This is a bagged vacuum cleaner from the manufacturer, Miele. The Ciao photograph shows the product in red however my own is 'Bahama Blue'. I purchased mine to replace a cylinder style cleaner that I use for my static caravan.
**The product**
The vacuum cleaner is a fairly basic model, it does not come with many attachments, i.e. No pet hair brush, or fragrance pocket for those little air fresheners. The cleaner is fairly quiet running in comparison to my upright cleaner (Dyson) which I use at home. It is ideal for carpeted floors, but
I have to admit that I do not find it particularly efficient on longer piled carpets as it is hard work to manoever over anything other than a medium thickness carpet. The cleaner is useful for quick clean ups, when you just want a rapid tidy up rather than a full hoovering session.
**Specifications**
As I have stated this is a fairly basic model, however the price tag is not, at a RRP of £99, I do not consider this product to be worth anything close to that figure. I had a Vax bag less machine previously which was just as efficient and cost a third of the price. Naturally, Internet research on price comparison sites will undoubtedly throw up lower prices than the £94 I paid from amazon.
The Miele S 380 has a variable power function sited on the handle to regulate the suction level. This is basically a sliding opening. The overall structure is robust, with two interconnecting stainless steel tubes and a flexible plastic hose. The brushes are sturdy, the product is easy to set up and very well made. The length of the hose is absolutely perfect for me, I am tall, 5 feet 9, whether this would suit a shorter person, is debatable. The cleaning hose fits on the top of the machine and rotates a full 360 degrees for ease of use. The reach of this cleaner is approximately 9m., so would cope with a staircase.
The machine is small and compact, it has an automatic cord rewind function that is extremely good, so watch your ankles as the cord whizzes at a rate of knots! The wattage is 1800, so it has adequate suction function for most households. The product comes with a fitted plug as is the norm nowadays for electrical goods. There is also an automatic cut out feature in the case overheating.
The carrying handle is small and does not get in the way when the cleaner is in use. The cleaner has three castors and a rubber bump strip to protect furniture. It has a handy side storage compartment for the on board tools which comprise of a dusting brush, a crevice tool and an upholstery nozzle. The main floor tool has a foot operated flick-over switch to change from carpet to hard floors, this is easy to operate without having to turn the cleaner off.
The machine does not lose it's suction power as the bag fills up, which is a bonus. The bag capacity is 4 litres, which constitutes a lot of dust! The machine incorporates a useful full dust bag indicator. Replacement bags are available for approximately £5 and they also contain a spare filter. Bags are easy to replace, just slot in and away you go, the filter is a little more tricky but there is a knack to it, and once you've mastered it, it is no problem. (I know many supermarkets and stores stock their own dust bags, but I have not tried these, having only used the Miele version so I cannot really advise on this point.) There is no Hepa filter so allergen suffers might well be happier with a different model of vacuum cleaner.
**Miele**
Miele is a German manufacturer of domestic appliances and commercial equipment. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann and has always been a family-owned, family-run company. Miele products are available in the UK from a wide range of stockists, both in the High St and online.
Miele products can also be purchased from their website: www.miele.co.uk
**My thoughts and conclusion**
All in all I do not really rate this cleaner particularly highly, it does it's job, after a fashion. I have very long, waist length hair which the cleaner does not seem to be able to remove from my carpets satisfactorily, neither can it cope with dog hairs. Perhaps in a household where the vacuum cleaner is not required to anything more than light cleaning this model would be fine, but I truly would not recommend it to those with children or pets.
May 6th, 2008
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