In other news...
I borrowed one of the vacuum cleaners from the theatre offices so that I could tidy up the carpet here at the apartment. When I started it up earlier today, I noticed that it really wasn't doing much of anything. The motor was running, but the brushes weren't spinning and the contents of the canister just seemed to be sitting there. It turned out that the belt was broken and that the canister and filter appeared not to have been cleaned out in a while, probably never. So, after a run to K-Mart to purchase a new belt, installing it and cleaning out the canister and filters, I started it back up. Everything seemed to be working fine now, but after a few seconds, I noticed that the canister had already filled up again. Hmmm... So, I emptied it out again. Then started it back up again... Then emptied it out again. Apparently, there was a lot of "stuff" that had built up inside the vacuum over the past year or so. That's when I noticed that there was another filter in the top of the canister, a round one. I took it out, placed it inside a small garbage bag, gave it a knock, and this "donut of dirt" fell out.
Needless to say, the vacuum cleaner really(!) works now.