It's a test that's been repeated many times by vacuum cleaner salesmen. But I thought I'd compare my two newest vacuums, to see if one is able to pick up more dirt after the other has cleaned a carpet.

First I vacuumed the bedroom carpet (thick carved wool) with the Eureka Commerical Bagged "True Hepa" upright, model C5712A. I love this vac: it's quiet, easy to manuver, and never seems to lose suction. After going over everything as I normally would...

Second, I vacuumed the same carpet with the Dirt Devil Reaction D2 Bagless. It didn't get much... just some shredded wool (indicating the overly aggressive nature of its brush roll, not good on this carpet), and a few cat hairs. A nearly insignificant amount of dust.

So... the verdict is... the bagged commercial Eureka is at least as good as the D2 bagless at picking up dirt and such, and it may well be more gentle on carpeting.

By the way - the Eureka is the first bagged vacuum I've purchased in about 20 years. The last one was a Hoover "Convertible" (although the only convertible thing about it appears to be the logo on the bag). Still have it, but it sits in storage. It saw a lot of use on some gawd-awful orange shag carpeting in my last residence, and did a respectible job of fluffing it up for the regular landlady inspections ;-). The new Eureka is light years ahead of it.

I also inherited a plastic fantastic Hoover "Sprint" bagged vacuum from the mid-90's which has got to be one of the worst they ever made. The less said about it, probably the better. At least it doesn't burn itself up.

cool suds, i THINK i saw the dirt devil, is that the one at Walmart? orange shag sounds fun, like on Match Game!

I got my D2 at Target, as I recall, but all the chains seem to carry them. It's a very pretty vacuum in its metallic red paint job (although the paint has been nicked in a few places from bumping into things).

The orange shag had seen better days when I moved in there in the mid-80's. It would look good for an hour or two after vacuuming before foot traffic matted it all down again. With a wrought iron railing going up the stairs to the second floor, it had a certain 70's bachelor pad aura. But I grew to really hate that carpeting, and was rather non-plussed to learn that the landlady had let the new tenants rip it all out and refinish the nearly pristine hardwood flooring underneath.

tried one at sears, sorry but fells like a cheap pice of junk but it is probroley DD's best machine! I would buy one if I had to.

Ab