Death by Dustbunny

After 10 long years of faithful service, the old Hoover started making a lot more noise and was developing a definite shimmy. My DH did all he could to try to revive it, however this time, it seems the dust bunnies had pulled one over on the old machine and there appeared to be no coaxing it back into trouble free performance.

One would think purchasing a new vacuum would be relatively straight forward, though it turned not to be. Obviously, since the last one lasted 10 years, I'd like to see at least that same kind of performance from the new one. Add allergies and a pair of cats to the mix, and the job becomes a bit more complex. Vacuums, it seems, run anywhere from less than $100 to well over $400. I had learned via researching dust control measures for my carder that baghouses (bagged vacuum systems) work more efficiently than cyclone systems - further research on the matter confirmed that for ease of use and efficiency, I should stick with bagged systems. With this small bit of knowledge in hand, it was just a question of researching available models.

Turns out I've abandoned Hoover - so much for brand loyalty. The shop that I had planned on purchasing the vacuum from did not carry any bagged hoovers - the only option was this rather boldly colored vacuum, made by Eureka. I had recalled that a Eureka had done quite well in the recent Consumer Reports reviews - but I wasn't certain that it was this one - it turns out after some additional research, this one did indeed do quite well with Consumer Reports, being rated a best buy.

Of course, once purchased, it had to be assembled and taken for a "test run" - it's much quieter and appears to be more powerful than the old vacuum (managed to pick up a fair bit of dirt out of the carpet even though old faithful had just been used that morning (prior to being declared terminally ill)). So far so good - I guess only time will tell.

As for Old Faithful Hoover, he's sitting in the front foyer waiting to be ushered out. I'm trying to decide if he's "fixable" or not - after all, the motor still runs, if a bit louder and with more vibration than I would like. I suppose I can either freecycle it or see if anyone else cares to adopt it.