Tuesday, March 3, 2009

That Sucks!!

The Bag Lady is happy!

She and the Rancher went to town yesterday and, amongst other things, brought home a new vacuum cleaner! Now, before you sneer, please recall the Bag Lady was excited to receive a new bagless vacuum cleaner just before Christmas 2007. That excitement lasted right up until she had to empty the damned thing! What a mess! It got to the point where the Bag Lady had to take it outside to empty it because if she emptied it inside, she would have to vacuum again! A total pain in the ass. Especially when it was minus 40. Occasionally, she even had to use her old vacuum cleaner to vacuum the inside of the bagless vacuum cleaner! She suffered for over a year with the mess and inconvenience of that Blessed Bagless Beast, until she decided she was totally and completely fed up with it.

She bought the same kind of vacuum she had before the Blessed Bagless Beast, which means she can use the attachments from the old vacuum. The new vacuum has slightly different attachments, so she should have just about every possible vacuuming situation covered.

She has sworn that she is going to take great delight in destroying the BBB - she is going to take it outside and run it over with the wheel loader. Then she's going to run over it again, just to make sure it's dead!

Now she understands the concept of a bagless vacuum cleaner - it's supposed to be better for the environment because there are no bags cluttering up the landfill sites. Unfortunately, the Bag Lady didn't feel it was better for HER environment to spend her entire life cleaning her house, then cleaning up after emptying her vacuum! Add that to the fact that an upright vacuum cleaner is awkward and inconvenient, and she was more than happy to go back to her canister-style.

Now, if she could just convince the vacuum to run itself, she'd be in heaven!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get it. I totally get it.
Before we bought our bagless vacuum cleaner, I watched a friend empty her cannister. She walked to the garage, opened the garbage can, and whacked the heck out of the cannister on the inside of the garbage can. It made a lot of dust.
I use a large paper bag for the same reason (I really don't want to touch the inside of our garbage can) but a problem remains: I have a cannister that needs washing!
GROSS!! When this vacuum dies, I'm going back to the kind that makes me buy disposable paper bags.

Congratulations on your new and better vacuum cleaner! :)

Vee said...

I have no idea what kind of vacuum cleaner we have. That's why I have my Tween - I think it's my only non-responsibility in the whole house! Yup... I do everything else. Which reminds me... that 4 loads of laundry ain't gonna wash/dry itself! And Hubby's out of underwear.... Vee at www.veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

Leah J. Utas said...

I have this urge to say Sucktastic!
Keep the "Blessed Bagless Beast" around so when the self-righteous environmental police come by in their SUVs to set you straight you can point to it.

Clare2e said...

I love my current bagless, but I went through several models until I ended up with it. Vacuuming is one of my least favorite chores, and it's doubly cruel to have to face it with a device you hate. Bags for Baggie!

Geosomin said...

DO IT.
Destroy :)
After I got a printer that worked, I took my old pain in the ass one that had given me years of greif in university out in the yard and vented...with a bat...and only little bits were left.
Aaaaaaahhhhhh. :)
Using the front loader sounds like a hoot...

That's my one beef with bagless vaccuums. Seems like a good idea, but they make a mess. My mom had a rainbow - the kind you put water into. It rocked, and was the only bagless vaccuum I've ever liked. Of course then you had sludgy water to be rid of...but less messy...

new*me said...

The only thing I liked about my old bagless was seeing the dirt that was in my carpet ;).....somehow it thrilled me!

Now I have an incredible Hoover with bags and I love it ;)

Missicat said...

I thought I was the only one who hated the bagless vacuums....mine is livng in my storage bin now. Not fun emptying all that kitty hair!
I want a Roomba!

the Bag Lady said...

kcinnova - that was exactly my problem. And using a paper bag to empty the damned thing kinda negates the idea of bagless, doesn't it? Might as well have the bag inside the machine!

Vee - wish I had a tween... sigh.

dfLeah - I will. Perhaps I can make some kind of bizarre sculpture out of the pieces.... :)

Clare - I have a little "stick" vacuum that is bagless - but the cup is small and doesn't hold much, so emptying it doesn't create the clouds of dust that the other did. And I despise vacuuming, (along with most other housework!) so I like it to be as painless as possible! Call me the Bag Lady for more than one reason! :)

Geo - sometimes venting is such a pleasure!! The Rancher had a chain saw that was terribly difficult to start. He finally reached the end of his "chain" (snort) one day and took the sledgehammer to it.

Annette - I can understand the thrill of seeing all the dirt you gathered up, what I hated was seeing it all float around and settle on everything again!!

the Bag Lady said...

Missicat - I debated about a Roomba, but because my house is on two levels (sunken living room) it would be easier to get a canister model. What I want is some kind of built-in thing along the baseboards that would automatically sense when the cat/dog hair is building up and turn itself on - whoosh, your house is clean.
Dreamer, that's me....

Reb said...

Good for you! I hate uprights, but bagless is just wrong, especially for my allergies :(

Missicat said...

Bag Lady - please invent that machine! I will buy!

the Bag Lady said...

Reb - Never bagless again! Should have known someone called the Bag Lady should have a bag in her vacuum, too!

Missicat - isn't that a wonderful idea? Wish I were smart enough to figure out how to install it without ripping the entire house apart.....

Redbush said...

Ahhhhh! Vaccuming! What a pleasurable experience especially for Bonzi! That's our built-in one. The bag only has to be changed every 6 months, or so. We also have and upright one with a bag that we do our rugs with. It[s too bad you had that awful experience with your bagless one, but, invite me over when you do the celebration with the loader until it dies! What a hoot! I, haven't met a person that likes vaccuming. It would be great if I could teach Bonzi to vaccum himself and then the floor!

the Bag Lady said...

Redbush - Brilliant! Having the dog do the vacuumming would be perfect - after all, it's because of the dog that I need to vacuum so much to begin with!

Sarah said...

You need a Roomba!!!

Hilary said...

I actually love my cheap little bagless canister vacuum. I empty it every time I finish the upstairs floor and the stairs. It has a little dial type thingy that you're suppose to turn a few times so that it releases most of the clingy dust into the vessel before you actually open it and dump it. It creates a bit of dust but not too much. I just resume vacuuming around the garbage and then onto the rest of the house. I like not having to look for hard-to-find bags.

Anonymous said...

LOL! I'm glad you finally got what you wanted. I have to admit I love the bagless ones, but then again, it doesn't get down to 40 below out here. Heck, it doesn't usually get below 60 ABOVE!

the Bag Lady said...

Sarah - I would love a Roomba, but it doesn't do stairs.....

Hilary - mine didn't have a dial to release the dirt into the vessel. Perhaps if it had......

Marste - you must have a better bagless than I had. Of course, if it never got below 60 around here, I'd have absolutely nothing to blog about.....!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Aha this made me laugh... I'm all about a good quality vacuum cleaner. And I'm with you; have to make sure it suits OUR environments ;)

the Bag Lady said...

Sagan - I'm all for saving the environment, too, but damn, that vacuum was terrible. Waste of electricity, vacuuming after you vacuumed......

Rupal said...

I do love me a good vacuum cleaner..despite how I hate vacuuming... but there's no feeling like the one you get when you can just put the head of the vacuum a foot away from the dust and it sucks it right up (ok, a foot is exaggerating but you get the idea ;)

Glad you got a new one! Maybe a Rumba would work for ya! I've always been fascinated by those things.

~rupal

Anonymous said...

I have a FAAAAANCY vacuum.
the dyson.
I swear it SUCKED UP some of the Toddler college fund but for canine hair is is divine.

now do I use it often enough? we werent talking about that part...

the Bag Lady said...

Rupal - I love that kind of vacuum, too - the one with really good suction - makes vacuuming so much easier.

Miz - I looked at a Dyson, but went with what I knew.
And do I use mine often enough? Methinks not....

Charlotte said...

Congrats on the vacuum! Funny how the little things can be so problematic and then when solved can bring so much joy!

JavaChick said...

We have a bagless. Husband chose the vacuum, so I make him empty it.

:)

the Bag Lady said...

Charlotte - too true! Not that I enjoy vacuuming, but it is so much more enjoyable with a good machine.

JavaChick - I don't blame you! Does he also do the vacuuming?

solarity said...

Happy for you that you have a canister again! You do want a Roomba, but not as a primary vacuum. I use mine in the middle of the week to pick up the worst of the dog hair and fluff so that I don't need to use the main vacuum more than once a week. Despite have all kinds of filters, ending with a HEPA, that are supposed to keep this vacuum from stirring up dust, my allergies still protest. (Stairs? In the three months since we moved into the new house I have yet to carry the vacuum down to the basement and plug it in so I can vacuum the bottom half of the stairs...)

Mary Anne in Kentucky

the Bag Lady said...

Mary Anne in Kentucky - I debated about a Roomba, but realized it wouldn't be enough, so had to choose because I couldn't afford to get two new vacuums. Maybe someday I can add a Roomba, just for the sheer joy of watching the reaction of the dog and cats..... :)

JavaChick said...

Bag Lady, he does vacuum sometimes though just the floors. I have to do the couch (which needs to be done regularly because of all the cat hair); not sure why he won't (or thinks he can't/shouldn't have to) do the couch, but I appreciate any help I can get with the housework...

Aleta said...

I'm happy for you that you got a new vacuum! Sounds a lot better!

And ummm, when you teach it to operate itself, can I send mine over for classes? hehe

the Bag Lady said...

JavaChick - wonder if he would give the Rancher lessons?

Aleta - just as soon as I get mine trained, I'll send detailed instructions.... :)

Lucas said...

For a Bag Lady such as yourself, to go without a bag.....that just seems wrong. Welcome back to vacuuming the way it was meant to be! Enjoy the suck!

the Bag Lady said...

Lucas - that's how I feel about it, too! What was I thinking? :)