One of the most used items in our house has to be the vacuum cleaner (or hoover). It feels like the minute I put it away in the cupboard it’s back out again to clean up the trail of crumbs that my kids seem to enjoy leaving everywhere they go.
So, I’m sure that it won’t surprise you that I think that getting the right vacuum cleaner is a pretty important purchase. But with so many options to choose from it can be pretty overwhelming, especially when you’re on a limited budget!
With this in mind, I thought it might be helpful to review my personal experience of a range of vacuum cleaners that I have used over the past few years. Hopefully you might find it useful when making your own decision on what hoover to buy next.
Henry Hoover (or Hetty)
To start with, I thought that it would make sense to talk about our current vacuum cleaner, Hetty Hoover*. Yes I said Hetty (the girl version), not the ever so popular Henry*.
This is because we had a lovely little Henry Hoover for about 8 years. He was like a part of the family. He was totally reliable and even battled through some tough periods when my boys were tiny and thought that he was some sort of ride on toy. However, when he did eventually pack in I decided that I was happy to get another vacuum cleaner like Henry, but this time I wanted the girl version. I just thought it was about time there was some pink in my house of big and little men.
This time, however, I haven’t been as pleased with this range of hoover. I don’t know if there has been some sort of change in the manufacturing of the vacuum cleaners or maybe there is a difference in quality between Henry and Hetty?
Like I said, I’m not sure, but we have had Hetty for about 2 and a half years and we have already had a replacement tube sent out as they were constantly slipping in and out of each other when you’re trying to use it. Just last week the plastic part which attaches the tube to the main body of the vacuum cleaner split, which means it constantly falls off.
Now I have to hold my hands up and admit that I probably haven’t been as careful with the hoover as I possibly should have. This can be hard, though, as the design of the hoover is to follow you as you move around, but maybe I should have took more care when manoeuvring around corners.
All this being said, I did use the Henry version in exactly the same way for 8 years and we didn’t have to replace any parts.
On a positive note, the capacity in the vacuum bags are great and they are very easy to replace. Also the suction power is amazing. I especially love the super suction setting when cleaning our deep pile rug!
Miele
Another vacuum cleaner that I have been using recently is my mother-in-law’s Miele Complete C3* Cat and Dog Bagged Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner. It’s a bit of a mouthful but I thought I’d best write the full title as there are quite a few ranges on Miele vacuum cleaners.
Like the Henry hoover this is a pull along type, although it is much lighter than the Henry Hoover. Personally, after using it quite a few times I feel that it is a much better product. It has been designed in a way to make using it easy and it feels like a higher quality vacuum cleaner.
The reasons why I think that it has been designed in a much better way are these:
- The accessories for the vacuum are cleverly kept in a compartment in the main body of the hoover. Which means that you never have to rummage through your under-stairs cupboard for each little accessory, they are always to hand whenever you need them.
- The main attachment is secured to the tubes by a clever little mechanism that clicks into place. So unlike the Hetty Hoover, the Miele parts aren’t constantly coming off when you’re using them. You can easily and securely swap the attachments confident that nothing is going to fall off.
- The final design feature that I like is the button that you press (with your foot) to wind the wire back in. There’s no need to break your back bending down to wind it in manually. It is as simple as pressing a button!
If I was to pick out a negative for this hoover I think it would be that it can’t be stored very compactly. But I suppose that that’s only an issue if you’re tight on storage space.
G-Tech
The final vacuum cleaner that I’m going to write about is the G-Tech Cordless vacuum*. I do some cleaning for a friend and this is the vacuum that they have.
It is the most modern of the three with it being both cordless and bagless. Now I’ve got to admit that it is brilliant using the vacuum without having to deal with any wires. Constantly plugging and unplugging it as you move around the house. However you do need to be organised and make sure that you have charged the battery before you need to use it.
Like I said earlier, it is also a bagless vacuum. The storage compartment for the dust is very easy to remove and empty, and you can see exactly how full it is, so you don’t need to worry about overfilling any bags.
However, the only downside that I have come across with the bagless vacuum is that if you have a dust allergy this is not the type of vacuum for you. My mother-in-law (who I spoke about earlier) is allergic to dust and after buying a bagless Dyson vacuum, she had to replace it with the Miele as the clouds of dust that come out when emptying the compartment was affecting her allergy.
This being said, I do think that it is a great vacuum. It was light-weight, really easy to manoeuvre and very flexible, so I can clean underneath furniture without having to move them first. It also has a little carry handle for when you go up and down the stairs.
However, I think that my favourite feature has to be the lights on the front. I don’t know why all vacuums don’t come with this feature? It makes it so easy to see mess in dark places such as under the sofa, but it also highlights every crumb that’s in your path, which means you do an extra thorough job!
Which Would You Choose?
Ok, well there are my three vacuum reviews. I hope that they have been helpful for you as you try and figure out which is the right type of vacuum cleaner for you!
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