Better than it looks (Sebo Automatic X1)

Member Name: mike0910

Product:	Sebo Automatic X1
Date:	02/02/03 (1882 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliable belt, Automatic brush height, Excellent cleaning

Disadvantages: Short hose

Years ago I had an Electrolux upright. It never cleaned the carpets very well, blew fine dust into the air, and needed a new drive belt every year or so, which meant another journey to the spares shop and ten minutes delving into the dusty innards of the cleaner. When I decided to replace the Electrolux, I considered the Dyson DC01, but I was surprised to discover that the highly rated Dyson also used a flat drive belt.

I really wanted to like the Dyson, but the crudeness of the flat belt drive suggested that its engineering wasn't all it should be, and its reliability was suspect. This put it out of the running. I wanted a cleaner that would get my carpets really clean, work without regular maintenance and last a long time.

Luckily, I went into John Lewis and was persuaded to buy a Sebo. The salesman seemed to be on a mission to shift as many X1s as possible, but I can't complain, because it is as good as he claimed. The drive belt is toothed, and is guaranteed for life. The brush height is automatically controlled by a servo which means no bending down to change a manual setting, and the brush height is always just right on every surface.

The dust bag is large and the filtration is excellent. Just after I bought it, I cleaned around the whole house (as you do) and was more than pleased (and a little ashamed) by the amount of dirt it picked up. In fact there was a lot of carpet fluff in the bag, and I was initially concerned that it might be overbrushing the pile. But that was not the case, and the carpets have been well looked after in the subsequent years of Seboing. It was just that, from the time that the carpets were new, the Electrolux hadn't even managed to remove much of the loose pile, let alone the dirt.

Any downsides, you ask? Well, although the cleaner is pretty quiet in use, it does scare the cat. And the hose is so short that it tends to pull the machine over when I use the tools on furn
iture or curtains. It is possible to buy an extension hose (which is a clunky solution), but if you don't have a cylinder cleaner too, it might be best to go for the X4 Extra, which I believe has a longer hose built in.

Then there is the issue of the bag and the famously reduced suction power when it's part full. Sebo bags aren't exactly cheap, but they are very good quality and they last a long time, beause they are rather large. I particulary like the fact that replacement bags come with a little cap to close the hole in the full bag, so no dust can escape as you throw it away. Reduced suction doesn't seem to affect carpet cleaning much, as most of the work is done by the brush. Personally, I prefer a bagged cleaner, because I've seen people get covered in dust trying to empty a Dyson canister...

I've been very pleased with my Sebo X1: it cleans very well indeed and has been totally reliable. I just wish it was a little bit more colourful!

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