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It's not that our vacuum is bad, and I don't think that I need a professional canister vacuum as I've seen some people suggest is the case for bunny owners; the vacuum is certainly capable of vacuuming what it needs to... but our vacuum is simply unwieldy what with having to drag around the little wheeled part behind you. Also the bunnies don't like it, although fortunately none of our current menagerie are as alarmed as the cats and dog I grew up with.
Also, even if I had a cordless recharging expensive upright one, the amount of dirt they hold at a time is tiny. If I used that vacuum alone instead of after a broom, I could easily empty it three times a day!
We need a good handheld one too, but I've had a bit of trouble deciding which sort to buy and where. In a fit of impulsivity, Wax and I bought a cordless handheld intended for 'workshop' sort of applications last summer at the hardware store. But as usual when we are out together, we got distracted and forgot something important, namely reading the package first; so we neglected to buy the battery and charger that it needs: a big lithium battery, proprietary but interchangeable with a whole line of other cordless tools made by the manufacturer - in this case Ryobi, but a bunch of other brands have the same thing, and all of them have their own proprietary batteries and chargers even though they're functionally pretty much the same apparently! So, great, now I'm also distractingly angry about global capitalism before I've even managed to turn this thing on. We've had it for six months and neither one of us felt up to the cognitive load of deciding what batteries to buy (the ones that last longer cost more and the cheapest ones are already going to be over 100 euros, wtf!) and in the meantime I can't help thinking that it would be cheaper to just buy a cheaper and less hardcore hand vac, but then the sunk cost fallacy reminds me that would render the earlier expense wasted.
The last problem with vacuuming, and to a lesser extent sweeping, is that we have too much furniture on the floor. It's one thing if you just have to sweep around a table and chairs like in the kitchen, or a bed and a couple of plants like in the bedroom, but our main living space is completely ringed by shelves, a cat tower and a big bunny house, an armchair, and a fig tree; 5 bins' worth of stuff we'd like to store in shelves or cabinets that doesn't fit in them; and a bunny play area comprised of boxes, a tunnel, a litter box, and 5-8 small area rugs (all typically littered with hay & bunny fluff). This sounds like plenty to fill up a room, but it's still just the edges! The middle is full of a sofa, footstools, and a chest full of yarn.
Two recent images of the bunny play area featuring Japp (L) and Rowan. I have a hard time keeping their hair in check so that they can see from their eyes, let alone keeping it in check on the area rugs and under the bookcases.
On a slightly related note, we need a new broom as well, because the bunnies have nibbled a bunch of the nylon bristles off the current one, and I would ideally prefer it to be a natural substance if they're going to be ingesting it. I do use static dust cloths to mop with sometimes as well, and it does work great for fur, but the quantities of hay often involved are more easily moved with a broom.
Also, even if I had a cordless recharging expensive upright one, the amount of dirt they hold at a time is tiny. If I used that vacuum alone instead of after a broom, I could easily empty it three times a day!
We need a good handheld one too, but I've had a bit of trouble deciding which sort to buy and where. In a fit of impulsivity, Wax and I bought a cordless handheld intended for 'workshop' sort of applications last summer at the hardware store. But as usual when we are out together, we got distracted and forgot something important, namely reading the package first; so we neglected to buy the battery and charger that it needs: a big lithium battery, proprietary but interchangeable with a whole line of other cordless tools made by the manufacturer - in this case Ryobi, but a bunch of other brands have the same thing, and all of them have their own proprietary batteries and chargers even though they're functionally pretty much the same apparently! So, great, now I'm also distractingly angry about global capitalism before I've even managed to turn this thing on. We've had it for six months and neither one of us felt up to the cognitive load of deciding what batteries to buy (the ones that last longer cost more and the cheapest ones are already going to be over 100 euros, wtf!) and in the meantime I can't help thinking that it would be cheaper to just buy a cheaper and less hardcore hand vac, but then the sunk cost fallacy reminds me that would render the earlier expense wasted.
The last problem with vacuuming, and to a lesser extent sweeping, is that we have too much furniture on the floor. It's one thing if you just have to sweep around a table and chairs like in the kitchen, or a bed and a couple of plants like in the bedroom, but our main living space is completely ringed by shelves, a cat tower and a big bunny house, an armchair, and a fig tree; 5 bins' worth of stuff we'd like to store in shelves or cabinets that doesn't fit in them; and a bunny play area comprised of boxes, a tunnel, a litter box, and 5-8 small area rugs (all typically littered with hay & bunny fluff). This sounds like plenty to fill up a room, but it's still just the edges! The middle is full of a sofa, footstools, and a chest full of yarn.
Two recent images of the bunny play area featuring Japp (L) and Rowan. I have a hard time keeping their hair in check so that they can see from their eyes, let alone keeping it in check on the area rugs and under the bookcases.
On a slightly related note, we need a new broom as well, because the bunnies have nibbled a bunch of the nylon bristles off the current one, and I would ideally prefer it to be a natural substance if they're going to be ingesting it. I do use static dust cloths to mop with sometimes as well, and it does work great for fur, but the quantities of hay often involved are more easily moved with a broom.
