A Lazy Man's Dream

By Morris Kent

Why we like it: Now, I'm not the kind of guy to leave dirt and dust lying around. (Or, if you're my wife reading this, okay I am that guy, but hey I get around to it eventually.) However when the bag of frozen corn spills on the floor and my dog is nowhere to be seen, there is a moment when I pause and consider my options. Broom? Too much manual labor. Vacuum cleaner? Better, but that would require a trip upstairs, unwinding the cord, plugging it in. I’m not ashamed to admit it: I want to exert as little effort as possible. What I need is something that will inhale that pile of flash-frozen vegetables staring up at me in five seconds flat. What I need is the Speedy Sweeper.

The full jabber: The Speedy Sweep Sweeper (say that five times fast) may not seem like a manly gadget, but after seeing it in action at CES, I beg to differ. Think of it as the bad boy of battery-operated sweepers. Speedy Sweep has been road-testing this compact sweeper in the commercial industry for over eight years—and it shows. According to Tony Perry, owner of Speedy Sweep, the sweeper was originally inspired by a European-designed model known for its quality and durability. Virtually every part of the sweeper is replaceable, and it has a nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) battery with a run time of 90 minutes. NiMH batteries are badass. One, they’re environmentally-friendly because they can recharge about a million times more than their cheap cousin, the nickel cadmium battery. Two, they’re more powerful, hence the long run time.

I couldn't wait to bust mine out of the box and put it to work. I assembled the unit in less than five minutes and fully charged the battery in 3.5 hours. Now, where to start? I decided to break Speedy Sweep in slowly on the hardwood floors. With the motor humming quietly and the white rubber wheels rolling easily across the floors, ten minutes later our floors were crumb and debris-free. (My wife is going to love this thing! At last—a gadget that I would be willing to share with her.) Next mission: the carpet. The Speedy Sweep didn’t skip a beat. I call it an equal opportunity sweeper. It can vacuum up the small stuff (like white sugar) as well as the chunky (like crayons and highlighters—nope, I’m not kidding). For bigger messes, the dustbin did seem to fill up quickly. However it’s easy to remove and empty, so I didn’t mind.

Tech Spec:

• Titanium bushings for brush roller—will not wear out like brass bushings
  
• Laser balanced brush roller & wheels for smooth & even operation
  
• Non slip geared belt
  
• Dust bin capacity 17 ounces
  
• Weight: 3.9 pounds
  

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