We've mentioned before about how much we prefer a good old cordless vacuum cleaner. Grabbing a gadget, switching it immediately on, then doing the job you need to do, makes everything more convenient. However, in the past the cordless vacs we've reviewed have tended to be mere 'dust busters' with a long snout... until now. We check out the Hoover H-Free 800 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner.
As the name suggests, this is a vacuum cleaner that runs from a rechargeable battery. Typically battery powered vacuum cleaners were used for smaller jobs and to clean out your car. What makes the Hoover H-Free 800 different is that it is the only vac you'll ever need.
The hand-held base unit itself is light enough to be wielded easily, yet chunky enough so it feels powerful. The bag-less waste drum can either emptied by flicking a switch to pop open the bottom, or screwed off entirely. You can also pull the filter out of the back, and unplug the battery (although it can be charged while still attached).
The most useful accessory is the long standing solid neck and head with rotating brush. The base unit lets you activate the rotations by tapping 'Carpet' mode, and you can also tap 'Turbo' for more powerful suction (but a quicker drain on the battery). The head features a flexible joint, allowing you to get into all manner of spaces, and LED lights to illuminate the floor in front, helping you spot dirt and dust.
Due to that optional rotating head, the Hoover H-Free 800 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner can be used on all types of floors, and we can attest to its effectiveness over carpet, hard wood floors, and even very thick, bushy rugs. It just did the job, and did it damn well. We also found that 35 minutes is more than a enough time to do the whole house, especially when you don't have to worry about the cord reaching.
It's also great for other jobs your traditional vacuum might not have been suitable for, like cleaning out the car, garage and shed. The wire-free design means it can go just about anywhere, and because of that we found ourselves vacuuming the house more often. Pretty rare, that.
But what about the WiFi functions? Well, unlike a robot vacuum cleaner, the Hoover H-Free 800 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner's app is quite surplus to requirements. You can connect to the vacuum to monitor battery level and the age of the filter, giving you a heads up when things need to be sorted.
There's also a feature that tracks the calories you burn while you are vacuuming, which kinda feels like a joke to us. Yes, it's nice to have additional WiFi features like these, but we really can't imagine you using them after the first week or so, especially thanks to the physical battery indicator lights on the base unit itself.
That said, this is by far the best cordless cleaner we've ever reviewed, and we're pleased as punch that Hoover has chosen to invest so much in a product like this. If you're sick of wires clogging up your home we heartily recommend the Hoover H-Free 800 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner.
£199
Available from www.currys.co.uk