Which vacuum/broom do you use?

[vanessa]

Related to the thread of how to keep hay from getting everywhere – I see a few members like the dyson hand held. So my question is – which vacuum/broom do you use?

I used to use my regular house vacuum cleaner, a 12-amp bissel. It worked really well, had enough suction, the pipe was wide enough, and it didn’t get clogged. But because I have a divider fence in the bunny room, it is heavy to lift up and over the fence. So I god a small handheld. Can’t remember the brand or size, but it didn’t have enough suction or volume. So then I got a 1-gallon shopvac. Great suction, but because I also have birds in the room, I have additional feathers/seed husk to clean up. This fills up the gallon very quickly. So I still sweep before vacuuming, especially to get the larger pieces of hay up, that would get stuck in the vacuum pipe. The 1 gallon shopvac is light weight and easy to lift over the divider fence. I’ll have to look at some of the dysons and see what I think…

[Vienna Blue in France]

I give the Dyson handheld 12 out of 10. However there is one thing that I would change… there is a small bendy flexible part which attachs the head to the long shaft and I must admit from time to time it gets blocked with fur and hay and it’s not easy to unblock because its a bendy part.
I love the fact it swivels on the ground so easily (its like a game using it) and i love the fact you empty directly out after each use and never have a dusty bag to empty.
Im not sure how the hand held would cope with feathers, but i spose you could remove the roller head and attach the nozzle directly onto the long shaft thereby removing the bendy part which gets clogged up.
See if you can borrow one…..

[vanessa]

Yeah that’s why I sweep first. By the time I’ve filled up the gallon, it’s also time to unblock the bend… A few times, like for an annual spring clean, I’ll use the 20 gallon shop vac. Big and bulky, but with that 3-inch diameter pipe, nothing gets blocked. Is your dysen the DC34 (2V) or DC58 (6V)?

[Vienna Blue in France]

??!!???!!! ( she goes to check…… )
A DC45 !! – I think European versions are different from USA/Can – they’re even different within diff European countries….
It says 2V underneath, so I guess it’s 2V !! LOL
It was one of the cheapest, i remember there being one twice the price – (I think it made a cup of tea and did the weekly veggie shop too !!! )
It’s mooore than enough for my needs – my snake nosed yank-along-behind-me vacuum has not been upstairs since I got the Dyson…

The battery lasts for 15 mins on normal and I think 7mins on max turbo – but when you think about it, 15 mins is MORE than enough to vacuum in one session !! LOL
The idea being that you don’t do the whole house in one go, sort of one room at a time between charges.
If you want to do the whole house top to bottom throughly in one go, get one with a cord !!

[vanessa]

Yeah I’d have a hard time getting the rabbit room done in 15 minutes. I had a little handheld before, really small, If I was really quick – I coudl get half the room done in 15 minutes, then recharge. The dyson handhelds here cost about $150. For that price, it had sure better make me a cup of chai tea and do my grocery shopping!

[Bam]

Had to look up what a Dyson DC45 costs here. 303 British pounds or 379 US dollars. That’s not an option. I have an Electrolux UltraSilencer. I have to sweep up the hay first. Bam actually seems to like this vacuum. He comes hopping to check it out.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Maybe the DC45 is older now and harder to get new. I didn’t pay that!

The DC62 6V (!) is on offer at 279 eur = £240 (amazon fr)
DC58 at £200 on amazon uk and DC34 at £164…..

So its worth shopping around… (always) ..
(I once bought a board game from amazonDE for 15eur for the identical product on amazonFR which was 45 eur!!!)

[vanessa]

Yeesh. Well, by Spring, my new outdoor aviary should be ready, and the birds (6 bourkes and about 30 finches) will go outside again except for the 5 cockatiels, one mousebird, and one society finch. So that will be a lot less bird mess. That electrolux is pricey too. $250-$350 here. I’ll probably just stick to sweeping first, and using the $30 1-gallon shopvac. It has all the attachments I need.

[Bam]

I def didn’t pay that for my electrolux. A new one costs 170 dollars here. It’s very good though, and pet friendly. I actually vacuumed inside Bam’s cardboard house today – while he was in it =D

[Luna's Mom]

So crazy for this topic to pop up, I have been searching for a new vacuum too. I have a miele canister vacuum and the bissel symphony and a black and decker hand held. I just purchased a hoover linx battery operated and I really like it except the charge does not last long enough and I wish it had attachments. I would like to try the dyson battery operated with attachments but the $600 price tag has kept me looking. The miele is my first canister vac and I like it for cleaning furniture but don’t like pulling it around to clean the floors. The bissel symphony leaves a lot to be desired. I would not make that purchase again. So I too am curious about what everyone uses and which ones they like best. I read and read reviews and just get more confused!

[vanessa]

Well Luna’s Mom, the review that people write are typically for normal household cleaning, sometimes car, or garage. Us bunny folk have extra needs… My handheld was a Black& Decker, but it would get full to quickly, lose suction, not enough for what I needed. Granted I do have bird mess with the rabbit mess. But even the rabbit fur and hay alone are enough to clog a vacuum pipe bend if I don’t sweep first.

[Q8bunny]

I have yet to find a vacuum cleaner that has sufficient suction, minimal noise, no cloggable bits, lightweight/manoeuvrable, and is allergy friendly/easy to empty out – for a reasonable price. Not too much to ask, is it?

I looked at the Dyson cordless but the pricetag here is obscene and I hate that charges are puny and battery loses charging ability over the years.

[Bam]

Q8, that sounds like a vacuum only the most interesting bun in the world could invent. I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t already. Maybe he has, but is to modest to tell anyone? =D

[Q8bunny]

I’ll ask him and see if he can be persuaded to fess up

[kirstyol]

We have hardwood floors, I have a cheap supermarket hoover and one of those wonderbroom thingys (its electrostatic apparently, really its just a rubber brush rather than one with bristles) the wonderbroom has been the absolute best brush I have ever owned because nothing sticks to it its great for brushing up fur and hay

[vanessa]

I eventually plan on ditching the carpet, and getting all hardwood. You can never really get carpet clean. It’s just a dust trap. Interesting about the rubber broom.

[jerseygirl]

I mostly sweep the rabbit areas. Much better for my back. But do vacuum when needed. Also, I get hay and fluff trekked into non bunny areas. I have a miele barrel vac, which I like as it has variable suction. So I can have it really quiet on low suction when suitable. It is not easy to pick up and drag around the house, however.

What has really saved this vacc is this attachment I bought for $50. It stops the larger debris going into the flexible hose or bag.

It can clog but is very simple to unclog.

Ive seen bunny owners recommend carpet sweepers also. 

[Q8bunny]

When we finally leave the sandpit, we’re going to look for a place with either cork or bamboo floors so we can just Swiffer

[jerseygirl]

Cork would be kinder to you and Chewie’s feet.

[Q8bunny]

Well, we’re used to glossy tile everywhere so ANYthing would be kinder to our poor carcasses But we dance and do yoga at home, so it would be especially great for that. (Yes. Chewie too. )

[Gina.Jenny]

I use an old fashioned carpet sweeper on the carpet each morning after cleaning out the hay boxes. Its great for picking up the bun hair and small bits of hay, and then I just pick up any large bits left and throw them into the nearest hay box. Occasionally, I hoover using a very old dyson, then go over the carpet with a very new vax, one wash, then one rinse.

[Vienna Blue in France]

wonderbroom thingys (its electrostatic apparently, really its just a rubber brush rather than one with bristles

Oooh, is that like the ones they use in hairdressers now ?
Yes I’ve often wondered if that would be better and more hygenic (who washes a bristle brush?!) but i use a floor blade (meant to squeedgee water from the floor) which is very efficient on carpet but gives you a good work out doing it!!
Luckily I’ve only got a carpet rug 2mx1m

[Deleted User]

Shark hand held vacuum has been working great for me (here cozzy review)…Furniture, car, stairs, bunny room,horse trailer tack room.

It’s supper easy to dump when full. So far I’ve only needed extension cord for outside stuff

[Author]

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