But it is shiny!
My vacuum cleaner of twelve years bit the dust. The little plastic retainer spring that keeps the handle upright broke off and we had to start leaning it up against the wall if we needed to move chairs or toys while sweeping. It also got very hard to push with the broken spring.
Since it was so old, I suggested to Chris that she just get a new one of her choice. She came home last week with a shiny red one!
It is heavier than the old one and little harder to push around. Mostly it is heavier because it comes apart. The guts of the thing come off for a portable, albeit heavy, vertical canister. Because there are two main parts, there are two power switches. Chris reports that the canister, with very small legs tips over very easily on carpet. But it is one of very few sweepers out there with this detachable canister and that is a feature she originally liked.
I however, am hung up on the fact it is bagless. Evidently this is a highly desired feature as more and more vacuum cleaners out there are bagless. I am not fond of it.
I am “tree hugger” by nature, but I do put my daughter in disposable diapers. There is something to be said for a disposable container for stuff that isn’t supposed to be touched by human hands.
Instead of tossing a bag full of dust once a month in the garbage can, we (so far just me) have to empty a small clear plastic container every other time the sweeper is used. Flip a lever, pull out the container, carry it to the trash and dump it without getting dust in the air and all over vacuum cleaner, the floor and your clothes. What I end up doing is emptying the container, then wiping down the sweeper (and myself) then turning on the vacuum cleaner again to pick up the spilled dirt from the container. Then I go wash my hands.
Oh yeah, there are THREE filters on this thing and each accumulates dirt and needs to be cleaned. One appears to need cleaning every time. That is an even more dust-prone experience. It looks like I’ll need to soak the filters in water pretty often.
But that model is what Chris desired and, to be honest, she is the primary user of the device. So I will adjust. And I will be a better person for it.
On a tangentially related note, I am pining for a new car. My car is seven years old. It is in good shape so I realize it is a desire, not a need. I just want to be ready for when the car, which has been uneventfully reliable so far, breaks down overnight in my garage. Or when my sister begs to take it off my hands. In other words, sometime before the decade is out.
But a car-obsessed guy can’t be too prepared. I just happen to currently like the Acura TSX. A reliable, four door, front wheel drive, five passenger sedan that gets 30mpg on the highway. It is the Japanese version of the Honda Accord. It is cheaper than my wife’s minivan, but still a pretty nice car.
It just so happens that car is on Car and Driver magazine’s 10 Best list. They have good taste too. When it appeared on the Car and Driver TV program this weekend, I pointed out to my wife that it was car I was pondering. One look, and I got an emphatic: “No way.” It didn’t help that on TV it was zooming around on a curvy racetrack, looking pretty sporty. “Too small” she added.
Since we got her vehicle, we haven’t had more than three family members in mine. I essentially have a commuter vehicle. And the TSX is a five passenger sedan, about half-way between the size of a Civic and domestic Accord. It is a lost cause.
You know what I am hoping? It’s shiny just like her new metallic paint vacuum cleaner. Maybe she’ll adjust. And I’ll be the first to point out that she’ll be a better person for it.