Enter Felix

In my last post about a recent "date night" I alluded to shopping for vacuum cleaners.  I should be charged with neglect for having not highlighted this new important member of our family sooner.  Felix joined the Schafer household in October of 2014 when Pete and I went out for the first time after Clement was born.  Joe at a local sweeper store in North Canton convinced Pete to try something other than a bagless vacuum. Beyond that Pete pretty much left the shopping to me.  Given the utility of the gift and knowing my enjoyment of the household chore we were willing to spend some bigger bucks in order to find me a suitable dancing partner.

 Introducing FELIX

Joe had a special running on SEBO vacs and gave us a demo of another model that adjusted to the height of the carpet automatically, looked a bit more traditional, and boasted the duties of keeping Disney World and the White House, among other prominent households in ship-shop shape. And, though we typically tend toward the American made option we could not ignore the high quality engineering and sturdy workmanship of this German gadget.  Glancing across the store the unique 70s looking model caught my eye and we got the details from Joe for this more modest, yet marvelous machine.

 

Here are some of Felix's fine qualities:

• It's designed by a woman
• Adjustable handle with bumper on the handle to prevent extra dings
• Variant power switch
• Converts to a canister vac that can be carried easily to clean steps and other nooks and crannies
• smaller width which may mean more passes but along with the swivel handle allows for easy maneuvering around furniture and other hard to reach areas
• Low profile laying close to ground so you can reach all the way under the bed to eradicate dust bunnies easily
• changeable outer filter that comes in a variety of designs that allows Felix to dress for the occasion (we haven't needed to change this yet but it might be fun to go with a different color or pattern next time)
•  Hose insert to the top of the bag which allows you to fill entire bag and it's easy and not messy to change
• easy to switch  parquet attachment to use on tile, wood, or linoleum floors
• long cord allowing me to sweep the whole main floor from one outlet
• BONUS: hours of fun in converting the box Felix came in into our very own airplane with rotating propeller made possible by old sweeper tube attachment.

"yuggage" filled airplane ready for inspection

 

Take-off!

 

Felix's Potential Pitfalls

• The boys too like operating Felix which doesn't give me much alone time and sometimes extends the run time to complete the chore (if only they liked doing laundry as much)
• More attachments to double as swords, trumpets, baseball bats or other utensils
• Felix did not come with a brush attachment, or shoulder strap...perhaps stocking stuffers for another year...?

 

 

 

Blessed we are as we did acquire another cordless rechargeable vacuum that we keep stationed in the basement primarily for keeping the family minivan Viceroy free of debris but also keeps all the boys involved when I get Felix out for a run.  They are helpful  and capable of sweeping the steps and rugs easily.

 

I'm certainly grateful for my little helpers, electrical and otherwise.