So when my Hoover literally snapped in half one day I was left with a bit of a nightmare. At the time I had my dog Jess and being a long haired collie she was pretty much always dropping bits of fluff everywhere no matter how much she was brushed and so I needed a replacement vacuum cleaner quite quickly. I didn't have any spare cash to go out and buy a replacement so I looked to my Littlewoods catalogue knowing that I could spread the cost a little and that is how I came to purchase the Vax U89-P8-P 2200 watt power 8 upright pet vacuum cleaner. This is my review of the product.

I have had Vax vacuum cleaners in the past and as a rule been pretty pleased with them. I know my Mum recommends the brand as well and so whilst I was more drawn to the likes of Hoover and Dyson when I saw this Vax model in the sale for just £99.99 I decided to give it a go as it had decent reviews on the catalogue itself. The cleaner was delivered to me in just a couple of days thankfully and it came in a large box with a picture of the product and the model name and such like on the front as well. The fact that this is a "pet" vacuum cleaner was made to be quite prominent and understandably so really as they want to be attractive to potential buyers with pets. I have always tended to opt for a "pet" cleaner simply because I find they clog less easily than others not designed to cope with pet hair.

The product was actually delivered during the day when I was at work and so when I finished work at ten pm after a thirteen hour day I decided to build the cleaner like a total numpty! Sadly the fact that I had been without a cleaner for a couple of days was bringing me out in cold sweats and I needed to be able to vacuum the next day! Inside the box the parts for making the cleaner were all packed nice and neatly and there was an instruction booklet as well for you to follow. I found that for the most part the instructions were quite clear but I did have some issues with the hose as it just didn't seem to sit right and looked wrong no matter which way I put it! I was able to rectify this though and I would say the cleaner was put together within around half an hour to forty minutes using minimal tools.

I was impressed with the look of the vacuum cleaner and whilst this isn't paramount to a purchase for me I do like the cleaners to look nice enough. This one is mainly silver and clear plastic with some red as well and so it is simple enough to look at but the colours compliment each other well.

What I liked about this one too was the fact that the cord wrapped around the side of the cleaner and you just needed to twist one of the pieces up or down to release the cord making it easier to start vacuuming when you want to. The cord is ten metres and I find this is a really good length for my needs. I am able to plug the cleaner in to a plug in the kitchen and go right through the hall and in to the lounge without having to change sockets. The same goes for when I am cleaning upstairs and it just makes life easier not having to keep on changing sockets.

There are three settings on the cleaner and these are short carpet, high carpet and hard floors meaning that you can adjust the suction according to where you are cleaning. I tend to leave it on the same setting all of the time which is the setting that provides me the most suction and there is a reason behind this.....this vacuum cleaner just seems to lose suction all too often. As I clean a room sometimes I will notice that bits drop out of the bottom of the cleaner as I am going along and it is so frustrating to think that you have covered a room and then turn round to find bits on the floor still. This occurs whether I have emptied the bin or not and whilst it doesn't happen all of the time it is frustrating.

The hose section on the cleaner is 3.2 metres long and a good length really. There are extension pipes for use as well as a turbo brush as well which would be ideal for cleaning the stairs. I say would be because when using the hose there is just very little suction at all and it is most disappointing. Picking up crumbs can be impossible with the hose and it is ridiculous in my opinion.

Emptying the bin is really easy to do and you simply press a button to remove the canister and then twist off the lid to pour the rubbish out of it. What is frustrating is that for a pet vacuum cleaner this one didn't seem to cope all that well with pet hair! Whilst I don't have a dog anymore when I did I would find that when I removed the canister to empty it there would be literally masses of dog hair blocking the top of the canister as it just wasn't being sucked through the system properly. This would often take up to twenty minutes just dragging it all out with a knitting needle and wasn't something I anticipated having to do given I haven't had this issue with other pet vacuum cleaners I have had in the past. The canister is a good size and you really shouldn't need to clean it out after each time you clean with it but the lack of suction may make you want to do so.

In terms of pushing the vacuum around and carrying it is easy enough. It weighs just 7.9kg and so isn't too much of a problem to get up and down the stairs and it has a good sized carry handle for ease of holding too. I did have to contact Vax though as when I was pushing the cleaner round one day the end of the handle just snapped off and I will say it did feel quite flimsy from the off. They sent me a brand new handle free of charge of course but it was just another issue with this machine to add to a long list really.


For general use this vacuum cleaner is ok. It is pretty noisy but then I'd expect that from a model with a 2200 watt power. I have to say I think I will be contacting Vax again about this product because the lack of suction is absolutely appalling and makes the product seem no better than one of those hand held car vacuums at points! It is a shame because this has the potential to be a really nice cleaner but I simply can't recommend it because it isn't good enough in my opinion.

Thank you for reading my review!