Monday, February 4, 2013

Suck It Up

One Sunday back in December I was in the middle of vacuuming when the vacuum cleaner made a loud noise, spewed a cloud of dust in the air, then stopped working.

The mainly-plastic model was at least ten years old.  I suppose we got our money's worth out of it, but right before Christmas was NOT the time to think about getting a vacuum!  Later that week I looked at the nearest Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul stores hoping to get a used one that would tide us over.  No luck, but the next weekend Hubby Tony found one at a different Goodwill branch.  The lightweight, light-duty vacuum sucked up the big dirt.  When it took me three passes to pick up a piece of lint off the carpet, though, so I knew I'd have to eventually get something else.

Shortly before Christmas I was shopping at the mall, where I snagged a prime parking space close to Sears.  As I was walking through the store on the way to my destination, I went right by the vacuum cleaner department.  Seeing them reminded me of my project, so on my way home I popped into the library to make a copy of the Consumer Reports review of vacuums.  Much to my surprise one of their Best Buys was an inexpensive Kenmore upright model from Sears.

I didn't feel like backtracking that day, so I brought the Consumer Reports article home and stuck it in the basket on my desk.  We continued to use the somewhat-effective vacuum.  Last Saturday I was looking at the newspaper store ads for this week and noticed that Sears had "my" vacuum cleaner on sale...for half price!  It was time to make a purchase.

Right after church yesterday I drove to the mall.  Since I knew exactly what I wanted it only took me ten minutes to make my purchase. I ran to a couple of other mall stores before I returned to the Customer Pickup area, where they brought out the large vacuum cleaner box and loaded it into my car.  I drove away from the mall thirty five minutes after I got there.

When I got home I read the instruction manual, put the new machine together, then plugged it in and hit the ON button.  Oh, my; this new vacuum cleaner has power!  It also has a HEPA filter, and a special attachment for pet hair.  And an agitator shut-off for bare floor cleaning.

I don't particularly like vacuuming, but I think this new machine may make it a little less annoying.

Five years ago today: New Thing #24--Facebook

12 comments:

  1. Yae! That's wonderful! I love getting anything that makes housework easier.

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  2. Congrats on the new vacuum, it's always fun to see how things have improved over the years.

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  3. I've always liked Kenmore products. We have Dyson vacuum that Terry researched and the bought on sale. I'm amazed at what it sucks up in its whirlwind tube.

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    1. I've had several Kenmore things over the years, but felt like their quality had recently gone down. The one I bought was about half the price of the other Consumer Reports recommended ones.

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  4. I just about freaked when I saw an Electrolux at the Goodwill store for $4.95....yes four dollars and ninety five cents.....I grabbed it up and have enjoyed using it each time......smiles!

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  5. I'm still sick about how much I spent on a Dyson and it's been seven years since I bought it. It's still works like a charm though.

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    1. I once had a vacuum cleaner that was 40 years old. It still worked, but the wheel had fallen off and there was no replacements to be had, so we got rid of it. I wonder if today's vacuums will last that long.

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  6. Very nice! I remember when we last got a new vacuum! It was actually fun! I kept thinking of all the dirt the old one had missed!

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    1. The same thing happened to me-I couldn't believe how much cat hair came up.

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  7. I love a powerful vacuum! I mean I like to have to struggle to push and pull....ha
    It feels so good to make a good purchase, especially a half price one!
    I bought a new one 3 years ago. Bagless. I like it but feel as though it isn't as powerful as it was when I first got it. My daughter asked me if I had cleaned the filters? Filters? I took it apart and found "2". After washing and air drying overnight it's powerful again. (imagine that)

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