How to Reset a Eufy Vacuum, Which Dyson Stick Vacuum Should I Buy, and the Midea Dehumidifier Lesson
Last October, I found myself kneeling on my kitchen floor with a robotic eufy vacuum upside down, pressing a small reset button with a paperclip while the eufy app on my phone kept saying 'not found.' My wife walked past and said, 'You're not going to win this one, are you?'
I wasn't trying to win. I was trying to fix the latest mistake in a series I've been documenting since 2019. I've made 23 documented home-appliance mistakes. This one was number 24. I keep a checklist now, mostly so the next person doesn't repeat my mistakes.
The background: we bought a 1920s row house in late 2023. It has original hardwood floors, carpeted stairs, a damp basement, and forced-air heat that turns the upstairs into a desert in winter. By the time all four boxes arrived, I'd spent about $1,200 on floor care and air comfort. The part that hurt was troubleshooting the things I didn't understand.
A big reason I chose the robotic eufy vacuum was the no-subscription thing. The app lets me set a schedule and start it from my phone without a monthly plan. That sounds basic, but in smart home land, it's getting rare. The no-subscription idea is part of why eufy is in our house at all.
How to Reset a Eufy Vacuum Without Losing Your Mind
If you're here for the 'how to reset eufy vacuum' answer first, here it is. On my model, the reset button is a pinhole next to the Wi-Fi indicator. I turned the vacuum on, held a paperclip in that hole for about 10 seconds, and waited for the voice prompt. The app said 'Network reset completed' within a minute. Then I set the vacuum on the charging dock, opened the app, and went through 'Add Device' again. It took four minutes. I almost ordered a new vacuum before trying this.
Your model may be different. Some eufy vacuums have the reset button under the dustbin cover. Some put it near the power switch. Some use a button labeled 'Reset' on top. If you don't see a pinhole, check the manual before you panic-buy. The exact steps vary, but the general pattern is the same: hold the reset button for 10 seconds, wait for the voice prompt, and reconnect in the app.
The trigger was the morning my robotic eufy vacuum stopped connecting to Wi-Fi. The app kept saying the password was wrong. It wasn't wrong. The vacuum was sitting on the dock, fully charged, blinking in a way that meant something. I searched 'how to reset eufy vacuum' at midnight and found a forum post that pointed to the reset button. So glad I tried that before buying a replacement. I was one click away from ordering another robot.
Which Dyson Stick Vacuum Should I Buy? Two Questions
A robotic eufy vacuum handled the daily floor mess, but it didn't do the stairs, the ceiling fan, or the under-the-cabinet crumbs. I needed a stick vacuum. My search history that week included 'which Dyson stick vacuum should I buy' more times than I want to admit.
The answer is simpler than the ads make it: which floors do you have, and who is carrying it?
The best Dyson stick vacuum is the one you'll actually pick up.
If you have mostly hard floors and a small place, the Dyson V8 is still enough. If you have carpet and stairs, the V11 or V15 gives you more suction. If you hate carrying a heavy handle upstairs, the V12 Detect Slim is light and has a laser that makes dust on hard floors look like a crime scene. I ended up with the V12 because our stairs are narrow and my shoulders are average. The laser sounded like a gimmick until I saw what my 'clean' floors looked like. (Spoiler: they weren't.)
That said, you don't have to buy the most expensive model. The V8 is a fine machine. The V12 just fit my house.
The Midea Easy Dry Dehumidifier 70 Pint Was the Plot Twist
After the floors, I went after the basement. It smelled musty, and some boxes near the wall felt damp. I bought the Midea Easy Dry dehumidifier 70 pint because it had a continuous drain hose and an auto-defrost setting. I almost bought a smaller 35-pint unit. (That would have been wrong.)
The 70 pint model did its job. It pulled so much water out of the air that I had to empty the bucket every day until I ran the hose. Once the hose was in place, the basement stopped smelling like a cave. The surprise was what happened upstairs: the air got even drier.
If you're looking at a dehumidifier, know your room size first. A 70 pint unit is overkill for a bedroom. It's meant for a basement or open-plan area. The number is not a status symbol.
What a Humidifier for Dry Skin Actually Taught Me
By January, the bedroom air was so dry that my hands were cracking and the cat shocked me every time I touched her. I bought a small humidifier for dry skin—a 2-liter ultrasonic one with a night light. It helped my skin and my sinuses, but I made a classic tap-water mistake. White dust covered the nightstand. It looked like someone had spilled powdered milk. (Ugh.)
The phrase 'humidifier for dry skin' is a bit misleading. The humidifier doesn't moisturize you. It puts moisture back into the air so your skin and eyes don't have to fight the furnace all night. If you don't keep it clean, it just mists bacteria and mineral dust. That's not helpful.
I'll add the boring legal note here: per FTC guidelines, if I had a paid relationship with any of these brands, I'd have to say it. I don't. The eufy, Dyson, Midea, and humidifier were all bought with my own credit card. The only thing I got for free was the lesson.
The Checklist I Wish I'd Had Before Buying Anything
The mistakes weren't about the brands. They were about my assumptions:
- Find the reset button before you need it. A quick search for 'how to reset eufy vacuum' before the Wi-Fi failed would have saved me a lot of midnight panic.
- Buy the appliance for the room, not the hype. My hardwood floors were happy with a robotic eufy vacuum, not with the heavy-duty stick I almost bought. The stairs needed a lighter stick, not a more powerful one.
- Let the water go somewhere. The Midea Easy Dry 70 pint is easier to live with when the drain hose is hooked up. Similarly, a humidifier for dry skin is easier to live with when you clean it, and you use distilled water.
What surprised me most is how much this whole space changed in five years. In 2020, robot vacuums were more like pets than reliable tools. By 2025, they genuinely handle daily maintenance. But some fundamentals haven't changed: you still have to empty the dustbin, clean the filters, and read the manual.
The biggest lesson? One product can't solve a whole house. The house has different problems—damp air in the basement, dry air upstairs, crumbs under the table, and dust on the stairs. Each one needs a different tool. You don't have to buy them all at once. But you do need to know what problem you're solving before you add to cart.
And if you already own a robotic eufy vacuum that's acting up, try the reset first. It might be the cheapest fix you'll ever make.