This happy purchase was made in April 2010; after 2 months of use, my experience is that the features and performance have exceeded my expectations. And the price is excellent for the quality and completeness of features provided. Given this positive experience after my initial and strong opposition to buying another Hoover Wind Tunnel, I wanted to share this with others.
PRIOR BAD EXPERIENCE: About 9 years ago, I bought a Hoover Wind Tunnel. It was twice the price of this model and so awful (all kinds of breakdowns from the first use--belt fell off repeatedly, handle broke off in my hand, etc.) that I was immediately and seriously opposed to the Hoover Wind Tunnel brand... and after struggling too long with it, I simply threw it away when I moved out of the state. For my new home, I bought an inexpensive, bagless Eureka -- which was OK then for the purpose (I had all hardwood floors plus oriental (area) rugs, was in a hurry, and was not going to stay there very long). But having moved again, now in a home with wall to wall carpet, I wanted to replace the modest Eureka with a serious vacuum cleaner. I did a lot of research to find a new lightweight, bagged (my great preference) upright vacuum cleaner, and I found there were not very many lightweight, bagged vacuums on the market. This model turned out to be the only cleaner that seemed to meet my needs--but for my prior bad experience. Fortunately I found on the Internet a review which mentioned that Hoover sub-contracts the manufacturing of their vacuum cleaners and that due to past quality problems, Hoover had changed their sub-contractor. (Review didn't say when the "bad" period started and stopped.) So I decided to give this model a chance.... and when the product arrived and I first used it, I was happy I had found that information and given this model a chance.
Points of note:
(1) UPRIGHT:
BASICS:
WEIGHT: At this writing, I think that the weight shown in Amazon's product description (5 lbs) is not correct for the upright. I vaguely recall from my research that it is about twice that... about 3 lbs. heavier than the one I was replacing. Assuming 11 pounds, I worried it might be harder to push than I wanted. However, it is easier to push than I expected.... it feels as if it has a slight self-powered action. (My old Wind Tunnel advertised that feature, which was fine till it broke after a month.)
ERGONOMICS: The ergonomics (handle shape, angle, height button and pedal placement; etc.) are pretty traditional--no gimmicks--and comfortable and work well.
CLEANING ABILITY: My home does not suffer much in the way of dirt stains or buried soil (e. g., dirt & sand as may be tracked in on shoes...) so I cannot speak to that.... I do have lots of "fluff" (edges of paper from unpacking, etc.) so I can easily see what is getting picked up. The advertised "special edge-cleaning function" is pretty much two little brushes extending from the sides... not as big a deal as one might think from the marketing piece. However the edge-cleaning function works as well or better than any vacuum I have had. The one design element that Hoover could improve on would be the leading edge height of cleaner body/motor -- it would be nice if it could taper to a shallower depth so it would go under more pieces of my furniture. However, as this is not a common feature in vacuum cleaners, I would not lower the 5-star rating for this.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
AUTO-CARPET-HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT: My favorite--and surprise--feature was auto-carpet-height adjustment. The wall-to-wall carpet in my current home is overlaid with numerous hand-knotted oriental rugs, varying from deep Tibetan wool pile to luxurious but delicate, thin silk pile. Almost all of these rugs are finished with the natural warp "fringe," which greatly adds to the challenge of vacuuming these beautiful works of textile art.
In this regard, this vacuum cleaner has functionality even better than expected: (1) It happily goes from carpet to rug to carpet without having to make a manual carpet-height adjustment. (2) I have rolled it right up to the fringe edge of these area rugs, and it has yet to try to suck even a single strand of fringe into the roller brush. Amazing! With all my prior vacuum cleaners, I could barely vacuum even near the edge of the fringe ... it always seemed that no matter how carefully I place the cleaner, the fringe would get sucked into the vacuum cleaner. And this is not because the suction or the roller brush are inadequate. The cleaning performance is as good or better than any cleaner I have used: after being vacuumed, the various levels of my carpet and rugs looked suitably "fluffed" -- neither beaten from too much roller brush action nor "unfluffed," a sign of insufficent action.
(2) CANNISTER: Providing a cannister as part of the "set" is a better solution than the way my previous cleaners which delivered the "wand" & tools functionality. In those cases, the upright came with "on-board" tools, which could be attached to a hose attached to the upright and one could divert the suction from the roller brush to the tubing. However, I never found it to be a very convenient solution as it required one to always have to clumsily drag around the upright. I greatly prefer this solution. As it is not meant for heavy "shop-vac" duty, the cannister is small and lightweight...just what is needed for its specialized uses: cleaning ceilings, inside sofas, under beds, etc.
I think the extension tubing for the wand was slightly shorter than others I have had... but since the cannister is totally portable, one can easily adapt.
In summary, I am very pleased wtih this purchase, and if this vacuum cleaner offers the features desired, I would encourage anyone to consider it, and especially anyone who had a bad experiences with a Hoover Wind Tunnel around 10 (+-) years ago.
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This Item  Hoover Platinum Collection Bagged Corded Upright Vacuum with Canister Vacuum Cleaner UH3001COM |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -23% $269.99 List: $349.99 | -18% $229.99 List: $279.99 | -21% $218.35 List: $276.99 | $189.99 | -32% $149.95 List: $219.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22 | Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22 | Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22 | Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22 | Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Suction power | ||||||
| For cleaning up hair | ||||||
| Maneuverability | ||||||
| For stairs | ||||||
| Light weight | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Simplicity Vacuums | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| power source | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | AC |
| special feature | corded, bagged, HEPA filtration | Stand alone, allergy upright vacuum cleaner, certified hepa vacuum, upright vacuum for carpet and hardwood floors, plastic, includes flexible hose, crevide tool, upholstery tool and dusting brush, elite corded vacuum | Dual Brush Roll, Headlights, Bagless, Washable Filter, Swivel Steering, HEPA Media Filter | corded, bagged | Corded | corded, bagless, HEPA filtration, portable |
| surface suggestion | Bare Floor | Laminate, Carpet, Hardwoods, Ceramic tile, Bare Floor | Multi-Surface | Carpet, Wooden Floor, Laminate Floor, Bare Floor, Tile Floor | Carpet | Carpet & Hard floors |
| capacity | 5.4 kilograms | 4.3 liters | 1.5 liters | 630 cubic inches | — | 9 quarts |
| voltage | 12 volts | 110 volts | 120 volts | 120 volts | — | 100120 volts |
| noise level | 80 decibels | 65 decibels | — | 80 decibels | — | 80 decibels |
Reviews with images
Certain homes only!
I'll start off by the categories Amazon requires you to rate in. Material quality/durability/versatility. I rated all categories 3 stars, but the overall 5 stars.As for materials, it could definitely be better. I have 2 orecks, and they are both made better (even though the parent company hoover owns oreck as well now). This is much more plastic like, and the handle is known to break on these if you are really rough on a vacuum. DONT SAY TO YOURSELF "BROKEN HANDLE?! I DON'T WANT THIS ONE THEN". Because it really is only for people are are really abusive. You should take care of your investments regardless. I've had mine for over a year, no problem.Durability, I stated as 3 stars, because it's a hoover. It is a platinum collection, and it's one of their highest end. However, it's still an off the shelf vacuum. It's also one of the few, if not only direct air machine you can buy in stores (department store). You can break the fan by sucking up something hard like a coin, or rock (large rock) and a lot of people do.Versatility, I also said 3 stars. It's very lightweight and easy to push. However, it has a separate canister for above floor, which we all know that. But you do need to use both machines. So the versatility is there because it comes with everything you need, but at a cost of storage and using another machine.The mini canister is not that powerful. It has enough to do the basics, but the suction is not super strong, and the airflow is not that impressive. I have used it one time. The hose is a slinky stretch style. But the hose is the very long, so the canister always needs to be held onto. It's also not the highest quality.Now, the carpet cleaning is exceptional. The upright that is. High airflow, which is what you want for carpets. The vacuum will struggle on low pile because you can't adjust the height. So if you have a medium pile carpet, it will do a phenomenal job. I know it sounds like this vacuum only fits certain people's cleaning tasks. And you would be right!So if you think you can take care of it, and have the right type of carpet, go for it! You won't be disappointed.
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Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2018
