Sunday, March 29, 2009

Everyone likes a new toy [edited for more info]

We finally decided on a vacuum yesterday, after months of hemming and hawing about which one to get. The winner: Kenmore Progressive 28614 canister vac. So far we love it. And the surprise bonus: Kate loves to vacuum. Yes!


*[edit]* I, too, grew up with a dreaded canister vacuum, and I hated it. Dragging the canister around everywhere I went, banging it into things, getting it stuck around the corner - it was such a pain. The reasons I love it now mostly revolve around the fact that the actual vacuuming part is easier; the vacuum is lighter and the hose is 7 feet long, so I don't feel like I'm dragging it around every 2 seconds. It's also about 20 years later than my first experience with the canister vac, and this vacuum is brand-spankin'-new. Maybe they make them better now? Maybe I'm just bigger and have less trouble pulling it around.

This one sits upright if you want it to, so you can reach ceiling fans with the hose and attachments (Tim swears by vacuuming as a form of dusting, and although I disagree on its effectiveness, he does the dusting so I can't complain), and it has this little lip that 'hooks' the canister onto stairs when you are vacuuming them. Which is also a huge reason we got the canister - stairs. We have 17 of them in a row, and let me tell you how often I vacuumed those suckers with my upright: twice. Gross, I know. That vacuum was such a pain to haul to each step, though, that I never did it. Now with this one, I can just carry the vacuum part to each step and it's so lightweight. I can reach (theoretically; I haven't actually tested this out, since my belly would protest greatly) about half-way up the stairs from the bottom, and then put the canister at the top and reach the other half from there. Voila: easy stairs.

Other nice things: the noise level is very good - much quieter than our old upright. I can vacuum under beds and sofas (cheerios, anyone?). The brush on the vacuum goes all the way to the ends of the vacuum (I've seen plenty others where the brush stops an inch from each wheel, so you think you are vacuuming up against a piece of furniture, but you really aren't). There's this toe-lever thing that you push with your foot to extend the handle - awesome for tall people who don't want to bend over (why don't strollers do this??) or if you want to reach something way under the sofa. An easy on/off button on the handle of the vacuum so you don't have to bend over (can you tell this is an extremely difficult task for me right now, this bending thing?). A bag-full light (haven't tested that one yet). A toe-lever to easily suck the cord back into the canister. The vacuum part self-propels, so as if it wasn't light enough already, it's now easy enough for Kate to use. See above.

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Awesome headphones.

What did you like about that vaccuum? Why can't I ever spell vacuum correctly?

Jenny said...

I have the Kenmore Progressive (non-cannister) vac and I love it too. I love the full bag sensor light and the "dirty" light sensors. I thought my old vacuum was fine but I didn't realize how much stuff an old vacuum wasn't picking up. I also love the super long hose for the attachments. That is the reason I picked it - so I could vacuum my daughter's loft bed without dragging the whole thing up there.

Katie said...

She is NOT wearing ear protection. HILARIOUS!

I also want to know why you like it so much. Aren't canisters a total pain? Or am I just remembering my grandma's old one...?

Andrea_Ben said...

Hahahaha, Ear protection, I love you!!! That made my day :0)

Tim said...

Believe it or not, the ear defenders were Kate's idea. She was so torn between hating the noise and playing with the new vacuum that she thought for a second, then ran off and got the ear-muffs. Not bad for 3.