New vacuum time - Henry for carpets?

[Clive George]

My memory of what's recommended here is Sebo, Miele and Henry, with Dyson being alternately sworn by and sworn at.

Does a Henry work on domestic carpet? Does one need a clever brush for it?

[DerbyBorn]

Clive George wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I think a Dyson is a good carpet care appliance. May criticisms are from thos using them for other purposes.

[Bob Eager]

Works fine. Although the extra turbo brush is brilliant.

[Tim+]

A lot depends on what you're used to. If you're not used to dragging a vacuum cleaner around that constantly gets jammed up against furniture and doorways, then an upright (like a Dyson) may suit you well.

I tried a "pull along" cleaner and absolutely hated it. The make is immaterial. My favourite is my upright Dyson, my most hated one is another Dyson.

Tim

[Java Jive]

Yes, that was what was recommended as an upright to me when I asked here two or three months back. The one recommended (by The Medway Handyman) was this ...

... but when the time comes I think I'm more likely to go for one of these ...

However ...

Yes, TMH also linked one of those:

TMH recommended the 'James' variant ...

... but I actually bought a wet version, the Charles.

Pluses are:

+ Very good suction; + Good long mains lead; + Good long vacuum tube; + Has a dusting brush, essential for computer keyboards; + Not too heavy, could even be considered light in fact.

Although noisy like all vacuum cleaners, about average I'd say, it's acceptable until you get the crevice tool into a tight corner, then the noise level goes right up.

Three big minuses in my book are that:

- The push-fit tools tend to pull apart, especially when doing large floor spaces;

- There is no means of carrying the attachments around with the unit, so you're having to carry armfuls of bits from room to room, and then wondering where to put them down where they won't soil anything but also won't be in the way of cleaning the floor.

- Like all dog-on-a-lead types, it tends to get caught behind fixtures and items of furniture as you pull it around;

In fact, these in combination mean that it's not very good at large floor areas. When my old Hoover upright finally dies, as it surely will soon, I'll probably get one of the Sebos, and have the best of both worlds.

No experience of them.

If it's like the Charles, it will have a range of attachments, but no means of carrying them around with it, though the more expensive James apparently has.

[Brian Gaff]

Vax are quite good also, though if they have one flaw its the quality of manufacture of the tools with rotating bits. The bearings are nylon and mostly crap and make rude noises after a few months of use. Brian

[Lobster]

+1. They flog the (quite expensive) turbo thingy as an add-on if you have pet-hair problems etc, which is why we bought it; however it does vastly increase cleaning power over the normal brush attachment and I'd definitely reccomend it even in a pet-free house (which isn't to say that the original brush thing on its own doesn't stack up well against other cleaners)

[Dave Liquorice]

FSVO "fine". B-)

I found that a Henry on carpet was hard work compared to roll along upright with a proper powered "beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans" action.

That may improve things, is that powered or just use the flow of air to drive it?

We have Dyson DC04 best part of 10 years old maybe older. Does the job far better suck than any other upright we've had, suck that doesn't drop off after doing a room either. The cannister is a bit small but you can see when it's getting/is full.

[Bob Eager]

My sons managed to lose the noprmal brush attachment and I had to buy a replacement. Decided I might as well get the turbo one - we have pets, and I shed white hairs everywhere!

Then sons found the old attachment....

[Bob Eager]

The brush is actually meant to be retracted for carpets.

Air powered. It does slow a bit under load, but the results are good.

I originally got the Henry just for DIY work etc. We dumped the Dyson afterwards as no one wanted to use it any more!

[Jonathan]

My VAX was rubbish it had no suction at all.

Jonathan

[Mentalguy2k8]

Me too, when Dysons work, they work very well until the end of their useful life. The only criticism I'd have is (in my experience) when they start getting on a bit, you're better off ditching it and buying new. I spent more time dismantling/reassembling/cleaning mine than actually hoovering. But until then, no complaints at all.

[Jim S]

We have two Mieles (one on each floor). They are excellent. Their fabric bags last for ages and are not expensive on-line direct from Miele. A Dyson rep I know claims they make more money selling spares than they do new cleaners - try Googling Dyson Spares.

[Clive George]

Roughly how many fills is "ages", and are they easy to empty? One of the things which put me off the Miele was reports that the bags weren't easily reusable.

[polygonum]

I wouldn't even try to reuse their wonderful fluffy bags. They last surprisingly well and suction is retained far better than in most other systems I have used. But you do have to factor that cost into your equations.

[Alan Braggins]

An electric powered one also exists, but it might not fit the current standard Henry, you might need a Henry Turbo:

(I'm fairly sure our older Henry has the output power socket for one, or an older version, and it doesn't have the Turbo branding. But I don't think newer models do. And I haven't tested the output socket on ours.)

[tony sayer]

Yes same here SWMBO won't have anything other than a Miele!...

[gremlin_95]

They are pretty good but I would certainly recommend the additional 'Airo-brush', it grooms the carpet and is very good on pet hair. Only downside is that it makes a high pitched whine when in operation.

I have a Numatic George I use primarily for car valeting but it also gets used around the house. Bit cumbersome for normal vacuuming so we have a Miele S7 upright and smaller Miele cylinder, the suction is immensely powerful on both, the upright has a very impressive roller brush which seems to shake dust out of the carpet before you even get to it:

The upright bags are 6 litres and you can squeeze a lot of dirt in there with very little drop in performance.

[alan]

Doesn't that link just show what problems you get when you have too much suction?

[Gammer0]

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