I am a sucker for new products. If an item claims that it will “make life easier,” then it usually ends up in my shopping cart. (Now you know why so many of my blogs are product reviews.) My latest must-have-product: the new Swiffer CarpetFlick.
I first saw the Swiffer CarpetFlick on a commercial picking up a carpet full of cookie crumbs and grass clippings. The announcer claimed that this new Swiffer had “an innovative design that flicks dirt, crumbs and other small bits off your carpet and traps them onto a disposable adhesive cartridge. And the Swiffer CarpetFlick has a convenient transparent window, so when you see that the cartridge is full, simply throw it away and insert a new one.” Well, how could I say no to that? (Even though it sounds very much like what my $220 vacuum cleaner does.) Details, details. This product was less than $10 and I was already a loyal Swiffer customer. I use both my Swiffer WetJet and Swiffer Sweeper on a weekly basis, and no complaints. So I expected big things from the CarpetFlick.
When I got to the store and read the CarpetFlick box my excitement grew, as it claimed to “pick up everything from glitter to beads.” Personally, that was a hefty claim since my now defunct “Eureka Bravo” would spit beads back out when I tried to suck them up. I hurried home and easily put the CarpetFlick together (it was just a matter of putting the handle together and sliding it into place). The cleaning cartridge also slipped right into the base.
The box says that the CarpetFlick works best on cut pile and Berber carpeting (I have cut pile) so I immediately took it into the family room. That’s where I can always count on finding bits of chips, crackers, and Cheerios. The CarpetFlick sucked it right up. I continued on to some other problem areas, including my daughter’s room where she had recently dismembered a stuffed lamb and remnants of its innards (a.k.a. fuzzy stuffing) still littered her floor. The CarpetFlick didn’t fare so well here. Even after I changed the cartridge it still left bigger pieces of fuzz behind. (Depending on the size of the mess, one cartridge picks up about a room’s worth of threads, crumbs, confetti, etc.)
I wouldn’t say I was completely disappointed by the results. What I would say is that the Swiffer CarpetFlick is basically a lint roller with a long handle. The adhesive cartridge is similar to a large piece of sturdy tape and whatever sticks to tape is what you will find sticking to the CarpetFlick’s adhesive cartridge. But, like I said, I’m a sucker for new products.