How do you get from Japan to China?

According to Google Maps... see #43!

LG Kompressor® Pet Care LuV200R.

We have two cats, and unfortunately, with great companionship comes annoying filamentous biomaterial. Our cats are American Shorthairs, which are believed to be the descendants of cats that brought over the pond on the Mayflower.

Unfortunately, the radical religious English Separatists on the Mayflower were more concerned with controlling rodents, and did not appreciate traits that create a hypoallergenic cats.

For several years now, we've have a fairly large living room rug. The cats really like lying on it. I have been vacuuming this particular rug with a budget vacuum cleaner. This particular vacuum cleaner does not perform that well, and I would basically spend anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, scrapping the rug with my hands while "vacuuming" with the machine.

I've always coveted a new vacuum cleaner.

I thought it was time for a change, and researched vacuum cleaners currently on the market over several weeks.

Pretty much all current bagless vacuums, utilizes cyclonic separation to remove particulates from the vacuum airstream. By using vortex separation, filters do not get immediately become clogged with dirt, and there is "no loss of suction."

Dyson vacuums are ubiquitously associated with that phrase, because they're amongst the first to successfully commercialize cyclonic separation vacuum cleaners. Unfortunately, that also means Dyson products may command a premium. One that I did not intend to pay.

I decided to get the LG Kompressor® Pet Care LuV200R. LG developed this particular vacuum cleaner to spearhead its entry into the North American vacuum cleaner market, and I think it is a winner.

I found the LuV200 on sale at 18% off at Bed Bath & Beyond, then used a coupon to knock another 20% off. I'm pretty happy about that.

The LuV200 has several features that won me over. The first unique feature is how LG implemented its cyclonic separation chamber. All the other bagless vacuums orientate the cyclonic chamber so that the vortex rotates horizontally like a tornado. LG decided to orientate the chamber so that the vortex rotates vertically and dumps the particulates down, and it seems to work really well. After vacuuming the entire apartment, the pre-motor filter (which is intended to protect the motor from any particulates that may get through the vortex), seems entirely clean. In my old ineffective vacuum, the pre-motor filter would become entirely clogged before I even vacuumed one rug.

The second feature that I found appeal was the KOMPRESSOR!

This is something so simple I don't know why no one else has implemented on other vacuums, but essentially it is a rotating wiper that continuously compacts the contents of the dustbin.

After vacuuming our rug, it was obvious that the LuV200 had successfully cleaned the rug. In addition, while my previous vacuum would require me to empty the dustbin up to ten times just to get the rug clean, the KOMPRESSOR mashed the hair and dirt. The picture to the right shows the compacted debris after I vacuumed the entire rug.

This video shows the compacted dirt & pet hair after several weeks of consistent use. The vacuum is so quiet! AWESOME!
The LuV200R also comes with an awesome flexible extending hose, which comes with the usual attachments, but also a nice rotating brush that allows one to vacuum upholstery and stairs clean of pet hair with relative ease!

Finally, LG is backing this product with a 5-year warranty. Mmmm considering that so many consumer vacuums are dead or dysfunctional after a couple years of regular use, I like the sound of that.

Oh... I almost forgot about the vacuum's awesome instruction manual! While this manual was not dispositive to my purchasing decision, this cute disclaimer certainly didn't hurt!

Kimchi & Tigger lets out a sigh of relief!