cordless vacuum, where the charger's prong had to slide up into a groove on the back of the vacuum, and it was very difficult to line up the prong with the hole.

The wall mount is an extra convenience.

Finally, I've had mine for several years, and it continues to work. My old model gave up on me after a short amount of time, so this one appears to be much more durable.

However...

On carpets, this vacuum is fairly useless. It's simply not strong enough, even with the beater brush, to clean a carpet. Not even a small throw rug. You have to repeat each area too many times. And, the beater brush becomes completely useless as soon as it gets clogged with hair. The moment hair gets wound around the brush, it refuses to turn anymore until you unclog it. Well, with the amount of hair my cat leaves around the house (not to mention my own hair), the brush will be clogged within just a few minutes. Then I have a task, normally involving scissors - and cursing - to unclog it.

And then there's the cup where all the hair and dust go. This thing fills up very quickly. You really need to empty it every single time you use it. It's not particularly difficult to do, it's just annoying to have to do it so frequently. Less frequently, I actually take apart the cup/filter contraption and clean out the filter. That's a little more cumbersome, but still not difficult.

I also find that I have to clean out the Dust Buster, itself. Hair and dust tend to get trapped by the rubber flapper inside the mechanism. I actually stick my finger in there, push in the flapper, and knock the machine against the side of the garbage can, so that trapped hair and dust can fall out.

And, finally, there's the matter of the power button itself. While conveniently located, it is not well-designed. It has three positions, starting with off, which means the button is closest to the top of the unit. Use your thumb to slide the button down once for hard floors. Slide it down a second time for carpets. From there, to return to hard floors, or to turn the machine off, you're supposed to be able to pull the button back up again. That's the part I can't do. With my thumb on the button, I'm supposed to be able to slide it back up, but it won't budge. My thumb ends up just sliding off the plastic button. I have to actually get my hand below the button and push it back up. No biggie, once I got used to it, but it's a faulty design that I hope they improve for later models.



Overall, this is really just an "OK" vacuum. It's lightweight and convenient for small jobs on non-carpeted floors. But anything beyond that takes a much more powerful machine.


For those large jobs, I recommend the Bissell Cleanview 3595

For steam cleaning I recommend the Bissell ProHeat Clearview Steam Cleaner



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