VAX UCUESHV1

Author: Lyn

Rating: 5

Review: needed a new cleaner was recommended this one by my granddaughter it has proved to be an excellent buy, it's suction is outstanding, it is a bit heavy for me to carry upstairs but I am happy to struggle with it as it out performs the lightweight vax I have. Down side was having to buy a set of tools for it upside is the tools I have from previous models fit so have 1 for all jobs now so it's a "win-win" over all

Author: Foxtrot Oscar

Rating: 2

Review: Bought this to replace an old Dyson cylinder vacuum I'd had for over 10 years. Wish I hadn't bothered. While it is definitely lightweight and has some nice features, overall I was very disappointed with it. First of all - cleaning power. Using it "normally" the main cleaning head fails to pick up at the edges and I almost always have to resort to using the tools, to clean along skirting boards, edges of furniture etc. The laughably named "floor selector" is just a cheap and rather wobbly plastic slider, which seems to affect the level of suction. I've seen proper floor selectors on much older (and cheaper) vacuums. Close all or most of the holes and the vacuum becomes almost impossible to move and tries to pull the carpet up. Leave most of them open and it moves much more easily, but struggles to pick up anything. Even setting it about halfway, I still find I often have to switch to tools, or even pick more stubborn bits off the carpet by hand. Second - the cord. Is it asking too much to have a retractable cord? My much older (and cheaper) Dyson had one, with a foot operated switch. I'd forgotten what a pain in the backside trailing cables can be. Third - tool storage. This is more of a minor niggle, but it doesn't even have room to store all the tools. You can only fit the narrow brush tool on the side of the machine. I have to keep the wider (stair cleaner?) tool in a kitchen drawer. Poor design there. Fourth - stair cleaning. This is far and away my biggest issue with this vacuum. Even though it has a removable cylinder, cleaning stairs, or other hard-to-reach places is still a pain. The main reason being the hose which has far too little "give" when stretch and immediately tries to pull the cylinder over. If the cylinder is still attached to the main unit, it will still pull the entire thing over if you pull even slightly. The position of the hose is ridiculous too, given that "tool mode" is by necessity a 2-handed job. No matter how I try to hold the cylinder in one hand, while I clean with the other, the hose always seems to have a 90-degree kink in it, which limits airflow and hence suction. Again, poor design. So while this vacuum does have some nice features - the removable cylinder and handle, hose connections etc. There are far too many annoying and downright poor design elements for it to be worth the price. Also the tools / attachments seem very cheaply made. The red fabric strip on the wide stair tool rubbed off after just a couple of months' use. I'll be replacing this with a cordless Dyson as soon as I can. Only a bit more expensive but undoubtedly less hassle.