Vax Air Pet cylinder vacuum cleaner

Last year I was made aware that Vax were recruiting for a panel of testers known as Vax Voice. Each month one of their products would be offered to the members and 15 people would be chosen from all those who applied to test it. I've been clicking my link each month and hoping to see my name on the 'lucky list' for as long as I've been a member and about 2 weeks ago when the latest list came out I could hardly believe my eyes when I noticed my name was on there and about a week ago this arrived on my doorstep

I have always preferred a cylinder vacuum cleaner to an upright so this one is perfect for me to test out. Add to that this is one designed for pet hair and it's just right for us, yes we don't have cats of our own but we get visited by a couple regularly who have claimed us as a second home and shed regularly all over the place!

Before this I have mostly used cheaper vacuum cleaners as I've never quite understood the need to spend so much on an item of cleaning equipment and after opening the box I was faced with many tools that you just don't get with those machines but all of which looked interesting, the first task being to try to figure out which head to use first.

The picture below shows what came out of the box, the machine itself, instruction booklet, warranty card and flexible hose & handle are easy to spot, the other items included are (from left to right):

Telescopic extension tube
Turbobrush
TurboTool
Combination floor head
Upholstery tool
TurboTool connector

We decided to try the Combination floor head first due to us having mostly hardwood floors downstairs with a rug and carpet on the stairs and throughout upstairs.

The first thing that struck me was how easily everything clicks together, there's no need to push and pull and force things to fit to ensure you get an airtight connection between hose, head and machine. The next thing was just how long that flexible hose actually is, it states that it's 2.5m in the specs and that is actually quite long when you're faced with it. This means that the machine itself doesn't need to move that much to enable you to reach a wide area and this could be particularly useful to anyone with limited mobility or who finds an upright difficult/heavy to use, particularly when you take into account it's 5.6kg weight (empty)

The power lead is also a good length at 6 meters and combine this with the 2.5 litre capacity it'll do a lot of vacuuming before you need to empty it. Fitted is a H12 HEPA anti-bacterial filter which means a lot less particles get released back into the air from the exhaust than with machines lacking this.

In use I found it works amazingly well, it really has put my current vacuum to shame with how much dust and hair it's picked up from the rug and wooden floor even after a recent clean. We all know that vacuum cleaners are noisy but this one isn't that bad, you can talk while using it without having to shout (although if you were trying to annoy someone you could still claim you couldn't hear them telling you to turn it off while they watch/listen to something!)

The instruction booklet is lovely, it explains everything really well with diagrams to help you understand how to empty the dirt container and to clean the filters and to care for your tools. It all just goes to make this a complete package, it's not just an ordinary vacuum cleaner that you get, it's a complete cleaning system designed to make it as easy for you to use and maintain as possible.

Like all Vax machines this one comes with a full 6 year guarantee and retails for  £229.99 further details can be gained from the website here.