This post is sponsored by Eureka; all opinions are my own.
I’m not crazy about washing greasy pans. I don’t look forward to scrubbing the tub and bathroom floor. And if I never did another load of laundry again, I wouldn’t cry. But, I ADORE vacuuming. Yes, I actually find it satisfying to watch dust balls, stray paper clips and crumbs being sucked up into the vacuum cleaner, from wall-to-wall carpeting, area rugs, and floors.
Believe it or not, I also wrote about the “floor care” business, when I was the editor and publisher of a prominent home furnishings trade newspaper. I toured vacuum cleaner manufacturing plants and dined with the presidents of the companies. I even knew how many vacuums Sears sold every year. And I could write a thesis on the relative merits of one style vac versus another.
As you’d suspect by now, I’ve owned all kinds of vacuums, good, bad and horrendous: Heavy uprights that looked like they could suck up small trees, but could barely lift a twig; canisters with unwieldy cords and clunky bodies that knocked into every wall on their travels from room to room and were daring me to trip over them; handheld vacs that made lots of noise but labored trying to lift sand from the back seat of the car and ran out of charge quicker than the original iPhone. The vacuum I now own is a pre-owned European import that normally costs an arm and a leg. It looks a lot better than it performs.
Of course, I was game when Eureka asked if I’d try out two of their new vacs: the CLEAN XTREME and the ULTIMATE CLEAN PET, both uprights.
That’s like asking a six-year-old if he wants to take a ride in a fire engine.
Before I get into the nitty gritty (haha!) of the vacs, I want to tell you that it was a cinch to put together both of them. I didn’t even need an instruction book to show me what to do. It took about five minutes to assemble each unit. Eureka couldn’t have asked me to test its two new vacs at a better time. I moved into my new (old) house almost two weeks ago, where renovation is continuing, and it is a mighty mess! Sawdust and just plain dust and dirt have accumulated on every surface, combined with bits of plaster, paper, cardboard, plastic, screws, nails, cable and electric wire. Then there’s Norfolk Terrier Rigby, who leaves tell-tale hair wherever he pads, from entryway to bedrooms.