Customer Reviews

Dirt Devil 100 Classic 7 Amp Bagless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I bought a Dirt Devil hand vac in the early 1980's because the carpet salesman where I bought my new carpet told me it would be far superior for use on stairs than the attachment that came with my upright (Rainbow) vacuum cleaner. He was right and I also loved that hand vac for cleaning my upholstered furniture. I bought a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner last year and I wish I could say that the upholstery attachment sucks, but it doesn't, and it is hard to put on and take off of the hose. I like the Dyson for my carpets but am not at all impressed with their attachments. So, today I bought this Dirt Devil Classic and it is great! I read the reviews here and others were complaining about some of the other models. This hand vac has a belt and the belt can be replaced. The owner of the vac shop told me the difference between the models that are receiving the complaints here and the Classic 0100 that I bought today is that the others are air driven and mine is belt driven and that's why the other models' brushes stop moving when you touch the vac to either your upholstered furniture or your carpet. I paid $49.95 for mine, $10 more than listed on Amazon but I got it today instead of next week. I can't say enough good things about Amazon and their quick service, though, and I do buy a lot from Amazon. So, if anyone else, like me, is reading these reviews prior to purchasing a new Dirt Devil hand vac, please buy a belt driven model and not an air driven one. You won't be sorry. You may pay more but it will be worth it. I gave only 4 stars instead of 5 because it is really noisy!

I purchased this vacuum ($40+tax at Best Buy) to replace my old red Dirt Devil with the bag and onboard tools. The tools on my old one were constantly falling off while I was vacuuming.

This new model is a HUGE improvement! The suction is amazing! I used it on our carpeted stairs that I just had steam cleaned last week and was surprised at all the junk it sucked up. The clear dirt cup is much better than the disposable bags and emptying it is a breeze. I like how the tools attach and the crevice tool seemed to work well. The cord is long enough to vacuum the entire stairway and then some. I would recommend this vaccum to anyone who is tired of lugging their upright up and down the stairs!

I started out liking this machine, despite being not so fond of our former Dirt Devil "screamer" with the ridiculous belt changing routine. The problems with this machine are: try cleaning the pleated filter (good luck!) and the exhaust blowing out the sides and then slightly downward blows around what you're trying to vacuum up. I am really surprised no one else has mentioned these two issues (except for one person who mentioned the filter). After just one use, I had to knock the pleated filter against the trash can to loosen and remove the dirt--no go. So what are the options? Leave the dirt in there to continually clog it, and then be forced to go buy a new one for $5.99? I honestly think this was the goal of Dirt Devil, just to make an extra buck. And if you're trying to vacuum up pet hair, and anything light weight, watch it blow around from the exhaust as you go chasing it with the vacuum (utterly futile). It's on the loud side too. It IS powerful, but in the wrong way--the goal is vacuum up the debris, not blow it around your house.

Classic? Classic example of poor product testing and market research if you ask me. How did these guys take a perfectly good product concept and screw it up so badly? First of all they got rid of the bag that contained the exhaust - how idiotic. It exhausts out the sides and blows all the dust, dirt, and pet hair from everything you are trying to clean up into your face, across the room, or onto the floor so you have to try and chase it around to vacuum it up. What were they thinking? Hepa filter? What good is that when the stupid thing blows all the pet dander and every other allergen known to man right up your nose while you're using it? Not to mention that the filter has to be cleaned or replaced after almost every use to keep it from clogging up. No consumer wants to get their hands dirty emptying any vacuum and this is a total mess. To add insult to injury they priced it way too high to boot. I recently bought one of these to replace my faithful original Dirt Devil after 14 years of loyal service. Had I known how badly they screwed this up I would have gladly paid the purchase price of the new one to have the old one repaired. I almost feel like trekking out to the landfill to see if I can find the old girl to try and resurrect her.

I had the original type for over 10 years for vacuuming the cars mostly. When the power button broke I thought I would try the new and improved version. Big Mistake. First of all the vacuum has a small dirt capacity and once the filter is covered in fine dust it starts to loose suction. Second the hose attachment is an adapter that clips on the bottom of the brush section and there is barely enough suction to pick up the small stones in the carpet. Once the hose adapter is attached to the vacuum, it will not sit flat and will roll to its side. Plus the adapter gaskit is held on by 2 sided tape and has already come off after only three uses. I've had to use hot melt glue to fasten the gaskit so it won't come off. The directions tells one to tap the filter to clean it. I tried to use compressed air to blow the filter clean, big mistake, the inside of the filter shredded like toilet paper(out side OK) and the filter is now use less. The replacement filter should be stocked and available in stores yet I have not found one. So I can not even use the vacuum till I find the replacement filter. I am sorry I purchased this unit for it is not as good as the original with the haevy vacuum bag.

I have 2 large dogs (akita mix with 2 coats)who shed constantly so I needed a vacuum with lots of suction. But, I also have wooden floors so I didn't want to spend $300.00 just to vacuum a few area rugs and furniture. This product was perfect for me. It was powerful AND inexpensive. This little vacuum is amazing. It's easy to maneuver and operate. I love the fact that I can empty the canister immediately after use and with such ease. The attachments are easy to use, too, although I have to admit, I don't use them that often. I have bought this vacuum as gifts for family members and they are all as impressed with this product as I am. I would recommend this hand-vac to anyone who desires alot of power for little money. In fact, I have.

Tried this out and was amazed how good the rotating brush worked on the stairs. Like others I noticed the HEPA filter was almost clogged. I reversed sprayed the filter in the kitchen sink using the sink sprayer and that kind of worked. Not wanting to buy a bunch of HEPA filters I put one of those rectangular face masks like hospital people use over the filter and held it in place with a rubber band and it worked! Not wanting to use all my shop filter masks I cut the end off an old (white) sweat sock and put over the filter with a rubber band to hold it airtight in place (at the very bottom of the filter) and that worked even better! Old sock or cut the foot off of your wife's pantyhose would probably work also. See if she notices a foot missing.

I bought the Classic 100 to upgrade a much older Dirt Devil hand vac, primarily because this unit is described as effective in picking up pet hair. Our little household includes three furry dogs and a furry cat, so is something of a test lab for this attribute. Compared with the older model (still on the market at this writing), the Classic 100 is fantastically effective at getting the pet hair off the upholstery and stairs but unfortunately, once it is inside the vacuum, the machine quickly clogs up. Whatever it sucks in blows through a curved passage less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and after only a couple of moments of use, this orifice plugs up. If one does not clean it immediately -- and it isn't easy to reach -- the dirt and pet hair builds up behind the rotary brush, and cleaning it out involves removing a screw and the port cover used to replace the belt, then picking out clumps of matted fur and dust. The stuff that does make it into the collecting chamber clusters around the HEPA filter and must be painstakingly pulled out -- it won't just dump. The Dirt Devil Classic 0100 does a fine job, but it must be very carefully monitored during use, and very frequently cleaned.

I received this vacuum as a Christmas gift and loved the suction on it and the belt driven brush for cleaning my carpeted stairways. Unfortunately, I have only used the machine a few times (less then 10) and both the belts included with the machine have broke. One broke while vacuuming my stairway and the other broke while vacuuming my couch... I'm not very impressed.

I'm not impressed with dirt devil customer service either, as I called and they said since belts aren't covered under their warranty they can't send any out for free. Come on! I have only owned the vaccuum for a little over a month, covered under warranty or not, the belts should not be breaking at that rate. The belts aren't that expensive ($2.99 for 2) but I had to pay $6.00 for shipping. And unfortunately since I live in a rural area they couldn't tell me where to bring the machine to be serviced if it keeps breaking belts.

In the little time I got to actually use the functioning vacuum, I was not impressed with the attachments. They had very little suction and it was hard to get a proper seal while attaching them. I will probably end up throwing the attachments out, even if I get them machine to stop eating belts. I like the idea of a belt powered brush, but I would stay away from this model.

I gave this vacuum five stars, but it is NOT perfect, just very very good! I have lived with three cats for many years. During that time I have owned or used or sold nearly every type of vacuum, from the discount store special to the ridiculously expensive. I have owned bagged, bagless, and water filtration vacuums. I have become extremely adept at diagnosing and repairing vacuum cleaners. Be prepared and honest with yourself. They all require frequent maintenance.

For the last few years I have been using our bagless upright to clean cat hair off the furniture every day. I actually lift the machine and move it over the furniture to use the rotating brush. If I skip a day I can actually vacuum enough hair to make another cat! Air powered brushes are useless, only a powered brush will do. Long ago I used the powered brush of a canister to do this, I even had a small one just for upholstery.

That is where the Dirt Devil comes in. It is smaller, lighter, and more maneuverable than any of the alternatives that will actually work. And the Dirt Devil DOES WORK! It is very powerful and quite efficient. It is not perfect, however. The belt does slip off occasionally and it is not easy to reinstall, but I have not broken one in nearly a month of continuous use. Yes, it is noisy - nearly all vacuums are. And, yes, the dust cup is very small, but it is not intended for vacuuming your entire house; most people have a full size vacuum for that. This brings me to the biggest complaint that most people seem to make - the filter clogs. Yes, it does. Here is how to handle that problem. Simply use the hose of your full size vacuum to suck the debris off of, and yes, OUT of the Dirt Devil filter. You can even suck all the contents of the dust cup into your main vacuum at the same time. Do this with every use and your filter will last a Looong time! There is no such thing as a perfect vacuum; their very function makes them problematic. But this little Dirt Devil is one of the best.