I needed a new vacuum cleaner, I had every intention of purchasing a Dyson. Having owned an earlier version of 'the animal' a few years ago, the only thing that let it down was the degradation of parts such as the hose and brushes which were very expensive to replace. I Hoped they might have improved the Life expectancy with the newer models and was ready to give them another chance. As I perused the various models on offer, I started to consider a cylinder type, maybe it was more suited to my terraced home but then I remembered my dog! Now, allegedly, Akitas only shed twice a year, Nonsense! they shed in various stages, you get about 6-8weeks of very little shedding where they are soft and oh so cuddly then a little hair starts coming out, then a lot, then loads, you can brush until either you or the dog simply cannot take any more but you'll never finish, the heavy shedding slows to moderate and then you have another magical 6-8 weeks before the process begins again. It's like groundhog day! the hair is supersoft and fine and comes mostly from the dogs undercoat. You've really got to see this stuff to believe it. Ultimately my animal killed 'the animal' it would have no problems seeing off a cylinder vacuum i was sure. I'd cut corners when I replaced that vacuum, purchasing a much cheaper vax model for about 60 quid from netto, that too could only manage a couple of years and 3 replacement belts before i decided to put it to pasture. No, I wanted upright but now that I was staring them in the face, I just couldn't trust the Dyson, It just didn't feel right, I'd been burned once, I didn't want to go back there again. Then I saw her! Like Boudicca herself. defiantly standing on her own display stand surrounded by her Dyson enemy. In her shadow stood a display board claiming 'the most powerful multicyclonic vacuum cleaner'. But it was 'Vax', We've already killed one of those, it took less time than it did to put the Dyson in it's grave, that would be even more stupid. This one does have a 6 year guarantee tho'... No, I can't buy that out of principal, once bitten and all that, having said that, it was a little unfair, that was a cheap Vax, not 'the most powerful...' Aaaaaahhh, it's only a bleedin' vacuum cleaner, how sad of me to waste so much time on this, you've been here half an hour now, I think the staff are thinking your some sort of Hoover pervert! Make a decision!
Not one to rush into these things I got the old phone out and hammered around a few sites to find out what the downlow was on the vax, what price can I get it for, compared it against the competition blah blah blah...
So, I bought it then, but you knew that. Why on earth would I post a review about something I hadn't purchased. I like it, but you knew that too. Why on earth would I give 4 stars to something I didn't like?
The adjustability, suction, tools, length of chord, ease of use (including emptying and cleaning of filters) are all high point scorers for me. I have mostly hard floors but a large rug and a large wool carpeted room plus stairs and a combination of normal upright usage and wand/pet tool usage work an absolute wonder. brilliant cleaning. The dog is in a low shedding phase at the moment but I still managed to fill the dust collector on this after a full house vaccing. I also found it very smooth to push around.
The only reason anyone should have for not buying this, apart from not needing a new vacuum cleaner is if they cannot live with the flaws. I can live with these but obviously I would have given 5 stars had they not existed in the first place. These flaws include: Poor cable tidy, not big enough to actually keep all the cable in place, the clip in the cable comes undone which doesn't help this issue. Incredible heat produced, I have decided to make this a plus point. If the house feels a bit chilly, do the vaccing! you get warmed up from the excercise and you also heat up every room as you clean, it's literally like pushing a fan heater around for a bit! bonus in winter, not looking forward to next summer, mind you, what am I saying, it's England, what summer! My final flaw is that it is quite stiff to pop in and out of upright/reclined position. Not a problem for me but someone of a more sleight build than myself may find it more of an issue. Some people may also find this item a bit weighty.
I haven't had the troubles others have with tools falling off and I've not had the thing long enough to know how it will last build quality wise but that 6 year guarantee gives me plenty of faith.
Overall a really good product but has some issues that may put some people off.
