I wish you all luck w/ this vacuum. But I feel strongly compelled to mention some of the problems I had w/ a previous, DIFFERENT Dirt Devil (DD) bagless vacuum (SwivelGlide Vision, Model # 086925). I'm not voting either green or red on your post since it's NOT the same vacuum. Still, I feel some users may benefit from my experience. 1. My DD bagless vacuum was my first bagless design, which I assummed would save the money and hassle of buying and changing bags. Right? But, I was wrong (for personal reasons). I'd much rather have to find, buy and change a vacuum bag every few weeks / months, than the procedure required on my DD bagless vacuum every few days - which is to take the vacuum / dirt container outside, (hope it's not raining or snowing or dark), pull out the big "lifetime" filter from the center (which is clogged with dirt, duct, and debris). Then you have to beat the end of the filter aggressively on the ground / side of trash can, in order to get out a good % of the dirt, lint, hairs, etc. A very dirty procedure, and you end up breathing in a cloud of nasty dust almost every time. Guess I should've worn a dust mask? Then you have to dump the plastic container into a trashcan, which also stirs up dust, then put the filter back in the container, and it in the vacuum! Call me a germ freak, but I don't like to get dirty just because my vacuum tank is full. I end up having to plan my vacuum emptying, so I can shower immediately afterwards. BAGS ARE WORTH THEIR COST AND CONVEINENCE! 2. The mentioned filter above is suppossed to be good for the vacuums lifetime, but after the 1st few hours of use, it goes from white to brown, and no beating it on the ground will get it clean again. I retained my original box, and manual, so, I went to buy a new one. No problem right? 3. The part # for a replacement main filter is very hard to find. It's NOT listed on the filter, the vacuum, the original box, the paper manual, the electronic manual, NOR on DirtDevils website! I had to call DIRTDevil Customer Service (weekdays) to discover the filters part #. I told them how the info is not listed anywhere. They did not seem surprised, and did not care. Unacceptable! 4. You have to dump the dirt container often, as it does not hold much. Though it's see through, you can tell when it's too full, but you also see all the nasty stuff you vacuumed up. 5. My particular DD vacuum is not well balanced - if it's in the full upright position (say for a moment while you move furniture, or change electrical plugs - as is done often since the cord is too short), the vacuum easily falls over! It commonly falls over while I'm trying to use the hand attachment, say to clean stairs, or carpet on the edges of walls - as it won't get anything within 1 inch near a wall. Since the vacuum is running when it falls over, and the brushes still spin on the bottom, even if you're using the hand attachment, it's easy to get hurt by the spinning brushes! 6. Poorly designed tool "storage" - the hand tools are suppossed to snap onto the back of the vacuum, but they tend to fall off, and become lost. Put them back in the box. 7. Poorly designed cord storage. The cord and the main vacuum tube have 2 paths which often cross, so you often have to disconnect the vacuum tube to wind the electrical cord back (then reconnect the tube). 8. My particular vacuum is very loud, so I can't vacuum if someone's on the phone, watching TV, trying to sleep, or concentrate. (I'd rather have loud and effective than quiet and inefficient, but my vacuum seems to be loud and inefficient). 9. My particular DD vacuum is relatively heavy. (I'd rather have heavy and durable than light and cheaply made, but my vacuum seems to be both heavy and cheaply made). You could strain yourself trying to carry it up stairs by one hand, if you have 2 floors. 10. With use, the rubber around the handle keeps riding up every other week, almost coming off. I thought about glueing it on, but it's just tight enough to have trouble getting it on or off. Again, I did NOT vote either way on the OP's vacuum - it may or may not be an excellent buy - but felt I should post my experience, so everyone can consider what features may be important when shopping for a vacuum. My next vacuum will be the bagged type, bought in-store, so that I can more easily check it out, and return it if I'm not happy. EDIT: Costco is probably a good place to buy a vacuum, if they have a great return policy. |