When you watch the “As Seen On TV” infomercial for the Swivel Sweeper it’s tempting to buy one. It’s cordless, lightweight, and works on all types of floors. It has a quiet motor and it features four rotating brushes for “unsurpassed cleaning power.” Best of all, the head swivels 360 degrees, allowing you to easily maneuver around and under furniture. Who wouldn’t want such a handy tool around the house?
I was convinced that I had to have one. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to pay the high shipping and handling charges because my local Home Depot carried the Swivel Sweeper for less than $40.00.
When I took the Swivel Sweeper out of the box I noticed that the gray sliders, which allow you to empty the dirt tray, were broken. Back to Home Depot I went to get a replacement. Home Depot gave me a replacement and I was all set to try out this new gadget.
I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed using the Swivel Sweeper. It was extremely light – only two pounds – and because of the handle extension I didn’t have to bend over like I do with other cordless vacuums. It seemed to float over our hardwood floors (it doesn’t have wheels – it has sliders) and effortlessly picked up cat fur, crumbs, and dust bunnies. I loved how I didn’t need to move the dining room chairs because the Swivel Sweeper fit so easily underneath them. With the 360 degree swivel head I could go forward, backward, sideways and in circles. With the four side rotating brushes I was able to reach crumbs under the cupboards that my regular vacuum was never able to reach.
I was having so much fun with the Swivel Sweeper that my 10-year-old son begged to try it. He loved it! Every day he asked if he could vacuum. I never thought I’d hear that coming from him!
My two-year-old saw how much fun my son was having and decided she too wanted to try the Swivel Sweeper. The quiet operation of it didn’t scare her like ordinary vacuums do. And it is so light that even a two-year-old can handle it with ease.
For three glorious months my house was free of cat fur, crumbs and dust bunnies. And best of all I didn’t have to do any of the work – my kids did it all! It was like a dream come true!
But like so many dreams, reality started to kick in. I found out the hard way that if you go from one type of surface, such as hardwood, to another type of surface, such as a rug, the tipping action of the head causes the Swivel Sweeper to spew out everything that is in the dirt tray. I had debris everywhere and had to get my regular vacuum out to clean up the awful mess. The same thing happened to my daughter who tried using it on the couch cushions. The uneven surface of the cushions caused the Swivel Sweeper to spit out its entire contents all over my couch. Once again my regular vacuum had to come to the rescue.
Cleaning the Swivel Sweeper is supposed to be an easy task. While it is easy, it requires sliding the gray tabs over to release the dirt tray. These are the same tabs that were broken on my original Swivel Sweeper, so I cringe whenever I have to slide them over for fear of breaking the cheap plastic. Another step in cleaning the Swivel Sweeper is to get the hair and fur out of the four side brushes. The Swivel Sweeper comes with a special cleaning tool which looks like a seam ripper. I tend to lose this tool, so I often end up cleaning these brushes by hand which is not fun or easy with all of the pet hair that is wrapped around the brushes.
The final disappointment is that after three months the battery started to fail me. It was no longer as powerful as it was in the beginning, and it certainly didn’t last for 45 minutes like the infomercial had promised. I looked into buying a replacement battery, but they cost almost as much as a brand-new Swivel Sweeper.
I checked out other people’s reviews of this product and saw similar complaints about the battery. Their attempts at contacting customer service were not successful. So I have decided to just live with the fact that my Swivel Sweeper will not be the great tool it once was.
I still use the Swivel Sweeper whenever I’m too lazy to get out my regular vacuum. It can still pick up small messes like food crumbs and dust bunnies. But gone are the days when my kids begged to use it and my floors were cleaned on a daily basis. Back to reality, and back to dragging my big old corded vacuum around the house.
I sure do miss the glory days of my beloved Swivel Sweeper.
