Hoover Bagless Upright Vacuum – Hoover Air Cordless Lift

I don’t know what it is about my family, but we seem to have no luck with vacuum cleaners. It’s like our home is some otherworldly vortex – vacuum cleaners enter shiny and new but they exit with their cords severed, canisters clogged, hoses crimped, and their drive motor thingies burnt out. We’ve even sent one tumbling down the stairs. Yes, we are vacuum killers.

So, I have learned not to spend a lot of money on shiny, new vacuums loaded with all the bells and whistles. I don’t care if it gives my husband a massage and cooks me dinner; I just want it to be cheap, easy to wrangle, and suck like an old-time Hoover.

As soon as I saw this vacuum was cordless, my skepticism increased. I thought, “Is this just a Dustbuster on a stick?”

No, it is not. This is the best, most exciting, sexy vacuum I have bought in twenty three years of being a Domestic Goddess.

The pros:
* This canister is super light.
* The portability makes it easy to carry up and down stairs.
* The extended tube allows for easy cleaning of ceiling fan blades.
* The machine is relatively quiet.
* The Power Boost really works, giving a noticeable boost of power.
* The battery lasts a long time.
* It’s easy to maneuver around furniture with the swiveling head.
* It came pre-assembled. I removed it from the box, stuck the battery in the easy-to-load front slot, and started vacuuming.
* The clever folks at Hoover include TWO batteries, so there’s never a worry of running out of juice half way through a clean job.
* The canister/collection chamber is easy to remove, empty, and reattach.

The cons:
* I have found I need to leave the brush roller on in order to do my wood floors. If I turn the roller off, the dusty and debris shoots across the floor or remains behind.
* Shaggy carpet fuzz really clogs in the hoses. After vacuuming three large rooms, I did need to unclog the hose.

The cons are minor, really.

This is the best vacuum I have ever owned, so I am guarding it with my life! I’m not losing another machine. Not on my watch.

*** BONUS: WE’VE HAD IT IN OUR HOME for two weeks and we haven’t killed it yet.
****UPDATE Okay, I still think this is a fun little vacuum, but it has one EXTREMELY vexing issue: the short, bottom hose that goes from base to the canister clogs like CRAZY. I vacuumed the entire house yesterday and then had to spend 60 minutes taking the machine apart and jamming makeshift tools up the hose to dislodge the compacted carpet fuzz. The problem is the curve on that short hose is too great and things get stuck. I tried unscrewing the hose off but it would not come. WHY HOOVER, why would you make a hose that doesn’t easily remove?

Cordless vacuums induce eye-rolling facial expressions from me. From the first Dustbuster, every attempt at wireless vacuum solutions result in low-powered solutions good for cleaning up “Cheerio messes” but little else.

So I was a little skeptical about Hoover’s vacuum. However, that skepticism moved aside for an extremely healthy level of respect. The vacuum comes with 2 lithium-ion batteries and a supplied charger. The batteries were partially charged upon arrival, so charging only took about 2 hours. Once attached to the front of the vacuum–with ease I might add–I turned it on and went to work throughout our house.

Our house has a 30-amp central vacuum system which has served us well in 10 years. However, this little vacuum managed to hold its own and managed to pick up a great deal of cat hair that was apparently still in our carpet (we vacuumed about 4 days ago). And that’s WITHOUT the “Boost” mode turned on. Turning on “Boost”, the vacuum will ramp up even higher in power (at the cost of battery consumption) and work very hard.

In addition to the energy-conscious “boost” mode, you can even elect to turn the brushes on/off. So cleaning up the “Cheerio messes” can still be accomplished with low power, or you can choose to activate boost and/or brushes independently to get maximum cleaning power.

The vacuum is extremely maneuverable and glides around corners with ease…yes, this vacuum pivots left/right in a circular fashion. Also, the filters are rinse-washable which they recommend doing every 4-6 uses. My suggestion would be 4 uses if you own pets…the good news is that it comes with a 2nd filter so you can still “get up and go” if you find that you need to wash the filter at short notice. It also has a fairly powerful LED light in front that illuminates your path with extremely good energy efficiency.

The bagless compartment detaches/reattaches with extreme ease and emptying it into a garbage can is also extremely easy. It’s easy to observe how full it is, not to mention the added satisfaction of seeing it actually do its work.

The vacuum comes with two attachments which leads to my first disappointment. When I was a kid in the 80s, most vacuums that I remember had a space for every attachment. This one has a support for the smaller suction attachment, but there is no real estate for the bigger one. What’s more maddening still is that the 2nd filter needs to be stored separately as well. With as much clutter as we have in our closet, having to keep track of 2 additional loose items is another groan-inducing moment for our household. Suggestion – add an additional bracket and a semi-circular bracket to store both items!

Apart from that detriment, it’s an extremely good vacuum cleaner.

We have tested it on both linoleum floors and carpeted floors…it feels like it’s meant for both and works extremely well. If the attachments/loose items are not an issue for you, this is a recommended buy.

While I had hoped for good performance, I was surprised at how well this cordless vacuum works for my people/dogs/cat/desert-dust household.

When I first took it out of the box, it felt almost like a toy compared to my heavy, corded Dyson. However, it didn’t take long to convince me how much I love this vacuum.

The head is smaller than my corded vacuum, which means more swipes to cover the same territory, but also means it gets into places my bigger one can’t. Not having to trip over the cord, hold the cord so I don’t run over it, unplug and replug is a definite advantage, but only if the convenience of cordless is not overshadowed by a short lasting battery.

I am able to vacuum about 2000 sq ft on one charge. The battery still isn’t dead when I put it away, but is down to one of three bars, easy to see while using it. And because there are two batteries, it is easy to switch from one to the other if you have larger areas to clean. The used battery doesn’t take very long to recharge. The vacuum also comes with two washable filters so you can switch to the second one if the first one is still drying after a wash.

My house is mostly tile with large area rugs, and it works great on both.

It is so easy to initially assemble and then to adjust as needed. The stand-alone canister is nice when I am using the hose and attachments. The regular suction isn’t quite powerful enough to get all the pet fur off my microsuede furniture, but it has a power booster that runs down the battery more quickly but really helps with that Velcroed fur. (No, my animals are not especially well trained – why do you ask?)

The button to turn the roller brush off or on is on top of the canister so I don’t even have to bend over to change that. The whole unit is quite light but quality does not seem to have been sacrificed for lightness.

It picks up much more fur and dirt that I expected, and the light on the front helps me see that dirt and fur as I vacuum.

My only complaint is that the canister is not big enough to hold the fur from my admittedly furry house. It needs to be emptied before I complete vacuuming.

This one is so easy to use, so maneuverable, and so efficient that the stick vacuum I purchased is going to the garage, and the Dyson I bought is going to be used much less frequently.