A "Pet Lover" for a pet lover ! (Electrolux Z4701A)

Member Name: Thailui

Product:	Electrolux Z4701A
Date:	08/08/06 (320 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Better than many at double the price

Disadvantages: Needs quite a lot of emptying

A few months ago the vacuum cleaner blew up! That is to say – there was a horrible ‘pop’ and black smoke came out of the top leaving a very nasty burning smell and black marks all round the top.

As luck would have it, the previous day I had been reading about a new vacuum cleaner on the market that I found rather interesting. It was the Electrolux Vitesse “Pet Lover” so we decided that this would be the first one we looked at.

It was a lot easier to find than we had imagined as we found it the same day in Tesco when we were shopping there. For a start I was very impressed by the appearance as it comes in a sparkling white! I’ve never had a white vacuum cleaner before – and this seemed to have everything required, so the decision was made. It was also being sold at £69.97 which seemed a ridiculously low price for this type of machine.

It is a Cyclonic Upright vacuum cleaner and has a 1600W motor. It’s a bagless model and the ‘dust cup’ is made of clear plastic which not only shows how effective the cleaner is but also when it needs to be emptied. There is an indication line for this but this is hardly necessary. The filter, which is housed in the dust cup, can be cleaned when necessary by rinsing with warm water although I should think it would be a while before this is needed and they do tell you not to totally submerge the filter assembly.

The base has a brushroll which turns as it sweeps and raises the pile on the carpets. This is very effective and certainly improves the look of the carpets and helps to clean deep into the pile. The on/off switch is also on the base – in easy reach for your toe! Slightly to the left of this there is also the handle release – for changing the angle or lowering to reach under furniture.

The usual accessories are included: hose, wand, crevice tool and dusting brush. These are all housed on the cleaner so are always to hand. Also there is a ‘mini turbo nozzle’ which is for use on the hose for cleaning stairs, rugs and upholstery and is specially designed for the removal of pet hairs. It is a small air driven tool also with a revolving brush and works in the same way as the base.

In case of the motor overheating the cleaner has a thermal cut off. This apparently can be caused by a clogged hose or filters. The Owner’s Guide gives full instructions as to what the procedure should be. I would like to add that I have used this and was very impressed! The whole cleaner is also very easy to maintain – for the most part just a matter of emptying the dust cup which is very easy to remove and replace. However, full instructions for general maintenance and problems sorting are given in the Owner’s Guide.

I would also like to say that I have been most impressed with the cleaner. I had been hopeful that it would clean well as it was called “Pet Lover” but usually this type of cleaner is a lot more expensive. However, with six cats and a long haired dog in the house, I didn’t want to be without a vacuum cleaner for longer than necessary. When first switched on it certainly seemed to be very powerful even though it only has a 1600W motor. My previous one was 1300W – but I have had more powerful models.

When my niece bought herself a new vacuum cleaner a few weeks previously, she insisted on me trying it out – to show the improved action against mine. I have to say that I was not very impressed – even though it was a very expensive and highly acclaimed model. I found it very heavy to use and my initial comment (NOT to my niece) was that it hadn’t worked any better than the one we had. I must say that this was not my first comment on seeing how much this one picked up; after all we had only been without a cleaner for one day! I am constantly surprised that it picks up so much from carpets that appeared to be clean and this applies to different types of pile too. The main carpet, which has been down for some years now, looks so much better – almost like a new carpet! I am certainly looking at it now, not with thoughts of having to replace it, as I had been a few weeks ago, but thinking how well it looks. I can also confirm that it DOES remove pet hairs.

Would I recommend this model? Without a doubt – I am very impressed that it performs as well (maybe better) as the cleaners that cost three (or more) times as much. I hope this will have been of some help to you – and I thank you for reading.

Summary: Electrolux "Pet Lover" cleans up well

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