OT: Sweepers?

[SASM]

My cousin owns a Swivel Sweeper (the infomercial one) and LOVES it so I thought that I'd buy one, as it sounded too good to be true. I decided to do a little research and discovered that it pretty much IS too good to be true, as the battery dies quickly and costs about the same amount as a new Sweeper to replace, plus if you go from one surface to another without emptying the collection container, it spills everywhere.

So...do you own a sweeper that you LOVE?? I was really intrigued by its ability to swivel 360 degrees into small spaces, was only 2#, and was able to go forwards, backwards, and sideways without a problem. Sounds too good, right? I mainly need something that is ligtweight, small, and can be used on hardwoods with deep crevases, as these crevases are crumb havens and, therefore, ant highways! :( My vacuum just blows everything everywhere and the broom is just not cutting it. :(

TIA!!!

[andie16]

I have a Swivel Sweeper and I like it. I used my MIL's several times before I got one. I thought twice about it after seeing the reviews about the longevity and spilling problems, but went ahead and did it anyway. I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Linens 'N Things and used a 20% off coupon. I haven't had any problems with it spilling the contents and the battery is fine so far (I've only had it 4 months or so).

Anyway, for the price I think it's great. It does a good job on crumbs and Cheerios and play doh remnants and that's what I need it for most. I have no regrets about purchasing it.

Oh, and dd *loves* using it. Ds is even intrigued by it too and if it's left out will try to push it around while crawling.

Hope that helps!

[kellyotn]

I don't know what a Swivel Sweeper is, but I have the Swiffer Sweeper. It was cheap and I like it thus far! It works great on cheerios (you do have to kind of pull back to get 'em) and general crumbs. You can easily dodge around the chairs and table legs, as well as get under the cabinets. I just leave a Swiffer pad on there for a week or more, as it's main purpose is getting the big crumbs not messy lint or hair or anything. It doesn't work on Kix cereal, which the kids don't care for anyways. ;)

We just moved into a house with a central vac and I'd considered installing one of those floor vent vac things that goes into the central vac lines, but I'm so happy with my cheap-o Swiffer, I figure why bother!

[SASM]

Do you think that the Swiffer would work with the crevases? It doesn't have bristles right? Just a "magnetic" pad? The grooves between our hardwood floorboards are easily 1/16" ~ crumbs galore.

[kellyotn]

It's basically a regular Swiffer (ie, you use the same cloths on the same style pad) with a little rechargable vacuum thing attached.

We have some pretty deep grooves too. Our floors are brazilian cherry, they have wide planks and wide (probably 3/16") and deep (probably 1/16 to 1/8") grooves between each.

It does a decent job on all dry crumbs, in my experience. The vacuum is strong enough to suck up cheerios, so it sucks up anything small enough to fit into the groove.

When I happen to have the central vac out, I'll use it after a meal. If the central vac is packed away, Swiffer it is.

[katydid1971]

I have a dirt devil stick vacuum. I wouldn't vacuum carpets with it but I use it on the vinal floors in my kitchen and it works fine. It plugs in so you don't have to worry about batteries. It works great for us, gets under and around things pretty well. My in laws bought it for us at Target for around $30 I think. Hope that helps.
Sarah