17.10.2014

This Vax is generally easy to use although doesn't have the manoeuvrability of a ball cleaner or some other Vax uprights such as the Air3 Eco. It's lightweight, though, even if the Amazon description "Item Weight: 5 g" is a little optimistic! According to my scales, it weighs 5.6kgs with the 3-in-1 tool on board (but not the cord or turbo tool - the cord adds another 0.7kg).There's an impressive 12m of cord. Cord storage is provided but there's no auto-rewind, which is a bit of a pain with 12m of it.Suction, at least when new, is excellent despite the low, 820W input rating of the motor. It works well on both carpet and hard floors; you have to press a button to turn on the beater bars when vacuuming carpet.It doesn't like thin mats such as our Turtle door mat (there is no suction control).No vacuum cleaner is quiet and this one certainly isn't, but it isn't too bad, probably about average.Removing the dust canister is simple one-button business. Emptying it would be equally easy except that the lid tends to stick on its seal, when you press the button, and it's difficult to get hold of the lid to pull it open. The canister is best emptied outdoors because of the cloud of dust created (one of the disadvantages of bagless cleaners); the product video conveniently shows a container full of granules rather than real-world dust being emptied!Maintenance consists of cleaning and/or replacing two filters (it's great that a HEPA filter comes with it), cleaning the shroud in the dust canister and removing hair and threads from the beater bars. The motor filter has to be washed from time to time and left to dry for 24 hours. There's nothing difficult about all this but it's a lot more tedious than maintaining our Miele cylinder cleaner.The tools fit reasonably securely, directly to the hose or the extension tube, but are a simple push-fit rather than clip-on. The 3-in-1 tool is clever and convenient to store, if fiddlier to use than separates. The turbo tool does a good job on upholstery and stairs but can't be stored on the machine: UPDATE - after further use, I've decided the turbo tool isn't really very useful, with insufficient power to make the brushes rotate properly when pressed against soft surfaces, and the push fit being inadequate to hold it securely.In use, the flexible hose has to be extended considerably, concertina-fashion, then compressed for storage. The same applies to the extension hose. When stored in its natural position, the main hose is kept away from the wheel, unlike the Air3 Eco's hose. Total reach from the machine, using both hoses and the telescopic handle, is about 3.5m, a total of 15.5 m from a power point! That's impressive but a time-consuming performance to set up and put away. How well the flexible tubes survive repeated use remains to be seen.The instructions are adequate although it's annoying that, as with so many products, they cover multiple models, and you have to pick out the bits that are relevant to yours.By comparison with our Miele, this machine feels a little flimsy; maybe it's the quality of the plastics. Somehow, it doesn't inspire the same level of confidence. On the other hand, the light weight is a clear benefit, especially for anyone who isn't very strong or frequently has to lug it up/down stairs, and I've no real reason to believe the Vax won't be long-lived.The 6-year guarantee is very welcome and goes a long way towards offsetting my concerns about quality, especially since (a) they actively encourage you to go directly to them with any problems (b) I've read good feedback regarding Vax customer service.I'm guessing the price of this will soon come down from £250 to something well below £200, at which point I'd rate it a decent buy and worth putting on your shortlist (above the similarly-priced Air3 Eco which I've also had a chance to try - the latter has a sideways-flexing handle but shorter flex and hoses, and no turbo tool).A lot depends on whether you prefer uprights or cylinders. Uprights do make relatively light work of carpets and perhaps even large areas of hard floor. On the other hand, they don't perform any better than the best cylinder cleaners, are much more awkward to use with tools and need more maintenance (at least, this one does). After years of uprights, we'll be sticking to our Miele cylinder; people moan about the cost of bags but, in a 5-bed house, we only get through two per year, and high levels of suction are maintained even with full bags.UPDATE - I see the Amazon price is now just below £100, which I reckon makes this a good buy. I'd still save up for a Miele cylinder though (or maybe Bosch or Samsung).

20.5.2016

I came here to pen my review and saw-wow-that my favourite Vax had won its place as No.. 1 vacuum cleaner. Well-deserved.I spent years working for Dyson and innovative floorcare companies, as a consultant, ironing out product development issues. Problem is, some brands start out with the wrong ideas about what makes a good design; then the consultant's stuck with working on a duff item. Dyson excelled in suction and filtration but produced some mighty clunky devices.THIS Vax, by comparison, is the housework-hater's dream. It makes the task so easy and satisfying.I encountered Vax Air when my Karcher wet and dry vac died, and I went hang-dog into Tesco for a replacement.I was gutted there were no Karchers and found this instead. Best thing that ever happened to my housework!!I'm smitten by the Vax Air range--all of them, and there are a fair few variants. This has that mega long hose that makes it a stairsucker's delight. And it has all the suction the Air is known for. Carpet-lifting insanity. Blimey!You can't part this mega-beast from the carpet, and it wants to get up and clean all day and night. I swear, if you listen in the night-time and haven't bolted yours down, it will be whizzing away sucking at your floors.I now own four. Okay, I am a kleptomaniac. A Vax-o-phile. I have even taken it when I have travelled, so reluctant am I to end up in a hotel or rented pad with a grimy floor.More remarkable is the task that I set it at home.I own a large historic house that I let on a property letting site. It attracts demanding guests from all corners of the world. Since I bought this cleaner (and its friends), people have consistently given a 5-star cleaning rating; even though I have a white cat with long, shedding hair, people can have their kids roll around on carpets in dark clothes and have no worries about needing a sticky-roller session. But the best part about that is that it's no effort at all.This Vax Air contends with 50' rooms, where previous vacuum cleaners persisted in letting me down. Either they would lose suction, had a naff rotating brush that stopped working or weren't user-friendly.Now, some say this has too much suck. Yes, it is so powerful, you can indeed feel the carpet (not just the rugs) part from the floor but that means a vortex of air is whipping through the fibres, all the way through, right to the floorboards or underlay; it's removing also the debris that's travelled down the microscopic carpet fibres towards the reverse side of the carpet.This cleaner will ensure the level of cleanliness hospitals are supposed to provide, but which they fail at because they are too busy cultivating flesh-eating bacteria to kill people with.Yes, it's hard to push the blighter where the carpets are smooth, but OH the delight, in knowing every speck of evil filth is encased in its collection container.... For anyone suffering from asthma, allergy or simple mad-cat-lady-itis, a Vax Air means the air will be fresh and as cleaned as it's possible to make it without introducing clinical air filtration (of a type that's nothing to do with vacuuming).Other positives:- very long cord and hose;- front illumination feature;- easy to toggle the rotating brush head on and off;- nicely skims along the side of walls without any damage;- easily manoeuvrable;- supremely light ; yes MUCH lighter than a Dyson. This thing is a one-handed wonder, easy to carry upstairs, even for an 8 stone weakling with dodgy joints.- fabulous packaging, nice and neat, not a humungous box filled with air;- easy to empty, and filters stay nice and clean. Longevity of filters a real bonus, never washed them either.- good set of tools;- comfortable and flexible in use, manages to reach beneath low furniture;- fairly quiet in operation;- comfortable handle and I like the hole at the handle end; I stick a rubber furniture brush in there, for extra whacking of rugs, sofa backs etc to remove dust or fluff from upright items;- brilliantly simple mechanism for detaching the collection container from the body of the appliance; one button, that's it - and it seats back quickly and securely;- extremely easy to use the attachments and I LOVE how the hose clips onto the body and detaches with one swift unclip, so that tools can be used.The only downside?I'd remove that stupid little screw that holds the hose tight to the body. It's to protect the hose but creates an uncomfortable kink. And nobody enjoys a sharp bend in their hose, do they?

15.7.2017

I've had five of these (or the Vax similar/identical variants) in the past four years... Of course, the fact that I have had so many will (and probably should) ring alarm bells for some people... On the bright side, I only ever paid for one of them (at an initial cost of £124.99). Taking this into account, my observations are as follows:1. This is an excellent bit of kit for the price - the 'pick up' is incredible to include pet hair (it is so powerful, it will even lift your carpets and takes some strength to push it around. You will also need it on a low setting for e.g. Lino.)2. The VAX customer service is top notch. When it develops a fault (the machine's downfall), a simple phone call,followed up by an email and then a form to return by post and an admin payment of £3.99 will secure you a new replacement machine within a few days. They only ever requested the return of one machine (which of course meant that I had plenty of spare parts along the way.)3. Sadly, whilst the performance is exceptional, this is a cheaply made machine to reflect the cost (and thus faults occur very quickly.) I still have two years left on my manufacturer's warranty (it was a fabulous six years in total) but I have now come to the point (after four years) that I am ready to 'cut my losses' and find a more robust piece of equipment that is up to the job (the continual faults do start to grate after a while and despite the excellent attitude from VAX, making continual claims does become tiresome if you're not the type of person to claim on a guarantee every five minutes.)4. What did I love about the machine? The powerful suction and pick up, the extra long power lead, the ease of emptying the container, cleaning filters etc and of course the VAX customer service which is faultless. Despite the weight, the machine is also relatively easy to handle meaning that you can e.g. clean the stairs without the bother of using the attachments etc (which can't be stored on board.) This does a far superior job to a Dyson at a fraction of the price. What didn't I love? It's a heavy machine (primarily due to the powerful suction) and doesn't handle corners well (or go under objects/furniture), and the extra long extension lead often gets tangled (I suspect this is the cause for many of the problems that I incurred with the machines.)5. Faults incurred included: Machine smoking then cut out (twice - failed motor according to VAX); wheels fell off and couldn't be replaced so required a new machine (still got the old machine and the hose part works fine for hoovering out e.g. my wood burners); loose connection on the power lead to the plug (this is a fixed plug and I phoned to ask for permission to just change the plug without invalidating the guarantee for the machine... they replaced it but left me with the old one, and so I then changed the plug and was left with two perfectly functional machines); further loose connection from the lead to the plug on the new machine (I didn't bother contacting them and just changed the plug and it worked fine for a while); loose connection from the lead to the machine itself on the replacement machine (irreparable - smoke pouring from connection).I could have returned the latest machine for a further replacement had I chosen to, and I am confident that VAX would have honoured their contract given their past performance - I have just decided to move on and look for a more reliable long-term option. I still have one fully-functional machine (that I changed the plug to, but it's no longer under warranty having been replaced) and overall, I love the machine and the performance (not to mention customer service)... it's just the durability that gives me cause for concern.

18.7.2015

I read quite a few reviews before purchasing this machine. Many people were saying that the suction was too strong to use. To be honest, I've had a very old Dyson for many years and given that it had lost most of its suction, I would have given anything for a cleaner that sucked so hard that I couldn't move the thing! I couldn't work out from the reviews whether this issue was a real issue or it meant it was the machine of my dreams! So I gave it a go and pressed the 1 click order button! Within 12 hours (good old Amazon Prime!) I had the shiny new machine out of its box and was trying it for myself.I found out what all the fuss was about when I tried vacuuming the carpets!If you have the machine on full power it is indeed almost impossible to move as the suction is so strong. However, there is a handy little slider on the front of the machine which allows in a little air and reduces the suction so you can set it at whatever level you want. Simple solution but it works. When you have the suction on strong it does make the machine hard/heavy to use but just move the slider until it is comfortable to use. At the end of the day, I'm pretty pleased that there is such a good level of suction! I've spent the whole morning cleaning my house and am very pleased with its performance to be honest.I have hard floors downstairs and it performed great on those too. It suggests that you don't have the brushes going when cleaning hard floor in case of damage but I had them going on my tiles and floorboards and there were no problems. You can switch the motor to the brushes on and off which is quite a neat feature.With the extension hose and the turbo brush I did my whole staircase without having to move the machine up the stairs. The attached hose is pretty short so is ok to add the nozzle for small areas but if you want to do cobwebs on the ceiling and all of the corners of the room it is quite easy to attach the longer hose and the handle pulls out so that you have a long handle.I'm actually very impressed by the design of this. It seems very well thought out to me. The handle is height adjustable (moves slightly when using it but not really a problem) AND comes out so that you can use it to attach the long hose extension.The tools provided all clip together so that they don't get lost and have a holder on the back of the machine so that they are always accessible. The spare hose fits on the side neatly, ready to use. The only thing that doesn't have a home is the turbo brush which I used on the stairs but that doesn't seem to be an issue. Will just keep it under the stairs!The bin is really easy to empty and put back on unlike some other machines that I've tried! One click and it empties through the bottom of the bin. It also has a handle on the top which makes the machine easy to carry when you are using the long handle. There are two filters, pre bin and post bin although I've not had to do anything with them yet.The cable tidy has plenty of room for the very long cable (one I had before didn't have room to store the cable!) and the cable itself seems very long! I didn't have to unplug it at all. Just plugged it in a central room and it reached right the way through.Whatever issues there were in the past with this machine seem to have been sorted. Really great suction when you need it, just turn it down if it is too much! And comes with 6 years warranty! Seems like an absolute bargain to me!

8.3.2016

This thing is incredible. It replaced a decent dyson, we also had an older vax. Actually there's the shop vac and car vac. Oh and the little goblin for the stairs. Drop-kicked them all into the sea apart from the shop vac. Apparently if I get paint or any "man crap" (you decide what this means) on this one I have to go live at the bottom of the garden with the chickens.Insanely powerful it pulled out a full load of dirt from the hallway carpet which had just been given the once over with the Dyson. I was shocked, the dyson picked up the stuff that you get with cats and children and what have you, but nothing more. Then this thing went to town and holy moly - I thought the hall was clean!It is that good you'll actually feel sick when you see what your previous cleaner left behind. Unless you are one of these people who use 300L of bleach a day scrub the bejeezus out of everything types, in which case I can't really help you, you'll never be satisfied unless you move into an ISO8 clean room to live, which I suspect you'd still obsessively clean despite there being no dust.The thing is light too, easy to handle. The comments about the handle being uncomfortable elsewhere, I don't find that at all. I do have hams for hands so this may be why. The mrs hasn't complained. It is light enough for the mrs to comfortably lift it up the stairs, I still have to do it though for some reason?The stuff it comes with is decent, clever little extendible crevice tool come brush with crevice tool means you don't have dozens of parts to figure out how to clip on. The extension hose and the crevice tool are simply stored on board. The turbo attachment is excellent for stairs and seems to be hated by the cats much more than anything I have ever seen. Not sure if that's relevant. Just maybe if you have cats, beware using the turbo in a room with a cat in it, one of ours tried to leave the room where there wasn't a door. It normally scarpers when it sees the vacuum, mind it's not the cleverest of cats to be fair. A slight grumble, and it's nothing close to being even a fraction of a star off, is that the turbo tool doesn't fit anywhere on the thing. Would have been nice to keep it all in one place. See in our house if you leave something where it's deemed not to "live" it will be put away. Where that is may never be determined so lots of stuff gets lost. Apparently I shouldn't keep on about it and if I put things away then they wouldn't get lost, apparently not knowing where something goes isn't an excuse for not putting it there. I know!All the switches, buttons and fittings feel good to use and are well laid out. The dust container is a cinch to remove easily and the button to release the hinged plate and dump the stuff in the bin is well thought out. Are you listening James?The stupid cat described above has long soft black hair which gets everywhere. This tears it out of the carpet no issues at all.In summary this is excellent value for the price paid (£86) - in fact for two or three times that it would have been good value. The 6 year guarantee backs up what I believe to be a really quality product with what is so sorely lacking these days - confidence to put your faith in your product and look after people who buy them. It has purple bits too, which is nice.Well done VAX - this is exceptional!

20.12.2016

I waited until there had been a few weeks use under our belt before I reviewed this.There wasn't much setting up involved and as one expects from a new hoover it put us to shame on the first use. The amount of dirt and dust that were picked up first day was crazy. The powerful suction meant that any rugs we had would lift and were near impossible to hoover. There is a tab on the hoover to reduce the suction to help with this. The suction isn't as powerful already so the tab isn't used anymore.There is also a motorised brush built in that can be turned on and off when needed. The hoover is rather loud when this is on and the green light can be quite blinding as maneuvering around the room. Also,if there are people in the house with long hair then the hairs will wrap around the head and block it. I've to get a scissors to cut the hair up for it to go through and have twice had to open up the hoover head to remove the hair altogether.The "reach" part of this vacuum is as beneficial as it is awkward. The handle pops out and becomes the pipe but you've to remove the hose from the hoover head and attach it to the extension hose and then to the pipe you've removed. Once you get used to it it's not a big head but the smaller head that comes with it doesn't flex therefore you have to come at the right angle to the what you are cleaning in order to get it to work. I kept the head of my old hoover as it has the flexible neck and it's fine.This is still probably one of the best hoovers we've ever had. It just eats thought he carpets and the extra long cord means that in our small bungalow we're not running back and forth plugging it in and out. The down side to the long plug is that you have to wrap it around the back of the hoover. It doesn't hid inside like other hoovers. So I find myself getting caught up in this lead that spread out over the floor. I've started to hold it in one had as I go.The hoover is bulky and there is a bit of weight to it too. It's near impossible to get under a bed or a couch with so I end up lying on the floor with the extension arm to get in or moving the furniture out of the way. Storage can also be an issue but I find that if you take the arm out you can fit it into the hot-press without an issue.The dust canister may seem small but we find it big enough for us. It's easy to remove and knock the dust out off.Don't get me wrong I'm still giving this hoover 4 stars. It's really powerful and I can get the whole house done in 15-20 minutes compared to spending that time along each of the rugs & carpets before that as well as the constant unplugging. In the end that's all I really want, something that cleans well and saves me time at the right price and this was reduced from 299 to 79 with free postage when I purchased it (even if Amazon added on a few pound more when I said I was in Ireland). It's way better value than anything I could find here in Ireland for that price.

2.3.2016

I've owned the original version of the air reach for 5.5 years. There were a few issues with it and have just had it replaced with the latest version under the warrantee. VAX customer services were really good, cant fault them at all, and I had the new vacuum delivered in just 48 hours. So having used the new version for a few weeks I think I'm well placed to comment on any improvements and issues for anyone thinking of upgrading. When I bought the original it was the best vacuum on the market for someone like me with back and other problems. It wasn't perfect but very close and I'd have given it 5 stars.They've made a few improvements with this new model. Its a lower wattage due to energy saving regulations,but well done to vax as it seems a lot more powerful than the original. The brush bar is more efficient and it and the belt are now user maintainable which was a daft omission on the earlier model. You can now adjust the amount of suction for different flooring. The cannister is still easy to empty, and the handles, etc I find comfortable to use with slightly arthritic hands. The filtration seems to work very well, the washable filters are easy to maintain, especially if you have more than one filter (one in the machine, one drying).It is apparently a similar weight as the original, but actually feels a little heavier in use. The brush bar is slightly wider and chunkier, good for reaching more carpet, but a little annoying if you are used to it fitting between certain chair legs etc. Unfortunately the new brush bar design seems to have lost the perfect edge to edge performance of the old model, it now misses crumbs along the edges, so I'm having to use the tools more frequently.The hose to vacuum connector has been moved to the back of the brush bar, which is less convenient if you have issues bending as previously, tilting the vacuum forward raised the rear connector to a workable height. The connectors on the hoses have changed to a chunkier design and they do seem to be easier to connect/disconnect. Its worth noting that if you have a favourite or generic attachment bought for the older version it wont fit the new hoses unless you find a way of adapting it.The rotary upholstery brush is far too powerful to use on dralon or other material sofas/chairs, it just adheres to the material like a limpet and stops rotating, even with the brushbar vent fully open. It does however bring up the pile on the stair carpet beautifully. The flex is long enough to do a couple of medium rooms upstairs while still plugged in downstairs, handy if you are short on sockets. A small niggle here is that they don't give you a larger cord tidy to accommodate the extra flex.Overall I would say its still a good buy, but let down by the reduced edge to edge efficiency its only getting 4 stars

20.2.2016

Just arrived and had a once around the house so this is a first impression review. Easy to put together from the box. No screws or anthing, my 10 year old did it for me in less than a minute without any instructions. Very, very quiet compared to our old hoover. Suction is amazing, picks up so much more dirt than our old one. We have 2 dogs and it coped with the hair no problem.There is an adjuster on the airflow to reduce suction but it is still strong. Pushing it forward while hoovering is easy but again due to the suction it can be harder to pull it backwards. Easy for me but others may find it a little tiring and it will pull rugs up as well.It has a great feature that when you stand it up

9.10.2016

This is by far the best vacuum cleaner I have ever owned, and it's a real bargain at the moment for less than £100I might be well out of date and late writing a review on this item but who cares its worth it.I've read a lot before I bought it about the suction being too much and decided to go for it, I have MS and can sometimes be weak and struggle to push this hoover because the suction is really good. But I'd prefer it that way personally because I have long piled carpets and atleast I know that when it does them it does them well, and they always look super revamped and strangely cleaner looking to the eye when I've finished.I find the extendable hose a diddle to clip together,

23.1.2016

We've had this Vax U90 (from a supplier other than Amazon) for some six weeks now & simply can't understand how a few reviewers give it negative reviews. I often think they're reviewing a different product because we find it infinitely superior to all the Dysons & Panasonic vacs we've had, at a fraction of the price.What I think is happening is that the negative reviewers are doing what many people do & NOT READING THE INSTRUCTIONS before using it. Yes, with the sliding suction control on the brush head set to 'hard floors' it will suck like heck on a carpet & break your wrists but if you read the instructions & engage your brain & slide this simple control with your foot towards the 'carpet'

19.6.2015

I received my new Vax Air Reach today and have just given it a test run on the living room carpet which I hoovered with my trusty but old Henry hoover yesterday morning. I'm both amazed and aghast at the amount of dust and pet hair this machine picked up from a simple pass over the carpet.I have a cream living room carpet which is always a bit of a mission to keep clean as I also have a shih tzu and 2 cats ( one black and one long haired). I honestly thought my old Henry was doing a stellar job but I have to say I'm amazed already at the extra oomph the vax packs.I was a little dubious about buying this vacuum as there are quite a few negative reviews regarding it being too hard to push around carpets due to its super suction,

14.10.2014

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Vax Air Upright Cleaner, I have owned a multivax in the past which I did like, but my vacuum of choice is usually Miele, however on using this Vax it comes very close to Miele.So let's start with the basics and putting it together. This should be simple, you do get an instruction manual with visuals to help you put this upright together. Unfortunately, the images are quite small and it took 2 of us to work out how to connect hoses, attachments, etc to the main part of the vacuum. I must point out that I have never struggled before with a new vacuum so I don't think it's me, but who knows!And so to hoovering. You get a really long electric cable which is great,

12.12.2014

I have a 15 year old Dyson upright which I was looking to replace; I also have a Numatic Henry. The Vax seemed to offer the same sort of vacuum as Dyson at a much cheaper price (£99 when I purchased) so I thought I would try it. As with any machine there are always plus and minus points so I will try to list all the ones I have found in the two weeks I have been using it and hope that other would-be purchasers will find my comments useful. Just for reference purposes, I'm a fit woman in my 60s with no mobility problems.+ it is very lightweight and can be lifted in one hand (4.9 kg/11lbs according to the instruction book)+ it has a long flex which means it will reach into more than one room+

17.10.2014

For years we have used a Henry, so moving to an upright has been a bit of a shock (so much so in fact that we are still using both for now). However now that we have got used to this machine we can see its benefits. And its one bad point.Construction & Putting Together=========================Nicely made, with lightweight but strong plastic parts. When assembled (the work of 3 or 4 minutes) the machine still feels fairly light. With no power, running the wheels over a hard floor is very noisy...but with power this is less obvious. Most of the machine (filters etc) is already in place. All you have to do is connect a handle, find places for the accessories and off you go.Accessories==========A three-in-one nozzle,

8.9.2015

We had a 1500w panasonic hoover which had a brilliant suck and and then it died. So looking for a replacement and researching on this vacuum cleaner we thought we would give it a go especially at the price it was going for. It is easy to assemble and quite light compared to our other one. It is only 800w but don't let that get in the way, OMG my carpet now has a pile that it didn't have. In a small area you could see what was being sucked up in the window like a tornado which can make you feel dirty lol . That being said although it will take up your pets hairs easily don't let the little chiwawa get to close because they will end up in that hose finally spinning around in the dirt holder window lol.

Vax U90-MA-R - Reviews

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