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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2008[Sorta OT] Dust buster question
I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to hear from you guys what you think of them. Every day, even after I've vacuumed the floors, I find cat litter strewn around the bathroom floor. I'd really like something easy to clean it up with, rather than having to lug out the big sucky monster, disturbing the local fauna, or sweep it up with my dustpan and broom, which isn't such a hardship, except that it does put me in closer contact with the litter. I'd prefer a bit more distance. :) Any recommendations? Any warnings? What works best for cat litter? What kind lasts the longest? It dosn't have to be the "Dustbuster" name brand, although if that's the best kind, I'll get that. I just want a small, hand-held, battery-run vacuum for the daily kitty litter in the bathroom. Thanks! Joyce  SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:14:07 +0000, bastXXXette wrote: > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I want > to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to hear from [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Thanks! > Joyce I have two Dustbusters. The electric one is handy for small jobs. The battery one isn't worth a darn. Remember that the capacity is small and cleaning them is a dusty job. MLB I HAD one and found it was far more trouble than it was worth. Not easy to clean and generally quicker with a dust pan and whisk broom. > On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:14:07 +0000, bastXXXette wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > battery one isn't worth a darn. Remember that the capacity is small and > cleaning them is a dusty job. MLB On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:14:07 +0000, bastXXXette wrote: > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I want > to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to hear from [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > although if that's the best kind, I'll get that. I just want a small, > hand-held, battery-run vacuum for the daily kitty litter in the bathroom. I used to have one - I threw it out when I moved. It was mostly useless. What does work is an *effective* standup dust pan that latches in the down position until you push down on the handle - it's trivial to sweep the litter into it in the down position, then dump it, and only then release the latch and hang it back up. I use a modified short, narrow broom that came with a useless home type standup dust pan from Walmart (no latch, so the pan tended to flip over and dump whole I was lifting it to the trash can) - I added a pin (small nail) to keep the head of the broom from twisting. The good pans were from Big Lots, but it was a one-off and they haven't had them since. Janitor supply stores might have something. SignatureT.E.D. (tdavis@mst.edu) MST (Missouri University of Science and Technology) used to be UMR (University of Missouri - Rolla). >What does work is an *effective* standup dust pan that latches in the down >position until you push down on the handle - it's trivial to sweep the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >twisting. The good pans were from Big Lots, but it was a one-off and they >haven't had them since. Janitor supply stores might have something. I've got a couple of those cheap walmart brooms ;-) I agree they're not the greatest for any serious type cleanup, but I keep one by each litter box and can clean up around the box a couple times a day with just a couple swipes. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) video clips at http://tinyurl.com/29o8ck photos at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8 bastXXXette@sonic.net wrote in news:47a658cf$0$36323 $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net: > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks! > Joyce Last summer we were thinking of getting one for the car, but when we saw them everywhere at garage sales, we figured they can't be very good if that many people were getting rid of them. Bobble > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > want a small, hand-held, battery-run vacuum for the daily kitty > litter in the bathroom. I had two and both died ridiculously soon after I bought them. Susan M Otis and Chester On Feb 3, 5:14 pm, bastXXXe...@sonic.net wrote: > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > -- I'm not sure what a "distbuster" is....I suppose one of those small hand-held vacuums. I have a cheaper, guaranteed solution. I have a tiled floor in the bathroom where the large litterbox stays. When I first arrived from FL I didn't know the local stores and went to a fairly expensive one called "Bed, Bath & Beyond" where I bought a little plastic broom and a matching long-handled dustpan (both quite attractive maroon plastic). It has given great service for not quite 4 years now sweeping up litter grains from around the box. I have seen these sets in much cheaper places since like Big Lots, etc. I paid about $15 for mine but they run much less in bargain stores. I keep it in a little nook beside the shower. It takes up about 8" in circumference. >I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > want a small, hand-held, battery-run vacuum for the daily kitty > litter in the bathroom. I had one. It was great for cleaning up small spills - particularly wet spills. But it was such a cow to clean, it ended up growing a colony of something gross inside. Thats when it got chucked out. i wouldn't get another one. Now, if I could ever get the vacuum cleaner I had when i was a student, I'd kill forit. i t was an industrial one, that was effectiley a giant moter clipped to the top of a 20 litre metal bucket. you could suck up *anything* 9water included) and it owuld goo into the bucket rather than in the internals of the vacuum cleaner. it was deafening, but it was a great way to clean up spills of anything icky. Yowie >I had one. It was great for cleaning up small spills - particularly wet >spills. But it was such a cow to clean, it ended up growing a colony of >something gross inside. Thats when it got chucked out. > >i wouldn't get another one. my experience echoes what seems everyone else is saying. The only one I ever had was battery operated, and it was pretty much useless. >Now, if I could ever get the vacuum cleaner I had when i was a student, I'd >kill forit. i t was an industrial one, that was effectiley a giant moter >clipped to the top of a 20 litre metal bucket. you could suck up *anything* >9water included) and it owuld goo into the bucket rather than in the >internals of the vacuum cleaner. it was deafening, but it was a great way to >clean up spills of anything icky. I have one of the canister Bissell vacuum/carpet cleaner and it is great for picking up the small bits out of carpet. I originally got it to pick up bird seed from around the cockatiel cage, but it works just as well for kitty litter. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) video clips at http://tinyurl.com/29o8ck photos at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8 >>I had one. It was great for cleaning up small spills - particularly wet >>spills. But it was such a cow to clean, it ended up growing a colony of [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > to pick up bird seed from around the cockatiel cage, but it works just > as well for kitty litter. My parents have an ancient Bissel brand carpet sweeper which came with them when the emigrated from England to Australia. Like quite a few other English words that never made it to the Australian lexicon, I quickly learned that saying "Quick, get the bissel" if something dry got spilled was *not* an understandable phrase in Australian. I also have to remember to say Yo-gurt and Pro-ject (with the o sounding like 'oe' as in "Hoe") in Australian rather than how I used to pronounce them, "Yog-urt" "Proj-ect" in English (with the o sounding like hte o in 'dog'). I lost my English accent years ago (probably within a year of going to school here) but sometimes I still get caught out saying the wrong word or pronuncing the right word incorrectly. Yowie It appears that the Dustbuster is uniformly unpopular and a waste of money. That's too bad! I just really wanted something small, easy to handle and nearby to suck up stray pieces of litter that seem to get flung out onto the bathroom floor on a daily basis. Given the experiences everyone's had with them (of those who responded), it doesn't look good, so I guess I won't waste my money on one. I liked Ted's idea of the dustpan with the long handle. (Someone else suggested that, too.) I might just look into that. Thanks!! Joyce > It appears that the Dustbuster is uniformly unpopular and a waste > of money. That's too bad! I just really wanted something small, easy [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I liked Ted's idea of the dustpan with the long handle. (Someone else > suggested that, too.) I might just look into that. I have a dustpan with a long handle, too. I also have a 'fake grass' plastic rug under the litterboxes. It seems to do a pretty good job of catching any stray litter. It has to be big enough that the cats have to step on it with all four paws before leaving the litterbox area. If you have a champion litter flinger, though, the rug won't be much help. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. > I have a dustpan with a long handle, too. I also have a 'fake grass' > plastic rug under the litterboxes. It seems to do a pretty good job of > catching any stray litter. It has to be big enough that the cats have to > step on it with all four paws before leaving the litterbox area. If you > have a champion litter flinger, though, the rug won't be much help. Yep, I have the fake grass thing, too. It catches a lot of litter, but far from all of it. Somebody's a world-class flinger in my house, and it's a covered box, too. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. bastXXXette@sonic.net kirjoitti: > It appears that the Dustbuster is uniformly unpopular and a waste > of money. That's too bad! I just really wanted something small, easy [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Joyce I'm in no way affiliated with the following product, but when you said... errr... wrote Dustbuster, I thought of the Swivel Sweeper that's been on local tv shops and seems to be available elsewhere too. Here's their own website, if you care to have a look: https://www.swivelsweeper.com/ I do not have one of those myself but they seem to be ok. My one question would be what to do when the rechargeable battery cannot be recharged anymore, do they have replacements, but that would prolly last as long as it's worth anyway... SignatureChristine in Laitila, Finland christal63 (at) gmail (dot) com I saw those and was really impressed as they would stop having to move a lot of stuff. Anyone got one, the swivel sweeper I mean? > bastXXXette@sonic.net kirjoitti: >> It appears that the Dustbuster is uniformly unpopular and a waste [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > anymore, do they have replacements, but that would prolly last as long as > it's worth anyway... On Feb 4, 1:36 am, bastXXXe...@sonic.net wrote: > It appears that the Dustbuster is uniformly unpopular and a waste > of money. That's too bad! I just really wanted something small, easy [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Joyce I will put my champion ltterkicker up against your champ litter- flinger any day, Joyce. The nice thing about the long-handled little broom and long-handles dustpan is that after "kicker" gets through, finally (he kicks litter for about 5 minutes!) I just grab the apparatus, "whisk, whisk" and dump it back in box without even having to bend over. I'm a little leery of the fake grass under-rug deal as I fear it might give some of the lazier felines here ideas and begin a smell-creating routine on their part. > I will put my champion ltterkicker up against your champ litter- > flinger any day, Joyce. Ha - Licky is a flinger extraordinaire! > The nice thing about the long-handled little > broom and long-handles dustpan is that after "kicker" gets through, > finally (he kicks litter for about 5 minutes!) I just grab the > apparatus, "whisk, whisk" and > dump it back in box without even having to bend over. Here's what I did: I brought the regular broom from the kitchen into the bathroom and swept all the litter into the corner. Then I picked it up with the regular dustpan and broom. That part required bending over, but I didn't have to *stay* bent over trying to pick it up from all over the floor. (Strange I never thought of doing this before...) So now the broom lives in the bathroom. > I'm a little leery > of the fake grass under-rug deal as I fear it might give some of the > lazier felines here ideas and begin a smell-creating routine on their > part. Actually, mine isn't made to look like grass. It's made of rubber, or some kind of soft plastic. The "grass" is just little nubs of plastic/ rubber sticking up about 1/3 of an inch from the surface. Nobody would actually think it was grass, so this might be different from what Marina was talking about. But it is designed to be a mat you put right in front of the litter box to capture most of the granules as they step out. It would work fine if not for the flinging. I know it's Licky because when he's in there, I can *hear* him doing it! He takes about 10 minutes to bury his deposits. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. On Feb 4, 5:05 pm, bastXXXe...@sonic.net wrote: > > I will put my champion ltterkicker up against your champ litter- > > flinger any day, Joyce. [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > Joyce > -- Thanks for *your* tip about the clinging litter on little feet coming off on plastic fake grass. Just a tip: not to be nitpicking about the broom: I bought that little set simply because I tried sweeping kicked-out litter with a regular straw broom - the big kind - and found it didn't pick up the particles (I use hard clumping litter like Tidy Cat) very well; the closer-together plastic bristles of the set broom do much better picking them up. My main happiness is not bending over at all to do the operation as well as the litterbox bathroom is very narrow and small and I would have a helluva time manipulating a big broom in there, LOL. > Actually, mine isn't made to look like grass. It's made of rubber, or > some kind of soft plastic. The "grass" is just little nubs of plastic/ [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > he's in there, I can *hear* him doing it! He takes about 10 minutes to > bury his deposits. The mat I have wasn't made specifically for cats; it's sold per meter and intended for places like hallways or other places where people walk wearing muddy and wet footwear. It has plastic 'bristles' about 1 cm long (less than half an inch). I bought a large enough piece of it that both litterboxes can stand on it and there is a wide strip of it left around the boxes. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. if I were thinking of this I would get one of those mechanical brooms, so you wouldn't be close to the litter but no batteries to deal with and you release the litter straight into the trash. Lee > I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > -- > To send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. > if I were thinking of this I would get one of those mechanical brooms, so > you wouldn't be close to the litter but no batteries to deal with and you > release the litter straight into the trash. Lee What's a mechanical broom? If you mean what I used to call a "carpet sweeper", well, the problem with that is inherent in the name. My bathroom doesn't have a carpet. Joyce SignatureTo send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. similar but made for hard surface floors, Lee > > if I were thinking of this I would get one of those mechanical brooms, so > > you wouldn't be close to the litter but no batteries to deal with and you [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > -- > To send email to this address, remove the triple-X from my user name. >I just googled "dust buster" because I've never owned one and now I > want to buy one. I see that Target sells them. So I just wanted to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > want a small, hand-held, battery-run vacuum for the daily kitty > litter in the bathroom. I've kept a Dustbuster on its charger near the litter box for as long as I can remember. Charlie has a second one in the garage. I only use the 'dry' ones. Wet messes just make those kinds of things more work to clean than the original mess was in the first place. Just using them for a few seconds at a time all the time does mess with battery life. Every so often you do need to turn it on and let it run until the battery runs down. Jo My solution to kicked out cat litter works for me but probably wouldn't work for anyone with a bigger flat. My Dyson is stored in the hallway just by the bathroom door so I pop the crevice tool on and run that over without moving the4 Dyson- takes seconds even with Sarsi who buries the evidence of her box visits as much as she can Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > My solution to kicked out cat litter works for me but probably > wouldn't work for anyone with a bigger flat. My Dyson is stored in the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Hee hee...I have a Dyson "Animal" model (blessings on that Brit dude who invented it and all the rest of you Brits) and as much as its superb performance on all floor surfaces here, every one of the cats consider it the Menacing Enemy Which Will Consume Us Noisily and hide usually under beds till I again confine it to my walk-in closet. Rowdous has even rushed in there before I close the door and in a short period of extreme bravery, *attacked* the Dyson as it stood in silence and nonthreatening stance, LOL. If I ever tried to use it on litter scatter, it is questionable whether the beloved felines would voluntarily return to their box....the thing I do consider amusing is that Dyson is not one of the louder vacuums. > Rowdous > has even rushed in there before I close the door and in a short period > of extreme bravery, *attacked* the Dyson as it stood in silence and > nonthreatening stance, LOL. aww, what a brave boy! SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. > Rowdous > has even rushed in there before I close the door and in a short period > of extreme bravery, *attacked* the Dyson as it stood in silence and > nonthreatening stance, LOL. When Speedy Joe was a kitten we had a very cheap old sucky monster that my mum gave me and it used to get very hot so before putting it away we'd leave it out to cool down. Speedy Joe hated the sucky monster and would run when we got it out but afterwards he would sit there waiting for it to cool down then attack it while it was "asleep" Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs |
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