Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: 5/23/16 I changed my rating from 4 stars to 1 as the door for the vacuum fell off yesterday. I've attached a couple of photos. While the vacuum performed well and actually beyond my expectations it pains me to knock it down to 1 star. However, the door that fell off is obviously a critical part to the vacuum. If you look at the second picture with the close up of the two pieces of plastic that hold the door on you'll see that both sides snapped off where the plastic knobs fit into door. It looks like this was under engineered and under reinforced for such a critical component. The door needs to open multiple times during each use as the user unloads the garbage and then continues on so in reality this is the most used moving part on the entire machine and should have been built to withstand the abuse. Now comes the fun part of trying to get Black and Decker to fix or refund the vacuum. I was going to return this when I first got it since the suction was much lower than expected based on other reviewers claims and the manufacturers claims of strong suction. However, after use it turns out it has enough suction to get the job done. We have 1/4" shag carpet and stairs and this will clean up the visible stuff. The trick to making this device work (and my other recent vacuum purchase Eureka AirExcel Compact No Loss of Suction Canister Vacuum, 990A which I highly recommend) is a good and quick way to clean it. The manufacturer tells you to tap out the garbage and if needed was the hepa filter. While this will work it will still leave small dust and debris in areas that will require tweezers or pliers to get out. Washing the hepa filter requires drying which takes time. The answer is a blower to clean it. I bought this one a while back for my wood working Milwaukee 0884-20 M18 Compact Blower (Bare Tool) (I have big blowers, shop vac's, large wall mounted cyclone vacuum) and it is great for quickly cleaning this and the Eureka AirExcel. It'll blow out all the gunk stuck in the hard to reach places and blow the hepa filter clean. It's so easy that I clean after every use and sometimes after every few minutes during a big clean. So, a couple of other things about the vac. After the first charge I cleaned the stairs and our upstairs living room carpet on one charge. I've never had it run out yet. I've left it off the charger for a couple of days and it ran fine so not battery drainage going on when sitting idle. The biggest plus is my 6 year old thinks it's fun cause it's light and easy to operate so I'll find her cleaning with it without asking. Hope this helps someone out there make up their mind on this product.