Good Sweeper

[vealcalf]

I'm thinking about getting a new sweeper but I'm trying to pick the best for my needs. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats so one that picks up hairs and dander is a must. My biggest concern though is sweeping up cat litter. My DH insists on keeping the litter box in our carpeted hallway. The carpeting is similar to what you'd see in an office building (very short w/no shag). When I try to sweep stray litter the sweeper just seems to pull the litter up through the brush and kick it out the back. A friend at work suggested the Swiffer Sweeper that has the sticky pad but before I invest in anything I wanted to gather some opinions. Any ideas? BTW I do have a tray under the litter box but my cats got mighty big swinging paws :p

[Cpogie]

Gee that is a tough one, I don't think that the Swiffer Sweeper would do it, im my opinion, but how about a good hand vac? I have a Black and Decker one that is very powerful with 18 amps, or whatever it is, and it works really well on everything, it comes with a crevice tool too, and it cost less than 40.00, but you have to get one with the most power, then they work good. goodluck, perhaps others will have a solution for you. I know those kitty's can sure make a mess, lol

[mom2fussbudgets]

My sister, and one of my friends, has a Roomba, and they both swear by that thing. My sister turns it loose every morning, and says it has made her life so much easier. She has two dogs, and it picks up the dog hair. I cannot tell you how it would do with kitty litter though. If you are serious about getting one, I'd ask the manufacturer. Next time I'm in the market for a new vacuum, I'm definitely considering it.

Have you ever used a Swiffer? I used to work at Bath & Body works, and we used to sweep the store with the Swiffer. That thing is fun! LOL!

[vealcalf]

My sister, and one of my friends, has a Roomba, and they both swear by that thing. My sister turns it loose every morning, and says it has made her life so much easier. She has two dogs, and it picks up the dog hair. I cannot tell you how it would do with kitty litter though. If you are serious about getting one, I'd ask the manufacturer. Next time I'm in the market for a new vacuum, I'm definitely considering it.

Have you ever used a Swiffer? I used to work at Bath & Body works, and we used to sweep the store with the Swiffer. That thing is fun! LOL!

I love my Swiffer Floor Cleaner. I love the ease of going from my hardwood floors to the kitchen tile with just a change of the bottle (Uh oh I sound like a commercial now) my friend at work has a couple of cats and said he likes the Swiffer Sweeper Vac to pick up the litter, I just wasn't sure if I would trust a married man who admitted he doesn't do much of the sweeping;) I'm also not much of a housekeeper (spit and polish is good enough for me) and just hate to make a big fuss about cleaning those areas but HATE walking on cat litter-YUCK!

[mom2fussbudgets]

My in-laws have a ton of cats, and there is kitty litter everywhere. I hate stepping on it barefoot. It is so gross!

I wouldn't trust a married man who didn't do much of the sweeping either, LOL!

[shopsforsix]

I think it depends on how much you want to spend on a vacuum. I'd say the Swiffer is good if you don't want to spend much. I'd go with an Oreck if you are looking for something to last a long time and filter everything going into it. They are expensive but everyone I know that has one, swears by them.

[Carly's Mommy]

I've had my Dyson for 3 years and I love it! I bought it to replace a Hoover Wind Tunnel that was only 2 years old. The Dyson beats the pants off of the Hoover hands down. Wouldn't trade my Dyson for anything else. The best thing is that since we got the Dyson my husband does most of the vacuuming now! I don't know how well it would do picking up kitty litter, but we use it on our kitchen floor all the time and it is tile. You can adjust the vacuum for carpeting or bare floor and when you have it set on bare floor the brush is turned off and doesn't spin so it doesn't spit things back out.

I also forgot to mention that we have a basset hound who sheds constantly and terribly and the Dyson does a great job at picking up his hair.

[Jenni232323]

I agree with Carly's Mommy - I love my Dyson too! Most our new house is tile and I was sad I wouldn't get to use my Dyson as much (funny, sad to lessen my vacuum time), but it works just as well on tile as on carpet! I have one of the original models and it's been runnin like a pro for the 2 years we've had it. We have a 85 lb poodle who doesn's shed but the dirt that's tracked into the house by him and my husband adds up fast!
For a quick, light sweeper I use a Bissell stick vac that we got during Black Friday sales at Walmart fro $10 last year. It works wonderfully for those quick sweeps. Only complaint is the short cord length. I'm currently looking for a cordless vac with option to use as a hand vac as well. I'm thinking about this one and haven't heard many complaints: Eureka 96 B Quick Up Upright Cordless Stick Vacuum, $30 and great reviews from Amazon.com users.

[mom363546]

The dyson sounds like a nice sweeper. I have sweeper problem instead of a shoe fetish.Its va***es Its one of my favorite aisles.Years ago I started with a Kirby (I think around $7-800 ) great machine does everything if you don't mind pushing a tank. then I had several cheappies and aquired The Rainbow it did everything!! I loved it had to have it $1200 plus financing. It was a great machine as long as you don't get tired of emptying the water bowl everytime you use it!!

After that I started thinking I spent with financing $1500 for the rainbow if I spent $100 every year I would have a new sweeper every year for 15 years!!

So yes I still buy a new one every year.Usually staying around $50 -$60.

[smshaw73]

I'm not sure how old the Kirby you had was, but they actually have transmissions on them now. They are one of the easiest vacs to push. Mine eats everything that gets in it's way-including cat litter. I have a Siberian husky and it picks up her hair well. Love my Kirby!

[cine]

Oh, just my subject! I love sweepers! I have all Kenmore sweepers and I think they are great!!! I just bought another Kenmore, but it is a canister sweeper and works really great. If you have a chance look on the Consumer Reports site and they tell you which is good for cat hair. The Eureka Smart Boss is supposed to be really good an picking up cat hair. (I think it's an upright sweeper). Good Luck!!!

[Cpogie]

I have always bought and used a Kenmore Vacuum Cleaner, I have never had a problem with them ever, in fact I have my original one from 35 years ago, my husband uses it for vacuuming out the car now, I have always used a canister vacuum, but I would consider an upright, beings that I have never had one.....BUT hubby does the vacuuming, lol and so we will not mess with that ever.....

[Carly's Mommy]

My husband was in the doghouse, so he bought me the Dyson Ball vacuum. He did not like my Hoover Windtunnel, plus I was less than fond of the cost for the filters for the Hoover. Almost half the cost of the vacuum... :( I took the example from work and washed out filters that are supposedly not washable ;) I thought that the Dyson was just hype, and very costly, but now I know better. It's not hype at all. I must say the Dyson proved a pleasant surprise. It really works better than any of my previous Eurekas, Hoovers, or an old Kenmore canister vac I borrowed for a while. Super easy to empty. Picked up gobs of stuff the Hoover had been missing, and I don't have to disassemble it all of the time to clean out the beater bar like the Hoover.

I'm so happy for you! Hope your hubby is out of the dog house now. LOL

I so know what you are talking about with the expense of buying filters for a vacuum. I had a Hoover Windtunnel too before I got my Dyson and I even tried to be thrifty by buying my filters on ebay whenever I could find them on there. My filters were almost $30 each and only lasted about 2-3 months even though I rinsed them out after every time I vacuumed. That didn't even save too much money though. I always had two filters so I could alternate after rinsing one (I'd leave the wet one out to dry and put the dry one in the vacuum). That stupid Windtunnel would fill up so fast and the filter would get so clogged that I would have to stop and empty the dust bin at least 3 times while doing my whole house, and each time I would have to take out the filter and tap it to get the dust off of it while making more of a mess. From all of the times I had to empty the dust bin you would have thought that I either had a really big house or only vacuumed once a month. It was at least a 1 hour job every time I vacuumed because of everything I had to do - and I don't have a huge house. With my Dyson I'm done with everything in about 20 minutes.

I know the Dyson is a big expense up front, but over the long haul it has ended up costing me less money because I haven't had to buy expensive filters or bags to replace. I wouldn't trade my Dyson for anything. :D

[Jenni232323]

Ok, so I broke down and got the Eureka 96 B Quick Up Upright Cordless Stick Vacuum from Bed Bath and Beyond for $32 (was $40, but used a 20% coupon) - my husband says I have an addiction to vacuums... I wanted to try it out right away, but let it have it's 14-16 hour initial charge. I used it the next day and LOOOVED IT (said in an Oprah voice:) )! I used it on my tile and it got under the cabinet ledge and under the fridge and stove 'lips' that my Dyson can't fit under. It was so nice just going around vacuuming everything without having to move the cord and plug from room to room. I've only had it a few days and love it, but will be sure to let everyone know if it's performance changes a few months down the road.