Dirt Devil MBV2030 Bagless Stick Vacuum

We purchased this Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum because we were tired of lugging around our heavy vacuum to clean up small messes, and using our handheld vacuum gave us backaches from crawling around on the floor to get crumbs. Overall, the Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum is a good solution, but it does have its limits.

Features

The Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum is very similar to a typical broom. But, unlike your standard broom, this Dirt Devil has a suctioning device to pick up dirt and dust as your sweep. The dirt is kept in a container within the broom, which can be easily emptied as often as you want. Unlike some vacuums, it is bagless. It is also cordless, and can be recharged by plugging the unit into the charger (and plugging the charger into an outlet).

Performance

I am relatively happy with the Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum, but I can see why so far this product has gotten mixed reviews. It works best when you only have to clean a small area at any one given time, like cleaning up your kitchen floor after a meal. I have tried to quickly touch up my kitchen, dining room and living room all at once, and the unit cannot hold its charge for long enough to do all 3 rooms.

It is also best on smooth, flat surfaces, and would not work well on carpets or uneven surfaces. In fact, the suction power is not strong enough to pick up large crumbs in the grout of my ceramic tile floor. To get crumbs in the grout, I have to sweep them onto the tile and then pick them up from there. In addition to mediocre suction power, the actual suction tube is located in the middle of the broom only; therefore, crumbs that are near the left and right edges of the broom will be swept but not suctioned away. I sometimes sweep everything into a small pile, and then position the center of the broom over the center of the pile in order to vacuum up the pile.

This unit also has its limits when it comes to corners and tight spaces. We cannot get all of the dust bunnies under our baseboard heater because the unit does not fit underneath the heater, and the suction power is not strong enough to pull the dust out otherwise.

Surprisingly, hairballs, dustbunnies and other dirt does not become tangled or trapped in the bristles of the broom. This has happened with all of the similar devices I have used, including the attachments to my regular vacuum. I always find it disgusting to have to pick out these items from the bristles afterwards. Even after a full year's worth of use, I have yet to have to pick out anything from this broom's bristles.

I find that it is very easy to empty the dirt container within the Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum. I did have one incident where it seemed stuck, and when it finally did pop open I dropped it and the contents spilled onto the floor. In general, however, it is very easy to detach the canister for emptying.

Overall

Overall, I do feel that the Dirt Devil Bagless Stick Vacuum is a good purchase if you have hardwood, pergo, linoleum, or even tile floors. It is also a good purchase if you need something for quick touch up jobs in between your main cleanings. This is NOT a good purchase, however, if you are looking to replace your main vacuum or if you want to clean large spaces at once. If you know the limits of this vacuum, then you can make a decision as to whether this unit fits your needs. We are happy with ours, but will be holding onto our full size vacuum for some time to come.