Can’t blog – vacuuming

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For the past few years, I’ve been using the same Rainbow vacuum cleaner I vacuumed with as a child. The Rainbow is still a darn good vacuum cleaner, but I’m tired of dealing with the sludge (it uses a water basin instead of bags), the cannister doesn’t fit in the closet, and the unwieldy attachments seemingly have miles of tubing and always fall out of the closet onto me or the kitties. Enough! So as my Christmas present to myself, I bought a Dyson Slim Vac, which fits nicely into the closet and doesn’t use bags, either. I love it – amazing how much less onerous vacuuming is when you don’t hate the vacuum! (If my brother is reading this, he should definitely not mention to Dad that the Rainbow will be returning to his garage this weekend…)

“This is so much less scary than that old R2-D2 style vacuum. Its motor made horrible noises and the wheels squeaked! I had to flee and hide from it, which isn’t good for my image.” -Chaos

“I’m not sure, big kitty. I think it’s trying to lure us into a sense of complacency… then it will strike and take us out! Do you have any idea how many kitties are consumed by vacuum cleaners every year?!” -Mayhem

37 thoughts on “Can’t blog – vacuuming”

  1. Woo Hoo, the Dyson will change your life!!
    I’ve had one for a couple of years and it just gobbles up all of the elusive kitty hair.
    It must be the year for it, my present to myself was the Dyson handheld vac.

  2. Heh, so funny you got a new toy – I bought myself a new Bissel vacuum! Haven’t tried it yet though; hopefully it won’t terrify poor Mae and Gandalf as much!

  3. Ok, that has to win best blog post title of the year: CanÒ€ℒt blog – vacuuming. Yeah, that’s a first. Usually, people blog because they don’t want to vacuum.
    Nice vac, too. I have a torpedo cannister that I drag around. Is this machine you have now good for wood floors?

  4. Welcome to the wonderful world of Dyson! I’ve got a Slim too. Finally, a vacuum that can keep up with Java’s shedding.

    (And yes, Dave, it works great on wood floors.)

  5. Chris- Having the Dyson is certainly a better alternative to cat shaving- and we don’t want to relive THAT experience, do we?

    I bought a Miele, and my son loves it so much, he does all the vacuuming. I was hoping for a Volkswagon, but this has 4 wheels and German engineering.

    Le sigh.

  6. See May you need a big black dog to fight off the viscious vacuum cleaner for you.

    This is why we have avoided getting a new vacuum, ABner will just eat it.

  7. All mine have to do is see me pulling the vacuum cleaner out of the closet and they plant themselves firmly and deeply under the beds. It usually takes catnip to get them back out again.

  8. I have my fingers crossed for a Dyson. I have heard good things about them.

    How goes the battle with the oversensitive neighbor?

  9. My Dyson is great. Even the kids use it, because, according to my son, “our old vacuum should be embarrassed!” Bruno Lab and Coco Lab just watch us vacuum around them. Of course, they are much bigger than Mayhem!

  10. We can’t afford a Dyson, but I’ve heard wonderful things about them. Our kitties absolutely detest loud noises and they completely dissappear when the vacuum is pulled out.

  11. I notice that even though you can’t blog because you’re vacuuming, you still manage to blog. πŸ™‚

    (And I can never spell “vacuuming” on my own without help…)

    Happy New Year!

  12. I’ve been wanting a Dyson for awhile now. Maybe next year. I need something lightweight to lug up and down the stairs. Maybe next year. πŸ™‚

  13. NEW vacuum cleaners at Christmas? You’re NOT alone! I bought a new one the Sunday before, and am DELIGHTED. But I didn’t get a Dyson – I got a Kenmore Progressive cannister…
    Hope I don’t regret it.
    And Mayhem, The Meezer agrees with you…
    (((hugs)))

  14. We got a Miele vacuum because I liked the turbo brush which is very effective on cat hair πŸ™‚ We used to have an old Dyson but I got fed up with the cloud of dust when emptying the canister. If Chaos and May are like any of our cats, they would run off and hide when the vacuum appears.

  15. My nervous kitty, Rainy, doesn’t seem to mind the vacuum or hair dryer, as long as it’s not coming at her. The other ones stay clear! It’s a 1970s heavy Electrolux tank. If that Dyson does what you say it will for cat hair…

  16. Out of curiosity, I visited the Rexair website and lo and behold, there still exist in this world door-to-door vacuum salesmen! (Want a job? They are hiring) Congrats on the new Dyson. Anything that truly picks up cat hair is worth its weight in gold!

  17. My ex-mother-in-law always raved about her Rainbow – but I couldn’t get past the idea of having to deal with all of that heavy water. I like my Hoover Windtunnel, but whenever it dies, I think I’ll look into a Dyson. No more bags.

  18. Let us all know what you think about your new vac! And, a second to Dave’s question…how does it do on wood floors? We’ve had Kenmore canisters. I like a canister, they’re ok for the $, but when this one goes, it’ll be something else. A friend loves her Miele canister. Did use a Rainbow, years ago. It was great for flea infestations (which I haven’t had to deal with since leaving Syracuse…hmmmm….). Add a touch of detergent to the water and drown the little bugggers. Bagless does have a lot of appeal.

  19. My Mom has one of those older Rainbows – and while they do a great job, they are huge.. the dyson looks just about perfect (and I agree with Margene, Mayhem… watch your fluffy tail around Mr Dyson.. those things tend to get grabbie)

  20. Wow! Nice gift to self. I’m glad people have been posting about their vacuums. We don’t have one. We left our 15-year-old Kenmore canister in our old place when we moved. Canisters are great–quality, but I hate getting them out and lugging them around! We have no carpet or rugs where we are now, but we could use something quick and easy on the laminate flooring–cat hair and litter. Don’t know that we can afford a Dyson, at least without being able to justify it when we don’t have carpeting.

    I want a cordless vacuum like cordless electric mowers. I suppose they would lose power?

    In any case, glad you like your present.

  21. I had an R2D2 Rainbow for years, then passed it on to my sister. I just killed my Hoover – I think it was the nailclippers that got stuck in the motor, but the strange noise and burning rubber smell were it’s death knell. I picked up something smaller but more powerful on Overstock.com. Someone I’ll get a really good vacuum.

    My cats have never liked the vacuum, but we had a collie who loved to be vacuumed – he’d follow my mother around the house and lie down in front of her…

    Oh well, Happy New Year! Enjoy your Dyson.

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