A devil personified (Dirt Devil Featherlite)

Member Name: romybuzzer

Product:	Dirt Devil Featherlite
Date:	03/04/02 (646 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, lightweight

Disadvantages: Poor pick up, noisy

When we decided to invest in a new vacuum, we forgot a very important adage.
"You only get what you pay for".
While there are exceptions to the rule, they did not apply to the Dirt Devil Vacuum Cleaner that we purchased last year.

On perusing the many makes, models and styles available at Comet, we decided to opt for a cheap replacement for our upright hoover.

The model we opted for matched our old style. An upright.
Dirt devil make several versions of upright be we went with the Featherlite. Sheerly for the price as they were on special offer.

The Featherlite is a good description for this hoover. It is extremely lightweight, making it easy to carry up the stairs. We all know how heavy they can be and when it is full of dirt and dust, it increases further.However, it is a very noisy hoover which negates any advantage made by the weight.
One of its useful features is that it carries all of its attachments on the rear of the hoover. The stair cleaning attachments, brushes, etc are all easily stored in the corresponding compartments on the back.
This becomes handy when you need to change one of the ends and you dont want to go rooting through the cupboard to find the extension.
It comes with a 25 foot power cord so that you do not need to keep unplugging it every time you change rooms. There is no wind up mechanism though so be prepared to wind by hand.

It is a bagged hoover which means that it requires a disposable bag to collect the dirt. Most modern hoovers are adopting the bagless approach so this is really using outdated technology. Not the most efficient way to pick up dust.
This is reflected in its performance.
The suction power does not seem to be strong enough to remove all dirt and dust from the carpet. It claims that it's 12 Volt Motor is more than ample to create a great suction.
I presume the motor is strong enough but the seal around the base of the plastic
housing that connects it to the carpet is not airtight enough and fails to pick up the dirt.
The times we have had to push the hoover over and over a single spot to remove something is beyond a joke.
The cleaning power was so attrocious that we complained to Comet and exchanged it for a more expensive make but far better at dirt pick up. OK, so our new hoover does not carry the tools and is slightly heavier, but at least are carpets are now clean.
I cannot comment on the other models in the Dirt Devil range but please avoid the featherlite if you want a hoover that picks up!

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