This is not the World's Greatest Vacuum Cleaner, not by a long shot. But for 10-plus years it's gotten the job done. I've been known to curse the canister for flipping over or getting stuck around a corner, but it gets the job done. It's not a Hepa-this or bagless-that or self-propelling-sit-back-and-have-a-beer-while-it-vacuums cleaner (though that does sound awesome). It's old faithful, and it gets 'er done.
About two weeks ago I did something so incredibly stupid that I wonder if I'm finally losing what's left of my mind. I knowingly vacuumed up something really wet and stinky. Hello? It's not a Wet-Vac, you know, like the one that's DOWN IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM. I'm lucky I didn't get electrocuted. So the vacuum was really gross and gloppy, and it sat in our garage for several days while we pondered the options. It was tempting, so tempting, so get a brand new vacuum. Those beautiful Miele's at Stark's, our wonderful local store, wanted to come home with me, all of them. But in the end we decided to get old faithful cleaned and tuned up for $89. There was a hole in the hose, which we could have replaced for $289, but I opted for the duct tape solution, thankyouverymuch. The old girl is as good as new, er, as good as she was before.
I was vacuum-less for about two weeks, and let me tell you how GRATEFUL I am for this modern convenience. My push broom, which works fine on the nasty vinyl floor in the kitchen, merely scattered around the dirt and hair in the bathroom and, of course, simply mocked the area rugs. It was nice to finally give the house a good, honest sweep. Renee mentioned the saying in her purse repair post: use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without. I can handle the first three pretty well, but it's hard to imagine doing without a vacuum cleaner.
One thing I was happy to learn: you can recycle a lot of vacuum cleaner parts. Stark's does this and says that you can recycle 90% of Miele vacuums: the plastic, metal, cords, the works. The woman who serviced my cleaner said that they can probably recycle about 50% of the average vacuum, though it really depends on the model. It's good to remember, because one day my old faithful just might decide that her sweeping days are over. (I'll be waiting for you, Miele.)
Recent Comments