Vacuuming!

[Battie]

I hate carpeting.  I really do.

Anywho, when I first moved into my apartment I bought a Eureka Whirlwind Lite in the hopes of saving money and space.  I think this was foolish.  It doesn’t do a good job, especially with hay.  I can’t afford a new vacuum for a while but I want to save up.  What have you all found to help you with your bunny chores?

Thanks!

[bunnytowne]

A shop vac and sometimes a broom.  And stayign on top of it b4 it gets out of control.  Well I try anyways. When it comes time to feed hay I get the litterbox on top of the hay container so it makes less mess and bring it to all the litterboxes  trying not to make too big a mess.

[Beka27]

i use a little dirt devil hand vac to clean up the bunnies actual pen area. i like it b/c if it gets clogged, i can easily reach inside to pull out the tufts of fur and hay. the hay stays mostly in the litter box, so i just dump it out that way. before that, i found that sweeping with a regular broom on the carpet would gather up most of the hay before i vacuumed, so i could pick it up by hand.

my upright dirt devil died a couple weeks ago, i have yet to replace it but i think i’m gonna go dyson. for now i’m borrowing one.

most makes and models won’t handle a lot of the hay, they’re just not designed for it. i guess they think that people don’t have hay on their living room and bedroom carpets? don’t know why? isn’t that the norm?

[Alicia Conklin]

I use my dyson hose for most of my bunny clean up but I always use a little hand broom and dust pan first to clean up any huge strands of hay.  I actually find it easier to use the little hand broom most times in the condos and then I just do the vacuum in there about once a week.  I vacuum daily the outside part though..the part where it becomes less bunny space and more human space 😛

[Battie]

Haha, Bekah.

I know I can’t expect a household vacuum to clean hay like it’s nothing, but my vacuum is just weak in general.  I will look into the Dyson brand.

I can sweep up the mat under his cage but for some reason he manages to push hay out onto the carpet.   I seriously don’t know how he manages such a mess.

[Roro]

I found out there’s this place across the street from my place that sells rebuilt kirbys starting at $130!!!! does anyone have one? I’ve heard a lot of good things about them and my cheapo isn’t cutting it with the new buns messes.

[Cassi&Charlie]

I have 2 vacuums, one is $30 from a reject shop & it’s bagless. It handles hay and poop really well but can’t actually vacuum dirt so every few days I vacuum wth my cheapo vacuum cleaner & the once a week get out my expensive one that handles dirt really well but can’t handle hay.
I know it’s a long way round things but I can’t justify buying a dyson until my current vacuum dies (might help it along tho :p)

[MooBunnay]

My husband just bought me a new Dyson (the Dyson “animal)” and he got it re-furbished so it was a bit cheaper. Still, it was expensive enough that we go around with a shop-vac first to get all the big hay pieces up off the ground before using the Dyson.

You can usually get shop-vacs for fairly cheap, you can try places like Big Lots, or I just went to a flea market and one of the traders had a bunch of tools and equipment, and he had a bunch of shop vacs as well. Just be careful not to suck up a bunny I got Juli’s bum once and she was NOT pleased.

[Lightchick]

OMG, MooBunnay! Poor Juli… My buns FLEEEEE!!! while foot-flicking obsenities the second the vacuum turns on, so sucking them up accidentally will never be a problem…

I have a cordless hand-vac for “bunny-land”. It’s bagless, and roller-less, and thus can handle poops and hay and spilt litter. I do this as-needed. I also pick up most of the hay tossed around their pen by hand every morning when I clean out litter boxes. The Hoover Upright comes out to pick up the missed crumbs, fur, etc, once a week.

I looked at Dysons upon breaking my last vacuum, and was scared off by the price. (My last vacuum broke because MY shedded hair clogged up the roller-brush, and got stuck, and then the motor exploded in a puff of acrid black smoke. So I can’t blame the buns, and I can’t justify speding that much on a vacuum! I pretty much have accepted that I will destroy my vacuum, so I’d better not get too attached!)

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

I use a Shark sweeper (here’s one for around $30 at Wal-Mart) to pick up hay and loose poos daily, and a large upright vac every few days for deeper cleaning. The sweeper is super light and easy and definitely great for picking up hay without worrying about clogging. Regular vacs have been hell for me because they get exhausting and clog from the hay.

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