This Vacuum Sucks
When it comes to our cleaning routine, we get a surprising amount of inquiries about how we keep house. Well, allow me to introduce my bff when it comes to tidying up. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Dirt Devil Kurv:
No this is not a paid endorsement. Nor did Dirt Devil send me one for free. I paid for one just like the rest of the world, and let me tell you that it was the best money I ever spent.
See, before the Kurv came into my life I spent about an hour a week feebly cleaning up crumbs in the kitchen and dust bunnies on the hardwood/tile floors of each of our nine rooms. My three failing methods were these: a dustpan (crumbs and dust flew everywhere but were never all collected), a vaccuum cleaner (far to bulky to maneuver easily and plugging it in everywhere I went was a drag so it took forever and scared the bejeesus out of the dog), and a swiffer duster pad (great for grabbing dust at first but they so frequently need to be replaced once they’ve maxed out in the dust-grabbing department that I easily went through ten to clean the whole house- what a waste!).
And then this baby came to live with us. Now I can un-crumb and de-dust our entire home in less than five minutes. I am not exaggerating. It’s probably closer to three minutes actually. Say someone’s on their way over but there’s hair on the bathroom floor. No problemo. In the time that it takes your forthcoming friend to arrive you can clean the whole house instead of spending five minutes trying to pick up those aforementioned bathroom floor hairs with your fingers.
The power suckage, cordless design, and long skinny nose get into every corner and cranny- I can even slide it along the base of the kitchen cabinets in a second (where all those crumbs hide under the cabinet lip). I simply walk through the house aiming the nose at each corner, along the baseboards, under the table, etc. And with one pass dust is hasta la vista, baby. It’s even great for sucking up little fern leaves that my plants decide to drop when they’re done with ‘em. And things like heavy duty kitchen crumbs are no match for this stronger-than-most-real-vacuum-cleaners contraption. And this is coming from someone who always had a dustbuster laying around and hated the thing more than the vacuum. The Kurv is not a dustbuster, it is a godsend.
So for anyone with hardwood and tile floors looking for something a bit less cumbersome than a vacuum and a bit more thorough than a swiffer duster pad or a dustpan, feel free to court the Kurv. If you don’t wanna marry him I’ll be seriously surprised. Of course we still rely on our vacuum for the area rugs throughout the house, and give the wood floors a good scrub every few months. But for maintenance there’s really nothing like the Kurv.
Oh and although it’s hardly ugly, it isn’t really pretty either. So we don’t buy into the whole “it’s like sculpture, have it on display” suggestion. Ours charges behind our white armchair in the den, so no one’s the wiser but it’s always on hand. The only thing we’d change would be the capacity (it does need to be emptied with each use- but that’s not the biggest deal considering I could empty it about a hundred times in the time it saves me when it comes to cleaning).
And while we’re on the subject, I thought I’d ask you guys for your favorite cleaning tips and tricks. Has any product or technique improved your routine so majorly that you want to shout it from the rooftops? I’m definitely looking for more shortcuts in this whole housekeeping game, so by all means feel free to come clean.
Product shot from amazon.com
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I’ve never tried this one – I rely on my dustbuster for quick cleanups (particularily in the bathroom!). I do like that it appears to have a smaller nose to it so I may have to give it a try. I’m a slave to my Dyson – love it.
I got the Dirt Devil “Cone” a few years ago (same exact thing, just a different shape) and I LOVE IT!!! I completely agree with you – best thing ever made, and it works great!!
ditto on the dyson–we love ours so much we got it a little brother: amazon had the DC16 Root 6 (whatever THAT name means) refurbished for about half the price of a new one. it lives on the wall next to our laundry machines and is utterly brilliant for broken glass, dust “puppies,” those annoying bits of styrofoam that fly out when you get new home stuff, etc., etc.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It can clean ANYTHING. Especially the new foaming ones!
Coincidentally, it’s the Woot-of-the-day on http://www.woot.com. $20 for a brand new one! I bought one this am. Good to know you enjoy it!
So, I assume you still Swiffer/sweep for the large floor areas, and use this for corners/cabinets/little touch ups? It looks like the nose is way too small to effectively use it to do the bulk of vacuuming that needs to be done. I’m just curious – I too feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time fighting crumbs and dust in our hardwood apartment! I’d love anything to make the process easier.
Are you posting this today because it is currently on woot.com ?
Cool beans! We didn’t even know it was on woot.com today. How funny! $20 for a brand new one is a steal.
And Bethany, you’re right to assume this works best in corners, under tables and cabinets, etc. We still do the big areas either with our vacuum (which is sadly not a Dyson) or the swiffer, but for “maintenance” between the more major clean ups it’s truly amazing and leaves the whole house looking spic n’ span in no time flat. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
Today’s woot has this item for $19.99 plus a flat fee of $5 for shipping. I was thinking of getting one, but I didn’t know anyone who owned one. Thank you for posting this – I am taking the plunge! I’ve been using my Dyson Slim (also purchased from woot) for the smallest of tasks (like the bathroom hairs) – such a pain for such a small chore. I love woot!
My relationship with my dustbuster is touch and go…seems like lately the power capacity has deminished. Maybe a Kurv-y lady will be just the ticket! btw – Could you post a photo on your house tour tab of your guest bedroom with the new lamp? I have been trying to guesstimate scale for bedside table lamps and wanted to use that as a reference :)
p.s. remote salizar is too funny! my mom has a garden with a peter pe-trellis in it :)
Hey Katie,
Your wish is our command. We updated our house tour (and room by room breakdown) page with a new pic of the guest bedroom. Hope it helps! Happy lamping!
xo,
Sherry
Well, I have just one thing to possible top the Kurv…and that is the Electrolux Ergorapido.
http://www.target.com/Eureka-Electrolux-Ergorapido-2-in-1-Sweeper/dp/B0013D7952
This was a little pricey for a hard surface floor vac, but it is awesome, and very well worth the price. I can quickly run the cordless vac all over the house without hurting my back to bend over, and then the handheld portion pulls out to do counters, etc. It looks nice too.
I can’t say enough about it!
Im rather disappointed with it. Im from Europe and i thought Elecrolux is the best thing in the whole world, but after a while it stopped sucking good and is pretty much useless right now. Also sometimes when you vacuum it spits out crumbs and other solid pieces :( I honestly would recommend investing into smth decent like dyson. Yes it expensive but man does it suck! We got a city version. Its very nice and compact! Cleaning hardwood floors is a piece of cake now! but make sure you have a right attachment, because I believe some of them do not come with the hard wood floor attachment.
Dyson is fabulous! We have animal version to clean up after our dog and two long haired cats… I’m liking the idea of one of these Kurvs for small stuff!
I was going to sing the priase of the Electrolux Ergorapido, but Amarie beat me to it. After we moved from a smallish flat to a larger, three-story house, the Ergorapido has been priceless!
We received the same little guy for Christmas. I adore it. It’s so convenient and really does a great job. And, while I don’t consider it sculptural, I don’t mind it if someone sees it. It’s not as ugly as my huge vacuum.
I know that “chores” for kiddos are going out of fashion (not in my house, though!!), but I just had to say that we have a similar contraption and my 4year old and 6 year old get the biggest THRILL out of using them. It hasn’t worn off, either :) My kids have loved using vacuuming gadgets for over 4 years now!!! What a fun way to incorporate the kiddos into the housework :) I think it really gives them a sense of responsibility that they love when they are little.
Great post!!!
I will triple the praise of the Electrolux Egro…thingy. I have one and it is such a blessing. I recently had hardwood installed and this was the answer I was looking for!! Definitely recommend. No bending over, plus a littl hand held pops out of the base of it, for really hard to reach areas. Would love a Dyson someday!!
Another shout out for the Ergorapido; it’s awesome. My downstairs is all wood floors and I would go crazy if I had to sweep it all every day.
The Libman Wondermop is the best wet mop ever. You can wring it out sufficiently, and when you are finished, you can detach the head and toss it in the washing machine, so the next time you mop, you aren’t just pushing old dirt around!
As far as tips: keep cleaning supplies all over the house – each bathroom, kitchen, linen closets – that way the stuff you need is right at hand when you need it. I like having cute buckets to store stuff in and nice microfiber cloths so that it feels like I’m doing something good for myself along with actually getting things clean!
I’m a big fan of ‘mini’ versions of cleaning appliances too. Although, I have a Dustbuster and I hate it. So I’ll consider getting this or the Ergorapido maybe.
My favorite minis are
1) the Black and Decker Scumbuster (This is a newer version: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3059953) which is great for helping out in the elbow grease department on hard water scuzz that can build up if you are just wiping the shower down with a cloth and cleaning solution.
2) the Bissell Spotlifter (http://www.amazon.com/Bissell-1719B-SpotLifter-Portable-Cleaner/dp/B000AS9IIC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1234382162&sr=1-6, again newer version than mine) is awesome for cleaning up, um, gross things that happen when you have dogs. We haven’t had to clean up after the baby yet, but I’m sure we won’t escape without at least one projectile vomit incident, so it’ll help out there too!
I am such a cleaning product/gadget junkie, so this post is very exciting!! We have all hard flooring and four dogs, so we have lots of crumbs and major hair bunnies. Weekly vacuuming is necessary for us, but we need something for daily touch ups so the hair doesn’t build up so much. Now I’m lusting after the Kurv!
As for my favorites:
1) Miele Calypso vacuum cleaner- it’s a lightweight, easy to maneuver cannister that has HEPA, lots of attachments, and REALLY works.
2) Whitewing Steam Cleaner – it is a dry steam cleaner that you can use for all surfaces (gotta be careful with paint). We use it for cleaning the bathrooms, all floors, upholstery, counters, dog crates, walls, etc. It’s amazing and it has reduced our need for specialty (read toxic) cleaners. We also love that it kills dustmites since we are both allergic. My only complaint is that I wish it had continuous refill for those days that you want to steam for 6 hours straight!
Oh, I forgot #3) Euronet USA microfiber cleaning products. They are higher quality than the kind you buy at major stores, and have lasted a LONG time. Love the glass cloth, all purpose cloths, and the dry and wet mop attachments. We use the mop like a swiffer, but it has washable pads. I found out about them through the ‘Queen of Clean’ books/website.
I need to know what tames dust and dog hair in a small house with new wood floors! I have a Dyson, a dust mop, a Swiffer, etc. Is it something I am just going to have to live with since we are sans carpet now?
Any suggestions?
They are selling them on http://www.woot.com today for $19.99. I got one of these for Christmas last year and returned it…not good reviews…it losses suction after a few months. I bought a Shark that I love.
Nicole H- I think some of the issues with the Kurv losing suction after a few months may be attributed to user error. My best friend was actually complaining about this and then she showed me her Kurv and I noticed it wasn’t charging correctly (it was resting in the charger but wasn’t snapped into place so the green light wasn’t on and it wasn’t getting juice). Once she realized her error she’s had great suction ever since. Either way, the Shark sounds lovely too. How fun must it be to name vacuum cleaners these days?!
Sadie- I am a fan of emptying out the bulk of the dust over the garbage can and then going outside to pull out the filer (that piece comes loose on it’s own, which I appreciate) and give it a few good wacks against my back railing to knock any dust or dirt loose from the filter. I don’t think it’s a method that’s endorsed by Kurv, but it seems to do the trick!
Melanie- I hope you saw Elizabeth’s lovely response to your question. She has four long haired dogs so she really is the expert on this subject!
And for everyone else who has chimed in with products and cleaning suggestions that help you clean house, I’m eternally grateful! We’ll definitely be trying a few new gadgets and approaches to see how cleaning can get even easier around here!
xoxo,
Sherry
any suggestions for getting the filter ultra clean… I have the Dirt Devil Kone myself and am always looking to find a way to clean it better/easier. Thanks.
I’ve been looking for a good handheld vac so this came just in time. I just ordered one from woot.com…never heard of that website before today. Thanks!
I also have the cone by dirt devil and I adore it! It’s great for hardwoods and drapes.
Ditto on the magic eraser! I love those!!
Melanie, we have a small house (1000 square feet) and 4 Golden Retrievers. Our vacuum cleaner rocks, but it is a hassle to drag it out daily to get the accumulated hair. I think a hand-held would do the trick for daily clean up. I just ordered the Kurv for my hubby for V-day, so we will see!
here i was coming to comment and let everyone know this is the wootoff today! ha! seems several people beat me to it. either way, good to see such a great review of this product… maybe i’ll bite!
Electrolux Ergorapido! So glad so many other people love theirs too. Best Christmas gift I got this year.
I want one of those so bad, but the hubster threw an absolute fit about it (I’m still not quite sure why).
And as far as cleaning tips go, my big tip is white vinegar. I love me some crisp white sheets. The hubster sweats like nothing I’ve EVER seen when he sleeps, and even if he showers before bed, I end up with yellow sweat stains on his half (gross, I know). For years, I tried to bleach the sheets, and that didn’t work at all. Recently, some kind soul told me to soak them in a bucket of white vinegar and water (about one cup of vinegar per bucket of H2O). Then wash as usual…much to my surprise, they were crispy white again!
PS- This trick only works if you HAVEN’T tried washing/bleaching the item first, so try it the next time you buy some white sheets.
Our lifesaver is the Roomba! Turn that puppy on and get busy on your other chores. We’ve got all hardwoods but it transitions to carpet too, especially our super sticky FLOR tiles. My husband picked it out and loves to use it…bonus!
I have a Dirt Devil cone and a Black and Decker something-or-other. I love them, I have one upstairs and one down and I can indulge my obsession in cleaning up after my messy little children. It is lifechanging!!
I’m so glad I read through the comments! I just picked up a Kurv of my very own for just $24 (after shipping) from Woot; thanks to those who wrote about it for the heads-up. I’m so excited!
I too have a Kurv. It lives upstairs, and I should check out Woot so I can get another one for the downstairs.
I hate to houseclean, so have no suggestions, other than to just keep putting it off until you know someone judgey will be coming over.
Thanks for the tip. My dustbuster recently died (I think it’s been charged up and drained too many times and now isn’t any good. I’d love to know, how do you mop your hardwood floors.
Also, how do you clean the white grout in your bathroom shower?? I’m having a killer time. A friend suggested the clorox bleach pen. Any tips you have?
Thanks!
:-)
My favorite product is the kaboom toilet cleaning system. It fits in your toilet tank and as you flush the fresh water cyles through the system. My toilets have never been so clean! The best part is that each system has a 3 dollar off coupon for another toilet. So try it out once and if you like it the second one is $3 off! It’s refillable so after the first 3 months just add new tablets.
have you ever used it on any upholstered items like a sofa? we have a white dog and his hair gets all over the place, and most annoyingly all over the sides of our chocolate covered sofa. its a never ending battle. i would like something like the kurv that i could just whip out every morning / if we are having guests over for a quick fix. just wondering your opinion.
Hey Lindsay,
I can’t promise that it’ll do the job perfectly since I don’t know the hair situation you’re dealing with (Burger has tiny short hairs that come up easily but longer hairs might be more of a battle) and the nose is pretty small so you’d have to spend about a minute going over the whole surface, but I’m pretty confident that the Kurv is the cure. It definitely has better than average suction so it should work out just dandy.
xo,
Sherry
I am now another proud owner of a Kurv from Woot! Mu dustbuster had also stopped holding a charge and I had not replaced it b/c I didn’t want to go through the whole cycle again. I’m hoping the Kurv will work well on our dog-har dust bunnies!
Thanks so much for the info on Woot! I just ordered myself one too, cant wait to get it in 5 days and give it a run for its money. With a 110 pound Lab we have a ton of fur around our house daily. Thanks for the tip!
Once again your fabulous website has become my shiny beacon of hope. We have hardwood floors throughtout our house – painted BLACK hardwood floors downstairs that show EVERYTHING. I go through the cumbersome process of sweep, vaccuum, swiffer, repeat. It’s so time consuming. I’m going to have to check this bad boy out! Thanks!
Thanks so much for this post! I’ve been looking for something like this too for quick cleanups, esp. since we have two dogs that shed a LOT!
I also love the Magic Eraser, and my microfiber mop. Just wet, wring, and go! We have to be careful what kind cleaners we use on our laminate floor, plus I prefer to keep the chemicals at bay. For our tile we just create a water/Mrs.Meyers (love that stuff too!) solution and use the same mop. You can take the pad off and rinse as often as you need. Much greener than a Swiffer, and it can be used dry.
I line the bottoms of my trash cans with old newspaper/grocery store ads. If any spills or drips get past the bag, just change out the paper versus having to get up close and personal with the inside or your trash can.
Well, we’re currently building a new house and the one thing I am super excited to have in it, is our central vac, complete with vac-pan vents on the main floor. I’ll just be able to sweep all the little crumbs right into a vent in the floor!!! My parents had a central vac and I loved it. We’ll keep the house on the upstairs (only carpeted level), so we don’t have to lug it around the whole house. However, we currently use the ErgoRapido, which we keep in the storage/litter box room!
I’m getting to this a little bit late, but I wanted to add that I absolutely love Borax–toss it in a load of wash with your regular detergent and it gets out pesky odors (great if you have kids and/or dogs). You can also pour it directly on your carpet for dog/child related pee accidents It’s also awesome for shining up sinks and faucets.
I recommend a Roomba as well! Especially if you have pets – it picks up the hair and dust on a daily basis.
They had this plugged in at Target this weekend so I tried it – the suction didn’t seem very strong which disappointed me. Maybe the one they had was just not charged enough – who knows. I did see the handheld Dyson and decided that I desperately want it but man is it pricey for a handheld (though I do love my Dyson vac).
Hi Youngsters! The Kurv is now on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Only $30!
I just bought a Dyson Slim on closeout last night at Home Depot. Originally $479 (and still that price on most internet sites) for $299. Took it home, and couldn’t BELIEVE how well it cleaned my carpet. Talk about sucking….
Anyway, many Home Depots in Denver are completely sold out — in fact, the manager of one store said employees usually buy all of the Dyson’s up when they go on close-out. But check out your local stores — because it was a DEAL.
I got my Dirt Devil Kurv from the woot – and I must say although it is handy-dandy, not a lot of suction power. I’ve been trying to use it to pick up quick crumbs from the kitchen floor, and to pick up [a little] cat litter debris, and to suck up the dust bunnies that gather around the washer and dryer (all areas are vinyl floors) and I’m practically semi-scrubbing the floor with the tip just to pick up anything. It seems to me like it leaves more dirt on the floor than using a broom (if that’s even possible). I emptied it several times and it worked the same as it did new out of the box.
Hey Jessy,
I definitely think there’s something wrong with the battery or the filter of your Kurv. Everyone we know loves theirs (and doesn’t have to scrub the floor with it) and even strangers have written us since this post to sing the Kurv’s praises. Most of all, we love it- and we hated our old useless Dustbuster! It made a believer out of me! Perhaps you can return it or exchange it for a new one without the mechanical difficulty you’re describing? It really is the best thing since sliced bread, and while it probably can’t suck up sliced bread, it can certainly handle crumbs with ease. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry