Monday, November 14, 2011

Dirt Devil Model 103 Hand Vac Review

  I recently acquired an old Dirt Devil model 103 Hand Vac from my sister and brother in law. It used to be my brother in law's Hand Vac before he got married to my sister in 1999. Back in 2008 my I stayed at my sister's house for a couple of days in the summer, when they were cleaning the house. In the family room they had the Dirt Devil Hand Vac being used to clean up the dog hair in the dog crate. I immediately tried out the Hand Vac because I love vacuum cleaners. My nephew told me that their one dog was scared of it because the cloth bag inflated, and not meaning to scare the dog, tested the myth and confirmed it. The dog is afraid of anything. I tried the Hand Vac on the squares of carpet that they had over the tile floor and was very impressed on the pickup it had. I asked my sister if I could have it and she said no. A few more trips to her house with the same question ended up with the same answer no.
  A few days before my 22nd birthday, my sister called my mom and asked her if I still wanted the Hand Vac. My mother said your sister asked if you want the Hand Vac and I immediately said yes. So on November 11th my mom went to my sister's house to babysit her kids. I couldn't go because I had to go to work on Saturday for 9 AM. So my Sister told my mom to take her kids to our house so they can sleep there and We can drive to your house after the Penn State game on Saturday. So my mom brought my niece and nephews and the dog that is scared of everything to our house and the best for last the Dirt Devil Hand Vac.
  Now onto the review. The Dirt Devil model 103 Hand Vac is an iconic Dirt Devil hand held vacuum. This vacuum was introduced in 1984. I don't know what year this one was made but I assume 1984. This is the model that put Royal's newly founded Dirt Devil brand on the map. The Dirt Devil model 103 Hand Vac has a red cloth shakeout bag with a black Royal logo pattern on it. There is a paper dust bag adapter available for it. For a hand held vacuum it has a very descent sized cord. It has a 2 amp motor and is very compact and lightweight.
  The Dirt Devil model 103 Hand Vac ironically outperformed the Hoover PortaPower we have in our garage to clean the car. Since my mom had taken her 3 grandkids, their dog that sheds like its going out of style, I decided to give the Hand Vac the car test. The results were outstanding. I had no trouble picking up the dog hair in the cargo area of the Subaru Outback, with the Hoover PortaPower, I have to scrub the wand to get the dog hair out, with the Dirt Devil I had to just move the Hand Vac up and down, and there was no pet hair anymore. I cleaned underneath the car mats and the mats themselves and compared to the Hoover, the Dirt Devil, beat the competition away. The only con about the Dirt Devil is that the cloth bag when it is inflated can get in the way of the car interior's contours.
  I highly recommend the Dirt Devil 103 Hand Vac. If you find one at a garage sale, or thrift store, buy it, it's worth the investment. eBay can be a bit expensive because if someone is selling a vacuum cleaner on there, they think it is rare and worth a ton of money, when it is just a common item.

2 comments:

  1. Saturday for 9 AM. So my Sister told my mom to take her kids to our house so they can sleep there and We can drive to your house after the Penn State game on Saturday. So my mom brought my niece and nephews and the dog that is scared of everything to our house and the best for last the Dirt Devil Hand Vac Bajaj Specs

    ReplyDelete
  2. We can drive to your house after the Penn State game on Saturday. So my mom brought my niece and nephews and the dog that is scared of everything to our house and the best for last the Dirt Devil Hand Vac Bajaj Specs

    ReplyDelete