Dirt Devil Featherlite Ultra Compact Bagless Upright Vacuum, UD40285

This is my second Dirt Devil Featherlite vacuum. I had to leave my old one in Washington when I moved to Alaska, and bought a different dirt devil product which was HORRIBLE! So, after not being able to find a Featherlite bagless in my town, I went on over to Amazon's site and said "SEND ME ANOTHER FEATHERLITE!" I can't tell you enough how nice this vacuum is for the price. When compared with $150 vacuums, it beats most of them HANDS DOWN. Sure, the dirt cup is messy to empty--I have had SEVERAL bagless vacuums, and every single one I have looked at or have owned is a bit messy to empty. It's the nature of it--you have dust, it'll be messy. That's no reason to lower the rating on this vacuum. If you don't want a mess to empty, buy a bagged vacuum. If you want convenience, frequent emptying to increase suction, and not having to find bags in an area (like Alaska) where getting the exact bag ordered can take quite a bit of time waiting on an order, buy a bagless. It's that simple.This vacuum lives up to its name. It's LIGHT! I have had surgery on both arms and can pick it up one-handed! It's perfect for small spaces (such as apartments) or narrow spots like hallways or stairs. The handle even folds down so its handle can be used to carry it, even while running! And storage is a breeze, because the fold-down handle doesn't get in your way. The wheels turn freely and it has good suction without being difficult to push.If you want a super-wide path vacuum or a vacuum for larger spaces, this might not be the vacuum you want to go with, since the brush path is a little narrow (but that's what makes it take up less room--you can't have it both ways!). The cord is a perfectly adequate range for me, it reaches all without having to unplug in my 1200 sqft apartment.I looked this up on Consumer Reports, too, they rate it VERY highly, especially compared with how much it costs. The only vacuums in its quality range cost MUCH more. Want a great starter vacuum or a supplementary vacuum for a different zone in your house? BUY A FEATHERLITE!

The moment I received this product, I put it to the test! It was time to get rid of my smaller vacuum that had survived years when leaving in apartments. Now that I am in a house, an upgrade was encouraged.It works great! I forgot what it was like to have the hose with extra handy utilities to vaccum, makes the world of difference. You can bet i "sucked" up every inch of my house and stairs and it lived to see another day.I am very satisfied and its fold down feature makes putting it away in my laundry east and organized. Highly recommenced if you have minimal rug and are not in need of something outrageously huge to cover a small part of your home and even then, if you do have lots of rug to cover I'm sure this compact machine will do the job and do it well.Easy to use and versatile.One con: I found it at Wal-mart... cheaper...and you won't have to wait for it to be delivered.But still Happy :)

I picked this unit up after our cleaning lady dumped our old Dirt Devil down the stairs a couple of times. I figured I would find something cheap, light and hopefully it will work... so I went to Amazon and Dirt Devil. Well it is cheap, it is light and it does work; she may have to work twice as hard doing the same amount of floor space as my old Dirt Devil... maybe she will not dump this one down the stairs. The only thing I do not like about this cheap and light unit is the hot (sucked in) air shoots out above and forward of the vacuum rollers in the direction of where you are vacuuming. If you had a real dust problem or had spilt flour on the floor... just vacuum backwards... problem solved. It is Cheap, Light and effective... small e for affect.

This vacuum works great, once. After that it really is a complete rip-off. My house is quite small, but after only vacuuming half the house the vacuum starts to clog and loose suction. You have to empty the canister, well okay... However pet hair does not fall out freely. You have to reach in with your fingers or a coat hanger to remove the collected dirt. Then you have to clean the filter in the top part of the canister. You better have a place to do this outside because dust goes everywhere! I have to wash not just my hands, but my arms all the way up to the elbow after doing this, and that is if I got lucky and didn't get the dirt and dust all over my cloths (wind blowing in the right direction). So have to do that twice to vacuum my house. Lets move from design to construction: it is cheap, cheap cheap. The lid on the bottom of the canister broke off after 2 weeks. Now I have to dig the lid out of the dirt pile. The handle feels like it is going to go next... The cord also seems like the wire size is too small and gets quite warm after only a few minutes use. Absolute junk, Dirt Devil should be ashamed.UPDATE: THIS UNIT STOPPED FUNCTIONING. THE VACUUM WILL NO LONGER SUCK. IT IS NOW IN THE TRASH. I WILL NEVER BUY DIRT DEVIL AGAIN. JUST ORDERED A SHARK FROM AMAZON. HOPE IT WORKS OUT BETTER.

This vacuum cleaner is light and I like it. Unfortunately, the plastic handle BROKE within 7 months. I was not exerting extra force, just trying to lift up the bottom by pulling down the handle, something I have done many times. This time, it broke. I have been unable to re-attach by glue or even tape it back together. What a shame!!!