The Dirt Devil breeze is a moderately priced upright vacuum that gets pretty good reviews. The only problem is that there are a ton of great vacuums these days, so choosing the best one for your home can be tricky. But how well does this one really clean your carpets, and is this something you should spend your money on?
Overview
The name Dirt Devil has been around for some time now, and they originally started out with hand-sized vacuums that competed with the Dust Buster. They’re trademark is to make their vacuums red to get along with the name. This model happens to be a bagless version, and so you won’t have to buy and replace bags as you use it, making it even more economical. The thing you have to remember here is that most any vacuum you buy is going to pick up dust and dirt, so it will appear that it is working. However, it’s a matter of how much dirt and dust it’s picking up, and how good it is at keeping it in the canister and not redistributing it out the exhaust vent.
The Claim
The Dirt Devil Breeze claims to be powerful enough to suck up dirt and dust all over your home, but light enough that you won’t get a good workout carrying it all around your house. They also claim that their filtration unit traps 99% of all dust and allergens. It’s got a headlight so you can see in dark places like under furniture and in corners. It’s also got a 25 foot power cord, so you won’t be tethered the way you are with other vacuums, and you can clean a larger area without having to stop and relocate the plug.
It comes with a crevice tool, so you can get under couch cushions and against floorboards. It also has a dusting brush so you can dust and suck at the same time so you don’t just move the dust around your house. And lastly it has an extension wand so you can reach places that are otherwise inaccessible.
The Cost
The Dirt Devil Breeze can be found for around $50 on Amazon. That’s just about as cheap as you can get for a vacuum that will actually pick stuff up.
The Commitment
Unlike the Roomba, the robotic vacuum that you turn on and it vacuums your house for you, you’ll be the one to take this all around the house and clean the floors.
Evaluation
The one thing most people say about the Dirt Devil Breeze is “What?”. That’s because it’s pretty loud, even for a vacuum. It could be a psychological thing, maybe they think if they make it really loud you’ll associate that with “more power” like Tim from Home Improvement. But all grunting aside, it’s something that you’ll either have to tolerate, or upgrade to a higher end vacuum that has just as much or more suction without causing a disturbance in the calm and tranquility of your home.
The overall consensus is that for the price you pay this vacuum is great. It’s bagless, and you don’t see a lot of bagless uprights go for this price. We’re all looking for value here, and that’s apparently what you get with this.
One feature that is good about this model, and is not found on other vacuums at this price is that it is designed to shut itself off to avoid overheating. When you’re cleaning you can get carried away and leave this running for too long, or you can have something get stuck in it and it ends up burning out the motor. The technology employed here is such that it should prevent that from occurring.
Final Dirt Devil Breeze Review
The Dirt Devil Breeze is good to have around, because it sets the bar pretty high for a vacuum at this price point. If $50 is all you have to spend on a vacuum, this would be a solid choice. However, if you want to make a more long-term decision, and be happier with your vacuum for several years, you should look into a Shark Navigator Lift-Away. This has very similar features to the Dirt Devil Breeze, but it has a better filtration system, is quieter, and has more suction that doesn’t dissipate as the canister fills. It’s only a bit more, but you’ll enjoy it a lot more.
Our Recommendation
While it may sound like a good idea to buy a fully functional vacuum for $50 it might be better to spent $100 for one that will last twice as long and do a better job in the meantime. We’re not saying you have to drop $300 for a Dyson, or over $1000 for a Kirby, but you don’t have to deal in extremes. There are nice vacuums out there for $100-$150 that are a better buy for the value.
I used this small Dirt Devil in a retail environment several times. It works well enough for small jobs, but often left larger bits of dust and leaves stuck to the rugs. It was nice to have a vacuum around the store that was small, so that I didn’t have to lug a really heavy one around, but I often found myself frustrated with heavily soiled areas. I think if you have a small apartment or very little area to vacuum, this would be handy to keep in a small closet. If you have heavy cleaning to do or a large area to clean, though, it might be worth the money and effort to get a bigger, heavier vacuum.