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Cleaning Best handheld vacuum?

puddin18

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I normally just use a paper towel and dust pan to sweep out her poos. It's hard on my back now though that she's in a c and c cage and only slightly elevated. I have tried a $20 dirt devil hand held vacuum but it had very low suction. Does anyone have a suggestion of what brand is good for vacuuming a c and c cage? I do not want to spend tons of money since I will only be using it for her cage and around the cage but I know most $20 or $30 ones probably won't cut it. I have a small shop vac but hate to use it for guinea pig poo. I just thought someone might have one they use they really like. Wal-Mart has nice ones but they are around $65-$70. Thanks everyone.
 

jacqueline

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okay - so as gross as this is, this is my chance to post about this. i have tried hand vacs, whisk brooms, and anything else i could think of. the very best thing so far has simply been my own two hands. i either use a glove, or bare hands (then of course wash thoroughly afterwards). my hands can get the poos into a central pile easier and quicker than anything i've eve used. then i either vacuum or sweep them up quickly and into the trash.

hey, it works for me.
 

Ithilgil

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I don't mind cleaning up the poop at all -- whether it's with a small scoop, small brush, or bare hands. It's easy. It's the hay I'm having trouble with, since they stick to the fleece, especially the smaller pieces. It's hard / time-consuming to pick each of them out.

Does anyone know of any good hand vacs that could help with this?
 

Ithilgil

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Best advice is to have a separate kitchen area where the hay is confined to that area and it becomes almost a non-issue. My kitchen is in the loft, but others have a one-level cage where they have sectioned off a kitchen. It really makes life easier.

Surprisingly, my girls aren't that messy with hay. Nearly all the hay are located in the area right before the hay rack. But that's also the part that is the hardest to clean due to an accumulation of smaller pieces of hay.

I've tried placing a plastic tray there before, but they peed in it, making it really stinky and even more messy.

And the dried up pee might be another reason why the small pieces of hay are sticking to the fleece. When I try to pull them out with my bare hands, there's always that waxy coating on the fleece.

Replacing the fleece with Carefresh is just giving me another type of mess to clean. Though, maybe it would help with my fleece problem.
 

Zuidy

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I use a 1 gallon Shop-Vac brand hang on Vac.

Now, I know it isn't a handheld Vac. But if you get a longer hose and a brush attachment it works 10x better in my opinion than anything else. It won't suck up Fleece or anything.

It sucks up hay crumbs and medium-sized strands, like half of a full strand almost! And poos, and wood pellets, and shavings, and whatever else. My methods of bedding have changed over the half year I have had my girls and I find that this prevails for any new idea I try. I like it especially for the wood pellets.

Don't worry about clogs: The kind that I found at Walmart has a blower function so I can shoot out any clogs in it by simply moving the hose to a different input on the Vacuum.

I am not able to find the exact one I use, so I don't want to post a link as it may cause confusion. But it was near the Hardware/Home section at my local WalMart SuperCenter.

Good luck!
 

mufasa

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Edit: Oops, wrong product! Corrected...

I absolutely love the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, although it's a plug-in rather than rechargeable. It's still handheld, but it has so much more power than the battery models. The only two things I don't like about it are the fact that it's very noisy and the way the air discharges, but I just work around those things. It's made for pet hair, but it's pretty much great for anything...cat litter scattered on the floor, various piggy messes, etc. Here's the more detailed review of it I did for my column: (broken link removed)

I found it at Best Buy, but I think you can get it quite a few places.
 

puddin18

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Thanks for all the suggestions. [MENTION=20670]Zuidy[/MENTION] I also have a one gallon shop vac that I use for other things but I may try just putting a plastic bag in it and using that. I normally use the regular upright vacuum for the hay but hate to use it for the poo because I would have to remember to wash it all the time and empty it out every time. If it didn't hurt my back to bend down to get in the cage I would just keep doing it the old fashioned way of sweeping it by hand. [MENTION=22259]mufasa[/MENTION] I think I may give that Bissel a shot if the shop vac doesn't work out. I didn't want to spend more than $40.00 for a pooper scooper. lol. That might help pick up the hair on the fleece as well so there's not so much left in the washer. I prefer plug in hand vacs. I hate finding places for chargers and forgetting to put them back on the charger. I have cats too so it would come in handy for them. I have dogs but they are non-shedding poodle and poodle mix. Thanks again everyone.
 

texasreb

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I use Oreck vacuums in my house: an upright for the floors and a hand-held for everything else. They are spendy, but work like no other.

My hand held is the one shown in the commercials holding up an 8lb bowling ball with the suction. Alone it costs about $150.00. When bought with an upright--it's like $50.00 more.
 

Ithilgil

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I absolutely love the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser

Is the filter washable? Does it require a vacuum bag? Or does it empty into a plastic cup?
 

mufasa

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It's got a square filter and you empty the plastic part. I haven't washed the filter, but I vacuum it with my larger vacuum. I'm hoping they sell replacements but I haven't looked yet.
 

Zuidy

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Thanks for all the suggestions. [MENTION=20670]Zuidy[/MENTION] I also have a one gallon shop vac that I use for other things but I may try just putting a plastic bag in it and using that. I normally use the regular upright vacuum for the hay but hate to use it for the poo because I would have to remember to wash it all the time and empty it out every time. If it didn't hurt my back to bend down to get in the cage I would just keep doing it the old fashioned way of sweeping it by hand. [MENTION=22259]mufasa[/MENTION] I think I may give that Bissel a shot if the shop vac doesn't work out. I didn't want to spend more than $40.00 for a pooper scooper. lol. That might help pick up the hair on the fleece as well so there's not so much left in the washer. I prefer plug in hand vacs. I hate finding places for chargers and forgetting to put them back on the charger. I have cats too so it would come in handy for them. I have dogs but they are non-shedding poodle and poodle mix. Thanks again everyone.

Never thought about using a plastic bag. If you use a garbage bag with a draw band you could tuck it under the lip of the vacuum container. It might not fit but it's worth a try!
 

puddin18

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Well I tried the Shop Vac. Sadly it turned out to be more work then sweeping with a paper towel. The poo kept getting caught in the hose and it took twenty minutes to get it all out even when I used the out side of the vac. I guess I either go try that Bissel or go to the chiropractor lol. Thanks everyone.
 

Digital_Dad

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I just got a new Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vac from a Boy Scout yard sale for $2.00! Yay! I used to have one like it a long time ago, it was a all metal housing though. It has a powered brush and a long cord. And this one has a hose with an attachment. I have to go out and buy some bags for it. I have a very powerful singer but it is so powerful it doesn't work well. It just sucks the fleece up and won't move. I will post when I get a chance to use it to let you know how well it does. You can but them at Walmart for $29.99 Dirt Devil M08230 Ultra Hand Vacuum, Red - Walmart.com . It has a pretty good rating too.
 

puddin18

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Awesome! I have had no luck finding any used ones at yard sales or thrift stores.
 
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