Product Review: Swiffer Sweeper Vac

I have a slight obsession with cleaning products and an even bigger obsession with vacuums. The vacuum thing started during my first pregnancy, I suppose during the "nesting" phase, and it just never went away. My husband still steers my away from the vacuum aisle when we go to Walmart. He refuses to return any more that I have bought, tried, disliked and then sent him back to the store to exchange. We just recently had new wood flooring from Home Depot installed and I wanted something for every day use without having to drag out a bulky vacuum. Once I saw the commercial for the Swiffer Sweeper Vac, that was it, I had to have it. So I spent the $40 for it and was so excited to get it home to try it. It was super simple to put together, but had to be charged for at least 12 hours until the light turned from red to green. So I plugged it in that evening and let it charge overnight. The next afternoon I went to try it out.... and the light was still red. Talk about disappointing. But I couldn't resist, so I tried it out. It only lasted about 5 minutes but seemed to work well enough so I plugged it back in to let it finish charging. By this time it was Sunday evening. By Tuesday morning the stupid light STILL hadn't turned green so I called Swiffer. Apparently I received one of the few models that has a light that never turns green. Awesome. After about a week of charging though, it did eventually turn green but the battery life is horrible. At most it lasts about 10-15 minutes, which for me is barely enough time to vacuum all of the hardwood and tile areas of our house (about 1500 square feet). For my 9 year old stepson, it's nowhere near enough time when it's his turn to vacuum (mostly because he dawdles and vacuums in circles or figure 8's or whatever his heart desires that day). I like that it's lightweight and compact and easy for kids to use, but I should have listened to the reviews that complained about the battery life. To pay $40 for a product that takes 24 hours to charge and lasts about 10 minutes MAX is just ridiculous to me. Now I just use it for every day use of traffic areas (kitchen floor and entry way) and spot cleaning the rest of the floors. It's great for picking up pet hair and dirt but not so great at picking up larger items like pieces of cat food. I typically love Swiffer products but I am pretty disappointed in this particular one. If they found a way to improve the battery life I would be MUCH happier. Needless to say, if this one breaks I definitely won't be rushing out to pay $40 for another one.