Lots of suck and a cheery smile too. (Numatic Henry)

Member Name: moo2moo

Product:	Numatic Henry
Date:	05/11/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent value for money

Disadvantages: Flexi hose isn't long enough to reach to the top of a staircase

Lets face it no one actually likes vacuuming. Its one of those things we have to do and is up there with worming the cat and doing the ironing as a necessary but unavoidable household chore. Theres a seemingly infinite range of vacuum cleaners on the market from the cheap plastic Dirt Devil to the deluxe Dyson with its funky colours and giant yellow ball. At the end of a day I want a vacuum that works and goes on working and if it looks good too that's an added bonus.

Henry ticks all the right boxes. Firstly hes a bright tomato red with a cheerful grin and a happy smiley face that appeals to the child in me. Secondly hes affordably priced at between £85 and £90 from almost any appliance retailer on the high street. Most importantly hes remarkably simple, theres not much to go wrong with him and if it does its usually user replaceable and inexpensive.

At work we run a trio of Henrys, the ones in question are all between three and six months old. They're come into service after their predecessors all burnt out at pretty much the same time after five years of continual service of up to three hours use each a day in a fully carpeted primary school. There are a few differences in design but essentially nothing much has changed.

The Henrys in question are all Eco models with a power boost button in case you need a little extra suction. The on / off switch is chunky and housed on the main body of the vacuum so you can't accidentally turn it off mid use. Theres a large carry handle which folds neatly into the lid when not in use. The cable is housed within Henry and is pulled out to use. It needs manually winding back in via a rotating knob on the lid after use.

Henry isn't perfect, there are a whole heap of niggly little problems. Firstly the cable chafes when winding and eventually the outer sheathing wears through to the inner cables approx 10 centimetres from where the cable enters Henrys body. This happened on all the old ones too. Generally it takes three or so months to occur so in a domestic setting that's more likely to be 18 months - two years of usage. Its recommended that you take it to an electrical repair specialist to re-cable but if you can change a plug it's a simple enough job to do yourself.

The cloth heap-filter bags clog up remarkably quickly with sand and glitter needing changing on average once a week where the paper bags last two to three times as long (in a house again that's more likely to be a month or two). Regardless of the type of bag you buy they are non-reusable and priced at £3-£5 for a pack of five.

Henry doesn't have rotating floor brushes (although you can buy Henry Hound which does) meaning its all down to the user, it is very effective but it doesn't half make your arm muscles ache. The footplate that sweeps the carpet has two positions for carpet and smooth flooring and again these wear out after four to six months industrial usage but can be replaced for £10 from a variety of sources.

As for suction well theres lots of it. Henry will quite happily eat pencils, pens, socks and all manner of small objects so make sure you pick up anything important before you switch him on.

Theres a very long flexi hose that allows you to get three quarters of the way up a staircase and lots of crevice tools which are great for cleaning cars.

I've been so impressed that several months ago I replaced my Bosch with a Henry. At 1200W the motor is considerably smaller but its much more efficient. Its a little inconvenient to store as the hose seems to have a mind of its own where the hose of a traditional upright is more restrained when not in use. In a carpeted home with retrospect I would have opted for Henry Extra with rotating brushes but as the majority of the house is solid flooring this isn't a major concern.

Summary: Makes a chore a little more fun

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