When I moved from a cheapo vacuum to a 'real' vacuum, yes indeed. We have two carpeted bedrooms that the dogs don't even go into and the amount of stuff the new vac pulled up off the carpet (only 3 years old) was just tremendous. You'd have thought we had never vacuumed before. Not just pet hair, but actual dirt--I estimate we got a cup of what was just plain dust/dirt out of each room :(

We've never had carpet before and once the kids are out of those rooms, I hope not to have it again...

We have an indoor cat which I'm allergic to so I vacuum every day. We don't wear our outdoor shoes indoors. We, too, are always humbled by the dirt/mud which we find in the reservoir of our Hoover SteamVac, even after more than one pass over the carpet. We have primarily tile and hardwood floos now w/area rugs so it isn't quite the issue it used to be w/wall-to-wall carpeting. But we do use the Steamvac on the area rugs and just don't understand how so much dirt is brought into the house given our habits.

yes, we have replaced all of our carpet downstairs with tile, but the upstairs is still carpeted. I mopped the master bath and a hallway the other day and I was very humbled by how dirty the water was!

I used a new string mop- and I like it so much more than my old sponge mop!

I just think of it as strengthening my immune system...LOL. I can vacuum and dust in the morning, but by the afternoon, there will be a layer of dust back on everything. That's part of the price I pay for keeping my windows open year-round.

Funny, Fun2BHere. Our house is the same and probably worse with two long-haired dogs who love to dig/lie outside in the dirt. *sigh*

I have no carpet in my house anymore, but I can relate! When we did have carpet, I borrowed my DD's Dyson and ran over the area I'd used my good vacuum on just before. I was so disgusted by the dirt that came up after the Dyson!

We create so much dust by ourselves, and environmentally we bring in so much more. You can be shoeless but you'll still bring it in on your clothing. The very air is full of it. Gosh, I went out in the back yard recently at night and I had on a headlamp and I was appalled by the motes floating around my face that I couldn't see with just the outdoor lamps. WOW...makes you realize just how much 'stuff' is out there that comes in our homes (and lungs!)

I actually have access to multiple vacuums. Mostly I use the Electrolux Canister and the Dyson. We're in a rural area so dust is inevitable. Think I'll have to get in a more regular routine of using the steam-vac rather than my sporadic attempts.