Isaiah
First of all, I would not assume your Dirt Devil hand vac is dead. Those hand vacs in particular use a Ametek universal powerhead motor used by many brands, such as Filter Queen, TriStar & Eureka, to name a few. There is a good possibility that the motor may just need new carbon brushes. I would strongly suggest opening up your Dirt Devil & taking apart the motor. If the brushes are connected by a spring & wire to the field coils in the motor, then it's truly gone, no way you can replace those. BUT, if it is a older motor like I suspect where the brushes just have a spring attached & not the wire as well, you can order new carbon brushes, install them yourself, re-assemble & you're back in business.
As for the my fellow members suggestions about the Riccar & Simplicity hand vacuums, I would avoid them, as well as any modern bagless hand vac that has a HEPA filter in the cup. Those filters, especially small ones like these use, are a real pain in the butt to clean! Plus, you WILL eventually have to buy replacements, & more frequently than you may think. For the hassle of cleaning the filter & replacement costs, I cannot recommend them.
If you do decide to buy a replacement hand vacuum, I would agree with their suggestions in looking at local thrift shops & online craigslist ads to try & find a couple of older hand vacs with cloth bags to use, such as the Dirt Devil, Royal, Black & Decker, etc. Much easier to clean out & deal with on a regular basis, especially for someone like you cleaning multiple homes & very busy.
But, if you're willing to spend the $90 & buy new, Crazykirbydude's suggestion, the Aerus Little Lux hand vacuum, would be well worth the money spent & would be your best choice. A proven design that has been around since the mid 90's with only styling changes, the internals have not changed. Cloth bag would be easy to empty out & live with, plus it also has a geared permanent belt. The cost for the Simplicity & Riccar hand vacuums should be just as much, or more, than this, & won't be nearly as convenient for you to clean out the filter & live with day to day.
However, I would NOT suggest getting the Aerus Sidekick or Wessel Werk HEB160. Both these electric mini powerheads will work, BUT ultimately, any rotating brush you WILL have to cut the hair off the brushroll, & I have found you spend just as much time vacuuming the hair off as you do having to cut hair out of the brushroll. The Wessel Werk, in particular, is a really bad choice, as the brushroll openings on it are quite small, & their powerheads especially are more difficult than most to take apart yourself at home & clean out. For that reason alone, I cannot recommend ANY Wessel Werk powerhead. Plus, with the brushroll opening being smaller than most, you will find it more tedious & frustrating getting in there with small scissors & twezzers. The only way I suggest a solution with a rotating brush is if you want a hand vacuum not attached to a normal upright or canister.
The Simplicity Fur Get It & Riccar Pet Hair Beware tool, as suggested by Blackheart, does work. But, it has a quirky design with some limitations & is better suited to upholstery than carpet, which means it's ineffective on stairs. For the money they want for that tool, I don't think it's worth it.
Your REAL SOLUTION here is to get a dedicated pet hair upholstery tool that DOES NOT use a rotating brush, such as the one I have linked to below. I own this particular tool, & I find it works quite well. This is a old, proven design that has been made by various manufacturers since the 1980's. Simple, effective, & it WORKS! All you do is pull the tool back, it traps the hair on the felt pad, then push it forward & the hair slips off the and & is pulled in by the vacuum's suction. At the end, you will need to give the felt pad a quick swipe with the hose, but that's a minor thing really. It comes with a ring that you tighten down onto the hose, & loosen to take off, which means it can fit regular hoses or European size hoses, like Miele & Sebo vacuums. Replacement pads are available, & it's not that expensive at all, so this might be worth looking into, & it seems to fit what you need it for.
Rob
Carbon brushes:
http://www.goodvac.com/Rainbow_D4_SE_nozzle_motor_brush_p/r-prt-r4662.htm
Pet hair tool:
http://www.dustdeal.com/shopBrowser...rtmentProductId/55730192/shopGroupId/52652643
