I got this hoover when I first moved into my flat. I was looking for a gadget which was good sucker (I know, I know.. silly!!), cheap and easy to use, I certainly was not prepared to put pieces together and build my hoover from scratch (like apparently you have to do with Dysons), building my IKEA furniture was hard job in itself, don't need more trouble in my life!!
This item answered all my needs and I was not disappointed, not at all!
I got this Electrolux through Amazone roughly one and a half year ago (www.amazon.co.uk). I have to admit it I certainly didn' t go for the looks, it was not a love at first sight, but yes, once I got this and once I realized this was faithful to my needs I ended up falling for it!! I cannot remember how much I paid, but by making a quick search over the internet I can confirm it is currently worth around £79.99. I also remember not having to pay delivery charges as any purchases over £17 were free of postage fees at the time! What a bargain, exactly what I needed when money was a bit of an issue!
FEATURES
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These are the main specs for this product and will go into more detail for you:
Bagless Technology: Cyclonic Filter
Cable Rewind: with Automatic Cable Rewind
Freestanding Or Built In: Freestanding
HEPA Filter: with HEPA Filter
Maximum Volume of Dust Collector in Litre: 1.5
Maximum Wattage: 1800
Power Supply: Mains
Type / Shape: Sledge
Type of Dust Container: Bagless
This Item basically follows the same phylosophy of a
Dyson, I never owned one but like me I am sure you have heard so much about it through ads or word or mouth on how good and revolutionary this is, bla bla... so I will try to compare my item to what I know about this Dysons so that may be you can see how this Electrolux is rather good indeed.
The only hoovers I remember in my life where my mum's Hoover which used to terrify me with its noise (I am sure it is so heavy and old it could make a museum proud now) and then a Henry, a red plastic cylinder with cute eyes.. which I ABSOLUTELY could not stand!!! It was so heavy and used to get entangled in its own wire and just spin around sometimes! A no-no for me!!
Anyway this cyclonic filter action which is spinning everyone's head (I am trying to make this review funny as you can see...) basically creates this turbine of
air which makes dirt,
animal fur, dust stick to the bottom of the dust collector rather than clog the filter and therefore ensures the best suction at all times (until of course the collection area is full to its own capacity and then you see a read light switching on telling you it is time to empty the dust collector).
Like a Dyson you do not have replace a paper bag all the time, which I find positive as it means you do not have to spend money every few months to get them and it also means not as many trees are cut to produce paper which goes into these bags, on the other hand if we really have to be picky have to confess that some people might be a bit too fussy and would rather take a bag out and put a new one in rather than mess around emptying the dust collector in your bin and have some dust flying around...
but hey I don't mind this job so to me this is not a huge downside.
So we know this is a bagless cyclonic hoover, what else makes it soo cool?
First of all the
Hepa filter is a feature you should really bear in mind if you want to buy a quality
hoover, HEPA means High Efficiency Particulate
Air-filter which basically enables your hoover to be 99.97% efficient in the suction and makes sure that all dust, hair, animal dander, pollen etc. of at least 0.3 microns get sucked and collected rather than re-destributed into the air (as because of it size it might escape). I suppose this is a superb addition for people who suffer of asthma, are allergic to dust, pollen..
I am sure you might have seen on
tv or biology books images of microscopic bugs,
dead skin cells and dust... not a pretty sight indeed, you certainly have to agree they do not induce
sweet dreams... the thought of creepy creatures living in the mattress or your carpets makes my skin crawl!!
The collection caddy can hold up to 1.5 litres of "rubbish", I am not really sure how they have come up to calculate the solids with a liquid measure but for normal people like me, it can be emptied every four to six weeks, I do not wait until the red light comes on but the container is pretty full when I empty it plus I also put in it some deodorizing little sticks from Neutradol which deodorizes every surface I hoover and leaves a nice clean smelll rather than leave a smell of dust around, so when the nice smell is not there it means it is time for new ones!
Well, you do also have an automatic cable
rewind button you can push with your foot, therefore the cable which by the way is black in colour stretches up to 6 metres is automatically rewinded in the inside so no messy job or wires which could make you trip for example.
This item comes of course with little gadgets to aid a better cleaning of your house.
You do of course have the normal rectangular head attached to the tube which in itself is attached to the body of the hoover, the long tube is made of shiny metal with a plastic revolving strip at the top you can twist open or closed to let air in, in order to maximise or minimize suction. The rectangular attachment which goes on the floor is made of grey plastic and can easily move round corners, in it you do have a leaver which lets some brushes down if you want to hoover on wood (this avoids scratches) or you can let them up when you want to hoover on carpet and make it slide easily.
The rectangular head can be easily removed and you can add a plastic hose which goes esily in between furniture, you also have an oval one with brushes (never used that one) and a smaller rectangular head with softer brushes which I use on my mattress every few months to get rid of invisible dust mites, hairs and skin cells.
You also get an extra filter so you already have a replacement if the original one breaks and fails you. So far though I am still ok and didn't need to use it.
Another addition is the manual of course, to be honest with you I did not need to touch this, everything was so straight forward and user-friendly, and I always find this positive as sometimes don't have both the time and patience to sit down and read a manual to understand how you are meant to put something together and make it work!
But for your info the manual is very clear and includes details of Electrolux retailers which always comes in handy.
They do of course have a website also so if you need info just go to www.electrolux.co.uk, so easy!!!
PACKAGING
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The boxed weight of this item is 9 kg, so make sure you get it delivered home or bring your car with you as you can't load it on the bus or you will cause public caos!!
You may appreciate this item is carefully packaged to avoid any damage during
transport and handling and although I always find it a waste all the paper and carton people can sometimes use to protect items, this can be easily recycled. The item is much
lighter once out of the box, I would say roughly 5/6 kg. The dimensions are 25 x 45.5 x 27 (HxWxD) so to me this item is very compact and easy to carry around (it has in fact three wheels, two big ones at the back and a little one at the front which is the main one and guides the direction of the others). The body of the hoover has a resistant plastic handle you can use if you need to lift it up the stairs for example.
ELECTROLUX, THE BRAND
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The Electrolux Group is a Swedish company which produces home appliances and appliances for professional use ranging from refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers sold under brands such as Electrolux, AEG-Electrolux, Zanussi, Eureka and Frigidaire.
This company was founded in was founded in 1910 as Elektromekaniska AB, and changed its name to Elektrolux after merging with Lux AB in 1919, the name was then changed in 1957 to Electrolux as we know today.
Electrolux has 22 factories in
Europe and holds a 28% share of the
household appliances market in the world, which therefore makes it a reputable name I am sure most of you have seen around at some point.
MY OPINION
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I hope you did not get to bored with my descriptions, you see, it is not a very colourful job describing a hoover but I hope that the features made you understand that despite this greyish piece of plastic which might seem so bland when you first look at it, you then realize that compared to other brands the price you are paying is definitely worth it!
Having seen prices around this is without a doubt a very good buy, it does its job not well but perfectly and in my eyes it does not need to be flashy as once I have used it I just put it away in my storage room and no-one can see it... I certainly don't need it to be silver or bright red or yellow and I certainly don't leave it around as part of furniture so that my friends can see it, the house is clean and this is what makes me comfortable about this reliable item.
Just plain and simple to me this product has no flaws but lots of positives.
Thanks for reading! x
Who needs a Dyson? 
