House cleaning chores

[dimestorehalo]

Being the owner of 3 long-haired cats (as well as a large dog), I'm finding keeping up with the shedding a bit of a chore, and my vacuum cleaner is certainly not up to the task.  What vacuum cleaners do all the TCS members out there swear by?  Is there an upholstery/clothing tool that you find particularly helpful?

I have a combination of tile, wood, and carpet, as well as upholstered furniture.

I think we're going to have a cold winter--everyone is growing these beautiful winter coats and fuzzy britches.

 

[lavishsqualor]

The iRobot Roomba is absolutely one of the best purchases I've ever made.  Yes, it's absurdly expensive but it's so worth it in the long run.When you have pets, you've got to pull out all the stops.

 

[basscat]

We have a fairly new Bissell and a very old Kirby.   The Bissell is light and is the vacuum that gets used most often due to it's size, weight, and ease of useage.

That being said?  If we want the carpet and the cushions completely hair free?   We use that old Kirby.  (attachment we use for the cushions has an opening about 4" x 1").   Almost seems as if it's going to pull the fabric off the cushions.
That old Kirby is a pig, but, it flat out works.

 

[Kat0121]

 
We have a fairly new Bissell and a very old Kirby.   The Bissell is light and is the vacuum that gets used most often due to it's size, weight, and ease of useage.

That being said?  If we want the carpet and the cushions completely hair free?   We use that old Kirby.  (attachment we use for the cushions has an opening about 4" x 1").   Almost seems as if it's going to pull the fabric off the cushions.
That old Kirby is a pig, but, it flat out works.

Is it one of the old school Kirbys that weighs a ton and sounds like a jet engine is starting up in your living room? Those things were supposed to be great

Back in the mid 90's I was an appointment setter for a guy who sold Filter Queen vacuums. They'd send out cards to people telling them that they had a package waiting for them and when they called about it we were supposed to try to get them to make an appointment for a demo in exchange for a gift such as rolls of film, BBQ sets, stuff like that. I hated that job. I got yelled at all the time. 

I have a Shark. It's this one 
I'm quite happy with it. It works quite well.  

 

[DreamerRose]

I have a Dyson that I bought on sale. It is very easy to use, much more so than the old Sears vacuum I had. One of my cats sheds a lot, so much so that I have to empty the canister every other room, but it's great and has lots of suction.

I don't know about the furniture. My cat's fur doesn't stick to the furniture for some reason. The cats have adopted my throws, which the fur does stick to, and I wash those now and then.

 

[teejay89]

We had a cheap Bissel from Walmart and it just wasn't cutting it for us because I had to clean the vaccuum almost every time I used it. We found a used Shark Navigator from someone and it is AMAZING! It gets up so much fur and dust, and I think brand new they are only $150. It has the option to use the brush or have it off for hardwood floors too.

 

[basscat]

 
Is it one of the old school Kirbys that weighs a ton and sounds like a jet engine is starting up in your living room? Those things were supposed to be great

Yeah, that's how I'd describe it.

When we got the Bissell, at the time, it was supposed to be the latest, greatest, best thing out there.

We recently had to deal with fleas.
Spread five quarts of DE / Borax mix all over the carpet.  And scrubbed it in good with a push broom.

Vacuumed a week later with the Bissell and got almost a pint. WHAT???

Grabbed the Kirby and filled two bags in one vacuuming.  (about 2-1/2 quarts)

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I have the same Shark as Kat0121.  It's been good; but I don't use it to vacuum the furniture much.  DD and I both have long hair and DH has to clean the brush roll a lot.  I don't notice cat hair being an issue. I think its just the human hair.  It's pretty easy to use too. We've just started letting our 6 year old vacuum with it.  I like how it reaches under furniture and it's super easy to go from upright to releasing the different points so you can use the tools or lift the can away from the bottom.  

 

[Cataria]

I have the iRobot Roomba 650, and it does a great job. The key is the amount of times it cleans, so allowing it to run just about everyday (you can even schedule it to do so) does wonders.

For everything the Roombat can't get, I recently got the Dyson V6 Absolute, and it is perfect for my purposes. I wanted something I could use for my stairs, furniture, and places my Roomba couldn't get to, but I get really frustrated with heavy vacuum cleaners and cords; I have no patience for cleaning. I eyed up the Dyson cordless stick vacuums for like two years before I took the plunge and it was exactly what I needed. It's powerful enough to get the fur, has lots of attachments for lots of different purposes, I can lift the thing with one hand, and it's cordless! The charge doesn't last too long (you get about 20 minutes of vacuuming out of it) but for me, that's even better. I am terrible with cleaning, so being forced to only have to do 20 minutes of cleaning at the time instead of feeling guilty about not doing more works great for my mental health. The only criticism I have for it is that you can't use it while it is charging.

The Dyson also has a tangle-free attachment that you can buy that looks like it would be great for pet hair. I haven't bought it yet so I can't say if it is any good, but it's on my list.

 

[dimestorehalo]

I'll have to look into both the Roomba and the Shark, as well as keep my eyes open for an old Kirby.  I used to have an old Electrolux canister that was similar, but it disappeared with an old roommate

I am surprised that the Roomba can hold that much, but even if I can just get the bedroom's brown carpet back to the right color...

Now to find a good lint brush--my students can tell when the cats wanted to cuddle before I left for school...

 

[neely]

I cannot say enough good things about my Animal Dyson.  I bought it when we had our long haired cat, Neely, and a long haired german shepherd, hence fur flying everywhere.

  That was approx. 15 years ago and it still works like a charm.  It also came with many attachments, each for a different purpose.  I've never had a vacuum cleaner last this long, best investment I've ever made!