Customer Reviews

Dirt Devil 08240 Platinum Force Hand Vac

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

My main reason for purchasing the Dirt Devil Platinum Force was to remove unwanted cat hair from every single piece of furniture in my house.

The dirt devil came through! It removed the pet hair plus all the other dust particles i didn't even know were there.

I would recommend this to anyone! .. Very, very powerful vacuum.

One warning: It is very loud. But that's because of the power.

I purchased this little powerhouse to vacuum the two flights of carpeted stairs in our home. I tried using other handhelds, but without a beater bar to whip up the ground in junk, they didn't do a good job. I decided I'd give this machine a chance.

First, it's very easy to use. The front part of the machine that holds the beater bar and has the suction, slides off the main part, so you don't have to hoist the entire machine to vacuum. The main housing can sit on the stair while you use one hand to use the nozzle. I would have liked the hose to be just a bit longer, but that's my only beef with this machine so far. I didn't have to read the instructions to start using it. There's a crevice tool with this machine as well, but I have not used it. I bought it specifically for the stairs. My upright has all the attachments I need.

How well does it do the job? One set of stairs goes down to our finished basement, where our cats take up their residence. Since the stairs are their favorite place to stretch out, the carpet on the stairs is always matted with cat fur. The test for this machine was to see how much fur it would get out of the carpet, and it passed with flying colors. The beater bar is pretty powerful, and I feel I can regulate the depth by hand pressure. It fluffed the carpet pretty well too. I was very pleased with the results, I could not see any fur and the fur really shows up on the dark colored carpet.

The second test was our stairs that go up to the second story. The carpet is a medium pile and very dense. I had been using an upholstery brush attachment from my vacuum, and they had just been cleaned a couple days before I received the Platinum Force. I couldn't believe the amount of carpet fuzz, dust and dirt that was inside the machine after I used it on the stairs. Passed again.

I'm very pleased with the Dirt Devil Platinum Force Hand Vac. I hope to buy another one for convenience!

Well, I was so excited to get this product, because it only had "raving" reviews when I purchased it. Since then, I notice some less-than-stellar reviews of this product have surfaced. I wish they were here when I bought mine!!

I have two big long-haired cats, and I was thrilled with the prospect of easy cat hair clean-up on my couches. Don't buy this product if you have pets and you are looking for an answer to your prayers! Just as some others have suggested, this machine will not do the trick. I was most excited about the revolving brush feature, but it completely stops when you apply it to ANY surface. That surface could be my couch, my hardwood floors, my HAND...it's pathetic. I don't know why they even bothered with the brush, because at least without it you could pick up more dust. If it does happen to pick up any pet hair - the brush locks up...and you spend LOTS of time detangling the thing.

In addition, there are the other negatives already mentioned - this thing is LOUD, and I mean loud. Louder than my upright vacuum, for sure. And it generates massive amounts of heat while you are "attempting" to use it.

Save your money - use your upright & attachments. This thing is not worth the $40. I'm trying to return my asap.

I ordered this hand vac, Dirt Devil 08240, only to receive the version that has ONE motor, not the 2 as advertised.

After looking at the description on the DirtDevil.com website, which also advertised 2 motors, I contacted them to find out what was up.

The manufacturer is no longer producing Model 08240 with 2 motors and apologized for not updating their website.

With a dog on the way that sheds massively twice a year and 2 cats and shag carpeting on the stairs, I NEED the power of a motorized brush. I did some online research for other brands that would meet my needs but didn't really find anything that I believe is comparable to the original Model 08240.

So, I called around where I live and found a vacuum dealer who still has some of the original, 2-motor Model 08240 hand vacs in stock and will purchase it there. I suggest others do the same if it's as important to them to have 2 motors as it is to me. And do it soon, before existing supplies run out.

I love this machine! It works wonderfully. Ever since I got married a few years ago I've struggled with cat and dog hair on our bed and furniture. It would never be completely removed and I would spend at least 30 minutes trying. A regular vacuum with attachments does not remove hair from furniture. Simple suction is not enough. Even the brush and furniture attachments only remove dirt. Dirt Devil to the rescue! The rotating brush and compact style make it a breeze to vacuum my furniture in under 5 minutes. I wash my bed spread less often because it removes cat hair and dirt that I'd never even seen so amazingly well. It not only picks up hair, but has the suction to pick up all the nasty dirt and particles your eyes don't see. The head removes from the canister so you can use it like a wand. This also makes it easy for people who might be weaker and can't move the entire unit around. The hose also disengages from the head so that you can use it simply for suction if you need to. Great solution for the price.

This hand vac is terrific! Tired of rechargables
without power, I tried it out - and never looked back.

The biggest asset is the power. I also like the bagless chamber it is easy to empty because it can be separated from the vac.

The cord is plenty long and the beater bar brush works great on carpeted stairs. the attatchments are good, only drawback is the fan can blow around the dirt until you get used to holding it where the fan points away from the dirt pile.

I would recomend this against other handheld vacs!

I always love hand held vacs made by Dirt Devil. I've been using the classic Dirt Devil hand held vac for over 10 years. Aften 10 years of reliabibity it started to show sign of age and wear and tear. So I decided to buy replace it. I chose the Platinum Force. I fell in love with it the momemt I took it out of the box. It is for the most part well designed; very nice looking and very powerful. If you're looking for a hand held vac, the Platinum Force is it. Look no further.

One small problem: Overall this is a very good hand held vac but I would suggest the company refine it a bit further. The current handle is too smooth and slippery. I would suggest the manufacturer redesign the handle to incorporate a rubberized coating to the handle to help improve better gripping. I will try to tape some kind of "anti-slip" tape on the handle.

Cheaply made and not effective at vacuuming, this product is a failure by Dirt Devil (a brand that I normally love and use). The rotating brush stops working on any surface the second you use it. The detached hose never fits properly into the machine once you use it. It's very heavy for a handheld and neither Amazon nor Dirt Devil will give me a refund. Amazon says to talk to the manufacturer and Dirt Devil says I have to take it in to be examined and fixed or replaced -- so it's my loss, as the product is just not of any use, even if they replaced it a hundred times.

Do not believe the advertising on the web. This unit does not have two motors.

The brush is driven only by vacuum from the primary motor. As far as I can tell, this makes it identical to the 08245 Power Reach, except for the color. The 08245 is also useless because the vacuum-driven brush gets bound up and stops spinning with the first piece of solid debris it encounters. Without the brush spinning, it picks up virtually nothing, so then you have to jam your fingers into the "power nozzle" (that phrase becomes a joke after you use it) it until you get it spinning again.

Apparently at one time there was a version of the Platinum Force that had two motors, but that version is no longer available.

I would say this product sucks, but for a vacuum, that would be a compliment. Both the 08240 and 08245 are a complete waste of time.

I also bought the 08230 which appears to have a motor-driven brush, but unfortunately requires the purchase of replacement bags. This is not stated on the box so I did not find that out until I got it home. I returned that one to the store.

So much for brand loyalty and a long history of good products from Dirt Devil. I have ordered the Hoover Sidewinder which has a motor-driven brush, is bagless, and costs half as much as the Dirt Devil.

I bought this machine because of all the rave reviews about its power, and ability to pick up pet hair. Even though my expectations were high, I'm delighted with it in that regard.

My only complaints are: the hose that you detach from the body to use the crevice tool is quite short, which means if you want to use it to tidy up floors and corners, you have to do a lot of bending and hold the machine down close to the ground, which can be awkward. Also using the crevice tool, you'll notice that the unit blows a lot of air out the back, so unless you orient it carefully you'll be blowing said pet hair all over the room before you have the chance to vacuum it up. (This isn't an issue when you're using the main brushes.)

Finally, the 20' power cord is nice, but it makes packing the unit up and storing it a little inconvenient as you have to bundle the cord up too. (In other words, a retractable cord would have been a nice touch.)

That being said, it works well, and it really is an unbelievable value at the price.