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OK, so maybe it seems a little foolish writing a review about a hand-held vacuum cleaner, but hey, offices get dirty. Computers, copiers, printers, and books DO NOT like dust, and neither do your sinuses. You can use compressed gases to blow dust off of your desktops, but that's only a short-term solution. Sooner or later, someone is going to have to shovel up all that filth, and if the nametag for the cleaning person in your office looks extremely similar to your own signature, keep reading.
Look around a lot of offices and computer repair shops and you're likely to find a Data-Vac. While its name makes it sound like something that vacuums up unused code, data fragments, and Word turds, the Data-Vac is a portable vacuum for cleaning the hardware that generates all of that digital trash. Looking something like an metal elephant crossed with a weiner dog, the Data-Vac is a hand-held which also has a shoulder strap if you've go a lot of cleaning to do. It comes with a 19" hose, a crevice tool, a soft bristle brush, and two "air pinpointer" tools for dealing with keyboards, inside machines, and other tight squeezes. Five disposable vacuum bags are also included that can be shaken out and re-used for a long time. I've had my Data-Vac for ages and have never opened the extra package of bags I bought with it. The best thing about the Data-Vac is that it's large and powerful enough (at 1.7 HP) to clean just about everything but the floor, but can also handle sensitive areas like the inside of your computer case. You definitely want something versatile like this and not one of those goofy micro-vac things that can only suck dirt from between the keycaps on your keyboard. The Data-Vac is also virtually indestructible. I've dropped mine from tabletops, chairs, and out of my hand numerous times, with no ill effects. Which brings me to the only criticism. The thing's about as stable as a Friday night pizza maker. It has tiny little rubber feet, like the kind you'd find on the bottom of an electronic component box. They're just too short to prevent the vacuum from flipping onto its back with even the slightest twist of the 19" hose. Bad design. The newer versions of the Data-Vac come in gloss black, making it look like something Darth Vader would be proud to do light housework with. My aging model came in a pukey beige and brown two-tone. - Gareth Branwyn [1/12/98]
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