It weighs a Ton (Hoover H1.PET)

Member Name: RichPrice

Product:	Hoover H1.PET
Date:	10/03/07 (536 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very Efficient

Disadvantages: Weight

I wanted a new vacuum cleaner the old electrolux died and being newly abandoned (she moved out and left me all on my own) I thought that I'd go out and get it'd one dead easy. Now I have to say I am not an expert in vacuum cleaners, if I'm honest I'm not an expert in much really...

Even I knew that the market for vacuums is huge. There are dozens of different types. So I worked out afew essentials, the first was that it had to be an upright, I'm 6'4'' I can't be doing with bending dowen and messing about with cylinder cleaners, the second I wanted one that didn't have bags and was easy to empty, the third it had to have quite a bit of power (I can't be doing with something that wouldn't pick up, fourthly I wanted automatic rewind on the cable (doing it by hand is a pain especially just after you've done the hoovering) and finally it had to be inexpensive ideally under £100).

I paid a visit to one of my favourite outlets, Makro (unfortunately you need a trade card to get in) had a wander round and saw the Hoover The One Pet on special £80 + vat (£94 in total) things were looking promising. It was an upright, no bags, was quiet tall, had hepa filtration (not something I'd looked for originally but it was a useful extra as I suffer from hayfever), auto rewind, quite a powerful motor, exactly whay I wanted. My new friend and I came home that very afternoon.

It came in a fair size box with the usual mounds of packing, polystyrene galore. One I unrapped it i sat down to read the instructions. I have to say the Instruction booklet is really well written. It is easy to understand and to follow. This was looking like a real result. I am not technically minded, give me a screwdriver and I'm lethal, but it was a doddle to put together. Almost anyone could assemble it. You basically stand it up, push the handle into the top of the cleaner until it clicks, click in the dust container and then loop the hose into some slots on the back. I have to say that I personally like how the cleaner looks (it wasn't a consideration when I bought it) but it looks far more expensive than it was and the silver colour is quite tasteful)

It came with two tools, a pet hair remover (don't have a pet any more she took him with her when she left) so i've never actually used it. It basically seems to be a miniature hoover brush and a dusting brush. The two tools clip onto the body of the cleaner. That is they are supposed to, with use I've noticed that they invariably end up falling off when I'm actually hoovering. So they now live on a shelf in the halway so they are there if I need them.

It has a hose (the infinity hose...I'm saying nothing) that reaches to over 7m, it's actually really useful for using the dusting brush to brush the ceiling, and anywhere the main hoover can't reach. it's also used for cleaning stairs. There is a section on cleaning stairs in the booklet, appartently the hoover has an anti tip design. I live in a bungalow, no stairs, so I can't really comment. The auto rewind for the cable is a foot pedal and works, it is actually really fast.

Well I got my new hoover set up and ready to go. I plugged in and switched on. Switching on was easy, the button is in a really obvious place. Its' quite a loud machine although no louder than the average Dyson, the suction ability is impressive. It really cleans up. I have discovered one or two little flaws however.

The first is it weighs a ton, I've just weighed it, a stone and three quarters. That said it is manoeuvrable and I don't have any problem using it. Although I wonder how someoone smaller than me, or elderly or disabled would cope. I think they would really struggle.

The second flaw is the size of the dust container. i don't think its' big enough. I live on my own and only hoover up a couple of times a week, I end up emptying it once a fortnight. The dust container itself is really easy to empty, although the opening mechanism was a bit stiff at first but eased off with use. If I had a family it'd be at least once a week. The reason that's important is that there are a number oif filters on the hoover three of which should be cleaned every fifth time the dust container is emptied. That said I've had the hoover for about 6 months and only cleaned the filters twice. Actually cleaning the filters is a really easy job and takes under 5 minutes, you basically wash one rinse another and brush the third. Really easy and explained by the instructions.

In summary I've found it a good and useful vacuum cleaner. It has impressive suction ability and does everything (and more) I wanted when I first bought it. There are negatives which don't particularly affect me although they could affect other people. Overall my view is that it is a good quality, substantial, nice looking piece of household equipment. I would recommend it, subject to weight not being an issue.

the list price is in the region of £299, I paid a lot less than that, it's available online for around £150

Summary: A Very Effective and Good value Vacuum cleaner

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