Vacuum cleaners that are good when you have Toos

[Sarahmoluccan]

So I just cleaned out my cheap little vacuum cleaner. It works ok but is a real pain to clean out all the dust. I swear cockatoo dust is a force of nature. Even more so when it's all clumped to together. I have been use my little vacuum to clean my air filter and stupidly I didn't really appreciate how much dust it was taking in. Anyway I clean it up the best could but cockatoo dust is beast all within itself.

So cockatoo owners what is your weapon of choice? Which vacuums are you happy with? And is it easy to clean out? I'm on a tight budget but I'm curious if high end brands like Dyson are worth the price? @JLcribber @cassiesdad @Macawnutz @Bokkapooh I'd appreciate your input

 

[Jas]

I don't own a cockatoo but I have birds, cats, dogs and me XD. I would strongly recommend dyson it keeps the house clean of cat hair, bird floof, human mess and dog mess. It's also very robust.

We also clean the carpets with bicarbonate soda (something like a metric tonne XD) and it hasn't lost suction!

 

[Macawnutz]

A shop vac. That's what I use at work.

 

[JLcribber]

My 5hp/25gal shop vac with 3” hose will suck up anything the monsters can create including water. You can get hepa filters instead of regular ones to catch even more. For half the price or less of a dyson.

If you’re not careful you can suck up a little bird. (Knocking on wood now).

 

[cassiesdad]

We are very flexible when it comes to vacuums here. Consider that besides toos, tiels, budgies, and a conure, we have guinea pigs. Piggies mean hay...something that is tremendously difficult for vacuums to pick up. So we take the easy way out...wallyworld. We buy a cheaper vac...Eureka is the brand we have right now....it's also a hepa vac.
The hay is what usually does the vac in...so we replace it...and we usually go through two vacuums a year. This situation works for us...it might not work for you...or it might...

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

@Macawnutz and @JLcribber it's funny you both said shop vac. I use to have mini one and loved it. I had over 6 years but it finally crapped out on me. I try to find another one and couldn't find one. I'll have to look harder cuz I'd love to get another one. Thanks for your input

 

[samccormack]

i have a dyson here and torture it on a regular basis. A shop vac would probably be a bit better but I wouldn’t use a shop vac around the house like I can with my dyson. When I clean cages the whole of downstairs needs a good vacuum.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

Yeah I think I'll get a shop vac again. I was searching online for them about 6 months ago and found nada. Now I search for them and they are everywhere. Weird

 

[Chantilly Lace]

I have a shop vac type vacuum with a ton of power and use bags with filters, even though you don’t need to use bags it catches much more that way. Those tend to be hard to use with carpet, even with the attachment but for hard floors that is what I use. I’m curious about the roombas but think the birds will be scared.

 

[Charity921]

I love my Dyson! I don't have cockatoos, so I can't speak to that issue, but my Dyson is at least 10 yrs old, and still going strong. It's very easy to empty, and has never clogged like my other vacuums. I've only replaced the filter once in all that time. I just rinse it out and replace after it dries. The housing gets pretty dusty, sometimes, but it is pretty easy to rinse out, too. I bought mine before the ball models came out, and I don't know if you can get one like mine anymore. I haven't used one of the new ones enough to judge.

I have a shop vac, as well, but it's too much trouble for using inside, and I don't think it works well on carpet. (I wouldn't choose carpet, but we rent.)

 

[faislaq]

My 5hp/25gal shop vac with 3” hose will suck up anything the monsters can create including water. You can get hepa filters instead of regular ones to catch even more. For half the price or less of a dyson.

If you’re not careful you can suck up a little bird. (Knocking on wood now).

So John, I need a model or a pic of your shop vac, pretty please. My mother gave me her little 4gal Kubota but the hose is too narrow & is easily clogged by shredded paper and nutshells. You can sort searches by capacity and hp, but not by hose diameter & that's what I really need.

I go over the carpet with the shop vac first, then my Hoover upright can get all of the leftover little bits with its brushes without clogging & shutting off.

 

[JLcribber]

So John, I need a model or a pic of your shop vac, pretty please. My mother gave me her little 4gal Kubota but the hose is too narrow & is easily clogged by shredded paper and nutshells. You can sort searches by capacity and hp, but not by hose diameter & that's what I really need.

I go over the carpet with the shop vac first, then my Hoover upright can get all of the leftover little bits with its brushes without clogging & shutting off.

Very similar to this.
RIDGID 45.5 L (12 gal.) 5 Peak HP Wet Dry Vacuum with Detachable Blower | The Home Depot Canada

 

[faislaq]

That's an inch wider than the hose I'm using and the power cord is twice as long! I feel an early Christmas present from my sweetie coming on! If it can stand up to your 'Toos it can clean up after my "Buzz-saw".

 

[faislaq]

RIDGID 45.5 L (12 gal.) 5 Peak HP Wet Dry Vacuum with Detachable Blower | The Home Depot Canada

Done. I love it! I was looking for a smaller gallon size for the apartment, but everything smaller had a hose diameter under 2". It's almost too much for me to handle, but NOTHING clogs it. I even sucked up a walnut shell and cardboard at the same time with the crevice tool -not a problem. I have to use the crevice tool or nothing because the floor attachment is apparently for hard floors only; it sucks down to the carpet so hard I'm afraid it'll pull it up along with the pad.
I know there are so many things I can do with this I haven't even thought of yet. Fantastic recommendation, John. Even hubby said he likes it.

 

[Dartman]

We use a old Royal 4650 canister vacuum with a great power head, a Orek xl portable, and a 18 volt stick vac with a mini power head that runs about a half hour and does ok for quick pick up. The Royal does the heavy cleaning and grooms the carpet great. The orek is nice for bigger messes when we don't want to break out the Royal. I think I have a older version of Johns Rigid shop vac but it lives out in the shed but it's very heavy duty and loud. Might consider dragging it in and find room in the spare room for it for when we or the bird spill something on the carpet. They are great if you don't mind the size and noise and wet pickup is a awesome thing.
Home Depot always has great sales on black Friday for tools and vacs and things and most folks don't go crazy early shopping there so they might still have things later on the day. Years ago I hit black Friday there about 10 am and they still had most of the stuff on their ad in stock and walked around with me helping me find everything I wanted.
That's where I got my shop vac for like 25 bucks and a bunch of minor tools and a fiber glass step ladder dirt cheap.