this sweeper be easy to use out of the box ! the 18v power be a marked improvement over previous compete unit . unit hold charge for a reasonbly long time , allow a useful work time . excellent on hard floor , very good for `` in-between '' cleaning of short nap carpet . clean of the filter\/dirt trap mechanism be quite easy . not difficult to open and empty , or wash the filter . be innitially hesitant to wash filter , but when we do , it come out clean , and dry quickly . we definitely have cleaner floor , more frequent touch up .