This sucks (Electrolux Powerplus Z4411)

Member Name: Joker25

Product:	Electrolux Powerplus Z4411
Date:	15/08/09 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonably good all round vacuum cleaner

Disadvantages: Few extra attachments. No turbo brush

Man alive, that's a painfully obvious title, isn't it? Normally I'd be arsed to come up with something better (or I'd at least go to the trouble of plagiarising someone else's) but I've been out all day, I haven't had my tea yet and I already had the review written, so it'll have to do.

Anyway. Vacuum cleaners. Not a household item that I generally take much interest in, but there does come a point when you sincerely begin to wonder whether the mounds of dust and dog hair that regularly blow through the living room in the manner of tumbleweed may have become so big that it's only a matter of time before they achieve sentient thought.

Amazingly, I currently have three vacuum cleaners. To put this is perspective, I live on my own. Well, I have a small dog and quite a few fish but despite repeated encouragement I've yet to come home from work to find the dog busily hoovering the stairs and the fish cooking my dinner. The reason for the excess of vacuum cleaners is that the dog ate the first one (he really, really wasn't keen on doing the hoovering, you see), I bought the second one from Argos because it looked quite cool and promised to deal effectively with pet hair and I acquired the third one because vacuum cleaner number 2 turned out to be rubbish.

I realise that some of you may be properly dirty, or students, so I shall explain the basic functions of the average vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners suck stuff up. Not big stuff, like chairs and tables (although, in a way, it'd be brilliant if they did); little stuff, like dust and bits of fluff. Handy things to have, then.

In all honesty, I'm already a bit bored of talking about vacuum cleaners in a serious and sincere manner. In an attempt to liven things up a bit I shall separate the review into Which? Magazine-style categories, giving marks out of ten for each one.


APPEARANCE: 7/10

For once, it actually looks like the picture. Well, except mine's white (a minor quibble, I grant you, but a quibble nonetheless). It's quite cumbersome, despite being one of those ones you pull along the floor behind you (no doubt there's an actual name for this. People who know/care more about vacuum cleaners than I do will probably not hesitate to inform me what it is). It looks like a vacuum cleaner. What more do you want from me?


EASE OF USE: 7/10

It weighs 4.5kg (although it'll seem like 3 times that when you're trying to lug it out to the car or up and down stairs) and is quite big and awkward, although it does have a 4.5 power cable and an extendable tube thing (again, my ignorance of correct vacuum cleaner terminology lets me down, but you get what I mean). Even so, it's a bugger to clean the stairs with. Case in point: I attempted that very job about an hour ago. I worked from the top down and at the second step from the bottom all 4.5kgs of it came hurtling down the stairs at some speed, walloped me on the back of the legs and caused me to hit the deck, nose first. I gave it a damn good kicking, which placated me somewhat. Once you've mastered pulling the weight of a small donkey behind you and you've learned the hard way that you should do stairs from the bottom up, though, it's pretty straightforward to use.


RELIABILITY: 10/10

Admittedly, I have only used mine about 3 times but it bore the brunt of a damn good kicking without complaint and started again afterwards, so all in all, a sound investment.


STUFF YOU GET WITH IT: 8/10

Sadly, this does not include an apron clad man (or woman, depending on your fancy) to do the hoovering. You do get a little crevice cleaner thing and one of those attachments that you're supposed to use to clean your car with but never do. You also get a cloth dustbag. That's about it, I think. You'll never use any of the attachments, anyway.


PRICE: 10/10

You can get it for £39.99 in Argos. That's pretty reasonable, given all the hours of vacuuming fun you'll have.


AND NOW TO THE GOOD STUFF: WHAT WILL IT SUCK UP? 10/10

I've tested this rigorously on your behalf because these are the kind of details that manufacturers just don't tell you.

Dust & pet hair: gets rid of the whole shebang, even mega big dustballs that have been lurking behind the sofa for ages and are now threatening to engulf the dog.

Small pieces of cardboard/paper: will have a go at anything smaller than the palm of your hand. Anything bigger than that, though, and you'll have to take it all apart to see what got stuck where.

Spiders and Daddy Longlegses (that's a tricky noun to pluralise): Tackles the first easily and the length of the hose is sufficient that you won't worry about a rogue ninja spider crawling back out to murder you as you sleep. Daddy Longlegses are a bit trickier: even though they always seem to be trailing one gimpy leg behind them, they're surprisingly quick off the mark. The trick is to wait for them to take flight and then hoover them to their doom. It's surprisingly good fun, although a little cruel if you're the kind of person who cares about Daddy Longlegses. I don't, though, so that's alright.

A cup of tea: admittedly, this was an accident, but it drained the entire mug and without electrocuting me in the process. I did have to change the bag after that, mind you.

A bag of popcorn: again, an accident, but it made a satisfying 'whomp-whomp-whomp' noise which more than makes up for the loss of snacky comestibles.

Small dog: I tried valiantly but the dog stayed outside the vacuum cleaner.

A pair of pants: again, something of an accident, as they were a really nice pair of pink silk pants, but they're gone now.


I'm aware that I should probably give you some kind of average score as a neat way of rounding this off, but I was never that good at maths, and I still haven't had my tea. It's probably the best vacuum cleaner you can get for forty quid.

If you're looking to hoover up a small dog, though, you'll probably need to invest in a Dyson.

Summary: Middle of the range vacuum cleaner

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