Vax UCSUSHV1 Air Lift Steerable Advance Upright Vacuum Cleaner, Red

Due to two dying cleaners (1 x upright, 1 x cylinder) I needed something with an efficient beater bar, good suction, and ability to use on the stairs and in the car.I've only had this a few days so will update as and when required...So far,Likes: Easy to lift and manoeuvre, less noisy than my two old ones, easy to empty, easy to use on stairs. Great attachments.Great ideas are the lift-off and the rubbery fluff-n-fur attachment for raking up moult if you have animals. I no longer have to moonwalk the fluff up from the cats' favourite nap areas.Attachments: Still working my way through them but because of the suction, I expect them all to work. The soft brush is good for removing dust on delicate surfaces (coving). The turbo fitting is also effective and, used instead of or in conjunction with the rubbery fur remover, raised the carpet pile nicely. I almost forgot that the handle of the cleaner can be removed and used as an extension to the normal hose, and it's lightweight. I used this combination with the three heads mentioned - for stairs and around coving.Weight: I was worried the light weight would mean it wasn't up to the job (3 bedroom house with mix of short and long-pile plus wooden/vinyl flooring. It looked tiny next to my monster upright. It's easy to lift with one hand when all clipped together, and the lift-out is light enough to take up the stairs in one hand. It tends to fall over when you've using the hose, but not surprising as it's taller than it is wide. I just steadied it with the other hand (handle on top). The point is that it sits easily on the stair treads so it wasn't a trip hazard for me; neither was it an almost- certain falling object like my old upright & cylinder - both hung over the stair edges.Power: So far, it has proved itself more powerful and efficient than my two old cleaners. I had to empty the bin twice on one carpet due to the stuff left behind by my dying cleaners. The first time I forgot and was warned by the red light. The bin is opened by the obvious red clip, and the waste drops out.Manoeuvrability: The swivel head (beater thingy) makes it easy to move around furniture without having to do 10-point turns with a heavy cleaner around obstacles and into corners. The beater itself spins very quickly and is easy to switch on/off and adjust for different floor types.Noise: It was a lot quieter than my previous upright and without the high-pitched whiney noise.Suction: I have read a review that said it was difficult to move across the carpet due to the suction. After using a dying upright to clean my carpets for the past three months I don't care that it can grab at the carpet; it didn't make it difficult to pull/push, though (I'm in 60s). It seems to help if you approach from a different angle of pile or raise the bar. I used the cleaner on both low pile carpet and long-pile rugs.

After a few weeks of use I have come to the conclusion that this vacuum cleaner is good if you only need an upright. It has great suctions and is works well when upright.However, when you use the other features that is where the design faults become apparent, to the point I hate using this machine and wish I had not bought it. I wish I could return it.1) The 3in1 tool crevice tool works well. The other two options do not work as the moulding is poorly made and does not 'lock' as it should, meaning the parts do not interlock properly.2) the lift out sections is a great idea, but badly implemented. You cannot stand it on the ground and use the hose as it falls over. There is also a hot air vent that can burn blow directly onto your legs and is quite uncomfortable.3) Linked to 2 above, the hose for the arm attachment and tools is far far too short. the hose connect to the arm from the cylinder but is only about 50-100cm long. With the length of the attachment arm needing two hands for balance and simple ergonomics of use, you are doomed to fail from the start. The hose length and unstable cylinder do not work well. I have numerous bruises on my leg where the cylinder keeps hitting me because the hose and tool do not work properly. In addition, you need to watch out for that hot air vent.4) There are tools with this model, but it is not clear what they are all for. They have names like Turbo Brush, but that is all it tells you. The mattress tool is clear, but why there is not more clarification.5) The plastic finish is shining and attracts dust and dirt, which makes the outside of the machine filthy after emptying. It seems to attract the dirt (due to static charge?).It feels like the engineers who worked on the upright and suctions part did a great job. The engineers who did the aesthetics, lift out part, the tools and the ergonomics do not seem to have put the same thought into the design..This replaced a Dyson DC01 that lasted about 25 years. I do not think this product is as well made or will last that long. I wanted to love this product but I have found it wanting in too many areas.

Overall I would say this is a good value carpet cleaner, great suction power and good selection of tools. I would recommend it.Pros*Excellent carpet vacuum, loads of power, great at picking up fine bits like hair*Very quiet when carpet cleaning*Steering takes a bit of getting used to but works fine*Suction on tools is very powerful (70mph apparently)*Reasonably light to carry*Turbo boost is effective on stair treads, but not so easy on the verticals, hose too short and stick too cumbersome*Lift off is great idea as you can leave the bulk behind, but you need to carry it or at least hold onto it while using tools or it will fall over*Good selection of tools, but mine came with hard floor adaptor missing, they’re sending one outCons*Thin brush/seal behind main brush came unglued on first use so sent it back, new one seems ok (see pics)*Hose is far to stiff and short*Turbo boost tool needs to be made adjustable to different angles*Need 2 hands to use tools as whole cleaner and lift out topple over*On lift out using tools it feels a bit fingers and thumbs and bit susceptible to bashing the furniture with the lift out, but I’ll get used to it no doubt*Tools don’t fit well into the hose, fine on stick