We Got Our Hands On The Eureka OmniVerse & It's Every Bit As Versatile As They Say

The promise of a new vacuum cleaner might set a neatnik's heart aflutter. I'm not that person. In fact, the stress of knowing that I have to spend hours cleaning my high-traffic home gives me flutters of the undesirable kind. I love to organize. I hate to clean. But the ease and versatility of the Eureka OmniVerse sucked away my anticipatory cleaning anxiety just as well as it sucked away my shaggy dog's fine hairs from the sofa.

Eureka hopes the upright OmniVerse vacuum will become "the ultimate cleaning companion" because of its versatility, efficiency, and convenience. Along those lines, Eureka deserves props for choosing the name: The OmniVerse really does do it all, thanks to its array of functions, accessories, and built-ins, including an easy-to-clean HEPA filter and a brushroll that prevents hair wrap. It's effortless switching between carpet and floor modes, vacuuming under furniture, tackling the stairs, getting into crevices, and removing dust from hard-to-clean surfaces such as air vent covers. In terms of multi-function vacuums with QuickShift Technology, the Eureka OmniVerse deserves a Golden Canister award.

Unwrapping the Eureka OmniVerse is a delight, done quickly and in well under a half-hour. One inside flap on the box top asks straight away if you need help and provides a product support number as well as a QR code. Another flap contains a five-step visual guide for assembly. Even without my readers to help me see, I could follow the pictures well enough to put it together.

Everything is a snap, literally. Set the floor nozzle unit on the floor and pull the connector joint upright. Snap! Insert the pole into the opening at the top of the floor nozzle. Snap! Slide the handle onto the top of the poll. Snap! Insert the bottom of the canister into the floor nozzle connector and push the canister back onto the pole. Snap!

Storing the crevice tool and two-in-one dusting brush on the sides of the OmniVerse are silent tasks. For those who prefer automatic cord winders, though, this vacuum does require wrapping the cord around upper and lower hooks. Two other accessories — the motorized pet and stair tool and the hose — can be stored in the black cinch bag included. A note before you power up, which you will read about in the user's guide: Two 1-½-inch screws are required to secure the handle onto the vacuum pole. You'll find the screws in a small plastic bag within the larger plastic bag containing the user's guide, and you will need a Phillips head screwdriver for the task.

The first thing you'll notice about the Eureka OmniVerse is how light it is, especially if you've been using other vacuum cleaners. It's only 14.3 pounds, which weighs less than my Shorkie. It's also space-efficient, slimmer, and slightly smaller than comparable units. That does not speak to its force, though. As soon as you press the easily accessible power button facing you on top of the canister, the machine hums with a satisfying purr. You can know right away from the Eureka Omniverse's feel that your floors, furniture, and fitments will be cleaned thoroughly.

In carpet mode, which is turned on with one press of another easy-to-reach button, the Eureka OmniVerse thoroughly vacuumed my well-loved area rug located in the living room just inside the front door. This is not a no-shoes-in-the-house home. Between people, plants, and a pet, this rug is in a constant state of needing a good once-over. The hardwood floors underneath also get mussed up due in part to the constant influx of dusty old objects being brought in to shine up and sell as part of an online business. The living room leads into the kitchen, where the dog's tray, with its bowl of food, is a messy hotspot from kibble smacking. In floor mode, the Eureka OmniVerse cleared everything away quickly and without effort from the room's porcelain tiles.

The Eureka OmniVerse's accessories make a big impact before even peeling the packing material from each component. The bag included to store them will likely make a busy person (who may not like to clean) smile — I know I'm not the only hesitant cleaner who has failed to corral a vacuum's accessories only to be left at the end of the decade with a vacuum-cleaner-attachment graveyard in a wayward box in the basement — Words on the outside of the bag state, "Life – there is a eureka for that," bringing home the vacuum's versatility. These extra tools will be helpful, especially for super busy people.

The two most innovative Eureka OmniVerse accessories are the motorized pet and stair tool and the two-in-one dusting brush and upholstery tool. The motorized tool is a thing of beauty, able to connect directly with the canister to easily remove pet hair and debris from stairs, upholstered furniture, and other tricky areas. That means there's no need to lug the entire unit while you're cleaning. Plus, you can adjust the angle of the nozzle to accommodate varied surfaces. It thoroughly cleaned my dog's favorite spot on the sofa, as well as a perilous set of carpeted stairs to the basement (the latter without incident). The two-in-one brush performed magic on dusty white blinds on windows throughout the home. Switching between settings with a simple thumb release was a game changer, with the felt portion tailor-made for delicate surfaces like my vintage velvet armchair.

Then, there's the crevice tool, which I excitedly used on a newly acquired Mid-Century Modern dining table set that has seen better days. The crevice tool performed miracles, sucking out 50-plus years of grime in the creases of the bright turquoise upholstered chairs. In this way, the Eureka Omniverse makes versatile above-floor cleaning easy for any surface. It's usually important to always dust before vacuuming a home. With the ability to easily clean above-floor surfaces with the crevice tool and the others included with the Eureka Omniverse, there's no need.

The final Eureka Omniverse accessory is a hose, which can be connected to the crevice tool and the two-in-one dusting brush for extended reach. This is another extraordinarily convenient feature, helping me to clean the stairs and blinds more easily. Speaking of extra slack, I loved that the vacuum comes with a 30-foot cord, which eliminated one of the most triggering aspects of vacuuming for me — when the unit unplugs in the middle of a session because you're too far away from the outlet. Unlike other units I've had to MacGyver, there's no need to turn to a common hack that will give the vacuum cleaner a much longer reach.

You may or may not know how you should be cleaning your vacuum cleaner. With the Eureka Omniverse, there's no guessing. Instructions in the user guide make for quick and easy mess-free cleanup, all illustrated with drawings that provide helpful visual aids.

The unit's HEPA filter promises to trap 99.9% of dust, dander, and allergens, which means that it will require regular maintenance. But this seems easy for a high-strung cleaner like me. Once removed from inside the air outlet plate, you hold it over a trash can and gently tap the filter or use a brush to clear the dust. There's also the dust cup, which can be emptied in the trash after reaching the max fill line, and its filter, which can be easily washed in a sink every three months. You'll need to clean the dust separator to prevent build-up from forming, which is also a breeze. The brushroll is easy to keep in good shape, which is especially important in our home with the long-haired dog and us long-haired humans. Simply periodically clean the brushroll and its ends by removing string, hair, carpet fibers, and other debris, again over a garbage bin.

There are still more great aspects to the Eureka OmniVerse. It comes with a five-year limited warranty for repairs and replacements. All of the terms are detailed plainly in the user manual.

Beyond that, the vacuum contains LED headlights to easily spot dust and debris, helping you leave no mess behind as you put in those precious hours to keep your home spotless. And, in what Eureka describes as furniture mode, the low-profile vacuum's design allows you to easily reach messes under couches and kitchen cabinets, two of the most dreaded areas of my home to keep tidy.

The Eureka OmniVerse has now taken a proud spot in my attached garage next to my prized carpet steam cleaner and spin mop. It will be in the regular rotation not only for weekly (or biweekly or even monthly) deep cleans but also ahead of guest visits, parties, and family gatherings. I feel a bit relieved about that, to be honest, because the worst part about cleaning for me is the anticipation of having to clean. I know the Eureka OmniVerse will make it all easier and maybe somewhat pleasurable. That's a first. Eureka!