This Vacuum Sucks (In a Good Way)! (Henry HVR200)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Henry HVR200
Date:	23/05/09 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything

Disadvantages: The bags are a little tricky to replace

Hetty/Henry Vacuum Cleaner:

I have had loads of little cheap vacuum cleaners; you know the ones, about £30 from some cheap shop. They only last a few months before they start to seriously loose suction and they completely fail to pick up hair be it my hair or the cats! I decided to buy a decent hoover, really invest in something that would last me and make the job I hate most less stress and effort.

I had a look round, the Dyson vacuums were all eye-catching but I had used several before and I didn't like them, they always seemed to break down too. I had, had a second hand Vax in the past too but I found it heavy and awkward so I finally settled on a Henry, (well I got the pink one which is called Hetty but it's exactly the same apart from the colour).

My main reasons for choosing a Henry were the fact that they have been around as long as I can remember and have been more or less the same design, (it must work then), and they were only £100 which is about half the price of a decent Dyson. When I saw the pink one as well I was sold! It turned out to be the best £100 I have ever spent!

I also like the fact that Henrys are British made, they are in fact made in Chard in Somerset, (near Cricket St Thomas safari park), which isn't far from where I live. I think now more than ever it is good to support British companies as we really need the jobs!

I hunted around trying to find the best deal and John Lewis were the cheapest but only by a few pence and they didn't have the pink one so I ended up paying a straight £100 which was fine with me. I got a three year warranty as standard as well so I was happy that this would work out cheaper in the long run than all those £30 pieces of rubbish I had been throwing money away on. Now if you hunt around you can get a Henry/Hetty for as little as £75 which in my mind is an absolute bargain.

When the hoover arrived I was amazed at the size of the box, it was seriously huge but it was mainly polystyrene inside! I had thought my hoover was going to be enormous! I recently got my brother a Henry because he is setting up his first home with his fiancé and his box was much smaller and had no polystyrene inside.

I whipped her out immediately, (how sad, being excited by a vacuum cleaner), and noticed the five bags that came included. Lifting the vacuum out I noticed that she wasn't too heavy, (it is 6.6kg), obviously she is heavier than the little cheapies I had been using but not too heavy for me to lift about.

I plugged the vacuum in, in the hallway and the amazingly long 10m cable lets me hoover the whole flat, (2 bedrooms, not tiny), without having to re-plug at any stage. The hose is massive too, over 2.5m long, which really lets you vacuum with ease. There are two settings as well, a "lo" setting for hard floors, lino etc and a "hi" setting for carpets etc. I normally use the hi setting to get up all the cat fur.

Suction wise this little gal rocks! It almost lifts my carpet up when I hoover and she has no trouble picking up hair, fur or anything else for that matter. I am always impressed by how clean my carpets look after hovering, nothing like they were with those cheap vacuums. She picks up all the dust from the top of the skirting boards too which is a blessing.

For those of you that want to know Hetty/Henry has a 1200w motor but she is nice and quiet. I can still hear the TV when I am hovering as well as the door bell and somebody talking in the same room.

The bags are a bit tricky to fit; you have to slide a little rubbery bit that is attached to the top of the bag to a tube inside the Hetty. It sometimes takes a while to get it on right and I once ripped a bag in the process. To be honest this is a little niggle but nothing worth marking the vacuum down for as I don't have to change the bags that often.

The bags cost around £5-£6 online for a 10 pack which will last ages so they aren't a major expense. You can also buy a re-usable bag, (made of fabric that you simply empty out), for £21.99 from www.espares.co.uk, (they have lots of spares for the whole range of vacuums), which is better for the environment and will work out cheaper in the long run. The bags use a double wall design which apparently acts as a filter to keep the dust in the bag rather than blowing round the house like some vacuums do.

You get a basic tool kit with the vacuum including a crevice tool, (hehe), an upholstery brush etc. I never use any of these, I just use the main head either with the brush up for carpets or down for hard floors/picking up hair or the bare hose for the nooks and crannies.

Design wise I love my Hetty; she is a beautiful pink colour with big eyes, long eyelashes and a big smiling mouth! Her hose is her nose so to speak and instead of legs she has four little casters which actually, (despite what Mr Dyson might think), makes her a doddle to manoeuvre about my flat.

One of her best features is the handy cable winder in the top of her; it is just a simple winder so you don't have to press a button while the cable violently whips backs inside taking out your ankles! It is such a simple feature but one that makes a lot of difference!

To keep her clean I just give her a wipe with a damp cloth and a bit of multi-purpose cleaner from time to time. She does actually get less dirty than a lot of vacuums I have had which lend credence to the bags doing their job and keeping the dust inside.

I can't rave about this vacuum enough. It is a great price, has a good length of warranty and has cut the hovering time of my flat form about an hour and a half to fifteen to twenty minutes tops. I would recommend this vacuum to absolutely anybody, I can't think of anyone this wouldn't suit or at least who couldn't find a vacuum in the range that suited them.

I know they do an industrial version and a version that is better for people with pets as well as a wet/dry vacuum and loads of others. It's worth noting too that you can get loads of extras for this vacuum, even tools for grooming horses! I can't actually work out why everyone hasn't got one!

Thanks for reading.

Summary: The best vacuum in the world!

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