VAX Mach 5 Pet U90-M5

Watching the delivery man carrying the parcel containing this Vax machine down my drive and seeing his knees buckle, I was pre-warned that this wasn’t going to be any lightweight and I wasn’t wrong.

Assembly didn’t present any major problems, despite the fact that I like to read the instructions and my husband, who was in charge, does the man thing and totally ignores them, which necessitated me pointing out the error of his ways once or twice .

Once out of the box the machine comes in three main components, base, dust collection housing and handle. A few twirls with the screwdriver and everything was up and running.

All the tools slot neatly into the unit so that they are always to hand and these comprise:
two extension tubes to give extra hose length,
a 2 in 1 tool which is a dusting brush for delicate surfaces and an upholstery tool for carpets etc,
a turbo tool which is designed to tackle pet hair and can be used on upholstered furniture, mattresses, clothing, car interiors and carpeted stairs.
a crevice tool for getting into tight spaces

All eventualities covered there I think and a tool for every occasion, all easily within reach and unlike some other brands where the handle is incorporated into attaching tools, with the Vax the handle stays where it belongs and the tube hose slots into its own housing. A handle on the end of the hose makes it easy to remove for immediate use.

The handle for the main unit is adjustable so will suit everyone and a press of a button will make the handle retract into the body of the cleaner, making for easier storing or carrying. Presumably this means that it isn’t recommended to carry it by its handle but it seems really sturdy. I would suggest doing as Vax say in their instruction book, and retract the handle when transporting and carry by means of the handle on the upper housing.

This brings me to commenting about the weight of this machine. The closest I could get to finding out the weight was what was printed on the box “packaged weight 11.5 kilos” I’m still a pounds and ounces person so kilos doesn’t really give me much clue what to expect, but I can assure anyone interested in this machine, that it was extremely heavy. I’m relatively fit and healthy and I was huffing and puffing by the time I’d dragged it up the stairs. I don’t think that anyone frail and infirm would manage it on their own.

Before I get on to actually using the machine, a bit more about its looks. This is a hoover that you definitely wouldn’t give a girl’s name to if you were so inclined to name it. It’s definitely a Bruce, or a Boris, or something equally butch. A big imposing beast and non of your fancy pastel shades for this one, silver and maroon wouldn’t really do it justice and I would describe it as “gunmetal” with a chrome handle.

It also comes complete with its own headlight. As I don’t hoover in the dark, I can’t really see the point in this feature, but its there for anyone who wants one.

There is also a cord rewind facility so a quick press of one of the foot pedals sends it shooting back in all by itself. Much more user friendly than having to stand there and wind it round a couple of hooks yourself – and no chance of it falling off, as it always seems to with a manual wind, just when you’re almost at the end and have to start all over.

I couldn’t see any clue as to how long the cord actually is so I’ve guestimated by pulling it out in its entirely and marking off what I judged to be each 12 inch section and this gave me a total of 26 feet. I can’t guarantee utmost accuracy, but it is very long and will reach the full length of my rooms and beyond – not quite to infinity but long enough.

To use the machine, you need to select the thickness of the carpet/flooring and there is a knob to adjust the brush settings which you need to do manually. If the machine is hard to push, the brushes will need raising and the setting changed, but it seems to work quite well on a mid setting which covers most eventualities if you can’t be bothered to keep changing it.

Once switched on, up and running, you will notice that this is a very powerful vacuum cleaner and its 1500 watt power soon takes all the dirt in its stride with minimum effort. So I would definitely award it full marks for its dirt busting power. It’s pretty good at getting to the edges but for the finishing touches it’s easy to whip out the tools to catch any bits that may have been missed.

The turbo tool attachment isn’t afraid of tackling pet hair. I’ve got two German Shepherd dogs and it made light work of the tumbleweed balls of hair which always manage to secrete themselves in the most inaccessible places. The hairs which attach themselves to the stair carpet, even though the dogs going upstairs is frowned upon, were soon banished into the dirt container.

Emptying the dirt container is really simple as there is a release button on the housing and once lifted out it’s just a case of pressing the button whilst holding the unit over the bin.

Apparently the machine comes with two filters – a cyclonic one and a secondary filter. I haven’t had cause to clean these yet as the machine is new, but the instructions in the leaflet which comes with the appliance make this seem pretty simple to do.

There are also instructions to maintain the machine, including replacing the headlight and replacing the fan belt but fortunately I haven’t had to attempt either as this is a new machine.

There is also a help section explaining how to clean blockages, but I’ll leave my husband in charge and no doubt he won’t need to refer to the instructions.

Overall I would give the machine 10 out of 10 for performance and slightly less for manoeuvrability as it needs considerable strength to carry it.

This is a new product and isn’t widely available yet but it can be found at www.amazon.co.uk for £221.21.