I blame guspemar . . .
Seriously. I mean, I haven’t owned a vacuum cleaner for about 25 years.
It all started a few months ago when Agustín offered me an old armchair he’d no longer need after the renovations on his house were done, which would fit perfectly in Peter’s new study/office. This used to be known as ‘Lua’s room’ (previously my sewing room and for awhile it was also a cutting room when we were doing production for the clothing biz). These days it looks similar to the sewing room pic but with a long white table in it (and no clothes rack). And so having a nice comfy armchair in there for Peter to read in while I’m either teaching in the living room or we both feel like enjoying some private space seemed like a good idea.
Well, yesterday was the day to pick up the armchair and afterwards we decided to get some of that upholstery cleaning foam stuff and give the bits of the chair that didn’t unzip and fit into the washing machine a good scrubbing. Except the instructions on the foam stuff tin said that after the material had totally dried it would need to be either brushed or vacuumed. And I kid you not – I couldn’t find a brush at Corte Inglés! And being ‘Feria Saturday’ most other shops were closed.
Then on the way out of Corte Inglés there just happened to be a big display of vacuum cleaners, hitherto unnoticed, and this little Electrolux baby was on super oferta. And so like … a message from the gods or what? Peter, being an atheist, was dubious. And even I could see that this was either a serendipitous moment in which several pieces of one of life’s puzzles suddenly fell into place or else I just felt like buying something.
When I put this question to Peter he replied … “There’s a difference?”
Between the two of us we also had just enough cash in our pockets and so that was the deciding factor. Well, that and the very nice saleslady who (once she heard I had cats) kept telling me that I’d never look back. She was really cracking me up… 🙂
For the record, I’ve had either marble, tile or hardwood floors since I’ve lived in Spain. No rugs. So a vacuum cleaner never seemed like a necessity. But I was soooooo wrong. I have now seen the error of my ways. Because I must live in one of the dustiest houses in Europe. Dust everywhere all the time. Dust, dust, dust. And of course one of the fun things about a vacuum cleaner (I’d totally forgotten this) is that you can just aim whatever nozzle attachment here and there and dust is pulled towards it!!! You don’t have to fucking chase the stuff all over the room. It’s just like … wow.
Anyhow, that pic shows actually what the new beast looks like – the Electrolux Cyclone XL. Cute huh? No bags. Everything comes apart and is washable, including the filters. And it has a cord that reaches halfway round the flat – bonus! – which retracts at the push of a button (according to Peter, with the swiftness of the egg creature in Alien, but in reverse). Well, hopefully I won’t come home one day and find it attached to his face … but I seriously think it’s going to be amazing for tackling cat hair tumbleweeds. Might even ‘nip that issue in the bud’ as it were and start vacuuming the cats. I actually think that Azar would like it, total weirdo that he is.
Oh, am I rambling? I suppose there is only so much one can say about a new vacuum cleaner. Let me know if I missed anything, okay? Like maybe that bit over in the corner … ?
casa azahar 
I have never been turned on reading about a vacuum cleaner before… cyclone xl, whoa!
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You are going to LOVE your vacuum. I found out when I moved into this place that they are invaluable for hard surfaces and they really do chase what I refer to as the catfur windrows — I like tumbleweeds though. And Ruby produces an unbelievable quantity of fur when she is shedding in the spring. And you are totally right about the no bags thing. I could not believe how much superior my “cyclone” style vacuum was to the monster Kirby with a bag that I spent $1400 on lo these many decades ago.
congratulations. If Azar likes being vacuumed, he is a cat among cats. Both my cats do not know the word vacuum, to them it is the Suck Monster and should be avoided like the plague. When the SM enters the room, the cats leave. Immediately. In high dudgeon.
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I think its amazing that vacuum technology has come such a long way – its now almost a toy, its so much fun! And fascinatingly gross to see how much stuff it picks up in one’s own home… 🙂
hmh – I love that your cats leave rooms in high dudgeon.
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what’s a vacuum cleaner? is that the noisy thing that i sometimes hear in the hallways of hotels?
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I suspect you are just teasing, Bb … and hey, please don’t visit Sevilla again without looking me up for a mini ‘tapa tour’ – you won’t reget it. 🙂
Yeah, I was actually kidding about vacuuming Azar, hmh. I haven’t tried it yet, mind, but both boys have already decided that The Cyclone is a good excuse to amscray the room in melodramatic fashion. Especially Azar, that little ham.
$1400 for a vacuum cleaner??? Wow. This one only cost 120€ (marked down from 170€). Then again, my old dvd player cost way more than player/recording ones cost now. Annoying, isn’t it?
Yes, it is almost a toy, truce. It certainly looks like one. And I really like how it just comes apart and is so easy to clean. Old-style vacuum cleaners used to gross me out because you’d have this bag full of gack sitting in your house for however long it took to fill it. And each time you used the machine it would smell of old dust. Bleh.
Isn’t the sound of other people working great when you are still tucked up in bed, daisy?
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I know this sounds a bit Stepford Wifey – but a bit of cotton wool soaked in lavender essential oil and stuffed into the hoover bag does away with the gacky odours.
A lovely task awaits me.
When I was cleaning my bedroom floor the other day, I heard the sound of ‘lost’ earrings rattling up the hoover tube. I need to find myself a face mask and disembowel the bag.
If they’d been cheap/nasty, it wouldn’t have mattered but they’re rather good ones which were a present from my daughter.
Serves me right – I should have looked for them properly as soon as they were dropped on the floor.
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Ah well, thanks to new vacuum technology, Stepford Wife remedies are now a thing of the past, T. It’s just as easy to click off and empty the the plastic container thingy each time you vacuum as it is to empty a dustpan after sweeping.
Oh, and I forgot to mention … we didn’t even have to vacuum the armchair in the end. 🙂
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Vacuum cleaners are essential when you have cats, kids and gravel outdoors.
Unfortunately the Cat Ladies of the Lair detests the Growling Sucking Monster and vanishes rapidly when ever it’s turned on. Putte is more curious, but keeps a safety distance. Vacuuming cats could be an option, especially this time of the year when even indoor cats shed a lot of hair.
But don’t tell my daughter, she would put herself up for adoption if I just mention the idea of helping the cats to get rid of surplus hair.
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Really? Azar practically begs for his nightly brushing. He adores it. Sunny kind of takes it or leaves it, but Azar actually seeks it out and desires it.
Vacuuming them would be sooooo much easier.
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uell, using the vaccum cleaner to “brush” cats with… regular brushing is mandatory and the Cat Ladies just loooooooove it.
Putte seems to think brushing is something girly he shouldn’t be exposed to.
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