Advice on buying a new vacuum cleaner?

[nish81]

hi all,

I came across this forum during my research and was struck by the depth of knowledge on the topic of vacuum cleaners! I'm attempting to choose between three options myself and registered in the hope that you guys will show me the light

the place I want to clean is split over two/three floors. the majority of it is carpet, with just a couple rooms that are hard floor. however there is a lot of furniture around so it's not big open spaces of carpet.

my options are:

1)
numatic henry - the new 620W version
pros: has HEPA filter (I've got mild/moderate allergies), appears to be very reliable
cons: reviews on amazon are critical of the new floor combo tool when used on carpet, saying that it's noticeably worse and doesn't clean as well/requires more force (again this is specifically for carpets)

2)
used numatic henry - the 1200w version
pros: cheaper, higher power means better suction?, presumably has old style floor heads which would be better going by the amazon reviews
cons: it's used. could be dirty/defective/have wear and tear in some way.

3)
miele classic c1 powerline
pros: higher power than the henry, lighter, presumably without any issues related to the floor head tools
cons: more expensive bag, doesn't have HEPA filters so possibly worse for allergies, I've read that it struggles with movement on carpet a bit


If anyone has used any of these or can share any experience with my points (for example whether the 620W Henry's floorhead is good on carpet) it'd be much appreciated!

 

[turbo500]

Hi Nish,

You're in the right place .

I can highly recommend the new 620w Henry's. They're fantastic cleaners with very strong suction power and very solid & reliable. I actually found the new floorhead combined with the newly designed eco motor to clean far better than the older style floortool. Don't be put off by the lower wattage. High wattage doesn't equal more suction. Numatic have redesigned their motors. On high power, my 620w Henry could suck the paper clean off the walls and I find myself using it in low power 90% of the time.

I might be throwing a spanner in the works here, but I would opt for the HenryXtra over the normal Henry. The machine itself is the same with the same features, but you get the added benefit of extra tools. Most importantly, the Xtra comes with an air driven turbo brush which is fantastic for cleaning carpets. Not only does it make the cleaner easier to use on carpets, but it also improves pick up as the rotating brushroll sweeps up hairs and fibres, which straight-suction cleaners can often struggle with.

I'd stick with Numatic for the following reasons:

- cheaper to buy
- cheaper on bags with no additional filters to wash or replace
- the bags are larger and last a lot longer than the Miele bags
- replacement parts, should they be required further down the line, are considerably cheaper
- Numatic are more robust and reliable
- The cheaper Miele's (C1, C2 Compact) are made in China so don't have the same solid, German quality that Miele are traditionally known for and the higher end models (like the C2 Powerline and C3) still have.

Here's a video of my Henry in action, complete with the turbo brush.



I hope this helps.

Chris

 

[turbo500]

Further info:

Quick look on Amazon at the moment and it's actually cheaper to buy the normal Henry at £99 and buy the turbo brush seperately. Link below.

http://https//www.amazon.co.uk/Genu...1465916690&sr=8-1&keywords=Numatic+Airo+brush

 

[turbo500]

Sorry Nish, just another thought and potentially another spanner in the works, but have you looked at Sebo vacuums? They're a bit more expensive than the ones you've picked out but seem to combine all your pro's - solidly built, reliable, high performing, inexpensive on bags and they all come with hospital grade S class filtration as standard so they'd be a good option if allergies are an issue.

Sebo come from a commercial background so their machines are very solidly built like Numatic's but smaller in size and easier to manuever around a home.

Might be something worth looking at

 

[nish81]

Hi Chris,

That has to be the most helpful reply I've ever received on a forum advice topic! Thanks a lot.

The sebos are unfortunately a nogo as my flatmate has a £100 budget (£50 each) - I don't mind shelling out the £23 extra myself for the turbo brush if they are as good as you make them sound but the Sebo is a bit too expensive.

You've sold me on the Henry though - I'll be picking one up along with the turbo brush you linked! Thanks again!

 

[numatic_boy]

My experience

Option 1:I havent personally owned a 620w Henry but do plan on getting one soon.I have owned the style of floor tool on this model though and I think its easier to push and just as good at cleaning.The nevative reviews are probably because the baseplate on this new tool is made of a plastic that doesnt glide aswell on carpet.

Option 2:I have a 1200W Henry.Its very hard to push but the tool does glide well because its made of a very durable metal.The PCB speed controllers in these Henries arent Numatics best idea and are prone to failiure.So thats something to be wary of.

Henries do have very good filtration.Be sure to use genuine Hepa flo bags in your Henry for optimum peformance and filtration.Dont use paper bags as they like to rip and leak dust.

Option 3:I havent had experience of Miele but a few people that I know have them and say their good.

Sebo:I had an X4 upright which exelled at cleaning and filltration.It was very heavy and big though and wasnt very practicall.I still used it for big clean ups.


-Adam

 

[sebo_fan]

Actually if it was me, and despite my namesake and having already read the posts and taken into the response from Chris, I would go one better and buy a Numatic Charles instead.

The main reason is the much larger dust bag capacity - 15 litres dust capacity which would give you far more dust capacity, twice as much as the Numatic Henry dust bag, which is already quite big anyway. You can also use either dust bag in this Charles vac as well.

Brand new the Numatic Charles can cost up to £165 though Amazon UK are selling them for £129 and sometimes even £110. It comes with the 1200 motor (on AmazonUK) which you mention in point 2. It is also a wet and dry vacuum, so the Charles could be used for picking up wet liquids as a bonus!

Also prices for Charles vacs do vary and can be cheap to buy. Your main point about a property on three floors reminded me of a room I rented in a house with three floors and they had one vac for the whole house - an old Goblin/Aquavac tub vacuum the same size of the Numatic Charles.

The main downside to Charles is that he doesn’t feature the same roller hand wind cable in the bowler hat and I think he has one suction speed. Clips on the side means you’d have to roll up the cable manually…

In my experience, the other downside with either Henry or Charles or infact come to think of it, any Numatic vacuum because of the round shape is the fact that you mention “a lot of furniture.” I had a Numatic Henry and I think he’s a great and versatile cost effective vacuum - but space efficient he isn’t and I don’t mean storing but in actual use; the main body being rotund isn’t exactly compact compared to a conventional sledge design like Miele or SEBO’s D series. Of course this all depends on the size of rooms, the amount of furniture and so forth. The beauty of most Numatic vacs is that the long hose often employs the main body of the vacuum to stay in one place. However, the narrow hallways in my home meant Henry was often scrapping the side walls as well as bearing the brunt of scuffs on the machine.

I on the other hand don’t agree that these new EU law vacuums are the bees knees; they’re not all powerful but comes down to the manufacturer’s design. In my experience, Numatics have never suffered from a lack of suction power; even Charles for 2016 comes with a 1060 watt motor - but there’s always power to be had - whether they are older refurbished units or these new eco motor ones. [this post was last edited: 6/14/2016-18:07]

 

[sebo_fan]

ALSO, check on the HEPA filter promise; to my knowledge Numatic don't have a dedicated HEPA filter, but rather multi-layered cloth filters, some of which are washable. Numatic also sell higher grade filters for other machines such as their Microtex filter or another filter called Microfresh Odour Control Filter.

In any event HEPA doesn't guarantee sealed dust or the smell of dust coming back into a room when vacuuming in general. Again, it comes down to the manufacturer and the way their vacuums are made and designed that actually determines capture of dirt and emissions. The fact that you are buying a bagged vacuum should be enough really for most allergies.

 

[numatic_boy]

Charles

Even though the specs are good,theirs always down points.The noise and weight of some numatic cleaners are unbearable.Noise goes for most vacs except Henry.One of his strong points is being quiet.Weight isnt exactly Numatics strong point.You have to bear in mind that they were and stil are a commercial/industrial based company so features on Numatics are basic.They have started revising the Henry though with the upcomming new line.I would wait till the compact Henry comes out if space is an issue.

 

[turbo500]

Like you Nish, I'm in a carpeted 3 story house. Due to the size & weight, I wouldn't want to use a Charles day to day. They come with a shorter hose, no cord rewind & are heavier than Henry.

 

[sebo_fan]

Shorter hose might actually be better given that the longer hose can bounce off furniture and knock things over. End of the day its going to be a Numatic purchase but dont discount the other machines in the Numatic family so easily. Henry weighs 6.6kg when empty, Charles weighs 7.1kg when empty. Yes there's weight difference but there's also a bigger dust capacity.

Numatic_Boy does make a very good point though. The newer range that is coming in will offer other models as well as tools on board facility where Henry is concerned. Presently I think you get a clip on the side - where my single tool of choice always popped off because it brushed by the long hose.

 

[n0oxy]

vacuum suggestion

You said you were cleaning a lot of carpet, in that case, a spinning brush is a must. I would suggest trying to find a vacuum that uses an electric power nozzle, the air driven nozzles will not clean as well and are much more prone to clogging since everything vacuumed up goes through the turbine. Regarding motor power, that's only part of the story as far as cleaning performance. The cleaning tool you use is just as important. I recently got a used Electrolux 1205, made in the early 1970's, it has a 535 watt motor. It has no problem cleaning my hard floors with a good hard floor tool, and it cleans my area rugs very well when using a power nozzle. Does it have as much suction as a current model? No, but it has more than enough to get the job done.

 

[turbo500]

n0oxy, please bear in mind that powernozzle cylinder/canister cleaners are not popular and not widely available in the UK. Only a very few brands offer them and they're very expensive. Outside of collectors, I don't actually know anyone who owns one.


As Nish has already said the buget is around £100, there is no powernozzle cleaner on offer around this price on the UK market. The air-driven turbo brushes are the next best thing and to be honest, on our low-medium pile carpets, a good turbo brush will do just fine. Deep and shag pile carpeting is not popular here either.

 

[sebo_fan]

All this talk of new Henry vacs makes me think of what will happen to James...

 

[nish81]

Thanks for the continuing advice everyone! Just to respond to a few points:

Noise and storage space are not huge issues, weight is a bit of an issue but not really since I have no back problems and I can write off the pain of carrying it around as 'exercise'

I actually received my 620W Henry (with the air driven turbo brush attachment) and used it for the first time today, and I'm very happy with it. The brush attachment is amazing, the suction is great (Henry did eat my headphones, which had to be retrieved), and it performs very well on carpets. I haven't tried it with the stock carpet tool so can't say how much better the turbo brush is in comparison.

Thank you again everyone for your words of advice, I look forward to sharing many happy years with Henry

 

[turbo500]

Hi Nish,

Glad to be of help and glad you're pleased with the Henry . The normal straight-suction floortool will be good for any hard floors you have, but make sure you press the pedal to put the brushes down.

Happy vacuuming!

Chris