Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was very excited about this vacuum because of the automatically retracting cord. Wrapping the cord around the vacuum is no fun, but pressing the button on this baby and having the cord whip into place is awesome. It did a decent job picking up dirt and hair (people and cat). But that's where the awesome ended. The hair causes the dirt to gather on one side of the dirt cup. I can only assume this decreases the effectiveness of the cyclone. In theory cleaning out the cup is as simple as pulling out the canister, pressing a button, and the dirt falls out of the bottom. No such luck. For one thing, the trap door is covered in dirt, so it tends to drop the dirt all over the place when it drops open. Plus, dirt and hair gets on the rubber gasket that seals the door, thereby making the seal less effective. But worst of all, the hair traps the dirt and clings to the filter on the inside, so it doesn't just drop out of the canister. You have to either reach in and pull it out (gross) or pull out the filter to let the debris fall out. To do it neatly requires three hands, and since I only have two the result is a big pile of dirt around and about the trashcan. Nice. A disappointment. Not a "take it back to the store in disgust" kind of disappointment, but definitely a "never recommend it to a friend (or complete stranger)" kind of disappointment!