Carpet Cleaning

Got Dirt? Get the Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vacuum. - Dirt Devil MD8230T Handheld Vacuum

Small Vac……Big Action!!!! - Dirt Devil MD8230T Handheld Vacuum My wife and I received the Dirt Devil Ultra as a wedding present and it has been quite useful. It's compact siz...

Very Handy Hand Vac! - Dirt Devil MD8230T Handheld Vacuum My husband and I bought the Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vac right after we got married in December. We had two main fac...

Got Dirt? Get the Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vacuum.

Up until I purchased my Dirt Devil Ultra, I never used anything other than my Black & Decker Cordless Vac. I wrote a review about it some time ago and am now going to have to go back in and update that review to share my experience and my complaint that I ended up having with that product. Although a cordless, battery operated hand held vacuum may seem more convenient than the plug in kind, sometimes they end up being more trouble than they’re worth. I found this out with my last hand held vacuum.

This time around, I already decided that I was going to get a hand held vacuum with a cord. At Walmart, where I went to get a new one, they only sold a total of two brands of hand held vacuums. The Black & Decker hand held Vac that I just talked about above and 2 different models of the Dirt Devil. So obviously, by process of elimination, I ended up buying a Dirt Devil.

Dirt Devil vs. Dirt Devil Ultra

My decision in which of these two models would be best for me, came down to the one thing that was most important, the attachment. The Dirt Devil Ultra came with an attachment piece where the regular Dirt Devil didn’t. But, just like there are pros and cons to everything, I really liked how the regular Dirt Devil had an actual steel cover on the bottom of the vacuum. This looked a little more sturdy to me than the “plastic” bottom that was on the Ultra. I truly would have much rather had the steel cover, but I had to weigh out what my actual purpose of this vacuum was and which feature would actually benefit me the most. Since my #1 use of a hand held vacuum is to clean my stairs, my car and other hard to reach places, it only made sense that the vacuum with the attachment piece would be more beneficial to me.

How Well Does It Work?

The Dirt Devil Ultra has a powerful 4 amp motor and a rotating brush that aids in cleaning. You have two speeds to choose from depending on your need.

It actually works very well. It is MUCH more powerful than my old Black & Decker. The vacuum suction of the Dirt Devil Ultra is not just an opening where a powerful suction will suck up dirt, there is an actual rotating brush inside that combs through the carpet fibers and lifts up the smashed in dirt that is embedded in your carpet. That alone has made this vacuum work better for me. Before, where I would have to run my B&D back and forth several times to try to get deep into the carpet, the Dirt Devil does that work for me just by running it over the top of the carpet.

The Attachment

The attachment works great, especially for stairs or for cleaning your car. On this hand held vacuum the hose and the attachment tool attach to a strap on the vacuum. Which is great, it would have been too difficult too always have to go find the attachment pieces and hook them up every time you need them. All you do when you are ready to use the attachment hose is rotate the nozzle up top to cover the brush roller, click into place and the air will switch to the hose. Very simple, it just takes 1 second.

The attachment itself is designed very well. The slanted opening gets narrower toward the end to make it really easy to fit into very small cracks and crevices. The suction through the hose and attachment is very powerful and picks up dirt very easily.

The Cord

The Dirt Devil Ultra comes with a nice long 20 foot cord. Being that I chose a corded hand vacuum this time so that I didn’t have to deal with a cordless one, having a long enough cord was a real concern to me. I actually worried about the cord not being long enough to let me vacuum my entire stair case without having to unplug it and move to a different outlet. But I have been pleasantly surprised. There is more than enough cord to not only do my entire stair case, but to go a little farther beyond that.

There is a cord storage strap that attaches to the vacuum to be able to neatly put away the cord when you are finished.

Vacuum Bags

Unlike my B&D cordless hand held Vac, the Dirt Devil actually uses a vacuum bag to collect the dirt, just like a normal vacuum would.

Changing this bag is very simple. There is a black plastic “twist on” ring that attaches the cloth bag to the vacuum. Simply twist that ring to remove the cloth bag and inside you will change the paper vacuum bag. When you have a fresh bag firmly attached, just twist the cloth bag back on and you are ready to go. (The Dirt Devil Ultra Uses Type G Bags, which are sold anywhere vacuum bags are sold.)

From time to time (but not very often), you may have to replace the belt or the brush roll. This can be done by you, by simply purchasing the replacement parts and with a Phillips screw driver, remove the plastic cover and replace one or both the above mentioned parts. However, the likelihood of you having to do that more than once is very slim. But, it is good to know that if you by chance do need to, that it can be done very easily. (Along with your User’s manual and paperwork you will receive an order form and price list for these parts. It looks very easy to purchase these replacements.)

What it doesn’t work so well on

Although I would very easily give this vacuum a 5 star rating for it’s ability to clean carpet, it’s ability to on flat, smooth surfaces is not quite as effective. Although it does clean up some, I have found that when I tried to use it on my kitchen floor that it left a lot to desired. It probably picked up 75% of the dirt and crumbs.

So, if you are looking into purchasing a Dirt Devil Ultra for large smooth services, I wouldn’t recommend that this is the vacuum for you.

Being that my main purpose of owning a hand help vacuum is for stairs and for my car, the Dirt Devil has been a dream for me.

Things that I don’t like

The only other thing that I miss from my B&D cordless vacuum was its compact ability to be able to have a base mounted to the wall. I liked it having its own little place up off the floor and out of the way.

You won’t be able to mount the Dirt Devil Ultra to the wall. Although you will be able to neatly wrap the cord up and keep the attachment firmly in place, you will have to find a place to store it.

What else is available

Before I wrote this review I went to the web site to see what other information that I could find about my Dirt Devil Ultra. It appears that you can purchase a 6 piece attachment set as an extra for your vacuum. I didn’t see this available at Walmart where I bought my vacuum. Maybe they were sold out of just happen to not carry this. But it is good to know that it is available for those whom it might be a use too. I personally won’t ever need anymore attachments beyond the ones that came with my vacuum. Visit www.dirtdevil.com if you would like to see more information on that.

Overall

I love it. I get so much use out my Dirt Devil Ultra. If your main buying decision for a hand held vacuum is to clean up spills on kitchen floors or to have the “convenience” of no cord, then there are several other hand held vacuums on the market that may better fit your need. (As I talked about before, the Black & Decker Hand held may just be perfect for that kind of use). But, if you are looking for a hand held vacuum that will actually clean and get that deep down dirt in the carpet of your stair case or in your car, then I highly recommend the Dirt Devil Ultra. It definitely gets the job done.

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