I have the one linked below. I've had it for two years and I'm really happy with it. However, I use it sort of like a broom replacement to keep the kitchen floors crumb-free. It isn't heavy duty. I'm not sure it would pick up more than surface debris on carpet. Also, I don't have pets so I can't speak to its efficacy for fur pick-up. The link is to the vacuum on Amazon and there are tons of reviews so maybe the additional reviews will help you decide if this is the stick vacuum for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoover Linx

I have the Linx. In fact I just ran it for a quick pick up before I sat down at the computer and saw this post. I'm very happy with it. It has 2 speeds -- one for hard surfaces and another for carpet. It's definitely not for deep cleaning, but it will pick up surface dog hair on the carpet. I love that the sweeper doesn't have to be plugged in -- only the battery, so you can store the sweeper anywhere.

I have an Ergorapido bagless rechargable that I bought at Costo in Canada last winter. I love it, find it very handy always ready because it rests on its charger while not in use and also has a built in small hand vacuum.
abut 99.00 dollars

Lynn,
I also have the Hoover Linx & love it!! Works great on our wood floors and I use it on an area rug in our adjoining tv room which accumulates furry kitty's debris & fur!!

It has a charger & also is easy to empty, with a semi-clear container, so you can tell when it needs to be emptied.

I am thinking of getting one for our son & day/law who just moved to a new house...it's really been great for our home.

Lynn,
I also have the Hoover Linx & love it!! Works great on our wood floors and I use it on an area rug in our adjoining tv room which accumulates furry kitty's debris & fur!!

It has a charger & also is easy to empty, with a semi-clear container, so you can tell when it needs to be emptied.

I am thinking of getting one for our son & day/law who just moved to a new house...it's really been great for our home.

I have an older model Hoover that looks a lot like the current 'Presto' model with an attached dust-buster you can remove. I bought it for our condo at the lake because we have tile floors on the first floor and carpet on the 2nd floor and I didn't want to drag the vacuum up and down all the time. It works great but that 'Linx' looks even better. If I were buying for my home use I'd have to look pretty strongly at it. But I've used a cheap Shark I on my hardwoods and tile for several years too and it's been fine for quick clean-ups.

I have the Eureka quick up. They are highly rated on Amazon and can also be purchased at Target and Walmart for less than $40. I've had mine for three years and have been really happy with it.

The bad thing is that I rarely drag out the big vac because the little cordless makes the floors look so good. Unfortunately, I am sure the cordless is leaving some things that my big vac would probably pick up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eureka quick up

Hoover Linx!
Cordless, battery level indicator, one button/hand clean dirt canister, 2 speeds (so that the roller brush doesn't mar the wood floors) and good suction...
I have hardwood with area carpets and it cleans very, very well.
Love, love, love it!

Thank you all so much for the recommendations! What I've been doing on and off all morning is reading about all the features and then a LOT (!) of the reviews over on Amazon to compare the two. Both the Linx and the (Electrolux) Ergorapido are highly rated. I love that the Ergo has the attached hand vac but not that it doesn't stand on it's own. The battery also doesn't last as long from the gazillion reviews I've read today. Anyhoo, because I need one that will stand on its own, I've just ordered the Linx via Amazon Prime. I was hoping to buy locally but couldn't find one that didn't have to be ordered. And, after reading all the positive reviews I've gotten very anxious to have it as soon as possible. It should arrive here in 2 days.

Fun: thanks for including the link to Amazon! I hadn't thought about looking there for it.
Again, thanks for all your help. I am one very happy gal to finally be getting this!
Lynn

I hope the vacuum works for your application. Don't you just love Amazon Prime? I won't be as happy after September when they will start charging sales tax in my state, but considering the price of fuel, ordering from Amazon may still best if there are no easily available sources locally.

Fun . . . yes, we love Amazon Prime, too. I especially make great use of it for Christmas and out-of-state birthdays. I used it when DS was in college and grad school and again for some of the things DD has needed before she heads off to college next week.

Better is a robot vacuum you schedule to run every day! I used to have a roomba, it worked great in our open floor plan. Now we have a Neato XV-11 a laser mapping robot. It get stuck ocassionally but overall floors get cleaned every day. I could not be happy without my robot vacuum!

I bought the Dyson Stick cordless. I needed something that was going to fit under my toekicks on the kitchen cabinets. I get 15min out of a charge. I can detach the stick part and use the attachments for stairs or furniture. Didn't like the pricey part of it but waited till I found it on sale at Sears + Friends and Family discount. I am very happy with it.
http://www.dyson.com/Vacuums/BrowseTheRange.aspx?filters=handhelds

How noisy is that Lynx? I ask because I've had a couple of stick vacs I had to get rid of because of the high-pitched, almost screaming, noise.

Lynn - how about an update? Are you happy with your Linx now that you've had it for a while? How is the battery life?

I gave my old stick vac to my DD and I really miss it so now I'm in the market for a replacement. I have porcelain tile in the kitchen, Oriental rugs and a hairy dog and while I like my canister I want a stick vac to keep in my closet for quick, daily pick ups.

I checked out the Hoover Linx video and if I purchase one I think I'll also get the hand held. That would be perfect for vacuuming the top of my kitchen cabinets and draperies without the bother.

You mentioned that you were concerned that your brick floors would eat the fabric covers on a steam mop. I'm thinking of buying an Oreck steamer because it's designed to accept your own towels too. It comes with 4 washable bonnets but the clips will accept other cloths - like microfiber or towels. My cleaning ladies use one instead of a sponge mop and it does a great job on the floor. By the time they finish the kitchen it's nearly dry.

The only downside to the steamers is that they can't 'scrub' the grout. Unfortunately my floor and grout is the color of oatmeal and every few months the grout has to be scrubbed.

Here is a link that might be useful: steam mop

>The only downside to the steamers is that they can't 'scrub' the grout.

Most steamers with a removable hand held can do this very well. I have a Haan steam mop that comes with a very good hard brush for grout steaming. And it also leaves the floor almost dry as soon as you pass the steam mop part (not the handheld, which uses a higher steam setting) over the floor. The downside is that it's very hard to use your own towels. Well, impossible really, but the pads do wash up well in the washing machine.

Oh, forgot to say that I opened this thread to point out that Target has a special on the Elux Ergo this week.

My SIL has a Dyson stick vacuum and absolutely raves about it. Says it is great for pet hair, too. Says even her DH and DS want to vacuum with it. I'm waiting for it to go on sale as it is a bit pricey.

The Dyson only vacuums for about 13 minutes on regular and 6 minutes on max...and then takes SIX HOURS to recharge. I can't even finish my 900 sq ft first floor before I have to wait SIX HOURS to vacuum again. I will say its a joy on the stairs, but that's about it. Also, you have to pick up anything 3D before you vacuum. I mean, if you can see a popcorn kernel, you have to bend over and pick it up otherwise, the vacuum just moves it along.

It does a pretty good job on dust bunnies, but you can't do everything you'd want to do with a vacuum in the charge time - and at its $400 price point, it's too $$$ for the occasional dust ball.

For years we've been using the Eureka cordless but this time I bought one with a cord. It's the Eureka Quick Up, I purchased it online (two of them) and we can't believe the power of this little guy. We have a Rainbow that we use for the big jobs but I just did my orientals and the hardwoods with the "little guy" and I can't believe how much the canister filled. So much better than my cordless. The canister is clear so you can see which I like whereas some of them you have to open first to see. I paid only 30.00 each online.

grlwprls - the battery description on the Linx caught my eye. It's lithium ion, there's a low battery indicator on the handle and the charger is separate so you can recharge one battery while the other is in the vacuum.

writersblock - I'll check into the Han too.

I've had The Shark since it first came out, and I love it! My best friend was here visiting and used it and commented it had as much suction as her $500 Dyson.

I do wish the container were a little larger since my wool rugs are still 'shedding' which fills it up very quickly. I have to add, it doesn't seem to limit the suction power if not emptied immediately.

There are several, but this was the original, or at least the first one I saw advertised.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vacumn

Why do it yourself? We have a Neato XV-14 from Costco it is scheduled to run every day after we leave for work. We come home to freshly vacuumed floors every day! It's the best cleaning tool ever, unlike our old Roomba it doesn't need lots of maintenance - just empty the dust bin.

I wonder how the dogs would react if we had a Neato that just started working after we left the house. I think I would need to invest in a camera, just so I could watch the craziness. ;)

I wonder how the dogs would react if we had a Neato that just started working after we left the house. I think I would need to invest in a camera, just so I could watch the craziness. ;)

We have a Roomba and for some strange reason my black Lab doesn't even react to it. It will bump right into her and she just lays there.

The Roomba does a great job on my tile but it has trouble on the perimeter of the throw rugs due to their thickness. Because of the height difference the Roomba always leaves a 2 - 3 inch path of dog hair around the carpets.

We have had the hoover for about 6 weeks. Everyone loves it, even my toddler and DH. :)

Our cats have never cared about either robot vacuum - the Roomba or the Neato. Well, one of them smacked the Roomba once when it bumped into him LOL. Perhaps they just view it as another one of their household slaves!

bump - Lynn I hope you see this

Hoover Linx here as well! I bought it a couple of months ago based on all the happy Linx owners' reviews.

K9arlene..it was your post that sold me 100% when you stated that the battery had its own charger. One does not have to keep the vacuum near an outlet.

Since I have owned it, there is something else I have discovered that I like and that is, it's ability to stand upright in my kitchen closet. No leaning against something to keep it in an upright position.

I do my kitchen Permastone tile daily with it and work my way into the family room carpeting to pick up surface crumbs. It appears to be cleaning the carpet better than I expected.

I really, really like the Hoover Linx.

Yikes, I'm just seeing this! I bought my Linx in early August and I love it. I can vacuum for about 30 minutes with it before it needs to recharge. I only have the one battery, but think Maire Cate's suggestion of a spare one is good. We have brick floors throughout the house with many Oriental rugs. I also have two dogs that shed. I love how easy it is to do quick clean ups. The only downside I can think of is that the canister fills up pretty quickly and needs to be emptied after every 30 minutes or so of vacuuming. But, emptying the Linx is very quick and easy. I also like that it stands on it's own. Oh, and it's not very loud . . . although it's not very quiet either.
For Christmas I received the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser hand vac to use on my sofas and chairs. We don't allow our Dobie on the furniture, but our 12-lb Tibetan Spaniel, who sheds a lot makes this hand vac worth it's weight in gold! It got great reviews online and I'm very happy with mine.
I also own the Shark Portable Steamer, which I really like. It's good for cleaning away water deposits on the guest room glass shower door and it's tracks, etc. I use it on our luggage before I bring it inside after a trip, to kill any possible bedbugs. I bought it after I did bring bedbugs home a couple of years ago from either the airlines or limousine. This Christmas it came in handy steaming the wrinkles out of my 120" tablecloth.
I would LOVE to buy a steam cleaner for my brick floors, but I'm not sure that there's one out there that cleans brick floors. These floors would chew up most fabric covers on those I've seen.
Lynn