- Exclusive WindTunnel 3 Technology lifts and removes embedded dirt with 3 channels of suction
- Multi-Floor brushroll moves from carpet to hardwood with a press of a pedal
- Reusable Easy Rinse Filter cleans under running water for long-lasting use. Filter made with HEPA media
- Complete Accessory Pack, including turbo tool, crevice tool, telescoping extension wand, and dusting brush
- Dual-Cyclonic Air passes through not one, but two cyclonic stages to filter dirt and debris from the air path
At Hoover we’re a trusted authority on total home cleaning because we design powerful tools to help you tackle every possible cleaning job in and around your home. We constantly strive to improve our vacuums and carpet cleaners, even while we introduce cutting-edge cleaning products in new categories such as steam cleaning and air purification Hoover WindTunnel 3 Upright Vacuum, UH70901
PRODUCT FEATURES Exclusive WindTunnel 3 Technology WindTunnel 3 Technology creates two channels of suction to lift and remove surface debris and deep down embedded dirt. Vacuums without WindTunnel Technology rely on only one channel of suction. Dual-Cyclonic Air passes through not one, but two cyclonic stages to filter dirt and debris
Bagless Facts and Fiction,
I’m on my second Hoover as of two days ago… first one is still operational after 20 years… but I wanted some upgrades. My greatest desire..? I wanted to be released from the vac bag. But even though that has been accomplished… I’m(we’re) still not free from some vac maintenance chores… and the occasional filter purchase. One step forward, two steps back maybe?
First, some perspective. A bagless vacuum is nothing more than a
glorified and highly stylized shop vac. All this crap about “wind tunnel and “cyclonic technology” and other such buzz word descriptors accompanied by dubious conceptual design claims, is just a bunch of advertising hooey meant to distract any buyer from a problem that is NOT preventable in any vacuum.. eventual loss of suction. If this isn’t true you wouldn’t find elaborate instructions with every model imploring you to clean filters frequently and to empty the dust cup often. If they don’t get cleaned in the prescribed manner… loss of suction occurs… or complete plug-ups. So much for the “no loss of suction” claim. Most models have either mechanical or electric flow indicators that tell you exactly what isn’t supposed to happen, is happening: loss of suction. So, with this in mind… it becomes a quest to find that vac that has enough obstacles built-in to the vac canister that will delay the loss of suction for as long as possible. That’s the reason why the canister(most) is so jacked-up with multiple tubes, fins, screens and irregular shapes… to catch or divert the misc vacuumed up garbage away from the foam filter, and eventually the hepa filter. Things that a certain percentage of dust always manages to evade on its trip to the first filter. Shop vacs are bagless and will plug up sooner or later and so will house bagless vacs.. depending on what it is you’re sucking up. They’re designed on the same principles. If you can get past the claimed “no loss of suction” baloney… you can make a more informed decision.
Observations on my purchase. I forked over 153 smackers for the Hoover “Windtunnel 3 Pro Whole House” vac. This came after reading a couple of hundred reviews on Amazon of all the leading bagless vacs out there… and on what my vac needs really are. I’m not a compulsive vacuumer… just occasionally… and I have a small two bedroom house. After vacuuming almost the whole house for the first time this is what I noticed: I emptied the dust cup twice, so what? Just means there was plenty to get up… and there was. I don’t think it picks anymore than my old bagged Hoover. How do I know? Because with the bagged I would occasionally run out of the bags… and I would reuse the old one… by unfolding one end of it, shaking it out, folding it back up and then stapling. Works well. I saw that same nastiness come out of the bag that comes out of the dust cup.
Next, the dust cup empties easily, hinged bottom opens up. But even after emptying and tapping on the dust cup canister to loosen all that didn’t release right away… there was still plenty of fine dust stuck to the innards of that windtunnel canister. All the canister obstacles did their job; dust was either captured or stuck to them, and you can’t shake it out. This fine dust sticks because of the moisture in it and that static electrical charge on the surface of the objects in the canister and the interior walls of the canister itself. The book recommends washing out the canister… I just took it outside of the garage and blew it out with an air hose. Faster and easier. And a bunch of that really fine dust went flyin’.
Next: I inspected the second to the last line of defense; the foam filter at the top of the canister. I was impressed, because only minimal dust reached that filter… I know this because I blew it out with air as well. The instructions say to wash this and let it air dry for 48hrs… ridiculous and boring. Use air.
Next: I inspected the Hepa filter… the last defense before the exhaust exits the vacuum. I detected no dust. Most impressive. And because no dust exits the vacuum… you don’t get the vacuum cleaner stink in the room air… something I always get from the way less filtered bagged Hoover.
Overall observations: Here are the things that I dig; the bare floor agitator shut off, both when you set the vac to upright position and the foot button that shuts it off. The cleaning accessories, they all worked well… the stretchy hose, which was quite adequate… the headlight, the sturdy wheels that also have a soft surface for hard surface traction, the easy release of the cyclonic canister and dust cup… the most excellent suction and the overall sturdiness of the unit. And, the auto cord rewind is a kick and a hoot, but this feature really doesn’t get you out of anything; you’re either bending over to wind the cord up(no auto rewind) or bending over to pull the cord…
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|The Big Sweep-Off: Hoover Wind Tunnel 3 versus Dyson DC33,
I did a head-to-head comparison of the Dyson DC33 Multi-Floor versus the Hoover Wind Tunnel 3, Model UH70901 (Amazon price $149, available through Amazon Prime). Is the Dyson worth more than twice as much as the Hoover? Here are the results:
Overall design: The basic design of the two sweepers is very similar. They are both bagless “cyclone” style vacuums with D-loop main handles and a looped carrying handle on the top of the dirt canister. (Dyson successfully sued Hoover for patent infringement over Hoover’s use of bagless cyclone technology. After a court ruling in Dyson’s favor, Hoover settled the suit for a $6.3 million payment to Dyson.) The Dyson weighs 17.6 pounds and the Hoover comes in at 19 pounds, which makes it a litle more awkward to carry up and down stairs. Dyson wins because its machine is lighter and because Hoover didn’t play fair.
Cord: The Dyson features a 35-foot cord that must be manually looped back on to the canister. The Hoover has a 27-foot cord and automatic cord rewind that is operated by a foot pedal. I would happily give up the extra 8 feet of cord for the advantage of auto-rewind. Hoover wins.
Above-floor cleaning: Both vacuums have clexible hoses and wands that allow you to clean above the floor. The Dyson has a total reach of 14.4 feet; the Hoover has a total reach of 12 feet. The Dyson wand is permanently attached to the flexible hose and stores inside the machine. It telescopes with a “click-to-lock”extension and the looped handle makes it easy to manipulate. The Hoover wand must be inserted into the flexible hose. It telescopes with a “twist-to-lock” extension that feels inferior to the Dyson wand and lacks the looped handle of the Dyson. Dyson wins.
Accessories: The Dyson has a combination hard-surface tool and dusting brush. The Hoover has a crevice tool, a dusting brush and a turbo tool, which is a rotating brush that is powered by the air flow through the tool – it looks and feels like a mini-vacuum. Hoover wins.
Ease of emptying: Both the Dyson and the Hoover have easy-release dust canisters and one-touch emptying. Tie.
Carpet cleaning efficiency: I sprinkled white corn meal on a dark burgundy rug. I made one pass at moderate speed with each vacuum. Neither vacuum cleaned up all the corn meal, but the Dyson left somewhat more corn meal on the floor. See customer photos above for testing results. Hoover wins.
Price: The Dyson has a price on Amazon of $299 plus $29.99 shipping. The Hoover’s price on Amazon is $149, available with Amazon Prime (no shipping cost). Hoover wins.
Conclusion: Hoover wins! The advantages of the Dyson – slightly lighter weight, longer cord, longer reach and better-engineered wand – are outweighed by the retractable cord, better accessories, slightly better sweeping efficiency and – most of all – the price, which is half that of the Dyson and has free shipping through Amazon Prime.
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|Comparison to Shark Rotator Professional,
I have a Shark Rotator Professional Shark Navigator Professional 3-in-1 Lift-Away Rotator (With Additional Accessories Included) – Model NV500/NV501 that is about 3 months old so I think the most accurate review is to compare the two. I vacuumed first with the WindTunnel 3. I noticed it was considerably heavier, made much more noise and was harder to push. The head is bigger so it covers a larger area so that is good. It has 5 settings for carpet pile–4 for various heights of pile and 1 for hardwood floor. I tried a couple of different settings for the carpet but none of them made it easier to push. As is typical in my house, one room fills up the canister (because of the pets we have and especially since it is shedding season). I removed the canister to empty it and found that while emptying it from the bottom sounds good in theory, that in practice it made a bigger mess than the Shark. More dust flew around and dirt got on the floor. This doesn’t happen with the Shark.
Regarding the cord: I was excited to have a retractable cord–i thought it would be like my old Kenmore–where the cord would come out and retract while in use and you never got tangled in the cord. Well, that isn’t how it works. You pull the cord completely out and then when you are vacuuming the cord is in your way, you have to pick it up, readjust it, etc. When you are done, however, you can press a button and the cord retracts–which is a nice feature–just not like I was used to with my old kenmore. With the shark you have the same problem with the cord while vacuuming and it does not have a retractable cord so when you are done you have to wind it up—not fun.
So, after vacuuming the room, I got out my Shark. I was so happy at how easy it was to push and how quiet it was. It also picked up a lot of dirt that the Hoover missed–but not a whole canister worth–about a half canister worth. I thought that was great.
I then wondered what would happen if I used the Hoover again–it picked up a little bit more dirt. The canister, which seems smaller than the shark had maybe about 10% dirt in it. The shark definitely didn’t pick that up and it wasn’t because its canister was full–it just didn’t pick it up. Maybe if I had gone over the room one more time with the Shark it would have. Certainly the Shark picked up stuff that Hoover missed on its first try.
BOTTOM LINE: There is a big price difference between the two with the Hoover being less than 1/2 of the Shark. They probably clean about the same. Both left dirt behind. Both picked up dirt the other had left behind.
CANISTER: It is much easier to empty the canister of the Shark and I don’t make the same mess as I do with the Hoover. If you do this outside in a big trash can it wouldn’t matter–but inside in a kitchen trash can there is a difference–with Shark clearly winning.
WEIGHT: The shark is so much lighter. It seems self propelled (i don’t know if it is) and the Hoover is heavy and not self propelled. My back ached after using the Hoover but someone who didn’t have back problems would probably be fine.
CORD: The Hoover and Shark both have cords that get in the way while working but the Hoover can auto rewind when the job is done. Which is nice.
FILTERS: Both systems have filters. Hoover says it is a Hepa filter. It certainly looks better and more effective. Unfortunately I do not have equipment that can test which filter actually works better because they would be trapping micro-particals that I can’t see with my eyes. My hunch is that the Hoover’s is better. Both filters are reusable and you rinse them clean. Both say that if you do not do this you could lose suction.
CARPET ADJUSTMENTS: The shark is easier to adjust by pushing a button on the handle–but the adjust is just for carpet vs. hardwood. There is not an adjustment for various heights of carpet. This is not a problem in my house but if someone had shag carpet, I would suspect that the Hoover would do better.
LOOK OF CARPET: After vacuuming, I felt that the carpet looked similar with both models. I did not have a preference of one over the other.
IN SUMMARY: While the shark has some advantages with regard to weight and ease of use, if you do not need that, the Hoover seems to be a better buy and will get the job done. If you have back problems, are older, or just out of shape, you may want to spend the extra money on the shark. Both vacuums cleaned carpet what seemed to be fairly equally—but keep in mind these are the only two I compared–there may be models and brands out there that outperform both of these. I would suggest with the Hoover that you empty the container outside.
UPDATE…
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