Thinking of buying a new Dustbuster

September 14, 2007 11:38 AM

Which Dustbuster should I buy?

Hi,

I'm interested in buying a new Dustbuster. I've noticed that the Dustbusters for sale on Amazon all have different voltages.

I bought a Dustbuster about a year ago but it wasn't very powerful. (I think it was 9v.)

Presumably the higher voltage models are more powerful?.

Could someone please tell me if any of the Dustbusters are powerful enough to vacuum food particles e.g. bread crumbs without having to repeatedly pass the handset over the crumbs?

I'd also be interested in any general advice you could give me on buying a Dustbuster, or even if you think I should buy a different hand vacuum (eg Dyson)?

Thanks in advance.

posted by Tnuocca to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

If you're not married to the idea of a Dustbuster, I got a Shark last year and absolutely love it. It's 15.6 volts, has very powerful suction, and one charge lasts a very long time. It vacuum's up small particles beautifully, and with the roller brush attachment even does a great job getting scattered kitty litter out of the carpet.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:47 AM on September 14, 2007

As far as handhelds go, this one is tops!

Dyson
posted by birdlips at 11:59 AM on September 14, 2007

Another vote for the Shark, for exactly the same reasons that mostlymartha loves it. The rolling brush head is awesome, and the suction is great. I've had mine for over a year with no noticeable change in suction.
posted by kimdog at 12:03 PM on September 14, 2007

Seconding the Dyson. I got the Root for a wedding gift, and honestly, it's awesome. I want to buy a full size dyson just because it's so great.
posted by jeffxl at 12:13 PM on September 14, 2007

I have this 14.4V dustbuster... it's fine for crumbs and stuff. No regrets - I'm thinking about getting another one.
posted by exogenous at 12:25 PM on September 14, 2007

Get a Royal "Dirt Devil". I really like mine. It has the brush-thingy that turns, unlike my old Dustbuster. I've had it for about 10 years and had to replace the belt once.
posted by wafaa at 2:52 PM on September 14, 2007

Cordless vacuums are all terrible, except for the Dyson Root6 and the big "power tool" models like the DeWalt DC500 and DC515, or the Ryobi P3200.

Limited filter area means all the "dustbuster" style vacs load up quickly and lose suction, and no matter how thoroughly you bash the dirt out of that little filter, it'll never flow enough air to be useful. My family has been through an original Dustbuster, a more recent Dustbuster, a cordless Shark, and two off-brand models. They were all terrible.

In particular, the chargers tended to overheat (and kill) the batteries. They say to leave the vac docked to the charger when it's not in use, but with an unregulated charger (which all these wall-warts were), that's a good way to shorten the batteries' lifespan. And they're not user-replaceable, of course. The power-tool vacs have beefier batteries and smarter chargers.

Also, the attachment selection for the little cordless ones is pretty terrible. The Shark came with a crevice tool, but because it uses some funky ovoid hose, it's not compatible with standard brushes or anything. A little duct tape fixed that, but why bother? Get something with a standard hose.

Corded models, on the other hand, can be pretty decent. The Dirt Devil I used ran so hot, the dusty exhaust air smelled like it was on fire, but it sure got the stairs clean! The corded Shark has some admirers, though I'm not among them for reasons stated above.

Don't expect allergy-friendly filtration from any handheld vac, though DeWalt claims HEPA for the DC515. YMMV.
posted by Myself at 3:11 AM on September 16, 2007