Review & Giveaway: Swiffer SweeperVac

One of the first things I bought right when we moved into our first apartment when we were married was one of the original Swiffer sweepers. I managed to score one on clearance at Safeway with a great coupon and I think my final cost was like $9.99 - it was a steal (I think the original price back then was $29.99) At the time it was just us and 2 cats, so while we didn't have the amount of dirt we do these days, I knew we would get great use out of it.

And it was worth every single penny. I kid you not, we finally were using it twice a day until my heart broke when it just hit the point where it was time to retire it. I debated on getting it another new filter (it's recommended you change it yearly) but it has just been used so much - you just know when it's time. (Cue sad funeral music) There was a good coupon released (see below) and I was just waiting for DH's next paycheck when My Blog Spark asked if I wanted to review the new revamped Swiffer SweeperVac with Double Action Clean.


Um, YES?!!! Talk about perfect timing, or what? It could not arrive fast enough - I was getting tired of trying to drag the latest heavy hand me down vacuum around to gobble up the hair balls, kibble, dirt from the park... you get the idea. (Did I mention our vacuum I bought at the same time as the Swiffer just couldn't handle it anymore, either? When it rains, it pours...)

I have to tell you, I totally cracked up laughing at the little containers of dirt, hair, and cereal that were sent with the kit so we could see how the new Swiffer picked these things up. Obviously, someone who set this whole shebang up does not have a mini holy terror and a mini petting zoo. If I ignore my floor for just a few short hours, I have all that stuff on my floor. I don't need dirt to help me try it out! LOL (DH's reaction: What, are they sending you components to a spell or something? (there was synthetic hair and dirt LOL!!!) See?


I still had the old one so I was able to compare them side by side. They are a similar design, but the new one is a brighter green - lime! I also noticed that the little cloth holders (where you push the cloth in) and the bottom of the sweeper seemed to be better to hold the cloth in than the older model - this is a great improvement to me, because sometimes the cloth would come off of mine. The one thing I don't like is instead of the On/Off button being on the top of the handle like the old one, it's now on the lower part of the Vac. It's not a huge deal I guess, but now you have to bend over a bit to turn it on. It's also faster to turn on than the old version, if that makes sense - I accidentally turned it on several times.

By the way, just in case you were thinking you could save the old voltage recharger, they are different, so you can't. Just donate it to your local thrift store.

So here's my verdict: if you have an original Swiffer Sweeper Vac, and it's still in great shape, I wouldn't run out to buy the new one unless you're like me and have a high traffic dirt volume. (which I suppose is anyone with toddlers or who do animal rescue lol) If your dirt level is low, stick to the original Swiffer Sweeper - the non vacum one. It works great at just picking up hair and small dirt.

Keep in mind if you are using the Swiffer Sweeper Vac, you have the costs of recharging the battery pack on top of buying the refill sheets. Now when it comes to the refill sheets, I can tell a difference between the off brands (such as the ones the Dollar Tree carries) vs the Swiffer brand, I hate to say it. When funds are low here, I use the Dollar Tree brand and it just doesn't grab as well as the Swiffer brand - I'm assuming the difference is the Swiffer brand has the ridges - here, see these side by side:


(This is all just MY opinion though. Yours may differ after trying both products. Of course, our dirt situations may be different, which leads to a difference in opinion... yada yada... lol I hate having to put that disclaimer in it, but blame the FTC! Swiffer DID NOT ask me to say that, just in case someone out there thinks they did. I'm a housewife, I spend half my day cleaning it seems like. I say it like it is! What's the point of buying something cheaper if it doesn't work?)

Now, depending on your dirt level, you can either make your own reusable refill sheets from cloth, or if you don't feel very crafty there are some great sellers on Etsy who can create them for you in fun prints and colors (I recommend having at least 6 if you are going to do that, more if you have a high volume of dirt) I personally don't use reusable ones (don't shoot me) because we have SO MUCH dirt on ours - it would be a pain to get it all off before placing it in our washer. See, this is just from part of our kitchen:



I'd be embarrassed, lol, but there's 3 of us and 7 pets - of course there's dirt! (See why I don't dare go on a cleaning strike? Can you imagine after 2 days? LOL) My kitchen floor is wood, but I also used it afterwards on both the linoleum in the bathroom and laundry room, as well as the stone tiles in my entry way.

If you are interested in trying out a Swiffer Sweeper Vac of your own, there is a $5 off coupon to help you buy it. (The suggested retail price is about $39.99) You can also try it out risk free, as they have a money back guarantee. (Hang on to the receipt and box if you think you might not like it!) Let's be honest, there are not a lot of brands that offer that these days! And, to help you out with the cost of the refill sheets, there is a great rebate for a $10 rewards card if you purchase $20 worth of Swiffer sheets! (I'm totally doing that one!) It's good through June 30th, so you have time to look for a good sale to stock up with and spread your money even further.

Win it! The fabulous folks over at Swiffer and My Blog Spark sent along a $40 WalMart gift card for one lucky reader to buy their own Swiffer Sweeper Vac! (Or cloth refills, if you already have one) To enter, tell me if you are a Swiffer user from any of their products already, and what your biggest dirty problem is around the house. Is it hair? dirt tracked in from the outside? The kids don't know where the dishwasher is? (lol) Dogs that drool everywhere?

As always, if you have completed the first entry above, you can also receive extra entries for:

-Subscribing to my feed OR following my blog
-Blogging about this giveaway with a link back
-Tweeting about this giveaway (leave the link or include @psychotichouse)

That's up to four (4) possible entries! Giveaway ends May 1st, 2010 at 11:59 PST. US Only, sorry. :( Please leave your email address in your comment, or have it available in your profile so I can contact you if you've won. Winners drawn via Random.org.

All opinions in this review are my own, and your experience with the product may differ. I did receive a Swiffer Sweeper Vac with a refill box of sheets from MyBlogSpark, (as well as those silly dirt canisters) but I would have bought it out of my own pocket regardless. I'm not sure Swiffer would be thrilled with me telling you about the more environmentally friendly sheets above, but tough - it's MY blog and MY review, and I want to help you as a reader spend your money wisely. I don't receive anything for sharing with you that! The $40 WalMart gift card was also provided by MyBlogSpark for one reader.