EL1012A Ergorapido Hand Vacuum
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List Price: Our Price: $91.53 You Save: $48.46 (35%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of EL1012A Ergorapido Hand Vacuum
Customer Review: We Love Our Ergorapido
Summary: 5 Stars
I wasn't sure about the Ergorapido because I'd read a few critiques of its Pronto predecessor. No vacuum cleaner is perfect, but this one seemed best to suit our needs. If considering this vacuum, be aware of its limitations and adjust your expectations accordingly. If you're buying this Electrolux cordless as your main, whole house vac, you'll most likely be disappointed. If you're buying it for spot cleaning or bare floor cleaning, you'll probably love it.
Assembly - There's really not much to it especially if you don't mount the charger unit on the wall. The vacuum comes in two pieces attached with one screw and the two charger pieces simply snap together. Even a caveman could do it.
Length of charge - This is why you can't vacuum your entire house, unless you do it piecemeal, vacuum quickly, or have a small house. We've found that the battery maintains power about fifteen or twenty minutes with continuous use depending on whether you're using the high or low power settings. The first charge takes 24 hours, and subsequent full charges are said to take up to 16 hours. Mostly we use the Ergorapido (Latin for therefore fast?) for small tasks and return it to the charger, so it's always charged and ready for use.
Performance - For what it is, the performance of this little vacuum is great. It works better on bare floors, but the pick up on carpet is more than adequate, especially for touch ups, like for scatter rugs by the doors. We really like being able to clean around the parakeets so quickly, easily, and quietly. Just don't expect it to perform like a full size upright.
Ease of Use - This appliance is absolutely remarkable. I've never had a tool that was so easy to place on and remove from its charger. It's such a smooth and effortless task that we constantly marvel at the Ergorapido's engineering and design. Somebody deserves kudos. Separating the hand vac from the stick vac base is also almost effortless. Press a button and it almost falls into your hands. The hand vac snaps back into position just as easily with no jostling, manipulation or positioning.
The stick vac is easy to push and literally glides on the floor. With each passing day we find needs for the hand vac and may soon think of it more as a necessity than as a convenience.
Cleaning - There are three ways to clean this little wonder. You can simply detach and empty the dust container. You can use the hose of a second vacuum to clean out the dust chamber by lifting a latch and pressing the second vacuum's wand against the Ergorapido's cleaning hole. Or you can remove the filters and shake them or use a cleverly designed spring to free dust from the filters. Just pull and release the spring 5 or 6 times. The filter may be washed in lukewarm water. It's made of a material that's much easier to clean than other bagless vac filters I've wrestled with.
Looks - This is by far the most attractive stick vac we've ever seen. Even the fussy Mrs. Spudman is quite taken by it, and is proud to keep it out in the open. The elegant Ergorapido looks nothing like those 29-dollar bargains we've bought in the past. And that blue charging light is really cool.
Finally - The Electrolux Ergorapido almost the perfect combination of form, function, and utility. My main gripe is that when the battery dies, the vacuum must be discarded. What a waste! Hopefully when that eventuality occurs, the Electrolux will have designed a cordless with a replaceable battery.
Customer Review: A synergy of function and design
Summary: 5 Stars
I hate vacuuming. After I bought this stick vac, I've been looking for every opportunity to suck up dust. Really. This is one wonderful tool.
My hardwood stairs are the bane of my vacuuming chores. I'd lug the heavy 20 pound house vacuum up the stairs and use the hose attachment tool. Had enough of that. I went shopping for a corded dustbuster that had power. I wasn't actually looking for a stick vac.
My warehouse store had a floor model of the Electrolux Ergorapido Cordless EL1012A. It had some heft to it, and didn't feel flimsy. it was easy to maneuver and glided smoothly on the floor. It was $80.00, twice as much as I was willing to pay for a dustbuster. But how would it perform? After reading the impressive reviews on Amazon, I bought it.
The unit comes in two pieces out of the box. Just attach the handle to the lower body. I had to wait a full 24 hours for it to charge, before using it. In that time I admired the sleek styling and build. I don't buy high end tools so I'm not used to seeing this quality in something so inexpensive.
This is like the Mercedes of Stick Vacs, with the price tag of a (insert name of low end car brand here). Every piece that has to click into place (from the dust cup to the hand vac) did it perfectly, with a positive clickey sound. I don't have to force or twist anything to make it fit. Release buttons release things, effortlessly.
The charging unit can be placed on the ground, or wall mounted. I just left it on the ground. I don't have to carefully match up the vac's parts to the charger station. I just slip the vacuum into the general vicinity, and when it parks in place, the steady blue charging lights go on.
After 24 hours passed, I started vacuuming. I use it only on my tiled and hardwood floors. It was almost TOO smooth on my floors, as if it were running away from me. Some of the reviews say that it won't last more than 15 minutes on a charge. I'm glad I don't have that problem. If I have to spend that much time attached to a vacuum, I won't be vacuuming at all.
They make it so easy to clean the dustcup that I clean it after every use. The plunger on the inner dustbag has got to be the funniest and most innovative way to get rid of small particles. The roller brush is easy to remove and pop back in. Like another reviewer suggested, I use a sewing seam ripper to loosen stuck hairs. This is truly an ergonomic machine, designed to make it easy to upkeep.
I use it daily on my bathroom floors for hair pickups, in the hallways for dust, and in the kitchen for crumbs. Electrolux engineers, my house thanks you!
Update September 2010:
One year of owning this, and it's still going strong. I empty the dirt cup after every use. There's been no loss in suction. I only use it at most ten minutes at a clip. Not because it runs down, I just run out of surfaces to clean.
Some of the reviewers expected this to be a VACUUM. It is not meant to be a substitute for a rug or carpet vacuum cleaner. Its a dustbuster on steroids, and that's all I expected it to do, which it does perfectly!
Customer Review: Bought Several
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the first one of these back in 2004 at the hardware store. It was perfect except that it had pads instead of rollers that would come off after some time. I would scratch my hardwood floors. By that time, it retreated to the basement for easy cleanup. I missed it so much on the main level of my house I purchased another one. A shark. AWFUL. It only lasted about 5 months and really stunk when it came to picking up small fine crumbs. This time Electrolux changed their design and had rollers. AWESOME. I purchased it and it has been wonderful. I've had the "green" colored one for almost two years, and it is still going strong. No this is not a regular vacuum as I have a Rainbow Vacuum, but after dinner, it is perfect to clean up the kitchen and run over the rest of the house. I have a cocker spaniel, three year old, and a wonderful hubbie who ALL take off their shoes or clean their feet prior to entering the house. But of course, we still get little stuff inside.
To show you how much I love this vacuum, I purchased one for my mother in law, and a friend of ours who lets us stay at her cabin in Washington. Then years later, I tried to talk my parents into buying one and they never would, so for xmas I purchased one for my dad as a joke. My dad has said dozens of times that it was the best gift he ever has received. My dad has never cleaned house in his life until he retired. Now he helps my mom and she has made comments that her kitchen has never been so clean on the floor. My dad vacuums almost every day. His pet peave is when he is walking across the floor and can feel dirt. He hates that, so he vacuums for my mom. Last, I was on the computer purchasing one for my husbands grandmother. She is turning 90 and she keeps her house perfectly. I thought this would be easier for her and she would enjoy it. No I am purchasing my 6th one for myself or someone else.
Love the vacuum and will buy another one when this one dies. $100 is not that much when you look at how much I use it.
Customer Review: I love this little vacuum cleaner
Summary: 5 Stars
This vacuum cleaner is meeting my expectations which were as follows:
-light-weight, good suction, manuverablility in corners, reasonable battery life, easy to clean. I find that it works the best on wooden floors, but it does fine on carpet with the following caveats. If your carpet is thick pile, you cannot push the vacuum on it. What I do is lift the vacuum up a little off the floor and put it out in front of me and then pull it back toward me. It weighs very little, so this motion is not a problem. On tight weave carpets, you can push or pull. No problem.
One idiosyncracy is that on extremely light stuff (think a small feather), the rotation of the beater brush actually pushes the light stuff away. I had to hold the vacuum over the light stuff and it sucked it up immediately. It picks up cat litter and cat hair beautifully without any special effort.
Cleaning out the vacuumed dirt it is very easy. The cup comes out and I usually just give it a wipe with my hand. It has this little gizmo that you can pull that will knock off a lot of the dirt without you having to touch it, but it's not 100%. I am not that finicky about touching dirt, so it's no big deal to me. But it does have a place where you can suck the dirt out with another vacuum cleaner if you want to. Not a feature I am likely to use.
If you want a vacuum to do quick cleanups and that has good suction, this is it. I got it as a Christmas present and use it nearly every day. (PS - we had a large party on Christmas day, and I used this baby to clean up the kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, and stairs after the party. No strain on the battery at all. I was finished in about 10 minues.)
Customer Review: Perfect for wood floors and a few rugs
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been searching high and low for something that I could use throughout my house. I have wood floors through the whole house and a handful of rugs. I have a swiffer-vac that I've been using for the wood floors, but that wouldn't do for the rugs. I didn't want to buy a huge, regular vacuum to lug around for a just a couple of rugs, so I did some research and came upon this product. I am extremely happy with it. We have three cats, two of which are pretty long-haired, so it is a constant struggle to keep miniature tumbleweeds from blowing across the living room. So far I am very pleased with the way it works on the rugs and the floor--it is perfect for bathroom mats/rugs and even our larger oriental dining room rug looks great after a once over with this guy. Great in the kitchen too, as it picks up crumbs, food scraps, cat food, etc. The fact that it is so lightweight and portable makes it easy and convenient to use---doesn't feel like a chore. Also, I really appreciate the design. The dust compartment empties easily so that you are not creating a dust cloud trying to get it clean. Also, the dustbuster portion comes off easily, and I've used it with the carpet brush on a few chairs (cat hair) and it works magnificently. If you have a smaller square footed house with little carpeting and a few pets, you will fall in love with this stick-vac.
By the way, I initially bought the Shark version and it was very poorly made. Also, the carpet roller brush on the bottom does not come out on the Shark, whereas it does on the Electrolux. The ergorapido is of much better quality and has a much more well thought out design.
Love it!!!