Great value for the price

I paid $39.99 for this vacuum online at Sears.com, basing my decision on the reviews on the website without ever seeing it in person. I put the vacuum together myself without any help except from my cordless drill. This was a very easy task as the directions were well laid out.

I then, of course, had to try this vacuum out. The suction was unbelievable when used on a carpet compared to my last vacuum which was also a Dirt Devil. I thought it was my chenille braided rug that was the cause of having issues with having to vacuum it over and over to pick up debris but this wasn't the case...it was the vacuum. This vacuum has no issues of capturing the debris on the rug at all.

So, onto the bare floor where the biggest test was to come for me. My last vacuum would spit the dirt back at me from the back of the vacuum. This vacuum doesn't do this at all. The suction is great on the laminate floor that we have....so great....that the vacuum would even get the dirt in the gaps we have in the floor. The edge cleaning did a good job as well.

One needs to remember that when going from bare floors to carpets and vice-versa that the vac needs to be repositioned to the upright position in order for the vac to operate optimally. This I found to be a very true statement that was in the "Use" section of the directions

Onto checking out the attachments...the hose is a bit on the cheaper side (it's a harder plastic) which makes it a tad bit hard to maneuver when re-attaching to the vacuum. My suggestion is to attach the hose to the vac and then worry about clipping it into place. All the attachments are easy to attach with the exception of re-attaching and un-attaching the hose to the vacuum. This is my biggest complaint as it's a royal pain in the butt....gets easier over time...but still a pain in the butt. I also must say that the directions aren't very clear on how one is to use the attachments (it's almost like you must have lots of common sense to know to unhitch the hose from the base…if you aren't mechanically inclined... which I tend not to be).

Because I like using the hose and attachments for under furniture, walls etc., and I hate to re-attach the hose to do the floor in the room that I am in before moving onto the next room, I had an old canister vacuum that has the wide brush attachment and I tried it on the end of the hose attachment....fit like a glove and it's my best friend. I can just pick the vac up and move from one place to another and get in the nooks and crannies that I couldn't by using the bare floor cleaner on the vac.

I have also learned that having a wider path cleaning vac isn't always the best thing especially if your rooms aren't that big and you have many things to vacuum around. This vac will fit into those spots without having to move...lets say the chair out to get under it.

The bags to this vac aren't all that big so my suggestion would be to have a stock on hand so when that time comes and you really need to vacuum but the vac doesn't seem to be doing the job, you can change the bag. I also recommend having extra belts on hand. I say this because after using the vac once, the belt broke...very easy to fix...but I didn't have one on hand and had a meeting the next day at my home. I found that my Wal-Mart tends to run out of the types that are needed for this vac often and don't go looking at the parts department for the items at Sears as they will tell you they have to be ordered and you will incur a shipping fee. Sometimes Sears will have them in stock in the small appliance section. My mom who also bought the same vacuum at K-Mart(for the same price I paid at Sears) after my telling her about mine, has found the bags at Big Lots.

Many question...bag or bag less. I have now had both types and will agree with the reviews I read on going with the bag vacuums.... A LOT less of a mess when changing the bag which means less dust and contaminants getting back into the air/home which isn't great for people with allergies.

With all this being said, I go through a vacuum about every year or so it seems, and I would most definitely recommend this vacuum. It's a great value for the money.