Carpet sweepers? Help me find a good one

Hello all

I have been a massive carpet sweeper lover since my poor uni student days (when we didn't even own a vaccuum cleaner so the sweeper was it LOL). We used to have a big one that was fabulous, however when it broke I had trouble finding them in the shops, and I ended up with this mingy little half-arsed thing that I have hated the whole time, because it drops fluff and also the roller randomly pops out from between the wheels every so often.

Anyway, I've decided to rekindle my passion, and I'm in the market for a new one. I've googled and the three main ones seem to be Bissell (which looks sexy and space age and quite possibly the thing I want but is $$$), Sabco (which is the same brand as the one I've got now but appears to be quite a different design and is substantially cheaper), and Oates (which looks like it might be the same size/brand as the first one we owned but no mention of a retailer).

However, I have no idea where to actually buy one of these babies. So please, if you have one where did you get it, and is it any good?

I'm sorry I can't help but your post reminded me we were just talking about carpet sweepers the other day...

We recently bought a roomba and I was saying to my H how the next generation of kids might not even be very familiar with regular vacuum cleaners. You know, the odd house might have one but you would rarely see them... same as our generation with carpet sweepers. He replied "what's a carpet sweeper?" :lol:

Good luck tracking down a good one!

Have you looked for an oldie on eBay?

I saw one on tv that looked good. Can't remember what it was called.

I love them too. When I was pregnant with DD2 I desperately researched them as I wasn't allowed to carry anything.
I also looked up reviews of the ones you have mentioned as well as the one from one of the TV shopping ads.
All except the Bissell rated quite poorly in terms of function or manufacturing quality.
I couldn't find anywhere except online to buy the Bissell (not unusual for here) but they wanted to charge so much for postage that we bought a roomba instead.

Thanks ladies. I would prefer to get a new one, just because I don't like the thought of importing someone's old dust. Plus without viewing the underside it's hard to guess how well they would function.

I have seen a few of the bissell ones on eBay though, am thinking I might go that way, even though its more expensive because its got the corner brushes. I figure the extra expense is justified by its frequent & long lasting use.

I just wanted to jump back in here and let everyone know that I bought one of the Bissell ones from ebay. It turned up after only 4 days and it is FABULOUS! I cannot believe how much fluff & bits it caught even though we'd only vacuumed a few days earlier. Definitely a winner.

Which model is it marydean? I need one of these!

I think it's called natural something. It's more square than the old-style ones.

Yep I know the one, have been looking at what's out there :) Thanks!