Dirt Devil Roommate

[eureka1998]

Just saw a Dirt Devil Roommate at a thrift store today. Is it rare? It was only $16 so should I grab it next time? It is a 90s DD after all.

http://images.qvc.com/is/image/v/77/v13977.001

 

[durango159]

Rare, is an interesting question when it comes to Dirt Devil. These are sold at many department stores and HSN. So quantity sold was fairly high. There were blue colored ones along with this red one and they were on the market for a few years.

As to how many are still out there and not in the landfill, I have no clue. I imagine if you did an eBay search, you'd find one on a fairly regular basis though. I have never searched for one.

As you can tell, it's a lightweight quickie cleanup vac. It was marketed for college students, efficiency apartments, etc. There's a dirt cup that gets emptied. I think the filter is similar to that of a DustBuster design.

 

[rugsucker]

RoomMate

A good idea for a small vac but the Number One problem with these was hair/thread/strings not being cleaned off and ruining brush assembly.If brush and brush bearings are good this might be a great vac when you don't want to use a full size.

 

[eureka1998]

I was thinking it might be best suited for the carpeted staircase in the master bedroom. And since my brothers room is much smaller than mine I could use it in there too. Next time I go to the thrift store I might check it out again and look for any issues including brushroll tangling. I never usually just come across 90s dirt devils where I am so i found it to be rather interesting. something I want to REALLY get my hands on is the Ultra MVP. Been looking for a decent one for years! I know for a fact they are not as common as others. Ive only seen one on ebay and it was dirty had a bag half filled. YUCK! I had to skip unfortunately. I wish they made them for just a few more years. I dont know why they were kinda short lived.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

One school where I taught had these little DD vacs

Each classroom was carpeted, and we had one in EACH room.  They took a lot of abuse in an elementary school.  I'm not sure they were made to tackle that.

 

[eureka1998]

gottahaveahoove

That sounds bad. They shouldhave had a full size vacuum to tackle those jobs. My schools always used those backpack canisters. In college they use the hardcover Eureka Sanitaires.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

At my first teaching job,

there was a metal based, Custom Convertible in EVERY classroom. 


 The school w/ the DD did everything on the cheap.  Everything.

 

[eureka1998]

Since the thrift store is around the corner from my college I might just take a look at it again on Monday simply because I like old 90s very early 2000s stuff. However, if it has many problems I wont bother.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I found one and the filter is a little like a Dustbuster. But mine had a bad motor, just smoked when you turn it on.

 

[eureka1998]

fan-of-fans

The idea I had was to ask them if they'd let me try it in the store before purchasing. I would not want to come home with something defective and beaten up.

 

[eureka1998]

fan-of-fans

Someone else also mentioned that hey had dustbuster like filters. So they are essentially upright versions of the dustbuster?