Tumbleweed is one of the biggest issues in my life right now. Come to think of it… it’s been like this for a while.
One of the things some people don’t realise about having cats (or any pets that drop fur), is that your home often looks like the wild west; giant balls of hair (resembling tumbleweed) roll across your floor daily. And if left for too long, I imagine they combine to form one mammoth ball that’ll swallow you whole if you’re not careful. Never to be seen or heard from again.
This conundrum is my life. Friends will come over and while I speak to them I feel my eyes drifting over their shoulder. In the distance… a tumbleweed is being blown toward us. It’s kinda like the scene from Indiana Jones where he’s running from that gigantic rolling rock. Except at my house, it’s a giant furball. And I’m not sure my friends are equipped with the athleticism to escape it.
The Bosch Cordless Vac that Saved me
I’ve been through a few vacuum cleaners in my time. Some big name ones have come in and out of my life. I’ve trialled them, I’ve tested them, I’ve lugged them up and down stairs fearing my muscles would never recover from the burn.
But the Bosch Athlet Runtime Plus is different from the others. The first thing you have to take a moment to appreciate is the fact that there is no cord. It bears repeating, really: there is no cord.
You don’t have to push the vac forward in constant fear that the cord is going to get in the way, you’re going to run over it, and the electro shock is going to catapult you across the room.
No need to sort out your will before using the Bosch cordless vac. This bad boy runs on Lithium-Ion technology. You charge it while it’s not in use, and then you whip around your house with it. It lasts up to 75 minutes and there’s no bag to empty. It’s more of a small drawer you pull out once it gets full.
All cardio, no weight training
This vacuum cleaner is pretty lightweight. I reckon if you have an elderly parent who struggles with the weight and clunkiness of other vacuums, this model is a great idea.
It also features an EasyClean floor head, which (as the name suggests) swivels really easily. You’ll find using it simple; it’s not a weight-training workout like some other vacuums are. The only workout you’re in for is a cardio one if you want to dash around the house with it.
Carrying it up and down the stairs is not a struggle either, and it goes from carpet to tiles to floorboards without having to change any settings (so no bending and snapping required).
Flashy lights and turbo settings
There is a light on the front of the vac that shows you how much charge is left in it. There’s also three settings that change the amount of suction you use. If you use the turbo setting with the most suction, it will suck more life outta the vac. I don’t use the turbo in every room, so I can get the whole house done without any power loss.
I have a two storey, three bedroom and two bathroom home (with cats)… just to give you an idea of the space you can cover before the vac battery dies on you.
The vac sits in my laundry, and I tend to charge it straight after I use it. Having cat litter boxes and furball tumbleweeds as part of my daily struggle, the vac is light enough to use like you would a hand vac. I whip it out for small jobs as I need. It’s not just for a whole-house cleaning machine.
The Verdict
Lightweight, no cord, no bag, no ‘feel the burn’ moments lugging it around the house. I have to say that this is my fave vacuum cleaner yet. As I said at the top of this post, I’ve road tested other brands and this one slays them all.
The only downside you might face if your house is larger is the battery life. If you’re using turbo in all rooms, you might have to vac downstairs, charge it, and then vac upstairs. That would be my only criticism. But for small and medium homes (and especially for older folk) it is an absolute winner.
The Athlet Runtime Plus cordless vacuum retails for $699. More info via the Bosch website here. Full disclosure: this vac was supplied as a gift for me to review.
Do you have a cordless vac? Has it changed your life too? What about tumbleweed – anyone dealing with tumbleweed?
