Dirt Devil Vision

January 27th, 2010

Dirt Devil Vision

Question: How long do Bagless Vacuum cleaner filters last?

Hello, I'm thinking of purchasing Dirt Devil Vision vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter. I realize those filters are very expensive....how long do they last? (in terms of years, and in terms of how many times you emptied the cup approx).

I'm new to Vacuum Cleaners, open to suggestions! Thanks! (100-200 price range)

Answer: Personally, I'd stay away from Dirt Devil, Eureka both. I've never had good luck with either. If you're up to spend the $200 range, try a Bissell Healthy Home vacuum. It's got the HEPA filtration. The big difference is it has a similar cyclonic air path to the Dyson (9 little cyclones) in there to spin the dirt out of the air stream and into the collection cup. This means less dirt goes to the filters and your filters last longer.

And the unit has a sponge filter that is washable before the expensive HEPA filter. Keep that clean and your HEPA filter will last a lot longer. Because I keep that filter clean, I've not had to replace the HEPA filter yet although I have taken it out and cleaned it with another sweeper one time. And I've had the sweeper just about a year. But in my house, a sweeper sees a LOT of use!

We empty the cup after every use. And every so often, I take the entire dirt collection unit outside and tear it apart and brush all the loose dirt/dust out of it. The stuff that sticks to the sides and so forth. Leaving dirt in the sweeper usually results in stinky sweeper and no one likes that! We try to sweep every other day minimum because of the pets. And during shedding season, it's likely to be every day!

I'm very happy with the Bissell Healthy Home. We have a lot of pets (3 dogs and 4 cats) and it deals with the Pet Hair great. Does a good job on hard floors and carpet both. The only issue is that the suction is so strong that throw rugs are an issue! It tries to eat them for lunch! But it comes with a little Turbo hand tool that you use on upholstery and we just use that on the throw rugs.

If you watch, you can get this unit on sale in the $200 range, normal price is about $250. Lifetime belt and 5 year warranty. I've gotten good life out of my Bissells. My oldest one is about 8 years old. It still works great but the catch that holds the unit in the upright position broke and the unit kept falling over and it was driving my husband nuts. So I bought the new one and the old one has been assigned duty as the dust collector in his wood refinishing shop. And the hose on the unit is soft and long enough I can park the base at the bottom of the steps and clean the entire staircase without any issues.