Beware of "The Dust Bunny Slayer"...This "Dirt Devil" Is One Lean, Mean Dust Busting Machine!
Written: Nov 29 '05 (Updated Feb 15 '06)
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Pros: Easy to use, lightweight, long cord, powerful, great for steps!
Cons: Rubber band goes off track, string and hair get wrapped around the band.
The Bottom Line: It's not as convenient as a cordless handheld vacuum but it gets the job done!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Dirt Devil Classic M08100 Bagged Handheld Vacuum |
I’ve had my Dirt Devil for more than a couple of years now and I can say that it was the best twenty bucks I ever spent on a hand held vacuum. I owned several DustBusters, the cordless ones, and they were nice for cleaning up small things but they never seemed to have the sucking power that I needed to clean the corner of the steps or carpeted areas. The Dirt Devil Classic is something that anyone can use, is lightweight and doesn’t take a lot of room when you are done with it. It doesn’t require the use of a dirt bag or filter - just plug it in and get to work. I won’t say that I have never had problems with it but any issues that I have had in regards to this have been my own fault. If you are looking for a nice gift for a college student, someone moving into their first apartment or even Christmas, this is a great pick - they’ll get an awesome hand held vacuum and you’ll snap it up for under twenty dollars.
Dirt Devil Classic M08100 Bagged Handheld Vacuum
One of the nicest things about this is that you don’t have to buy bags or filters; the bag comes off the body of the vacuum easily so that you can dump it out in the trash. This means that if you suck something up accidentally, you can sift through the dirt to recover it. I’ve had to do this more than a few times with rogue Lego pieces, earrings and buttons that gotten sucked up into it. The easiest way to do this is to take it outside, dump the bag out on some newspaper and start looking - this is one of the reasons that I am compulsive about emptying the bag on a regular basis, if I keep it almost empty then there is less gunk and dirt to have to pick through. You will want to make sure that you check the inside of the vacuum when you are emptying the bag, this is a great time to hit it with a Shop Vac to remove any dust or dirt that may have built up inside it.
As far as the noise level, it’s not quiet but it’s not all that loud either. It is a lot quieter than the Shop Vac but louder than my Kirby and Hoover. I guess part of the reason that it sounds louder than the upright ones is that you are right next to it when you are using it. Most of the time I use this for the steps and to get under the couch, the areas where a regular upright vacuum just can’t reach. It doesn’t weigh a lot, maybe two or three pounds - that is another reason that you should empty it on a regular basis. The mess dirt and junk inside it, the less weight you have to deal with when using it. About a year ago I started adding some powdered carpet deodorizer to the inside of the bag when I would change it. It did wonders for getting rid of that nasty stale pet hair smell.
This isn’t complicated to use, there is only one switch - off and on. When you plug it in you will want to make sure that it is in the off position or it might scare the crap out of you. The bag will expand once you turn it on so make sure that you have enough room for it to do so. You will also want to make sure that you reattach the bag correctly and completely after you have emptied it; if not you can look forward to a nice cloud of dust and dirt flying through the air [been there, done that]. This is most frustrating after you have just dusted the livingroom so take a minute and plug it in outside to make sure it is reassembled correctly. There’s no right or wrong way to use this, just run it along the carpeting or woodwork that you need to clean and it does the rest. The bristles on the rotating brush sweep things into the line of the vacuum and the bag catches all the dirt that it sucks up.
Mum, What’s That Smell?
Those are words that you never want to hear after you’ve powered this thing up. More often than not, if you smell something after you have turned this on it’s the rubber band to blame. You have to check this from time to time to make sure that it is in its correct position and not slipping off center. If it slips off the base that it is supposed to be on, the vacuum will still operate but the brush won’t rotate. You might not pick up on the fact that the brush isn’t moving because it will still suck up larger or lighter things like dust bunnies or lint. Another mishap with this is getting string, yarn, floss or hair wrapped around the rotating brush; this could also cause a smell to come from the vacuum when you turn it on. Most of the time it’s pieces of DMC floss [cross stitch material] that gets tangled up in this; sometimes it will just get wrapped around it and allow the blade to turn but others it will jam it up and that is when things really start to smell.
Price
Since it has been more than a few years since I purchased this I can’t say with any degree of accuracy how much I paid for this but I know it was in the twenty dollar ballpark. When I was looking for a cordless one at Wal-Mart I saw these for under twenty bucks and that is a great deal to me. This is a true workhorse that will last a long time if you take some basic steps in keeping it clean and emptying the bag on a regular basis. There are a lot of hand held vacuums out there but this is the one that has impressed me the most. For the price it is something that everyone can have to do their steps, automobile and furniture without breaking their backs hauling an upright vacuum all over the place. The two year warranty that comes with this covers manufacturer defects but not wear and tear; if you use this a lot you will have to replace the rubber band that rotates the brush but these can be found at places like Wal-Mart and Target for under two dollars.
The Bottom Line
This is a hell of a lot more convenient than lugging an upright vacuum up and down the steps and trying to use it to get into the corners. It is light weight and easy to operate and the handle on it is pretty big so you can maneuver it easily. It’s not made for right handed or left handed use - so lefties and righties can both use this without any trouble. The small plastic pop off disc on the front of it makes it easy to see if the band is lined up correctly or if there is something lodged or caught on the brush and so far I haven’t had any problems with this coming loose when I am using it. For the money it is one of the best hand held vacuums on the market and something that I use on a regular basis. I can get under the futon with it, clean up crumbs after the brood have had lunch in the livingroom and get rid of dust bunnies on the steps. This can be used on carpeted areas as well as wooden floors, the steps that lead to the basement are wood with a rubber tread section in the middle, the Dirt Devil works great on these and eliminates me having to wipe them down to get rid of dirt and dried up mud when the brood track it in from outside. If you are sick of having to drag around your full sized upright vacuum, check out the Dirt Devil!
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Under 20$
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