Eureka EasyClean Lightweight Handheld Vacuum Cleaner, Hand Vac Corded, 71B, EasyClean-Yellow

My first step was to Google "best vacuum for carpeted stairs".This vacuum was in the top 2 on 3 different sites.All 3 sites agreed that on the plus side was the suction, on-board tools, sturdiness of product, and extra long cord.All 3 sites agreed that on the negative was the weight which was around 2-3 pounds heavier than the other vacuums.One site explained that the heaviness was due to using sturdy solid metals in the construction of this vacuum which I felt removed the negative comments.Now to my experience...I received this vacuum this evening and wanted to test it immediately.I was pleasantly surprised when all the packaging was tossed & the only set-up I had to do was to store the crevasse tool in its on-board storage area (tucked away in the end of the unit) & wind the cord around the base. No taking it apart to remove bits of paper or tape. A very nice surprise!My carpeted stairs are used by me, my 3 cats, & 2 dogs. They are also used by my relatives 2 dogs & the neighbor dog. That is a lot of pet hair.To compound matters, I have very long hair. My hair historically destroyed a vacuum a year until I found my Kirby. It causes my Oreck to burn through a belt at each use. So I was a little concerned on how the brush mechanism would work.The brush mechanism worked beautifully on the tread of the stairs. The clear cover over the brush can be adjusted down to allow the brushes use on the riser part of the stairs. This is a feature that I do not feel received enough attention in the reviews I found online. This is a GREAT feature! It saves time using the crevasse tool and I did not see this feature on any of the other vacuums.Having the crevasse tools on-board the unit makes switching to it for side & base use extremely easy.I did the tread & risers on my way up the stairs then switched and did crevasse work on the way back down. Very slick!The emptying of the filter was quick and easy. The brush mechanism took a bit of time to pick my hair out of but I was very surprised at how few strands were caught around the roller (not to mention that it didn't burn the unit out). It was an easy cleanup & the vacuum looked new again in no time.A note about the weight. My arm was getting tired from toting the unit up and then back down until I figured that I could just rest it on the next step down while I was crevassing each step. The hose is flexible & long enough to do this.I feel that this is an excellent product that will be used consistently in my household for many years to come.

'Caveat emptor' should be a caution against not just unscrupulous sellers, but misguided buyers as well, a self-warning of sorts. To that end, I read all ~1600 reviews of the Eureka, paying special heed to the three percent or so that awarded it one star. Call this a meta review. My conclusion after a complex and detailed statistical and psychological analysis of the complaints is that the hand-held vacuum was being misused, abused in some cases. After a few months of use, I agree with all the positives: Eureka is powerful & easy to use, the brush enhances cleaning power, the canister is a snap to empty, and the filter creates a nice, tight seal. As for the complaints..."Vacuum stopped working after X uses/N years." That was the predominant complaint, sparks and smoke and vacuum broke. Many of the reviewers who sent their Eurekas to the Great Vacuum too soon seemed to be using them as replacements for full-sized vacuum cleaners: three flights of stairs, several area rugs, hotel lobbies, etc. I planned to use mine to clean up the occasional kitchen spill and kitty-litter dusting--no sucking marathons, just little sprints here and there. Could there have been honestly defective units among these? Sure! I mean, the FDA allows for up to 60 insect fragments per 3.5 oz of chocolate, so a defect in three out of every 1000 Eurekas is nothing to get all huffy and litigious about."Vacuum is too heavy." Again, an easy-to-dismiss complaint for me. Step 1: read product specs and ascertain that product weighs 7 pounds. Step 2: lift a bag of potatoes to get a feel for what 7 pounds is like. Step 3: conclude that I can hold seven pounds for the thirty seconds or so it will take me to clean up the flour and popcorn that have peppered the kitchen floor. Step 4: be pleasantly surprised that the 7 pounds referred to the shipping weight, and that the Eureka sans box weighs (according to my bathroom scale) a featherlight 5.4 pounds. Step 5: determine that if the Eureka were a bar of chocolate, then the FDA would be OK if it contained up to 1500 insect fragments."Vacuum blows dust everywhere." This was perhaps the most serious of the warnings that I read. After all, vacuums need to exhaust all that air somewhere, and I have noticed this issue with some uprights, especially on hardwood & tile floors. I took solace in the overwhelmingly positive reviews, especially those that addressed the suck-and-blow issues. In particular, one reviewer noted that the vacuuming should be done by pushing the Eureka away from you and not towards you since the exhaust was stronger under the Eureka's belly. That's how I vacuum anyway--plus, I identified, since the exhaust is stronger under my belly as well--so I took a chance. So far, there has been no exhaust problem, no blowing stuff around."Power cord is hard to store." As I see it, there are four options for power cord management. Option one: get a cordless handheld vacuum, put up with weaker suction, leave unit constantly charging and sucking power, replace batteries every couple of years once they reach the end of their recharge cycle. Option two: get a short-corded handheld vacuum and plan to spill beans only near electrical outlets. Option three: get one of those internal-storage crank widgets that are a pain to operate or else spring-loaded with an angry and temperamental spring. Option four: to store, wrap the long cord around the base in the time that it takes you to say wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap."Hose suction is weak." Nope, it's strong. The same motor powers both the hose and the main unit. And the hose is ridiculously easy to use, requiring none of the attach/detach acrobatics of most vacuums."Vacuum requires screwdriver to turn on." This must have been written by Edward's younger brother, Johnny Screwdriverhands."Vacuum doesn't work in Australia." Well that settles it then: I'm not moving to Australia.