I've started handing my 5 year old the handheld vacuum and she seems to be on the fence about admitting she enjoys it. I remember using a corded handheld vacuum to vacuum the stairs as a kid with some regularity too
Literally. I'm 29 and recently "splurged" on a cordless vacuum since the cat hair situation tends to get out of hand in spring and it was a fantastic purchase but definitely one I had to weigh up. I'm very glad I got it though. It's also handy when you eat in your bed and leave crubs.
Wife wanted a cordless vacuum this year after our main driver died. Our house is multi levels and about 80% carpet and I've always been sceptical of the efficiency of the dinky cordless vacuums. I then found this guys testing videos on YouTube and immediately changed her mind.
We ended up finding the highest performing Shark from below for $250 refurbed and it performs as well as he shows.
Also need to give a shout out to Miele. German made and my dad swears by his, just a bit too rich for me to afford right now.
We bought it used of course haha. We looked at new but it was more bang for our buck with a 20YO house. My wife wants to rip all the carpet up but bigger house means bigger problems of course lol. HVAC last year, and now the kitchen appliances are starting to go. Thankfully the roof was done before we moved in
I'm so done with vacuums, point blank. First you've got the mass-produced Walmart/Target/Amazon/Home Depot bullshit. Dirt Devil, etc. They're made like a child's toy, designed to break, and there are so many ever-changing, oh-so-similarly-named-but-slightly-different models that you literally often cannot find relevant information, even on the manufacturers' websites.
I repaired and ultimately replaced like 4 of those over the years before buying a vintage steel behemoth Kirby like my grandma would have had. It worked great, but hauling it up and down stairs was not great and I left it behind when I moved.
Then I moved to a fancy new stick vac, which is...fine. Feels like a miracle weight-wise, cordless-wise, and maintenance-wise, but I have two dogs and it only picks up like 60% of anything.
Yep agree.
The tradie tools have got the right thing going. You get a couple batteries and then the tool skins, like vacuums or blowers. The battery dies after a few years and you just get another.
And I agree those ones with soldered in batteries feel like they're meant to be disposable. The corded vacuums are what you need for carpet or anything else though. Nothing beats a wet/dry shop vacuum haha
I have too many vacuums, didn't ask why already typed lol. But out of all of them, the one I make sure I have around on the main floor is a 12 year old riccar bag + cord. I value the portability of cordless for spot cleaning, but on cleaning day the ricar is undisputed heavyweight champion.
Idk about cordless specifically, but the $400 Samsung I had a few years ago was the worst vacuum I've ever had. Temperamental, and one of the houses cracked in less than 6 months. Went back and bought another $70 Walmart Bissell that lasted 7 years, after my previous one went 8.
I have heard nothing but great things about Miele.
I believe your experience is not normal or maybe it's a model thing. But consumer reports only likes sharks up rights and my own anecdotal experience ( I lived in a 3 story townhouse and carrying them up and down the stairs was very much a first world problem for my admitted smaller wife) would tend to agree with the results. The only two I returned was the shark on raw suction power. It simply did not clean as well on both wood or carpet. The Samsung got nearly everything first pass on our carpet. Inlaws have a mieli they love but...idk they are the nice kind of boomers, so🤷♂️. CR agreed with them though.
I guess if anything do not buy because of brand name and look at the model.
Remember always buy one that uses replaceable battery packs. Even better if you can just use a power tool battery. There are even adapters for certain brands of vacuums so you can put a power tool battery into the vacuum.
If the battery is not replaceable you have to trash the vacuum after a couple of years of use, since the battery won’t hold a charge. Replacing the li-on cells is not easy and requires a spot welder, you can’t just use a soldering iron.
Or worse yet, the battery is serviceable (barely, one has to completely disassemble the unit for access), only to find that a replacement costs almost as much as a brand new vacuum. The best part is, since there is usually little to no info online about the part number for the battery, one only learns of the cost until after one has taken on the challenge to take the damn thing apart (which definitely didn’t take 1-2 hours). Looking at you, Shark 🙄
I bought a used Ryobi lead acid riding mower with bad batteries for cheap. Converted to lithium. I was and still am psyched to get that thing out every week. And I'm in the same age range as you.
I plan on doing the exact same thing!!! I have a buddy who has done a few already and flipped them.
I was going to do it this time but the wifey was less than thrilled since we needed a mower immediately when our last one died. We have a pretty decent sized yard that is a pain to mow with a push mower. And when I said “new mower” before I meant new to me since it wasn’t new. It was however free since a family member gave me one they weren’t using anymore since they downsized their yard. So spending money on something that was going to require work wasn’t gonna fly. It is definitely on my plan for next summer however. At least this new one is less noisy than the last. My next door neighbor has one of those exact same Ryobi mowers (still with the SLA batteries however) and I’m so jealous how quiet it is.
My mental ding dong is hard and ready to use it. My nerves are tingling and my hands are shaking at the thought of being able to touch such an artefact. I know ultimate pleasure is in my future and I cannot wait.
They clog? Glad I don't have one then. I use a Henry hoover, having a cable doesn't really seem like a problem tbh, and who couldn't love a hoover with that face?
Oh, I remember my first time. I was 14 and was going to the mall with my family to buy a new vacuum cleaner. For some inexplicable reason, all five kids were too excited and wouldn't stop yapping about it. So the adults decided we'd all give it a go, and anyone not using the vacuum cleaner would have to clean something else. We were juked into cleaning the entire house.
My wife and I are 44, and can think of little finer than driving down to a local beach, getting a bag of chips, and watching people walk by with their Very Good Dogs. On a sunny day it's just about one of the best things you can do.
If 24 year old me knew about this, he'd probably have hanged himself.
100% recommendation from me. Find yourself a good Dog Beach* that's a short walk from a good chippy and you need never be sad again.
_
*be careful it's not a Dogging Beach. That's a very different thing.
Cord management is such a big part of vacuuming to me I don't think I would be very excited about a cordless vacuum. It would just be missing part of the experience for me.
An important thing us people at 40 have to keep in mind is tech advances and gets better all the time. The cordless vac I have now works great for being portable and usable in our townhouse, which has no carpet.
Would a good corded vacuum be better? Depends on the terms. It'll be better max performance, bit I don't have to lug a heavier vacuum upstairs to clean stuff in my room, and what I have works.
As a photography hobbyist, it's like saying why take a picture with a phone camera, m43, or apsc when you could use full frame or medium format? The cameras are objectively better quality pictures, but they are more expensive and larger, especially when it comes to lenses. Sometimes convenience is "better."
Kudos for a great argument. I completely agree that in some cases a cordless will suffice. But in general I feel they all are terrible and at some point become disappointing. Guess I just have a lot of need for something that eats carpet for breakfast.
It would excite me more if I could afford a place big enough to feel like owning one would be a necessity. My small dustbuster is enough (which is a cordless vacuum, technically).
Mid 40s here, and I have been trying to straddle that “senior engineer turned goose farmer” line for a few years now. I fiddle with the bleep bloos during the day, and on evenings and weekends I’ve been doing some pretty heavy construction in the back yard for various animals of ours.
Tools are therefore a huge one for me, with two major categories. First are the nice power tools like my DeWalt handheld stuff and my EGO outdoor stuff. But second are the cheap and indispensable, but also easily replaceable, small convenient “everyday carry” type tools. Things like the perfect minimal keychain or pocket knife.
I haven’t carried my nice pocket knife for years because it’s huge and I didn’t miss it much as long as I had something sharp on my keychain. But now after using a utility knife a lot in the past couple months, I’ve realized how nice pocket knives designed around replaceable blades can be. You always have a brutally sharp and very thin blade, and you don’t have to think twice about damaging the blade by cutting or prying. My current cheap favorite is the Oknife Otacle U1. The ideal-looking upgrade that I’m getting next is the TiRant V3. The same company makes the TiRant Ultra which has a whole new interchangeable blade system on top of the utility knife blade thing, but it’s slightly larger and a lot more expensive.
I also found tiny knives great for my keychain that use scalpel blades. I use one that folds as small as a 3” pencil and uses a #11 blade — the pointy one with a straight edge.
My wife and I are in our fifties. When we got our robotic vacuum we spent a week arguing about what to name it.
Meryl Sweep
I like how there's this unspoken rule that they qualify as just alive enough to be named.
OK, I'll bite, what was it?
Yep totally just sent that to my wife.
Vactor
And if that new cordless vacuum doesn't work well it will be a significant disappointment that you and your partner discuss multiple times.
But if you clean the super-fine filter it'll work great for like 2 uses! (Then back to mediocrity and mild resentment...)
Doesn't everyone get excited though? Even as a kid I would get excited because it would make chores easier.
Yeah, I was delighted as a kid when we got a dishwasher! No more washing by hand every night? Hot damn!!
I've started handing my 5 year old the handheld vacuum and she seems to be on the fence about admitting she enjoys it. I remember using a corded handheld vacuum to vacuum the stairs as a kid with some regularity too
Uh oh... I've been excited about cordless vacuums since my early 20s 🫣
40's? I'm barely in my 30s and talked for weeks about my new cordless mop/vacuum hybrid thing LMAO
Please do tell, I wonder how they combined a vacuum and mop into one.
A Trader Joes will be opening soon in your area:
As someone in his 40s definitely not excited about overpriced grocery store opening.
Maybe this is for people who don't have kids?
I got one that uses the same battery system some other tools (lawnmower, strimmer, drill) uses and oh baby it's nice.
the difference between me and 20's me is that i can now afford a new vacuum
Literally. I'm 29 and recently "splurged" on a cordless vacuum since the cat hair situation tends to get out of hand in spring and it was a fantastic purchase but definitely one I had to weigh up. I'm very glad I got it though. It's also handy when you eat in your bed and leave crubs.
she ate 👏 in bed 🛌 and left crumbs 👏
Turned thirty, and I'm just so done with cordless.
Battery issues. Recharging issues. Suction issues (especially when it randomly decides 'this is is too hard' and cuts out). Cleaning issues.
Gonna be a dumb boomer and hold out on proper corded vacuums. Which I guess means looking to the industrial/commercial grade at this point.
Wife wanted a cordless vacuum this year after our main driver died. Our house is multi levels and about 80% carpet and I've always been sceptical of the efficiency of the dinky cordless vacuums. I then found this guys testing videos on YouTube and immediately changed her mind.
We ended up finding the highest performing Shark from below for $250 refurbed and it performs as well as he shows.
Also need to give a shout out to Miele. German made and my dad swears by his, just a bit too rich for me to afford right now.
Corded Vacuum Tests - https://youtu.be/PugLAnsIQUA
Cordless Vacuum Tests - https://youtu.be/RTkUNwBo9Ao
I love how you point out that your house is multi level even though that is what the majority of houses (not appartments are) lol.
And why did you choice for carpet? These days most people get PVC, Wood, Tiltes or something along those lines
We bought it used of course haha. We looked at new but it was more bang for our buck with a 20YO house. My wife wants to rip all the carpet up but bigger house means bigger problems of course lol. HVAC last year, and now the kitchen appliances are starting to go. Thankfully the roof was done before we moved in
I'm so done with vacuums, point blank. First you've got the mass-produced Walmart/Target/Amazon/Home Depot bullshit. Dirt Devil, etc. They're made like a child's toy, designed to break, and there are so many ever-changing, oh-so-similarly-named-but-slightly-different models that you literally often cannot find relevant information, even on the manufacturers' websites.
I repaired and ultimately replaced like 4 of those over the years before buying a vintage steel behemoth Kirby like my grandma would have had. It worked great, but hauling it up and down stairs was not great and I left it behind when I moved.
Then I moved to a fancy new stick vac, which is...fine. Feels like a miracle weight-wise, cordless-wise, and maintenance-wise, but I have two dogs and it only picks up like 60% of anything.
I hate them all.
Get a Henry, those are amazing vacuum.
And well nothing good comes form massive corporations like Walmart/Target/Amazon/Home Depot
2000w shopvac with a 30L drum and the hepa rated bags.
Fuck a Dyson.
Hah. This is exactly what I use. Powerful corded is better than poncy cordless any day.
Nah, buy a proper workshop/trades grade wet/dry. Those things are designed to take daily tradesman abuse, household work isnt really a challenge.
Yep agree. The tradie tools have got the right thing going. You get a couple batteries and then the tool skins, like vacuums or blowers. The battery dies after a few years and you just get another.
And I agree those ones with soldered in batteries feel like they're meant to be disposable. The corded vacuums are what you need for carpet or anything else though. Nothing beats a wet/dry shop vacuum haha
Get one that has a little canister on wheels. It's much easier to move around. I got a Miele years ago and never looked back.
I was excited by one, but it was shit and I went back to my Henry. I will never leave you again Henry.
I also love my henry, he'd survive a nuclear war I fucking love him.
leaves Henry again the moment some new hotness promises improved sucking action
I need a vacuum that can handle dog hair really well. My current one uh... Doesn't suck?
Your current vacuum... not:
Same but for cats. I have a Black and Decker which is specifically for pet owners
Shark brand vacuums. They kick ass
Shark hasn't been good in years.
Samsung and miele are making the best cordless vacuums (which are also terrible compared to any bagged vacuum but I digress.
I recently bought a sebo, corded and bagged, and it felt like becoming a true adult.
I have too many vacuums, didn't ask why already typed lol. But out of all of them, the one I make sure I have around on the main floor is a 12 year old riccar bag + cord. I value the portability of cordless for spot cleaning, but on cleaning day the ricar is undisputed heavyweight champion.
Idk about cordless specifically, but the $400 Samsung I had a few years ago was the worst vacuum I've ever had. Temperamental, and one of the houses cracked in less than 6 months. Went back and bought another $70 Walmart Bissell that lasted 7 years, after my previous one went 8.
I have heard nothing but great things about Miele.
I believe your experience is not normal or maybe it's a model thing. But consumer reports only likes sharks up rights and my own anecdotal experience ( I lived in a 3 story townhouse and carrying them up and down the stairs was very much a first world problem for my admitted smaller wife) would tend to agree with the results. The only two I returned was the shark on raw suction power. It simply did not clean as well on both wood or carpet. The Samsung got nearly everything first pass on our carpet. Inlaws have a mieli they love but...idk they are the nice kind of boomers, so🤷♂️. CR agreed with them though.
I guess if anything do not buy because of brand name and look at the model.
I've only bought corded vacuums from them, which of course benefit from the line power, so perhaps they're not a good choice for battery operated
A lot of people still swear by Hoover and Oreck since they've been around since the freakin world wars.
Also I can recommend Bissell floor and carpet cleaners, always had a good experience with those
I'm 25 and ngl I'd be excited to get one of these
Got one at 24 and it made me excited.
Remember always buy one that uses replaceable battery packs. Even better if you can just use a power tool battery. There are even adapters for certain brands of vacuums so you can put a power tool battery into the vacuum.
If the battery is not replaceable you have to trash the vacuum after a couple of years of use, since the battery won’t hold a charge. Replacing the li-on cells is not easy and requires a spot welder, you can’t just use a soldering iron.
Or worse yet, the battery is serviceable (barely, one has to completely disassemble the unit for access), only to find that a replacement costs almost as much as a brand new vacuum. The best part is, since there is usually little to no info online about the part number for the battery, one only learns of the cost until after one has taken on the challenge to take the damn thing apart (which definitely didn’t take 1-2 hours). Looking at you, Shark 🙄
Thirty is cordless and light, because fuck 50 pound vacuums that you have to lug around because 'it gets better suction'
Forty is a robotic vacuum that doubles as an alarm clock when it wanders into your room at 7 am, eats a sock, and yells at you to unclog it.
I've started to leave my floor clutter free. I have reached zen.
I was 31 when I got excited about one. It had the same battery as my drill.
I shared this with a friend years ago on discord.
yeah that did sound sexual.
And tools. Almost any new tool feels like Christmas. I got a new riding lawnmower and I was giddy. And I’m in my 50s.
I bought a used Ryobi lead acid riding mower with bad batteries for cheap. Converted to lithium. I was and still am psyched to get that thing out every week. And I'm in the same age range as you.
I plan on doing the exact same thing!!! I have a buddy who has done a few already and flipped them.
I was going to do it this time but the wifey was less than thrilled since we needed a mower immediately when our last one died. We have a pretty decent sized yard that is a pain to mow with a push mower. And when I said “new mower” before I meant new to me since it wasn’t new. It was however free since a family member gave me one they weren’t using anymore since they downsized their yard. So spending money on something that was going to require work wasn’t gonna fly. It is definitely on my plan for next summer however. At least this new one is less noisy than the last. My next door neighbor has one of those exact same Ryobi mowers (still with the SLA batteries however) and I’m so jealous how quiet it is.
36 here. I'm very excited at the thought of this.
My mental ding dong is hard and ready to use it. My nerves are tingling and my hands are shaking at the thought of being able to touch such an artefact. I know ultimate pleasure is in my future and I cannot wait.
I just bought a new cordless vacuum on Sunday and am talking about to people at work. I feel attacked
Yes but it would have also excited me as a child.
Opening a new appliance box, looking at all the nice packaging (especially if it’s a high end one), setting it up and taking it for a test drive!
I mean yeah, I didn’t care about the actual vacuuming, but I was always excited about anything new and expensive.
If you have a 'normal' house and keep up with cleaning, a cordless should be fine. The portability and lightness are awesome.
If you have a dog or cat, results may vary.
If you have two labs, you're going to want to throw the thing out the window every time you use it because it clogs every 3 minutes.
Yes, even the "pet" version.
They clog? Glad I don't have one then. I use a Henry hoover, having a cable doesn't really seem like a problem tbh, and who couldn't love a hoover with that face?
Oh, I remember my first time. I was 14 and was going to the mall with my family to buy a new vacuum cleaner. For some inexplicable reason, all five kids were too excited and wouldn't stop yapping about it. So the adults decided we'd all give it a go, and anyone not using the vacuum cleaner would have to clean something else. We were juked into cleaning the entire house.
The internet killed real life.
I used to work as a vacuum salesperson, and one day I noticed an older model unloved Bissell, brand new, on clearance.
Someone had fucked up and set staff discount price to $0.01.
That is the most thrilling vacuum purchase of my life and nothing will get close
buy your own vacuums, get commission, return vacuum, get refund.
infinite money glitch
Wait so you turn into a yappy little dog when you turn 40? That sounds terrifying.
Dyson just came out with a brand new one that's an absolute banger
Just long enough to impress the reviewers, right?
It's only released in Japan right now so it's hard to say.
Another super soaraway Brexit win!
My wife and I are 44, and can think of little finer than driving down to a local beach, getting a bag of chips, and watching people walk by with their Very Good Dogs. On a sunny day it's just about one of the best things you can do.
If 24 year old me knew about this, he'd probably have hanged himself.
That sounds like an amazing day
100% recommendation from me. Find yourself a good Dog Beach* that's a short walk from a good chippy and you need never be sad again. _ *be careful it's not a Dogging Beach. That's a very different thing.
You know that is REALLY good advice I don't know why I never thought of it. Can I share it on ![email protected]
Do what you must, but don't blame me if the rabid hordes get wind of it and overwhelm your favourite Dog Beach with their ogling eyes.
Thar is a risk, but I feel I can't keep something so beautiful a secret. It's not fair on my fellow humans
Cord management is such a big part of vacuuming to me I don't think I would be very excited about a cordless vacuum. It would just be missing part of the experience for me.
The jokes on you. Vacuums have been exciting me since I was 14. /S
I stand by my OG coorded Dyson Ball Animal upright. It's almost 20 years old now and still sucks the soul out of you.
That's a symptom of early onset Republican as well.
If you haven't learned by 40 that all cordless vaccuums are terrible, then you're beyond help.
An important thing us people at 40 have to keep in mind is tech advances and gets better all the time. The cordless vac I have now works great for being portable and usable in our townhouse, which has no carpet.
Would a good corded vacuum be better? Depends on the terms. It'll be better max performance, bit I don't have to lug a heavier vacuum upstairs to clean stuff in my room, and what I have works.
As a photography hobbyist, it's like saying why take a picture with a phone camera, m43, or apsc when you could use full frame or medium format? The cameras are objectively better quality pictures, but they are more expensive and larger, especially when it comes to lenses. Sometimes convenience is "better."
Kudos for a great argument. I completely agree that in some cases a cordless will suffice. But in general I feel they all are terrible and at some point become disappointing. Guess I just have a lot of need for something that eats carpet for breakfast.
We have a good one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Our 50 year old Kenmore central vac will probably outlast me. Guess I'll have to find something else to get excited about.
Have you considered a cordless drill or jigsaw?
Fuck yeah!
Did anyone see the new Dyson stick?\
Looks cool but you’d be emptying the container every minute I reckon.
I swear no one at Dyson has pets
Or spine.
James Dyson: If Brexit does not happen I will move the factory to East Asia.
James Dyson: moves the factory to East Asia anyway
It would excite me more if I could afford a place big enough to feel like owning one would be a necessity. My small dustbuster is enough (which is a cordless vacuum, technically).
You mean a robot vacuum?
Yes, but it's THE WIDTH OF A 500 YEN
Somehow I read "execute" and had fully accepted my fate before I realized it said "excite"
I'm 39 and I'm just happy when I'm regular for two week stretches.
Mid 40s here, and I have been trying to straddle that “senior engineer turned goose farmer” line for a few years now. I fiddle with the bleep bloos during the day, and on evenings and weekends I’ve been doing some pretty heavy construction in the back yard for various animals of ours.
Tools are therefore a huge one for me, with two major categories. First are the nice power tools like my DeWalt handheld stuff and my EGO outdoor stuff. But second are the cheap and indispensable, but also easily replaceable, small convenient “everyday carry” type tools. Things like the perfect minimal keychain or pocket knife.
I haven’t carried my nice pocket knife for years because it’s huge and I didn’t miss it much as long as I had something sharp on my keychain. But now after using a utility knife a lot in the past couple months, I’ve realized how nice pocket knives designed around replaceable blades can be. You always have a brutally sharp and very thin blade, and you don’t have to think twice about damaging the blade by cutting or prying. My current cheap favorite is the Oknife Otacle U1. The ideal-looking upgrade that I’m getting next is the TiRant V3. The same company makes the TiRant Ultra which has a whole new interchangeable blade system on top of the utility knife blade thing, but it’s slightly larger and a lot more expensive.
I also found tiny knives great for my keychain that use scalpel blades. I use one that folds as small as a 3” pencil and uses a #11 blade — the pointy one with a straight edge.
23 here and this has always excited be.