A great little cleaner for the price (Electrolux Powerplus Z4411)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Electrolux Powerplus Z4411
Date:	22/06/08 (172 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It works well, its cheap, the bags aren't too dear

Disadvantages: Not very robust

When hubby was working in Scotland on an extended contract he rented a flat up there and the vacuum cleaner provided was worse than useless so we decided that he should buy a cheap but decent one for the duration and then bring it home with him at the end of the contract.

As it happens it has worked our well because we are currently living in our cottage on the Great Orme in Llandudno but have yet to sell our house down on the West Shore.

Clearly we need a vacuum cleaner at each address - the one up here needs to keep the place clean and, since Mew, the cat, has adopted us this one really needs to be the Miele Cat and Dog TT 5000 that I did an opinion about last year. We also need a vacuum at the empty house so that I can give it the once over whenever anyone decides to come and view the place.

SO WHICH ONE DID HE GO FOR?

He wanted a cylinder vacuum cleaner and after a bit of research on the Internet he decided to go for the Electrolux Powerplus Z4411.

HOW MUCH DID IT COST?

I am afraid that I can't remember how much we paid for it when Dave bought it but it currently retails at £37.99 so it is a t the budget end of the market.

SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

It is a compact cylinder model in Sky Blue with a hose and two plastic extension tubes. The Hose fits into the top of the cylinder at the front and the fitting will rotate though 360 degrees which is very useful when cleaning.

The cleaner itself moves around by means of two wheels - one either side at the back end of the machine - and a ball set at the front of the machine making it easy to change direction when cleaning. The wheels and the ball are set underneath the cylinder - obviously!

It has an onboard container set in the lid which houses the combination crevice nozzle/brush and upholstery nozzle.

There are two foot switches, one of which is the on / off switch and the other is the mains cable rewind to save you having to bend down and wind the cable manually. There is also a release button to open the cleaner for the changing of the dust bag.

There is also a dustbag change indicator light and the dustbag needs changing when this is fully illuminated.

When you stand the cleaner on its end there is a parking slot on the bottom of the cleaner which corresponds with a fitting on the main brush. This means that the cleaner can be stored with the cleaning tubes parked in the base of the cleaner so it is a bit tidier.

It also has a carrying handle so that it can be carried easily a bit like a suitcase. It is quite light although I can't find a note in the instruction leaflet as to the actual weight but it is certainly a lot lighter than the Miele.

WHAT DO YOU GET WITH THE CLEANER?

As I said before there is are two plastic telescopic tubes complete with a standard floorhead, a combination crevice nozzle/brush and an upholstery nozzle. The machine also comes with a couple of spare dust bags.

You also get a full set of easy to follow instructions. These are in English. You may think that this is a funny comment to make but it does annoy me when you have to plough through a huge book of instructions to find the few pages in the relevant language. It makes so much more sense to just supply the instructions in the language pertaining to the country of sale.

SO HOW TO WE GET STARTED THEN?

First you will need to insert the dustbag. This bag is simplicity itself - following the instructions in the booklet you just have to open the lid of the cleaner, take the dust bag which has a cardboard holder, and push it straight down into the plastic tracks. You then close the lid and you are almost ready to go.

Incidentally when the dust bag is full a warning light will show on the cleaner and you will then remove the bag in the same way and replace it with a new one. The dust bag must then be replaced - it cannot be emptied and reused.

By the way the cost of a box of 5 bags currently costs about £3.50 on EBay including postage.

Each bag has a large volume of 4 litres so they don't need changing too often.

The only other thing that you need to do is to insert the hose in the hole on the front of the cylinder and push until the catch clicks in place.

You then insert one or both of the plastic hoses on the end of the tube and a brush or nozzle on the other end and away you go.


THE VACUUM CLEANER ITSELF

I find the whole thing very easy to use and not too noisy either. The telescopic tube has a hole in it with a sliding cover so that the amount of suction can be changed.

It is also a real bonus having the tools on board as I for one couldn't be bothered to go and find them out of the cupboard if I was in the middle of cleaning and would probably use the wrong brush and not get the best results.

As I said earlier I find the cleaner quite light and vacuuming down the stairs is a breeze. I suffer with my back from time to time and find that carrying an upright cleaner upstairs means holding it at an awkward angle whereas this vacuum is carried more like a suitcase and makes it much less of a strain on my back.

When I have finished cleaning I just put my foot on the button at the back of the vacuum and the cord winds itself away - again saving my back!

THE TOOLS

This bit is pretty obvious really as this vacuum is a standard, budget job so there aren't any fancy bits and pieces. The main brush is the standard floorhead and is used for carpets and floors (not unsurprisingly!) The crevice nozzle and brush is used for getting into awkward corners, crevices or folds. The upholstery brush is used for cleaning upholstered furniture.

I told you it would be obvious!

HOW EFFICIENT IS IT?

Well this is the most important bit isn't it? Does it do the job? The answer is yes.

I have used it in the cottage mainly for cleaning round our new log burner. I just use one of the plastic tubes with no attachment on the end and it gets all the bits of ash etc out of the crevices in the burner as easy as anything.

I also use it in the room where the cat has his litter tray to just pick up the odd bits of the white litter that get scattered on the floor - again dead easy.

I did use it to give the whole cottage a good clean but found that the suction on some of the carpets left a bit to be desired and it was hard work to get them clean.

Now we have Mew we will swap the vacuums as soon as possible so that the Miele is up here as the Electrolux just won't pick up all the cat hairs.

SAFETY STUFF

This vacuum cleaner is only for use on dry floors. Do not try and clean up any spills with it.

Do not use to vacuum sharp objects, hot cinders or lit cigarette butts. Would anyone be that daft?

Remember to unplug the cleaner before you change the nozzles, the dust bag or do any other maintenance.

Do not vacuum up fine plaster dust.

THE INSTRUCTION BOOK

The writing in the instruction book is all in English as I have mentioned earlier but it is TINY! I have to wear my spectacles and use a magnifying glass to read it.

It gives the following information:
Accessories and safety
Before starting
Getting the best results
Replacing the dustbag
Cleaning the motor filter
Cleaning the micro exhaust filter
Cleaning the hose and nozzle
Troubleshooting
Electrical supply instruction
Warning instruction
Guarantee

I haven't gone into the cleaning of all the bits and pieces in this review as I thought the performance of the cleaner was the most important thing and anyway you'd probably loose the will to live! LOL!


IN CONCLUSION

I am impressed with this cleaner for what it is - a basic cylinder cleaner. It has done what I have asked of it although sometimes with more effort on my part than I would have liked.

The whole thing is not as robust as other cleaners I have used and I would not expect it to last for years but having said that it is a good little cleaner for the price.

This has also been posted on Ciao.

Summary: You get what you pay for

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Cleaning/Maintenance: