The Sucking Machine (Numatic George)

Member Name: lamorna

Product:	Numatic George
Date:	20/07/00 (3084 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Three in one

Disadvantages: Haven't found one in twenty two years of use.

My Numatic vacuum cleaner, George, is twenty-two years old, and has needed one new hose costing me under ten pounds, after all these years of regular use, both domestically and commercially. That alone is a tribute to the quality and dependability of its sturdiness and design. Even more so as Numatic International Limited is a British company based in Chard, Somerset, exporting worldwide, though it can hardly be called a household name outside the West Country area, with other preferred well-known brands being the first choice for most people Nationwide.

I am now the proud owner of a brand new Numatic George ‘Wet ‘n’ Dry’ vacuum cleaner, carpet and upholstery shampooer, and most importantly for me at the moment, a wet suction power machine or ‘The Sucking Machine’ as we’ve now christened George. Six weeks ago my personal nightmare began:

My cottage is seven hundred years old, with three feet thick Dorset stonewalls. The land adjacent to my outside wall has been banked up over the years to a height of ten feet, and been built on. We’ve had rain before, but apparently never like this, as we awoke one morning in October to find the entire downstairs, thickly carpeted living area sopping, squelching and sodden from wall to wall. A rapid telephone call to the local hire centre gave us the use of the Numatic Wet ‘n’ Dry for 24 hours, at the life saving price of ten pounds. George did the job admirably with the carpets dried out, and we returned the machine with gratitude, but one week later we were back after the next heavy deluge and subsequent soaking.

In all we’ve hired it six times at a total cost of £60.00, but the storms of the weekend ending 9th. December left us still wet through after a constant 24-hour battle, taking it in shifts, against the seepage from the saturated earth banked up against the outside wall and having to find somewhere to go, into my living room
. I returned the hired machine and came home with my brand new CT-370 CVE-370 Numatic George Wet ‘n’ Dry for £199.99.

Assembling George was comparatively easy as Numatic International have provided three instruction sheets using only illustrations to avoid the written directions that often lead to confusion, and bearing the World Market in view. We of course only needed the ‘Sucking’ choice.

George slides easy around the floor on easy moving castors. An inner bucket with a filter to prevent blockage has a handle for trouble-free emptying. The two different shaped, strong, clear reinforced plastic nozzles, one for upholstery the other for floors, show the amount of water being drawn up, in my case, rather alarming, but if shampooing in the normal way, an indication as to how dry the carpet or soft furnishings are. Two switches on the side of the large red cylinder are covered with heavy-duty protective casing for safety. One switch is for drawing up as in vacuuming, or drying the carpet after shampooing, and the other for discharging the shampoo with a good-sized sponge head, one edge foamed for application, and the reverse for drawing the foam into the internal bucket. When the bucket is full, the George gives a warning sound telling you to empty it. I know this sound well!

The new version of the George is far lighter than my twenty two year old model. He is still bright red with a silly face drawn on him, smiling, and over the last few weeks I’ve just wanted to wipe the silly grin off his face with a good kicking, but that’s to be understood. George the vacuum cleaner, needs bags, which are clean and simple to attach and empty without mess escaping, and are available in main electrical suppliers.

George Mark 1 is upstairs to be used on the top two floors, and as soon as I can vacuum again, George Mark 11 will be kept downstairs.

This machine has saved my sanity over the last few weeks
. It’s well made, reasonably priced, quite light weight, has strong attachments and is a very powerful vacuum, carpet shampooer and for us, mopper-upper.

Numatic International Limited:
Chard. Somerset. TA20 2GB
(01460) 1460 68600

Summary: