Ideal for pet owners (Vax V006)

Member Name: tipples

Product:	Vax V006
Date:	18/10/08 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful

Disadvantages: On the heavy side

I've had this 1700W Vax model now for 18 months, it was a replacement for a Hoover Dust Manager (which itself had been a replacement for a Morphy Richards model).

I originally bought the Morphy Richards one in 2005, and took out the 3 year product replacement cover with Currys. It broke after a year, as did it's successor, the Hoover Dust Manager. On both these models it was the upright release pedal that failed and I think on the Hoover one there was an electrical fault too.

My 3 year product replacement insurance period is now over, but I am confident my Vax has a lot of life left in it.

I will admit right now, the Vax is heavier than both of it's predecessors, but less powerful than the Hoover (which was 1800W). It is definitely a good way to keep healthy, pushing it round the house! I don't have stairs, as I live in a bungalow, so I can't comment on how easy it is to carry up stairs.

I now have laminate floor throughout my house, but I used to have carpets in the bedrooms so I have used it on a variety of floor types/carpet depths.

As soon as I brought the Vax home, I put it through it's paces by trying it out on our bedroom carpet (a medium pile). I was amazed by the amount of dust & hair it picked up. (We have a little dog who moults enough for 3 large ones!)

It has an easy to use dial on the head, to alter the brush height. I only use it on bare floor mode now, due to having got rid of the carpets.

It comes with an upholstery brush - this is great for vacuuming sofas, the dog bed, and curtains & blinds. I even use it to vacuum down the window sills, and to get those stray cobwebs down rather than getting the feather duster out.

If you need a more powerful brush, there is the the Turbo brush attachment. You are advised to switch off the machine before attaching it to the hose, as it does rotate really fast! It consists of a clear brush head style casing, with a rotating brush bar inside (rather like a mini version of what is in the head of the actual vacuum cleaner). I only really use this for the dog bed now, as the sofas we have now are leather, but it was great for use on our fabric sofa.

For hard to reach places, it has a tapered crevice nozzle and an extension tube, which when used together provide about an extra 2.5 feet of reach. The crevice nozzle is great for getting under and behind appliances and furnishings.

The cord is really quite long (9.2m with 12m max reach), the longest out of the three vacuum cleaners I've mentioned. I can plug it in in the kitchen, and hoover the kitchen, dining room & half the living room before having to unplug it and change sockets. The cord enters the body of the machine at quite a low level, so it can get caught under the brush head if you're not careful. There is a little clip for the cord on the handle, but I personally struggle to get it to stay in there, so I tend to just hold the cord either with my free hand, or in the one holding the handle.

It is a cyclonic bagless cleaner, so has a dust canister (4.2 litre capacity) with a cone shaped HEPA filter inside. It is easy to remove, to empty and to refit. The filter does retain dust between the concertina-like folds, but banging it against the inside of the wheelie bin knocks it out, or for a more thorough clean, I recommend just running an old toothbrush down each fold - it doesn't take as long as you think. Emptying the machine regularly prolongs the life of the filters, just be careful not to tip the canister out while the filter is still in there. I have done this a couple of times and ended up almost climbing into the bin to retrieve it. At only 5ft tall, this is not an easy task for me! Vax recommend you change this filter yearly, there is a space to write the date it needs replacing on the top of it (for those of us with a less than perfect memory!).

The brush head has a rubber covering to prevent scuffs on furniture and skirting boards - I haven't noticed any scuffs so it must work!

There is also a headlight, although I don't really see the need for it, as I prefer not to vacuum in the dark!

The castors at the rear of the machine swivel, improving manoevreability, but according to the manual, you aren't supposed to tilt it back on to these to move it from room to room (i.e: when it's switched off). It is advised that you carry it, using the carrying handle on the back of the machine.

Looks-wise, it's okay. Mine is dark blue, not orange as in the picture shown here, which now having seen the orange one, I prefer mine.

Price-wise, I think when I got it, it was about £100, but on offer for £79.99. Compared to other cleaners, that's quite cheap, and in comparison to it's predecessors which were the same price when we got them, it is much better value for money.

In conclusion, it has lasted me longer than any other vacuum cleaner I've owned, it survived cleaning up my house after we had the builders in for three months building an extension, and although it may be heavy, I think that's the price you pay for it being so robust.

Summary: Well built, good value for money

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