Sunday, January 27, 2008

Root cyclonic action

We've owned two mid-range vacuum cleaners over the past ten years or so. The motors on both died, leaving nasty guilt-provoking plastic skeletons behind to be disposed of. While I'm on a campaign to rid our house, at least the living area of it, of carpet, it's a slow campaign, and in the meantime there's no doubt that as a family we are extremely needful of a vacuum cleaner. Extremely needful indeed. And so when our Bissel died two days after Christmas, we started dreaming of purchasing a unit that would be the last vacuum cleaner we'd ever buy. One that would endure until we were hauled off to the nursing home. One that our children would quarrel over when dividing up their inheritance.

While I was off in Calgary, my mom came to my house and brought her vacuum cleaner. Do the math... it had been thirty long days of heavy-duty debris-generating living that had happened since the last time we vacuumed. I expect there was a good fifty pounds of stuff she sucked up. It was a mercy-cleaning, bless her.

But while in Calgary I had gulped, pulled out my credit card, and in one swift transaction, got us a Dyson. A lovely copper-coloured DC-14 with Root Cyclone Technology. I confess I was at first heartbroken to see the clean carpets that greeted me on my return. But then I came to my senses. This was a gift -- the clutter had all been picked up and put away to facilitate vacuuming, and now I could take the opportunity to engage in some smug Dyson-driven one-up-man-ship. I ran my new machine in a cursory way over the centre of the very floor my mom had painstakingly vacuumed the day before.

And look what it came up with. A good half pound of deep-down disgustingness. Now I get what annika fox was talking about ... the all-consuming thrill of subjecting accumulated disgustingness to patented cyclonic technology. In general I'm not much interested in cleanliness or home-making, but this ... there's an allure here, I confess.

7 comments:

  1. Ohhhhhhh a Dyson! My brother bought one of these wonders shortly before Christmas and they are the best thing since hardwood!

    One day I'll have to post a photo of our sorry vacuum. It doesn't owe us a thing, that's for sure. Maybe when it finally sucks it's last dog hair, I, too, will be able to enjoy the cyclonic action of a Dyson!

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  2. I had the same experience when we bought our Kirby 2000. It got five years of heavy use, and aside from changing filters and one change of the belt, it works like new to this day.

    Alas, though, we now have central vac in this house, so we don't use the Kirby as much. The central vac also seems to work very well...the allure is there, too.

    Anyway, enjoy your new toy!

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  3. I love Dysons! We have one and my husband and I argue over who gets to do the vacuuming. It is also very nice for hard surface flooring. I vacuum my wood floors rather than sweep them. Sweeping stirs up too much dust.

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  4. Anonymous12:59 pm

    Heh, heh...everyone has a vacuum story! DH and I installed a central vac (Electrolux) for our little Maine house with its hardwood floors, and it was so much fun that I never any trouble getting someone to vacuum. Now we live in a mostly carpeted house, and after a month of getting by with a carpet sweeper, we bought a fairly expensive cherry red Electrolux canister vac. It was dead on arrival, with a broken belt on the sweeper. Apparently we'd been misled by the brand name; a little research revealed that the company has been split, with the blue ones (like our in-house vac) and the red ones made in different places. It went back on the next trip to town, and with a bit more research we replaced it with a cheapio canister Hoover, made in USA, a nice strong vacuum which is extra good at pulling the pile out of the carpet. Very satisfying. (I hate carpet, but it's actually not too bad here because the builders neglected to insulate this house. Our bedroom closet could double as a refrigerator in the winter.)

    Deborah

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  5. Anonymous10:15 pm

    We have my mother's old Kirby vaccuum. It is older than me, which makes it over 40. That thing has power, is the best darned vaccuum I've ever used. Okay, so it weighs like a hundred pounds (feels like it) but that sucker is quality! I'll be very sad when (if!) it finally goes. Congrats on your new baby - may it last as long as our Kirby!

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  6. miranda do you still love your vacuum? i am trying to decide on a new vacuum and i remembered this post and how great your vacuum is

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  7. Yup, still really happy with it. The kids still enjoy helping vacuum, too!

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