I'm a terrible, terrible housekeeper. Just awful. I'm lazy, I just stop seeing dirt after a while, and although I like a clean apartment, I get no joy from cleaning. The strange thing is that my mother loves cleaning. I guess it skipped a generation. Add the fact that my least favorite thing in the world aside from having my teeth drilled is vacuuming, and throw in a cat that's a very enthusiastic fur generator, and you can imagine what my floors look like. It doesn't matter what kind of vacuum cleaner I have; the noise gives me a headache, and pushing and pulling a vacuum cleaner is notoriously bad for one's back, and even worse for my tweaky old shoulders.
I love tools, though, and I picked up a new Makita drill/impact driver set with two batteries last winter for a song, so this Makita cordless vacuum caught my eye when it came up as an Amazon suggestion. I've tried and been very disappointed by a few stick floor vacuums, which really didn't seem that much more convenient than dragging out the regular vacuum, but hadn't tried cordless, and hey, look, I could use the 12V batteries from my tool set! I hemmed and hawed for a while, but in the end I couldn't resist, especially with Amazon's great return policy.
Let me say that this little thing has improved my quality of life in a big way. It's so light and small that it doesn't bug my shoulders or back as I move it around, and strong enough to pull up a lot of dust and stuff that most hand or stick vacuums won't get. If I hold the trigger down continuously it lasts about seven minutes, enough to vacuum about half of my apartment. It works better with a clean dust cup, so when the first battery dies I take a short break, dump the dirt in the trash can, pop in another battery, finish vacuuming, empty the cup, put the dead battery in the charger, and lean the stick vacuum in a corner. Ta-da! After years of reluctant sweeping or infrequent vacuuming, I now vacuum the kitchen pretty much every night, and do a room at a time throughout the week. Now if I could only get myself to dust every once in a while...
I bought an extra battery with this order just so I wouldn't have to wait to charge one up if I wanted to use my drill right after vacuuming, and I'm glad I did just for peace of mind. If you time it right, you can find Makita 12V batteries for 1/3 retail, and there are well-reviewed third-party batteries that sell for even less, so stocking up doesn't have to break your budget.
The vacuum's suction is about as good as your average handheld vacuum, but the design of the floor head somehow seems to make it work better, because it picks up sizable pieces of stuff and quite a bit of dust from windowsills and molding even though there's not much of a brush on the head. The dust cup works better with more dust in it and makes much less of a mess than any other hand vacuums or sticks I've used. My only criticism is that the first couple times I used it I accidentally twisted the dust cup open when I meant to pull out the floor extension tube. I'm now careful about what I grab hold of, but I would rather have a little more resistance to opening the cup or a tab holding it shut. But that's a very minor issue that is easy to work around.
Oh, one more thing: this doesn't work well on carpets. I have some very low pile runners, and while the stick vacuum will pick up large particles, the lack of powered brushes and really strong suction means it doesn't pick up pet hair or the dust and fine dirt that makes your rugs look dull. That's OK for me; with my low standards I'm perfectly OK getting the big vacuum out once every week or so to make my area rugs look nice, so long as the floors are free of those floaty balls of fur that roll around like tumbleweed when you just can't get yourself to deal with them!
| Brand | Makita |
|---|---|
| Special Feature | cordless, bagless |
| Filter Type | Cloth |
| Included Components | Makita - 12V Vacuum (LC01Z) |
| Is Cordless? | Yes |
| Wattage | 12 watts |
| Form Factor | Stick |
| Color | Factory |
| Model Name | Makita LC01Z 12V max Lithium-Ion Cordless Vacuum, Tool Only |
| Manufacturer | Makita |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Controller Type | Push Button |
| Part Number | LC01Z |
| Item Weight | 3.1 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 19 x 5.5 x 7 inches |
| Item model number | LC01ZX |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | One Size |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Special Features | cordless, bagless |
| Usage | Hard floor |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Battery Cell Type | Lithium Ion |
| Warranty Description | 3 year. |
