Dirt Devil Vigor Pet Vacuum UD70222

Avg. consumer rating = 73/100 

The Dirt Devil Vigor model UD70222 is a lightweight, inexpensive, bagless upright vacuum cleaner.  It is fairly plain but it does have a headlight and also HEPA filtration with carbon to help alleviate odors.  It suffers from several issues however.  The power cord is short, it tips easily when using the hose, and it requires frequent filter cleaning and dust canister emptying.  It also carries a 1-year limited warranty.  Consumer ratings are not spectacular.

 

 

Quick Specs
Type	Upright
Bagged/Bagless	Bagless
Best for...	Hard Floors & Carpet
Pet Hair Features	Yes
Approx. Weight	13.2 lbs
HEPA Level Filtration	Yes
Power Cord Length	25 ft
Motor Driven Brushbar	Yes
Warranty	1 Year

 

About 200 consumer ratings were found and are shown in the table below.  When averaged these result in a score of 73.3 out of 100.  This is not a particularly high score and you may wish to compare it against other upright vacuum ratings.

Source	Consumer Ratings	#Ratings
Amazon	3.6 stars out of 5	163
Walmart	3.9 stars out of 5	33
Overstock	4.3 stars out of 5	4

Consumer Insights
A review of Dirt Devil Vigor owner comments provided the following common likes and dislikes:

PROS
- Affordable
- Lightweight
- Good suction

CONS
- Short power cord
- Breaks down frequently
- Tips easily when using hose
- Small dust canister
- Filters must be cleaned frequently
- Manual is not particularly good

Owner comments give the impression that many folks are not pleased with their purchase although some shrug it off saying that it was an inexpensive vacuum in the first place and expectations were not high.

Probably the most common complaint is the extent of maintenance necessary to keep the machine running well.  The vacuum requires frequent cleaning of the filters which seem to get dirty very fast.  One owner reports that he has to clean the filters after every 15-20 minutes of vacuuming.  Also, the hose appears to clog frequently and the dust canister is small.  Owners report having to empty the dust canister over and over when they are vacuuming a large area.  This is especially problematic if you have lots of pet hair as it fills the dust canister quickly.  This is not a desirable characteristic for a “pet vacuum”.

It should be noted that a few folks indicate that while the vacuum does require constant maintenance, its performance is greatly enhanced when a rigorous maintenance schedule is followed.  

Another concern with the vacuum is that it tips easily.  If you pull on the stretch hose the vacuum has a tendency to tip and fall on its side.  A few owners feel this is especially annoying and perhaps even a little dangerous if the vacuum is at the top of a flight of stairs – although we would suggest this arrangement is not a good idea when using the hose on any upright.   

An odd complaint that we haven’t seen with other vacuums is the tendency for the stretch hose to catch and pull the hair on your arm.  A few owners have experienced this and found it annoying enough to write about it.  The hose also frequently disconnects from the vacuum body and it should not.

The manual for the UD70222 is weak.  You can find it at the bottom of this article and check it out yourself.  We’ve gone through it and indeed it is short, does not cover all aspects of the vacuum, and does not provide a high level of detail.  It is also a bit difficult to follow as it is written in multiple languages and laid out in a tricky manner.

Other common complaints include the tools frequently falling off the vacuum, the tendency for the nozzle to scatter debris out from under the nozzle when you are vacuuming bare floors (some owners experience this while others do not), and general breakdowns.  The breakdowns include things like the vacuum simply shutting itself down or suction suddenly becoming very weak.

On the plus side the vacuum is not expensive and owners generally agree that the unit has good suction and is lightweight.

You can find more owner comments on Amazon if you want.

Specifications and Details
The UD70222 is a simple bagless vacuum and it doesn’t come with many bells or whistles.  However, it does have a headlight which is a nice feature (although we notice it doesn’t appear to use a “lifetime” bulb and the bulb will probably have to be replaced from time to time).

The power cord on the vacuum is 25 feet in length and, as we have preached in many other articles, a power cord under 30 feet on an upright always gets complaints from owners.  The UD70222 is no exception.

The unit has a motorized brushroll and the nozzle has a small dial atop that allows one to adjust the height.  There are 5 height settings.  The lowest settings are best for bare floors and some low pile carpet while the higher settings allow the vacuum to be moved on deeper pile carpet.

The stretch hose provides a full 10 feet of cleaning reach which is reasonable.  Tools can be attached to the end of the hose to provide for extended cleaning and above floor cleaning.  Tools provided with the vacuum include:

- Pet hair turbo tool
- Upholstery tool

There is also a crevice tool which sits inside the vacuum’s extension wand.  The Pet hair turbo tool has a small spinning brush inside and this brush is driven by the vacuum suction.  Some hand tools like this have a motor driven brush which generally provides better cleaning power than the suction driven brush.  When you see a word like “turbo” this often refers to suction driven.

A HEPA level filter is provided and it also comes with carbon.  Carbon is sometimes added to a filter to help eliminate odors – such as pet odors, cigarette smoke, etc.  This a popular feature in vacuum cleaners with a focus on pets.  The filters provided with the UD70222 are rinsable.

Other vacuum features include a bottom-empty dust canister that is clear so you can determine when emptying is needed, a cleaning path width of 14 inches (about average for an upright), a soft bumper around the perimeter of the nozzle to limit scuffing/scraping walls or furniture, and a 1-year limited warranty.  The vacuum weighs a fairly lightweight 13.2 lbs.

Vacuum Cleaner Manual
You can see the manual here: Dirt Devil Vigor UD70222 Manual