I have a rather large brood a six pack to be exact.  Five girls and one lonely boy make up the six pack. They range in age from 29 to 16. When the 29 year old was 16, I was a completely different parent. I was lets say regimented, I had to be I was clearly out numbered. Everyone was up and at em early Saturday morning to clean. We divided tasks and chores according to age and ability and handed out the cleaning supplies, a good portion of the day was dedicated to cleaning, deep cleaning. My oldest child could push a vacuum with the best of them by the time she was 8. We scrubbed and scoured, swept and mopped, vacuumed and dusted the day away. They hated it and I, well I adored a clean home.

Three of the six pack are married, they are wonderful strong women college educated, three of them moms with children of their own, they are all four homeowners with beautifully kept homes. Sometimes only sometimes I feel  a bit bad for instilling my “everything has a place motto” in them because they appear weary. They have careers and husbands and family demands and they follow the Saturday ritual to a tee. I try now to tell them that it is ok to let stuff go a bit, no one is checking, they can relax a while and no one will notice, but I did my job well, they wear themselves thin making sure everything is in its place.

I am a different parent now, whether through self discovery or exhaustion I am not sure.  I like to think self discovery has taught me a thing or two, but secretly I know those kids just wore me out.  I am lax now to the tenth degree, oh I still love a clean home, and still keep my personal space clean, but the Saturday rituals have long left the agenda. The two (one is off at college) that are left home are just a bit different I realized recently exactly how different they are.

I asked my 16 year old daughter to clean the upstairs for me and introduced her to our new vacuum. She seemed cordial toward the vacuum when I left to run some errands.  Upon my return the vacuum stood staunchly on the top landing exactly where the introduction was made. I requested her presence in the hall, where she appeared immediately. I asked what had happened with the vacuum I though they were going to work together, after all I did add a certain amount of fanfare with the introduction.  Well it would seem my 16 year old daughter could not use the vacuum.  She was baffled by how to turn it on! Oh yes times have changed for me.

When you move out on your own no one ever clues you into that there are proper ways to clean, it just is not something that is usually discussed.   People tend to think that a vacuum is meant to clean floors, which it is but those on board tools are there for a reason, not just so they can fall on the floor while you are vacuuming.

Think top to bottom when cleaning. A lot of new homeowners, or newly on their own apartment dwellers clean at eye level and below, which is fine for quick cleaning but for deep cleaning (around once a month) you have to start at the top, all the way at the top. Here are a few easy steps to follow to make the most out of your vacuum.

1. Clean room by room, try not to jump around, it is just easier if you get one room done than move forward to the next. Use the attachments to your vacuum!

2. Start with the wand attachment to get into the corners of the ceiling. Add the brush attachment to clean the ceiling fan or the ceiling light fixture. Once that is done, go hit up the curtains or the drapes or whatever other window treatment you have.  Don’t forget the window sill!

3. Table lamps are next; shades seem to attract dust because they do! Use your vacuum brush to give them a good once over.

4. Once everything above is clean it is time to get below way below, you still have your wand attachment on, so go ahead and get under the furniture get all the way into the corners.

5. Now scan the room and make sure all the big items are picked up. Bobby pins, paper clips, socks, small toys get them all up before trying to vacuum.

6. Remove the wand and put it back into its storage place on the vacuum. It is now time to vacuum the floor. Start at the furthest corner from the doorway and make a couple of passes over each section, overlapping as you go to make sure you do not miss anything.

Before moving on to the next rooms check the bag or on bagless models the container that holds the dirt. Empty it if need be, you might also want to bang out the filter.

If you can stick to this regimen once a month it will keep your space free of dust and debris and will make everyday pick up a lot easier.  You will also breathe easier once all the dust and dirt is out of the space.

A good rule of thumb before purchasing anything is to check out consumer reviews. Consumer reviews that are unsolicited by the manufacturer are the best reviews to read, for obvious reasons.

There are a quite a few hand held vacuums on the market. I owned one a long time ago that was made by Black and Decker it was one of the first of its kind. I can’t actually recall at this moment what ever happened to it and what I thought about it. I had a big family with lots of kids so I am sure I used it a lot I just cannot recall. I was in the market for another one. My two dogs are on a mission to destroy what my children managed to leave intact.

After perusing several sites dedicated to consumer reviews I settled on the Eureka 71B Hand-Held Vacuum.

This is a lightweight dual motor hand held. It weighs right around five pounds, has one motor for the brush and one motor for the suction. It has a stretch hose which is great for reaching in between the cushions of the couch and for getting into the tight spots of the car. It would be nice if the hose was a bit longer but other than that for a cordless hand held it is pretty powerful and holds the charge nicely. The price is great at around $40.00.

The only thing that is missing from this fabulous hand held vacuum is someone else to do the work for me. Now that would be perfection!

I know there are the obvious things that a traditional house vacuum should not be attempted to suck up like the stuff that makes the motor sound all clackety when you try to suck them up. Pennies shoved in the sofa, never a good idea to try to suck them out or nails, screws and the like also from the sound of things when you try (I have) don’t mesh well with a vacuum, but there are things that are not that obvious. Some of these not so obvious things actually beckon to be vacuumed. Fine powdery material seems like it should be easily vacuumed away and nine time out of ten it is, but it is that tenth time that really gets you!

Vacuums no doubt are great labor saving devices they are usually a very efficient means of cleaning up all types of debris on all types of flooring surfaces. There are some things that you should not vacuum up and it would seem there should be some type of warning signs as to what should not be vacuumed up.

Here’s how I learned a lesson about the one in ten thing that looks like it could be vacuumed but as it turns out it is a really bad idea. Let me set the scene. I worked in a brand new office, brand new floors, walls; it was in fact a brand new building. I had been working for the company for a period of time and was actually contemplating moving on, because my boss was slightly anal retentive and actually was a bit of a micro manager of course there were other reasons that have nothing to do with this event.

On this particular day I was in a particularly bad mood. There had been a lot of money invested in this new office except, the department that I worked in didn’t actually get any new equipment the computers and other necessary office devices were outdated to include the copy machine. The copy machine was out of toner yet again and it needed to be refilled, there was definitely a problem here. I did not know how to refill the toner and the only person that did was not in. I needed the copies so I decided to wing it. It turned out badly, badly to the tenth degree. Toner flew everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Black toner all over the brand new wood floors, on the base board and all over the copy machine. After a few minutes of contemplation I decide that using the brand new canister vacuum that was purchased specifically for use on the light beige carpeting downstairs would be a good idea. It seemed to suck everything up in a jiffy. Problem solved!

The cleaning lady showed up to clean that weekend and it would seem that the filter on the vacuum was covered with this fine powdery black toner and it blew out from the vacuum and covered the carpet downstairs. The hose of the vacuum was covered with this fine powder all up and down the inside and the brush also had its fair share of toner covered bristles. Suffice to say it didn’t go well from there.

I quit the job and sited the vacuum incident and the way it was handled as prime proof of why I no longer could work there. Lesson learned. Think before you pull that vacuum out it will save you some serious aggravation!

Earl E. A. Dopter (Louisiana)

(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

When our Shark went on the blink for the third time we decided it was time to get serious about a decent handheld vacuum. We own a Dyson full size vacuum so I naturally did my research presuming that the right answer was to get the Dyson cordless as well. However when I compared the reviews (some good, some not so good) to the price it gave me some heartburn so I decided to look around. Glad I did.

I did not have high expectations for this product. By and large I find the Black & Decker brand to be a decent value for the money, but not necessarily great quality. This product changed my opinion. It’s very well made, with solid construction and an intriguing design. Those factors are very important to me, but it’s a vacuum, so if it doesn’t suck none of those factors matter much. Boy, does this thing suck! It’s a bit noisy, but when you consider the amount of suction it creates it’s little wonder that you can hear it so well. So far, everything I have used it for has been handled with great ease and satisfaction.

The charging station is pretty convenient and intuitive. My only criticism of it is that the charge light never changes color when the unit is fully charged – this would be a nice feature to add and is one of my issues with the Shark. But you can leave it in the base to trickle charge all the time without issues.

The pivoting nose is great because in the folded position the unit takes up so much less room, while in the extended position it’s the right length and balances nicely.

Overall, this is a five-star handheld cordless vacuum and is the one I would recommend to anyone based on my positive experiences with it so far. If anything changes to alter my opinion, I will append this review.

List Price $69.99

Health scare paranoia aside, does the product work? None ofthe quick-clean floor products substitute for old-fashioned scrubbing on handsand knees. At least, none that I’ve come across.

The Rechargeable Broom Vacuum is just that — a Dust Buster and broom all in one. Good suction and holds the charge nicely, too. A negative point because unlocking the dirt container from the motor is a bit cumbersome. On the other hand, unlike my hand-vac, I don’t actually have to stick my hands into the accumulated ‘ick’ to empty the container.

Anything to avoid pulling out a vacuum cleaner, this product does exactly what I hoped and expected it would do. It doesn’t polish the floors. It doesn’t do rugs, curtains or upholstery. And while a broom and dust pan may offer the convenience of operating without an electrical charge, my back doesn’t so for that, I give this one a thumb’s up.

List Price:  $69

Earl E. A. Dopter (Louisiana)

When our Shark went on the blink for the third time we were curtain it was time to get serious about a decent handheld vacuum. We own a Dyson full size vacuum so as expected I did my investigation presuming that the right answer was to obtain the Dyson cordless as well. However when I compared the reviews (some good, some not so good) to the price, it gave me some heartburn so I determined to look around. Glad  I did because I did not have high expectations for this product.  By and large I find the Black & Decker make to be an honest value for the money, but not necessarily great quality. This product changed my estimation.  It’s very well made, with solid construction and an interesting design.Those factors are very important to me, but it’s a vacuum, so if it doesn’t suck, then not any of those factors matter much. Boy does this thing suck! It’s a bit noisy, but when you consider the quantity of suction it creates its little wonder that you can hear it so well.  So far, everything I have used it for has been handled with great ease and satisfaction. The charging station is pretty convenient and intuitive. My only criticism of it is that the charge light never changes color when the unit is fully charged – this would be a nice feature to add and is one of my issues with the Shark. But you can leave it inthe base to trickle charge all the time without issues. The pivoting nose is great because in the folded position the unit takes up so much less room, while in the extended position it’s the right length and balances adequately. Overall,this is a five-star handheld cordless vacuum and is the one I would recommend to anyone based on my constructive experiences with it so far. If something changes to alter my opinion, I will append this evaluation.

List Price $69.99