Advantages: Stylish, powerful, quiet, full of features.
Disadvantages: Expensive, not sold everywhere.

...of Scotland that still stock Miele. The main features that attracted us about the Revolution 500 are the 4 litre dustbag, the quiet engine (it's a 1600 watt motor but much less noisy than you average Electrolux), the Active Air Clean (charcoal) filter, the variable speed (300 to 1600 watt - the lower speeds are useful for curtains) having the controls of the machine on the handle of the wand (useful if you find bending difficult) and the Electrobrush. The Electrobrush is difficult to describe, but imagine that you have a conventional vacuum cleaner with suction, but you also have the ability to switch on an electrically driven rollerbrush inside the head of the wand. This gives the cleaner the ability to deep clean carpets and clean right up to the skirting board just like an upright cleaner. So in effect with a Revolution 500, you have... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Reliable; Efficient; Inexpensive
Disadvantages: Single Speed; Difficult to Clean

...Let me introduce you to my new buddy. He's twelve inches long, has an anti-splash shaft, is happy to be mounted and is a top performer in the kitchen. What's more, I can switch him on and off whenever I please! What more could a girl want… from a hand blender? Anyone familiar with my reviews will recall that I recently had a near miss with the blade of a very cheap hand blender. Well, what else could I expect from a £5.00 piece of s…kit? At the time, I merely needed a no-frills blender to prepare food for my baby and didn't see the point in spending a fortune on something that would be redundant in a few months time. Now I do possess a standard food processor which has all the bells and whistles and which, put simply, is a big bugger. However, I found I was using my little hand blender more often than the food processor, purely... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: lightweight, long-lasting, efficient
Disadvantages: no longer available - find one secondhand/reconditioned if you can

...The 500 series of Electrolux vacuum cleaners was one of the best they ever produced. Long since obsolete - though still available in reconditioned versions - they were lightweight, efficient, easy to use and easy to maintain. Bag changing was a breeze, and even the drive belts were quite easy to change yourself without calling upon the services of a trained engineer. The last of the 'proper' 500 series vacs was the 560E, which was subsequently replaced by the new Twin Turbo range which borrowed some of the 500 design, but added the carefully-considered functionality of being crap. They all do it, don't they? Take the old long-lasting designs and bin them in favour of new ones which don't last and thus generate better turnover. What a sad place the world has become. Please rate this opinion before going to slit your... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Compact, good suction power, great all round vacuum cleaner
Disadvantages: can be slightly pricey

...demonstrating the sucking power on most of the vacuum cleaners available on the market. If I was not already mad, I would of found it highly funny to watch! I was undecided between an upright and a cylinder vacuum cleaner, I was not falling for the pretty looking ones like my husband was indicating at, I was more interested in the sucking capabilities this poor little addition to the family would have to cope with. So I had decided with a cylinder cleaner but which make? I have used the Meile cat and dog cleaner before round my mums so I decided to purchase the Meile Revolution 500 cylinder vacuum cleaner, and made my husband part with his hard earned cash costing £240.00. The Meile Revolution 500 came in a pretty blue colour with the sucking power of 1500 watts which would not only suck up the dirt but strip the dog of any loose hair... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A very fast, stylish and effective dryer.
Disadvantages: Makes an awful noise on the highest setting.

...Remington Big Shot Super Sonic 2000W Hair Dryer SSD500 Looks: This hairdryer is rather funky looking. It is indigo blue (you may disagree on the shade!), with silver underneath and at the back, and has a black nozzle. Very modern and trendy in design, and I must admit, this is what first drew my attention to it. Specifications: 3 Heat settings 2 Airflow settings Coolshot button Ionic technology 2000 watt No diffuser Detachable nozzle (Patented Superfast Concentrator with Venturi Vents for Faster Precision Styling) Price: Around £30 new, but I paid less at one of these factory outlet places (I think it was MacArthur Glenn at York) The important bit (does it work?): Well, I have to say it does exactly what it says on the tin (well, box). The hot setting is hot, and the cool setting is, well, cool. I find... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Small, powerful
Disadvantages: Not for large dishes

...When purchasing my second microwave oven, the considerations were - price, size and power rating. PRICE ~~~~~ The price of this Hinari Lifestyle microwave oven was £24.99 (02/05/2004) on special offer at Tesco Extra. I had already seen the same appliance at a local Curry's Store for £34.99 SIZE ~~~~ Outside dimensions - 295 x 458 x 370 mm - ideal for limited kitchen workspace. Inside dimensions - 206 x 300 x 284 mm - Ok it isn't very large, but size isn't everything. Oven capacity - 17 litre - This is great if this is all the space that you need, it will house a large dinner plate and medium size casserole dish. Max approximately 270 mm diameter. POWER RATING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 800 Watts is pretty powerful for a small, cheap microwave. It certainly heats well enough and fast enough. OVERALL APPEARANCE... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap to have on heats room nicely
Disadvantages: None

...This halogen heater is great and it is cheap to buy. I bought this heater when it had just started coming out and it cost me £14.99 (you could get them cheaper now) when you have the heater on it only uses about 4p an hour so you are saving a bit on your electricity. This halogen heater is 1200 watts and it is great youu have 3 buttons that operate the wattage one of which is also your on off switch and is one bar. The other 2 put it on 2 and the 3 bars but usually you only need it on 1 bar because it soon gets warm. There is a 4th button which if you press it it rotates the fire. With the heater if it falls over it shuts itself off so it doesn't set your property on fire. When i have my heater on it is that bright that i don't need to put my main light on to watch the tell