Hoover U 3520 > Reviews (4)

Like any young couple, when you move into your first home, you cant afford to buy anything new and what you do need, which do you choose.

Like most people we borrowed things and gradually bought new things as and when we could afford it. For the first few months we borrowed my mom's 30 year old vacuum and until I bought my Hoover I thought it was picking up all the bits.

When we came to buying our own vacuum its amazing the choice that is out there. The only thing that I did know was I didnt want a Dyson. For start off they are very expensive and second, loads of people that I know although love their Dysons do say that little bits dont always get sucked up. I spent a couple of weekends trapsing around the electrical stores until I found one that caught my eye. The Hoover looks like a Dyson in that its a Bagless Upright but without all the bright colours - plain black. To find out more about the product I checked out a few websites (including www.hoover.co.uk) and decided this was the one for me.

Okay now to the DESCRIPTION. First off its a bagless upright which means that instead of having to take out bags like old vacuums the dust gathers in a bin that you take out when its full and just empty into the bin - simple. There is even a line on the post thing to indicate when its full. It has different modes for different types of carpet: short carpet, hard floor, luxury carpet. If you don't know which type of carpet it is just guess and you'll soon know if you have the wrong option as its very hard to push.

The TOOLS that come with this vacuum are 2 hoses - short and long for stairs - brush and 2 long nozzles.

MISC SPECIFICATION: Weight 85kg (slightly lighter than a Dyson), Motor Watts: 1600w (so its quite noisy)

COST: The Hoover 350 series 1600w can be bought from most electrical retailers for around £170 (another advantage over the Dyson, way cheaper) but be advised to shop on-line. I bought mine from BE.com and it cost £150 inc delivery.

CLEANING: I haven't tried to clean it yet (recommended once a month) but the instructions look really easy so I cant see it being a problem.

To give you an idea of how much it sucks up, we had a carpet fitted and for 3 months used the old vacuum. You'd think by that time all the carpet fluff would have been sucked up but no. The Hoover had to be emptied twice it sucked up that much.

In summary, the Hoover 350 Series is great value for money and is worth every penny. Would recommend it to anyone.