If you’re looking at the Eureka Lightspeed Vacuum for your next vac purchase, you’re probably wondering what sort of performance you’re going to get at this price. In the world of vacuums there’s all sorts of different levels, and this represents one of the cheapest bagless models from a brand you can recognize. So the real question becomes whether this will work well enough, or if you should invest a bit more in a pricier model.
Overview
The basic thought process when buying a vacuum is you just need something to pick up the dirt and dust around your home to keep it clean. You might think that by buying a lower priced model, you are getting a good value, but you have to consider planned obsolecense. When manufacturers make a product that competes solely on price, they are expecting that it will break down at some point in the near future, and that when it does, you’ll be back to buy another, and potentially one at a higher price.
You have to decide whether you want to buy five vacuums at $50 over the next 5 years, or spend $250 on something like the Shark Navigator Lift-Away and have it last for 5 years or longer, doing a better job the entire time. The folks at Kirby take it a step further and want you to spend a good chunk of change and never buy another vacuum again!
The Claim
The Eureka Lightspeed Vacuum claims that it is a lightweight vacuum that is still built well and can take some abuse. They say that it has a micro filtration system, so you won’t be simply redistributing the dirt and dust back into the air. They also say that the dustbin is easy to remove and empty, so you won’t have to fuss too much with it.
The Hype
The hype comes from this being priced so low. It’s hard to imagine it competing with similar uprights that cost twice as much of more.
The Cost
You can get a Eureka Lightspeed Vacuum for less than $50 at Amazon. The price includes free shipping.
The Commitment
This vacuum represents the usual commitment level, and doesn’t really have many enhancements that will reduce the time it takes you to vacuum your house. If you’re looking for a low level of involvement, you should check out something like the Roomba 560 that basically lets you set it and forget it.
Evaluation
At this price point you probably know better than to get your hopes up too high. Of course this vacuum is going to work as expected. It will suck up surface dirt and dust, and your carpets and floors will look like they’ve been vacuumed when you’re finished. But it will not win any battles against its higher-priced competitors. For example, you can go over the same area of carpet again and again with this model, and then go over it once or twice with something like a Dyson, and you’ll pick up plenty more.
People seem relatively pleased with this model, and it no doubt will get you by as far as cleaning your home. However, there are a fair share of people that say don’t buy it. If you’re a clean freak, or you just want the peace of mind knowing that your house is really clean, you should upgrade to something better. If you’re an allergy sufferer you should go with a vacuum that has a built in HEPA filter, and avoid getting this as it has been shown to blow dust around the house.
Final Eureka Lightspeed Vacuum Review
The Eureka Lightspeed Vacuum is what it is: an affordable vacuum that gets pretty good reviews. It’s not remarkable, but who expects it to be? If you have a big household, you’ve probably become pretty close with your vacuum. The general rule of thumb is to vacuum your house once per week for every member of your family. So under normal use you’re probably going to be using your vacuum a lot. That’s why even though it might not seem like it at first, a vacuum is something you can spend a little more on. Since the reviews are mixed, with a slight leaning to positive, you are taking your chances by going with this one.
Our Recommendation
We recommend going with the best vacuum your budget will allow. It’s smart money because the more expensive vacuums actually do hold up longer than the cheaper models. They are made with higher quality parts and materials. They also get more R and D put into them, so you get things like continuous suction, and filtration systems that rival those in hospitals. This is one purchase where you don’t want to go the cheapest route on. It’s better to buy one high quality vacuum at a higher price, and using it for multiple years than buying several low-quality vacuums over the same time span.
I purchased this vacuum sweeper on Black Friday for half price. I am glad that I bought it for that price because this is the worst vacuum sweeper. It claims to have good suction and power, but it doesn’t go through thick carpet. It is a perfect sweeper for thin area rugs and that is about it. It doesn’t have any HEPA filter which seems to leak dirt and dust. The vacuum is light weight and low in price. If you don’t have a lot of carpeting to vacuum, then this is an excellent vacuum, but if you have pets and heavy traffic, then get a vacuum that can get deep dirt as the Eureka Lightspeed vacuum isn’t recommended.