I haven’t done a product review before, but I just have to tell you about the new vacuum I bought.  Exciting, I know… so some basic facts first.

I have two long haired Border collies, 4 cats, and a husband who works in construction and outside in general.  So it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out I have a constant battle against hair and dirt.  And my biggest nemesis, cat litter.  I use clumping cat litter in the box, and have one of those cat litter mats that is supposed to get it off their feet.  It helps, but still I find bits of litter around the house.

Secondly I have Rheumatoid arthritis, so lugging around a large upright can be difficult.  Up to now I have used a Dyson Animal Upright vacuum , which I thought worked okay, but not great.  I’ve had it about 10 years, so I considered myself a loyal customer.  And it never picked up all the cat litter, unless I used the hose to suck up individual pieces.

So when it broke, I was fed up with it, and decided to replace it rather than fix it (even though I am sure it could be fixed, and I still may do that to have a back up).

I decided, after much research, to buy a Shark Rocket TruePet Ultra light Upright.

And I am so glad I did! It maneuvers very well around chair legs, and can even go underneath most furniture. It’s quite light, much better than a full sized upright.  And the suction!  This baby will pull you along a rug.  It has two speeds (floors, low carpets and higher for plusher carpets). It actually fluffs up the carpet fibers, even on my older carpets. And the price was about 1/3 of my old Dyson.  The package I bought came with several attachments (hand held for furniture and stairs, extensions to reach up high).

As for the cons, there are a few.  I was aware of the comments in the reviews when I ordered it.  The dirt canister is smaller than that of a full sized upright.  I have to empty it twice if I am vacuuming the whole house.  That’s not a deal breaker to me.  It does not stand up by itself, but there is a wall mount attachment if you choose to hang it someplace.  I just lean it in the corner.

Another thing I like, is that the floor attachment is easy to remove – press a lever with one foot.  I have gotten into the habit of taking a few minutes at the end of a vacuuming sessions to remove it and pull the hair from the roller before I put it away.  It’s very easy to do when there is only a bit of hair, and much easier to handle this little head rather than prop a full size upright vacuum on a chair or table to clean the roller.  Regardless of a vacuum’s claims, I find pet hair always get rolled up on the brushed roller.

And lastly, it has great LED lights to see by.  Which has only pointed out to me how much hair and dirt there really is on my floors before I suck it up.

And the very BEST thing of all – it pulls up those bits of CAT LITTER!!

Now that makes me happy.

So if anyone reading is considering a new vacuum, I highly recommend this little model.  It’s a powerhouse for it’s size, easy to use and store, and even comes in a nice color.  That’ll lighten up the chore of vacuuming!