Vacuums can elicit the most emotional responses from users. My own mother will not use anything but an Electrolux canister- and has only used those for 55 years. They're pricey - but she loves the quality. When she comes to visit, she will vacuum for hours. She evens vacuums outdoor spaces on her patio in Arizona (weird).
I am not loyal to any brand. I like lightweight vacuums that manuever easily and suck up dog and cat hair. And vacuums that can be carried up and down stairs easily. So I was pleased after testing the new Shark Cordless StikVac (VX63 model).
I was dubious when I first took it out of the box because it was so light, but it picked up dust and dirt efficiently. I tested it at home on wood floors, a thick wool carpet and a thinner carpet. Worked well on all, but I think it picked up the dust better on carpet. I brought it to work and had some colleagues test it. The men thought it looked "girly" due to the light lavender color - but one male colleague thought it was fine since it manuevered easily (swivel steering) and had two power levels. I don't think this is a model for heavy vacuuming jobs.
Another neat feature is that it can convert to a hand vacuum by removing the top and bottom pieces and inserting a crevice tool. It's light enough that I can carry it up and down the stairs with one hand. It's powered with a 10.8V rechargeable battery. It's advised to return the battery to the charger after each use. The handle is adjustable for height. Ths list price is around $100. On amazon.com and bedbathandbeyond.com, it's $69.99. This gets a thumbs up.
Another product I tested was the Sunbeam Hot Iron storage case. It's billed as a practical solution to storing a hot iron after use. "You'll never worry about knowing whether the iron is cool enough to put away," the brochure says. It also lists the statistics about the 116,000+ U.S. kids hurt by iron-related injuries. I guess it makes sense if you have small kids playing near the ironing board to be able to put it away quickly and snap it shut.
I just did not find it practical. I had trouble adjusting the front of the silicone nose piece- there are two tabs to grab to adjust and I could not make it work. I squeezed them together and it pulled out of the box .
There is room to wind up the cord and close the box completely . Right after I finished ironing, I placed ithe iron in the box. Five minutes later, it still felt pretty hot to me underneath the box, even with the iron sitting on the silicon pads. It can be mounted on a wall. But with a price of $20, I did not think it was a great buy.
Share your vacuum likes and dislikes - and let us know if you see new products you we should mention.
