How to get a man to vacuum the house

How do you get a guy to vacuum? Making the experience not drain him of his life force is a start.

But we have to vacuum.

Based on where you land on the slob scale—somewhere between hoarder an Felix Unger, you may need to pony up your housework to keep your relationship with your wife alive or to keep your sanity functioning. Or maybe you’re trying to woo her with your housework prowess. Whatever.  I fall somewhere in between needing it neat and dust doesn’t bother me that much. So when Black & Decker told me about their super-long-named-and-numbered non-lame looking cordless vac, the BDH2400FH 24V Lithium Stick Vacuum, I took a run at it. Here’s what I found in detail so excruciating you have to keep reading.

I forced myself to chase dust bunnies, cat litter, a little drywall and DIY dust around. I found a nicely designed machine with both quirks and an X-factor.

Unlike the POS handheld-vac-screwed-to-a-pipe my dear Theresa bought for our wood floors—its cord is too short; the head doesn’t pivot; it sounds like screaming cats; emptying the cone-style filter is gag-worthy…Hell, it even looks like defeat—the 24V Black & Decker is a supremely better design.

Namely, it looks more tool-ish and not so much like the death of my masculinity.

And behold, it kind of operates like a tool. Power is balanced. The brush turns just fast and hard enough to capture debris without shooting it out the back of the unit (a common problem with other vacs on hard surfaces). It doesn’t devour the corner of a bathmat or rug when you roll over it. And it gets dust and cat litter-esque messes off hardwood floors and rugs.

It catches it all in a canister on the motor housing that’s easy to empty. And that doesn’t require handling a mat of cat hair and dead skin. The sponge filter is also easy to pat out and replace. What’s extra nice about this arrangement is that, unlike many vacs, you can see when this one is full so you’re not running a machine suffocating for air over a floor that’s not getting clean.

The balance of power that makes me like it as an upright (please, did I just say that?) makes it feel lacking in power as a handheld. It did work effectively for dust bunnies (why are they bunnies?) on my stairs, but the press release claims it’ll kick butt as a crevice tool for cleaning out cars and other tough spots. Yeah…no. At least not my truck.

My boy’s Chex cereal on top of the seat fabric, sure. The mashed up Chex IN the carpet or jammed into the seat fold. Probably need more power. Note: A small intake gate on the front of the motor assembly got stuck shut somehow. It took some searching but I found it and opened it back open. Unit works fine.

The pieces come apart easily enough and click together fairly solidly. However, I feel for something that costs as much as a power tool it should operate as well as one in terms of this kind of fit and finish. It’s close. After all, it’s a still a vacuum not a table saw.

If you have a big house or lots of carpets, this is not intended to be a mainframe vacuum. The 24-volts lasts for about ½ – ¾ of my house before I need to recharge it. Which, honestly, is fine because that’s about all the vacuuming I can take before I need a beer. The charging cradle really needs to be hung on a wall to (A) store the unit and (B) get solid contact between charger and powerhead (thaaaaaat’s more like it…). Otherwise, the slightest bump konks it out and you don’t get a charge.

The unit is quirky. But…X-Factor. Despite its princely price tag ($239) it does something other vacuums that have come through my front door have failed to do: It makes me want to use it.

There’s no asinine cord wrap that makes me feel like I’m dying a little mini-death every time I have to use it. The balance is good. The head articulates really well. It goes straight or around turns…hell, I can steer the damn thing. It also doesn’t look like I’m pushing a child’s toy around.

So if you want to get a guy to vacuum the house, this worked for me.

If you want to get him something he’ll use for Father’s Day—for the love of all that is holy—don’t get him this. Get him a pick-up truck or chainsaw or register him for Spartan Race. But if you want him to vacuum (or, fellas, you know you need to vacuum to keep your marriage moving forward) the Black & Decker works. Just get it another time.

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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