back to article Coming clean: Ten cordless vacuum cleaners

The DIY market for power drills cracked going cordless years ago, but for domestic heavyweights such as an affordable vacuum cleaner, tripping over a six-metre mains cable has been a weekend tradition for most UK households. Really, how much R&D does it take to get a good cordless vacuum cleaner? Is the wait over yet? El Reg's …

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  1. pisquee

    Would have been good to have a round-up comparison chart a the end, so all the important stats and price could be easily seen in one go, along with some kind of score/rating.

    1. Spindreams

      Yeah I was just thinking, where is the conclusion? Which did they think was best for price/features etc

  2. Anthony Hegedus Silver badge

    Black and Decker

    I have the 1020L model, which appears to be exactly the same as the 1820L but without the docking station. It only cost £60 as opposed to £170 and I'm very pleased with it. It's strong enough, has an easily switchable brush/solid end mode, and above all, its really tiny and very light.

  3. HKmk23

    I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

    What on earth is this? Housewifes choice? Or a Which magazine wannabe?

    1. PleebSmash
      Joke

      Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

      Don't you know about the GreenVac500 list, which ranks vacuum cleaners by Pascals per Watt?

    2. Richard Parkin

      Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

      As noted in the article, the Gtech can be plugged into a PC.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

        more importantly, it comes with a blue light (not the one you see as the last thing when you poke around the wall plug).

    3. ratfox
      Windows

      Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

      Essential article to any IT bod who needs to clean his (or her) server room!

    4. Anthony Hegedus Silver badge

      Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

      Nothing wrong with female chore-easing devices. Can we have reviews of washing machines, washing up brushes and kettles? Thought would draw the line at sewing machines.

      1. Steve Gill

        Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

        Have you seen the programmable embroidery sewing machines, very high tech ;)

    5. fandom

      Re: I Thought the Reg was an IT mag.

      I bought the Black and Decker one a couple weeks ago to clean the factory electric cabinets.

      It's not really suited for such a hard task but I am almost done by now.

  4. toffer99

    The review of the Bosch Athlet says it is "possibly not best for Gran." I would disagree, as our Gran thinks its great. Mind you, we used to hang her on the washing line and whack her with an old carpet beater when she got mucky. So I suppose its better than that.

  5. NIck Hunn

    Why cordless drills came first

    Could the delay in cracking the problem of cordless vacuum cleaners have anything to do with the gender of those who are normally assumed to use them?

    1. Rol

      Re: Why cordless drills came first

      I see the ergonomically designed cleaners have all the bumps, edges and throbbing motor parts to satisfy even the most demanding of women, but where are the extensions and hoses for male dusting?

      Seems a little sexist.

      I foresee a time when A&E never again gets a little light hearted relief from males presenting while attached to Henry the Hoover.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Why cordless drills came first

      Err... The eldest male offspring? I thought that is who is blamed to vacuum clean by default. I was until I left home and I always try to blame mine nowdays. The problem is that every time I try to blame mine (either the elder or his younger sister) to do the vacuuming I find them setting up the Roomba in the room to be cleaned.

      C'est la vie, vacuuming is somewhat of a thing of the past.

      From that perspective the only thing you use a household vacuum cleaner in a non-DIY/non-Workshop context for is to go around the corners left by the roomba once a month. Something like the Dyson (the long wand version) or the Black-N-Deckers will actually be quite appealing for that job.

  6. TWB

    As a Gtech owner....

    ...I wish this article had been out a couple of weeks ago.

    But having said that, I like my new AirRam and handheld a lot - I live in a dusty house and both really seem to pick up stuff well and run for a long time. I like the fact that the AirRam has no extra tools - Mrs TWB never put them back with the old mains vacuum and we ended up with odd attachments all over the place. I rarely use the old mains machine as it is heavy and clunky to carry around the house by comparison.

    The only downsides I'd say with both Gtech's is that you have too plug the charger leads into the units - this takes two hands - I would have liked charging holsters, though also a shame that the 'MagSafe' idea only seems to be on Apple laptops (do correct me if I'm wrong here).

  7. Tim99 Silver badge

    Dyson stick

    We have the new model Dyson stick without the animal head (no pets). We both have back trouble and I have a duff neck caused by a RTA. The old cylinder cleaner was too heavy and its wheels kept getting stuck in the deep-pile carpet, causing it to fall over. We replaced it with the Dyson and are very pleased with it.

    I can clean our 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, small office, hall and living/dining/kitchen unit with a single charge. Not having a cable to trip over is a real bonus. The docking station is screwed to a wall in the garage, and is easy to use provided you remember to lift the cleaner slightly before pushing it into place.

  8. Pen-y-gors

    Viva cordless!

    Got a Dyson stick job a couple of years ago - house is much cleaner now! The difference is that a cordless is so quick and easy to use - much, much less faff than plugging big Dyson in and lugging it around, then unplug and lug upstairs and plug in, before unplugging again and lugging back downstairs. Basically it didn't happen! Now it's just remove stick from wall and give the whole house a quick wizz. Happens frequently.

    To be honest though, even in turbo mode the little one isn't as effective as the big one. Still benefits from a good run round with the biggie every month or two.

    And don't talk to me about the fun of unclogging the hair/fur/threads/leaves etc from the turbo head! I find an old steak knife is an essential accesory.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Viva cordless!

      That's why we eventually sprung for the Dyson; our flat is so lacking in floor space (too much ephemera) that 2/3 of the time during hoovering was probably spent moving things out of the way or freeing the cable from where it had got stuck under a door or cabinet. The Dyson's agile enough to get into the fiddliest corners without moving much at all, helped by the fact you can remove the long tube to get into smaller gaps. And in spite of the seemingly low power, it actually cleans the carpet better than the (now more or less unused) 3kw Vax, at least in part I think because the (in my experience) exceptionally well designed brush head does such a decent job of beating the dust out of the carpet in the first place. The Dysons head is motor driven, whereas the lamentable version on the Vax relies on an impeller driven by the suction, and it simply doesn't do the job at all, the brush usually grinding to a halt.

      But probably its biggest plus is dusting - a once a week (twice in summer) perpetual nightmare just to break even in a place beside one of London's main arterial roads. There's enough variety of well thought through tools to cover most tabletops, shelves and otherwise inaccessible nooks and crannies, but enough suction to make doing it worthwhile. The DC59 actually comes with two powered heads, a larger one for floors and a smaller one good for sofas, stairs and smaller gaps under furniture. Instead of two hours relocating dust randomly with a cloth + feather duster, the Dyson will actually dispose of it properly and cover the same area and more in 30 minutes.

      The stated battery life is a bit misleading in practice too (in a good way), at least in the sense that use tends to be intermittent. Since the trigger is only pressed when you need it and the motor is so quick to spin up and down, you waste no battery idling as you move stuff out of the way, so a full charge can easily last an hour or more depending on what you're doing. In practice I've only run it flat once or twice in the year odd I've had it and usually manage a full clean including dusting on one charge.

      I'm honestly usually not a mug for household gadgetry at all, and suspected I was being a more than a bit rash spending 300 quid on a bloody vacuum; my girlfriend, less charitably thought I was completely barking and was looking forward to delivering some weapons grade schadenfreude when it wasn't up to the task. But if I was cynical at the outset, I'm a converted and rabid Dyson fanboi now and will definitely replace the DC59 with the current equivalent when it packs up. I've got a far cleaner place, a happier girlfriend with one less (sadly legitimate) axe to grind, and I spend a quarter of the time cleaning and even enjoy doing it. For the 200 quid excess to what I'd have spent otherwise it was well worth the leap of faith, and for me borders on pretty close to a bargain.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Funny how in all the promotional photos, it's still a young woman doing the vacuuming, whilst appearing to be thoroughly delighted and fulfilled so doing. Some old stereotypes just won't die will they?

    1. TWB

      re: AC women in ads

      Agreed - though I think the original Gtech ad I saw on the TV some time ago had a man as does/did the Bosch(?) one with the Tiger.

    2. Alan Brown Silver badge

      Some countries have shown vac ads with heavily tattooed men doing the vacuuming, but apparently they got complained about.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Have you seen some of the comments? It's not just the photo's that are still stuck in the 50's. I do the vacuuming and the ironing in our house, no big deal.

      1. robin thakur 1

        It's pretty ridiculous. Name one man that isn't into Dysons? They are virtually designed as man-toys as they look all shiny and engine-like, and the website is very masculine. Yet they still show just women using them like this is the 1950s. I personally look forward to doing the vacuuming when there's a Dyson involved and I've had many a conversation about Dysons with like-minded men. We all agree they are fabulous.

        1. Tom 35

          Name one man that isn't into Dysons

          All the plastic nobs that don't actually do anything remind me of a 1950's US car with fake air scoop and fins.

          By most reports the Dyson vacuums work well, but the designs (and price) turn me off.

          1. Martin-73 Silver badge

            Re: Name one man that isn't into Dysons

            Maybe this is just me, but Dyson=cheap. Seriously! Head to your local dump (household waste recycling centre).

            90+% of the Dysons there have one of 2 faults. A damaged cord (which won't be an issue as the dump..err recyclers take them off immediately) or a lack of realizing that as well as being bagless it DOES have a filter, which has caused the thermal cutout to trip on the motor. Which self resets within minutes.

    4. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Trollface

      Maybe a few CGI Freddy Mercury adverts (I want to break free) will redress the balance.

  10. Mike Dolan

    If you're going to review something, at least spend 5 seconds checking the manual. "Clumps" in the dyson are easy to remove. Press the red handle and the whole outer shell disconnects along with any clumps of compacted muck.

  11. Tony W

    Replaceable batteries?

    What happens when the batteries won't hold charge shortly after the guarantee ends? I had a lovely cleaner that couldn't be opened without breaking it, even with a full security screwdriver set.

    Why don't these manufacturers adopt the cordless drill battery model? Ecologically (and economically) terrible to throw the whole thing away when the battery gives up.

    1. Mike Dolan

      Re: Replaceable batteries?

      The Dyson does this. Push button, battery pops out. Same as a cordless drill.

  12. Infernoz Bronze badge
    Flame

    All expensive for what they are

    I've had an old Dyson hand held for years which is much more convenient than a mains ones, but even with Li-ion batteries and high speed DC pulse motors I am disappointed just how expensive and short battery life these devices still are. I like the idea of more suction power with the newer DC58 and DC59, but £220 and £300 is tacking the piss! The price is actually rising for these devices, WTF!

    I don't buy the excuse that making high speed DC motors is so hard and expensive, it's just rotating parts engineering, SMTP like electronics, and adaptive software to adapt the stepping spindle motor technology used in Hard Disks.

    Dyson are flat out wrong on short battery life being OK; they need to provide the facility to charge extra batteries away from the vacuum, and price the batteries and cradle reasonably.

    1. Mike Dolan

      Re: All expensive for what they are

      Umm - they do? The charger plugs into the battery directly. So nothing stopping you buying a spare if you *really* want to. Have got a 3 bedroom house and never needed a spare yet though :-)

  13. crayon
    Unhappy

    @All expensive for what they are

    "... I am disappointed just how expensive and short battery life these devices still are."

    Don't worry, some bright spark will bring out mobile battery chargers to keep your cleaner topped up whilst you're sucking away on turbo boost mode.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A friend of mine has asked to ask which one of these is best for having sex with now that his gerbil is 'full up' (his words). Can anyone help out here?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Gerbil fancier's requisites

      Tell your friend to try realhamster.com. I believe they will be able to accommodate his requirements without the risk of injury or electrocution associated with his proposed solution.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Gerbil fancier's requisites

        RealHamster is bit pricey at $4000; a roll of good quality gaffer tape costs a fraction of that and does the job just as well.

  15. Graham O'Brien

    WUT?

    Have I just logged into the Good Housekeeping website by mistake?

    1. Martin-73 Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: WUT?

      if you have, you're clearly using the same password for the comment section on both Good Housekeeping AND The Register. Naughty

  16. Steven Jones

    Wandered into an alternative universe...

    Vacuum cleaner tests. VACUUM CLEANER TESTS? In The Register. What the hell is happening?

    1. Frankee Llonnygog

      Re: Wandered into an alternative universe...

      What could be more relevant to an IT nerd than a rechargeable handheld docked sucking machine?

      1. TonyJ
        Happy

        Re: Wandered into an alternative universe...

        Especially ones that can be used one-handed.

        I'll get my coat now...

    2. Schultz
      Go

      Re: Wandered into an alternative universe...

      You must be new here, so you missed the preceding story on the X-rated circus of horrors.

  17. MJI Silver badge

    I would kill the VAX first time I used it

    With water

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wish to complain

    about the sexist images by the article, which imply that all that light work is done by smiling, middle-to-upper class photoshopped models. Can I have, like, I dunno... an Isis state-thingy bearded warrior or something instead? A slave boy (no, take that back! - this would be understood literally!). Well, a pizza delivery man, with his crash helmet on? Surely this is not racist or sexist? Or a wrinkly off his hospital bed (that's me!!!!), in his immaculately photoshopped gown, no need to bend or stretch, stiff as a stiff, eh? Not to mention a man of colour, to keep the gender/race ratio as advocated by the current double standards. Better still - two men! No, take that back, say, two WOMAN and a man! Sold!

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dustbusters on stilts.

    Just because it is cordless doesn't mean it needs to be sleek and lightweight, you aren't going to walk down the road with it.

    More batteries would improve them.

    1. Tom 35

      No all vacuums (and steam irons) need to be aerodynamic, in fact all steam irons should be wind tunnel tested and have the cf posted on the box. I've been trying to find one with a functional spoiler but no luck so far.

  20. earl grey
    Happy

    interesting read...thanks

    Now, can anyone explain the inexplicable rules and regulations to limit mains vacs to 1600? WTF with that? I want something that will suck the plaster off a wall and the paint off the floor.

  21. goodman

    better one

    never mind. I saw on the TV a new one vacuum cleaner today. but i forget the model. I only remember it can vacuum wet and dry and be used in industrial. if i remember another things, i tell you surely.

  22. kathyno090

    Black & Decker

    I like the Black & Decker CHV1410L cordless vacuum cleaner. It is really awesome hand vac. It is wireless and more comfortable for cleaning task.

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