Handheld Vacuums Reviews

This handheld was not as powerful as others I have owned. The filter clogged with fine dust. I cannot find a replacement filter. I knew it was a bad sign when this model was no longer in any stores soon after I purchased mine. I would rather buy a new handheld instead of a filter. This time I will read rating and reviews, instead of throwing away another $50.

It works fine, but the vacuum is kinda weak, I use it for car, and it works but barely

I can't say enough about the perfromance of this unit; it does what a simple hand vac. should, but finding replacement filters is next to impossible.

Since I will never get my money back, I can at least warn others. Some of you might have a product that works, but I would bet that most of the positive reviews are put in by the company. I reviewed the Dirt Devil website before buying. I bought this thinking it had two motors, or at least a power brush. As others who have taken it apart as I did explained, the power is the air moving through head. I thought this worked well for the first two times I used it. But, it does not work now. The brush barely moves and stops with any pressure applied to it. The suction through the power tube is great, but through the brush head is almost non-existent. Why was there never a class action brought against this company based upon deceptive advertising and a worthless product?

I was looking for a hand vac to vaccuum my carpeted steps with. Since it isn't belt driven, the rotating brushes stop turning when you apply pressure to the vaccuum when your trying to clean the stairs. Don't like it much. It works ok for hard surfaces, but I really wanted it for carpeted stairs.

The reviews on this were so mixed and it did sound like some were reviewing the other model, so I decided to give it a go. The only thing I use it for is the cat shelving we have around the house, and maybe the occasional couch. Joanne Berg stated in her review that Dirt Devil told her in January that the Platinum Force did indeed have two motors.

Not sure who to believe here, but the CSR I spoke to today (who was slightly clueless) says they stopped making the two motor units about a year ago. Mine definately has one motor.

It works "OK". I wouldn't call it stellar but better than what I have already. I did manage to jam it pretty well, but the shelving hadn't been vacuumed in awhile to be fair. It was pretty much full by the time it jammed. Taking it apart was not difficult.

I'll use it a few more times before I decide if I'm going to send it back. Amazon will be hearing from me as as well, for their misleading description. ;)

August 27, 2004
Funny how when I clicked on this link from my recently ordered items list, it's "no longer stocked". Hmmmm.... wonder if the "new" item has a single motor?

Well, I've used it twice now. Cleaned it twice. The brush barely spins when it's held in the air. It takes no pressure to stop the brush, so it's essentially working by suction only. I didn't have to pay $40 for suction, my upright has an attachment I can use for that.

I don't know if the belt stretched or what, it does look loose but I didn't see what it was before I used it. Belts shouldn't be replaceable every other use though.

It's going back. No idea if I'll try another one or move onto another brand. I'll see if a real vacuum store has any advice.

Too bad Dirt Devil didn't keep the 2 motor one, from all accounts it was great. This one is not.

Yes, this vacuum has great suction and a very powerful motor. However, it is incredibly loud which I could get over if it got the job done. Unfortunately, that powerful suction is accompanied by an equally powerful exhaust. Before you can get close enough to suck dirt up, the exhaust fan has blown it across the room. The other downside is the very small dirt reservoir. You have to empty it much too frequently.

The Scorpion has much better vacuuming power than the little dirt devil I tried about 5 years ago. But, there are several flaws:

- the dirt chamber is tiny
- the attachment ends are tiny
- the unit is awkward to hold while in use (especially with the included strap)
- the unit get super hot super quickly

I tried using this vacuum to clean out my car's interior. While it was able to do the job, I felt the need to turn the Scorpion off for a few minutes at a time because it was getting so incredibly hot. In fact, I even tried using the neck strap to move it around because I didn't want to be burned.

Next time I clean up the car, I will go through the slightly greater effort of using the full size vacuum cleaner as this little guy just has too many drawbacks.

I bought one of these so that i could clean up under and around my birdcages daily without hauling out the full-size vacuum.
It works great, picks up all the seeds, shells, feathers, etc.

Only problem with it is that it took some time and skill to learn to hold it in such a way that it doesn't blow the feathers and shells all over the place with the exhaust before i get them all cleaned up.

Overall, i really like this thing. I don't mind the noise it makes as long as it's this powerful.

It only had any real vacuum power when quite new.
I can't get filters here in Canada, and I also read the (poor) NiCad battery is not replaceable.
This one's only a few years old, cost too much money for its performance and short useful life.
Yet the hardware and motor are all in fine shape as I toss out this nice looking red machine. Pity.
What a stupid waste. It's a landfill-generating design. Based on this experience (read: getting screwed by the Corporate Greed Machine) I will never again touch this company's products.

I do not recommend this product.

I have an older model, but the product seems about the same (IE recent reviews state similar problems).

1. It hardly holds a charge. I don't find it convenient since it only works for a few minutes. I realize it's not supposed to replace a full vacuum, but I'd still like to be able to go around the baseboards of more than one room to pick up dust bunnies.

2. It doesn't suck much. It picks up very light dust bunnies, but little else.

3. The retractable brush is only about 1/8 inch deep, and mine got stuck in the out position.

4. The attachements are of no value.

5. The battery can not be replaced, so there is no opportunity to improve the poor "5 minutes only" charge.

Forget this product. My parents have a similar product from a different manufacturer and it works MUCH better.

I do not recommend this product.

I have an older model, but the product seems about the same (IE recent reviews state similar problems).

1. It hardly holds a charge. I don't find it convenient since it only works for a few minutes. I realize it's not supposed to replace a full vacuum, but I'd still like to be able to go around the baseboards of more than one room to pick up dust bunnies.

2. It doesn't suck much. It picks up very light dust bunnies, but little else.

3. The retractable brush is only about 1/8 inch deep, and mine got stuck in the out position.

4. The attachements are of no value.

5. The battery can not be replaced, so there is no opportunity to improve the poor "5 minutes only" charge.

Forget this product. My parents have a similar product from a different manufacturer and it works MUCH better.