Hoover Platinum Series Upright is a Royal Pain

I hate to complain about products on my blog, but I'm going to do it today anyway. About a year and a half ago I needed a vacuum. I researched different products and prices and found one (the Platinum series bagged upright) that I thought would be an excellent buy and exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The vacuum is lightweight and has a high and low setting, and has a heavy duty, large bag--all of these things are great about it, but the one thing that the company must have thought would be a good thing, is what is driving me and everyone else who uses it in my home, crazy. There is this little feature that turns the machine off if something it things is bad passes under the brush. You know when you get too close to a shoelace, or yarn and it gets all twisted onto the spinning brush? On most of my machines, if this happens, I have to turn it off or else the brush will keep spinning and spinning and will over heat and melt the drive belt or something. Or maybe the whole vacuum could explode or something, I really don't know. I just know that it can mess up your vacuum. So, this Hoover Platinum series vacuum touts a little component that trips if it thinks you've got ahold of somthing that is going to get caught up in the brush. The only problem is that this thing trips all the time! One little crumb on the carpet and it turns off. One piece of fuzz and the thing turns off. One small bump of the machine into the wall and it turns off. What a pain! I talk and swear at this vacuum constantly. The really sad thing is that it really does a good job of vacuuming when it decides to do the work. If you are looking for a new vacuum, my advice would be to stay away from the Hoover Platinum Series Upright unless you have the patience of Job and nerves of steel. It just isn't worth the $200+ pricetag and the frustration.

Hoover LiNX Stick Vacuum Review

As requested by one of my readers, today is the day I am reviewing my new Hoover LiNX stick vacuum. First of all, I need to say that I have purchased and used many vacuums over the years. Since I have four kids and various pets, good, sturdy vacuums are a must. I don't have time to mess around, I need to get my cleaning done quickly and sufficiently. With that being said, I have to say I really like my Hoover LiNX. It is much more powerful and sturdy than the Shark Cordless stick I had a few years ago. That thing didn't even last a year before I was disenchanted with it. The great thing about my Hoover is that it is great on both the carpet and my wood and ceramic tile. The switch button is right on the handle and it is effortless to flip it from hardwood to carpet. Another thing I like about it is that the dust cup is very easy to empty, and the filter can also be rinsed off and used over and over. The vacuum is lightweight and easy to carry up and down stairs. My mother-in-law just purchased the latest version of the Shark cordless stick vacuum, and my sixteen year old daughter even made the comment that the Shark worked fine on my mother-in-law's vinyl floor, but it couldn't handle the carpet in the family room at all. The Hoover works VERY well on my frieze carpet.

There are a couple of things about the Hoover LiNX cordless stick vacuum that bug me. The first thing is the price. Most stores carry them for about $179.00. I was "lucky" and caught mine at WalMart on a day that it was $178.00 (big deal, but a buck is a buck!). Another thing that bugs me a little is I think the charge in the lithium ion battery should last a little longer. It would be nice if I had a second battery charged up and ready to go when the first one runs out. I suppose I should look around and see if there are additional batteries that can be purchased (at at huge price, I am sure) on the Hoover parts website. One other thing that is sort of a pain is if I try to vacuum my steps. The vacuum is so nice and lightweight that it seemed like doing the steps wouldn't be a problem, but being a stick, there no way to shorten or change the handle at all, so the task can be awkward--but I do it anyway!

So, there you have it. Pros: Lightweight, easy switch from bare floors to carpet, powerful, easy emptying the dust cup, durable. Cons: Cost, relatively short battery charge, awkward when vacuuming steps.

If your budget can support this little cutie, I would say, "Go out and get one!"

More Housewife Stuff-Hoover Cordless Vacuum

Since we have just moved into a new house, I have been trying to fit all our stuff from the previous two houses into this one. This new house is just different enough from the last two that fitting things in and trying to arrange furniture and putting things away is becoming quite a challenge. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining in the least. The new house has plenty of room for stuff, it's just that the stuff I have doesn't fit the layout of the house. Anyway, for years I have had a big, clunky, Kirby vacuum. It has served me well, but it is difficult to drag up and down stairs and is just plain heavy. Our last house had a central vac system, so old Kirby-G4 didn't come out of the closet much. The new house doesn't have a central vac, so I am back to Mr. Hefty Kirby. I decided I wanted something easier to run up and down the steps with, and could also be nice to my hardwood floors. I had my eye on a Dyson, but they are so expensive that I didn't dare get one. I found a little bagless, cordless deal that is supposed to be grand. It is a Hoover LiNX stick vacuum. It is in the (woo hoo Platinum collection). Pretty fancy, huh? This little fella runs on a lithium ion battery and is very lightweight. It does a fair job on the hardwood, tile and carpeted areas of my home. I'm not sure how long this little guy is going to last, though, because I have a lot of area to cover. For the $179.00 price tag, I hope it lasts a good long while. Hefty Kirby is still my man for the tough jobs, so he will probably stay with me for awhile longer. That's my housewife junk for today. Happy weekend!