Kim, you might want to consider buying a central vac hose that is designed for quick pickups. It is 9 feet long but can be stretched to 27 feet. Also, you can have a quick sweep installed into your central vac system after the system is already in your house. Someone here had posted a link to a really good site with lots of central vac specialty items. I will see if I can find it.

The ones I got from Walmart are working. My laminate floors took a beating when my 4 kids, 3 spouses, 2 grandkids and 3 dogs were here for a week! I tucked a wet microfiber cloth onto my Swiffer and it did the job! And no streaking! I think I'll cut the one down so it fits the Swiffer better. Kathy G in MI

Thanks. My 9yo is tall and I don't think she'd have a problem. We don't have inside pets now and after spending several days perusing this board it's really scared me off having any pets in the house ever, lol. But with two children I'm guessing we'll end up with one sooner or later. We live on a farm and we're all traipsing in and out all day so our floors do get used a lot. I'm more concerned with getting up gritty dirt, kitchen spills, and toddler crumbs than pet hair. geguymw - it sounds like you're familiar with the Bissell. Two things bother me about the Bissell that maybe you can answer. One is I wonder how well it "lays down" to vacuum under furniture. The other is how well it'll get into tight spaces, say if you have a few inches next to an end table. It looks to me like if I get the Bissell it'll just be for quickie cleaning 2-3 times a week and I'll also need a vacuum with attachments to clean area rugs and crevices. OR I can just buy a larger vacuum and pray she'll always remember to turn the roller brush off. (She's very blonde and she "forgets" a lot, lol.) I guess I'm leaning toward a stick vac just to keep it easier/fun for her to manage that task. Getting out the big vacuum is a weekly chore I don't look forward to now, mainly because my current vac doesn't do well with edge cleaning. Here's another stick vac I'm looking at. It's more expensive but I like that you don't have to buy replaceable filters for it, it lays flat for vacuuming under furniture, and looks easier to empty the dirt without spilling it. But I'm afraid I'll come in one day and find her vacuuming with the beater brush on by accident so maybe I'd better stick with the bissell. ugh, I realize this is a dumb thing to be hung up on but those floors were expensive and I want them to last until she's an old lady. Thanks for the help. Here is a link that might be useful: Hoover cyclonic stick

Christmas 2010 I bought myself a Roomba to clean our hard floors. My kids promptly named "him" Thomas. Thomas does an amazing job at cleaning our wood laminate--even getting all the kitty hair our two girls "deposit" that floats around and lands in corners and under things. Anyway, Thomas vacuums the floors while I do other things. I also have a plain ole Swiffer to do quick little turns on the floor. When Thomas is done zipping around, or when I feel like it ;), I clean the floor with spritzes of Glass Plus and a microfiber mop. When I want to vac the floors myself, I use my Shark Navigator Lift Away Pro. It easily transitions from rugs to floor, and then to carpet. Plus when you lift the canister off the vacuum head, it becomes a canister vacuum with different attachments. I love it!