Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsA year or use and a "meh" vote.
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2015
Depending on your opinion of cleaning, this vacuum might range from absolutely mortifying to totally awesome. This is a machine that's relatively inexpensive and does an absolutely amazing job sucking up everything in it's path. If you live in a small apartment and only want to keep your abode from looking like a frat house on a Sunday morning or if you're one cat shy of a visit from the authorities, this is probably the best vacuum on the market. The cleaning ability and ease of use is short of stunning. But, if you're a professional neat freak or one gallon of bleach shy of a visit from the authorities, this probably won't cut it.
Why the 3 star review? I have a 3200 square foot home on 3 floors with a mix of hardwood, tile and carpet. This vacuum does a great job on the carpet, and for that, I have no complaints. The brushes are pretty harsh, however. Even in bare floor mode, they scratch the hardwood floors. I bought a stick vac for my hardwood floors. They're so harsh, in fact, that the vacuum will damage the insulation on the cord if you run over it with the vacuum. After about a month of use, my cord had to be covered in electrical tape. Lesson learned. Even though this is advertised as lightweight, I find it heavy. I'm no wimp, and two flights of stairs is downright exhausting.
The power head is big, and doesn't maneuver well in tight spaces. You can get into tight spaces with the hand held attachments and the detachable hose. The hose is very springy, however, and will pull the vacuum on to you. It hurts. Monday morning after cleaning I look like I lost a mixed martial arts match.
The mini power head, although very effective, is really loud. It's powered off the suction in the vacuum - which honestly is powerful enough to launch a space shuttle. My kids don't like it when I use it, which has its benefits as a medieval sound torture device. It's also great at sucking up area rugs and associated fringe, so if you have one you don't like, this will take care of it pronto. You can't get under baseboard heaters unless you're on your hands and knees which is a big negative in my house. I think there's a dust bunny under one in the living room the size of a jackrabbit. If you have a cat, I'd caution against vacuuming up the kitty litter with thing unless you hate yourself or like the torture - it shoots it everywhere and it hurts.
The canister is very easy to dump out and the filters are easy to clean and change. Because the suction is so massive, filters need to be washed or changed with some frequency. Also, don't forget to put the sponge filter on the top back into the vacuum when it's dry because you'll probably burn out the motor if you don't.
This was my first upright vacuum since my brief stint as a chamber maid in high school. Attention vacuum cleaner engineers: I don't want to have a carpet vac, a stick vac, a swiffer and a wet mop. It makes cleaning too complicated. As such, I still prefer canisters, although I'd be willing to give a Dyson a try when I win the lottery. Or maybe I'll just hire help. Until then, I'll keep this thing going until it croaks.
