Mini Shop-Vac at Wal-Mart for $19

[Jen&Nuts]

I thought I would post this incase anyone is interested but I recently purchased a mini-shop vac just for my chin room. I found it at Wal-Mart for $19. We live on three floors and the chins are on the 3rd floor and I could never justify multiple vacuum cleaners but this is the right price for the chin room. Plus with it always being in the chin room I am hoping to clean the poos more frequently. I used it tonight and it did the job, I like that it isn't too heavy or bulky. Now I only have two chins so I am not sure if it would work for those who have more than that but for $19 it might be worth a try?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/1-Gallon-Shop-Vac-Hang-Up-Mini-Vacuum/8477890

 

[firestar]

how is it for sucking up hay? my kiddos love throwing hay outside their cages & it clogs my regular vacuum. let me know! if you say it works, then i'll be getting one for sure!!

 

[alli713]

I had that exact same shop vac and hated it. I ended up just donating it to goodwill. The hose always clogged up where it meets the filter inside the canister and is just so noisy. Once you try sucking up any hay it eventually just clogs up and then you have to take it apart to get the hay out.

Perhaps others don't mind that, but I just hated the hassle.

 

[firestar]

so has anybody found a vacuum that can handle more than a few pieces of stray hay without clogging? this is my biggest peeve about being a chin-mom. i have no problem vacuuming daily, i just get frustrated with having to take apart my vacuum every time to remove hay-balls.

 

[Jenn]

I am with Firestar and if anyone knows of a vaccuum that the hose doesn't get plugged when sucking up hay, I would be soooo interested in knowing about it! It is so frustrating trying to figure out how to unplug the hose every cleaning! If our chinnies would just be more neat with their hay

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

That was the first of several that I tried. It sucks up the poos just fine, but the hay, like everyone else has said, clogs and is a hassle to remove.

I ended up with a Sears Craftsman. Make sure that you get one with at least a 2" hose, not the smaller one. :thumbsup:

 

[TillyChinchilla]

This is what I have:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shop-Vac-5-Gallon-Wet-Dry-Vacuum/8477891

I've been using Bermuda hay lately which vacuums up very easily. I also generally do not use the wide end attachment, just the hose for hay. If I hear it get a little clogged I just squeeze the hose where it meets the vacuum. I've had two of these (the first belonged to somebody else so I didn't keep it) and I've never had an issue. It needs to be dumped about twice a month.

 

[Jen&Nuts]

I have only had it for a few days. Our normal vacuum is a Dyson and we have to take it in for maintenance once a year and my fiancee ends up taking it apart and and declogging the hose. So I wouldn't expected anything different from this one, I think I have pretty much excepted that the hose will clog. This thing is easy to take apart (unlike the Dyson) so I guess I am OK with it as long as I can declog it.

For me the appeal is that it is affordable (which is pretty much the only option). I am also OK with it being noisy I generally don't clean the cages really late a night so it's really not a big deal if it is loud for a few minutes. For me the pros out weighed the cons and hopefully this will lighten the load on our main vacuum.

 

[Sierra]

Will this vacuum work?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ShopVac-3.5-Hang-Up-Wet-Dry/9730196

I was thinking about buying this one when we close on our house. I plan on having dust baths in the basement since the basement doesn't have anything in it except storage so it will be easier to clean and I would just vacuum the floor with this vacuum. I also want to use it upstairs when I clean cages.

 

[fanofdmb84]

I have a Dyson Animal and while it does get clogged with the hay, it is really easy to remove. There's a U shaped "catch" on the back that pops off just by turning a screw. All the hay gets trapped there so I just pull it out, pop the piece back on, and keep vacuuming. I'd still like to have a hand held vac for the chins, but from reading reviews and looking around, it looks like it might just be easier to keep using my Dyson. I don't like the shop vacs mainly because of the noise.

 

[Chinwawa]

I just tossed out a 2 horsepower one right in the garbage. It wouldn't suck at all. I hated it.

I have an Electrolux stick vacuum that turns into a hand held. I use the hand held in my chin room. NOT the floor vac part. The hand held part sucks poops and hay like crazy. Here is a link: http://smallappliances.electroluxusa.com/node35.asp?prodid=27948

The only problem is it works wonderful on the floor but I cannot get into the shelves on my current cage and the nozzle of the hand held wont fit inside pvc tubes.

I bought something else that I will post about if it works well.

 

[Sierra]

I might have to check into that one. We are going to put fake hardwood floors throughout our house since we are going to potty train our 2 year old and with a dog, its the most durable and easiest to clean. I was trying to find something that would clean the whole house and still be able to use it for the chin's cage with the poop and hay. I think this might work. Thanks

 

[Marie5656]

Last year my husband bought me a Craftsman shop-vac. It does get clogged with hay some times...but I like the fact that the hose comes apart in 3 or 4 pieces, and it is at least a bit easier to get to any clog. I also have a broom with ruberized bristles..like the one I am picturing here. It sweeps pretty well on rugs or floors, and I will often sweep up big hay spills with it before I vacum and it seems to work well.