Vacuum Cleaners - Cordless or Corded?

freyasmum

I had a bagged miele, and it was fab. It would almost suck the carpets off the floor. Alas, my OH murdered her in the prime of her life, so we moved to a cordless Dyson.

It's essentially a glorified carpet sweeper. We vacuum downstairs 3 times a day (messy small person) and thought the house was clean. It is very handy for a quick swipe round and to nip out to the car with, but I would never, ever, ever rely on it as my main vac again.

I recently bought a shark liftaway (with pet). I hoovered the living room VEERY SLOOOOWLY with the Dyson as that's the only way to get really good suction, and then went over with the shark and the amount of dust and grime that was picked up was utterly horrifying.

The gtech is great for carpets and ease of emptying but, unless I'm mistaken, has no attachments to do the ceiling or coving or the skirting.
Corded every time for me.

Fusspot

freyasmum wrote: »

I had a bagged miele, and it was fab. It would almost suck the carpets off the floor. Alas, my OH murdered her in the prime of her life, so we moved to a cordless Dyson.

It's essentially a glorified carpet sweeper. We vacuum downstairs 3 times a day (messy small person) and thought the house was clean. It is very handy for a quick swipe round and to nip out to the car with, but I would never, ever, ever rely on it as my main vac again.

I recently bought a shark liftaway (with pet). I hoovered the living room VEERY SLOOOOWLY with the Dyson as that's the only way to get really good suction, and then went over with the shark and the amount of dust and grime that was picked up was utterly horrifying.

The gtech is great for carpets and ease of emptying but, unless I'm mistaken, has no attachments to do the ceiling or coving or the skirting.
Corded every time for me.

I am interested in the Shark Pet Lift Away as it has good reviews but I have heard that its very heavy and cumbersome to use so this puts me off. Do you find it heavy? The GTECH is so light its a joy to use but as you say about the Dyson cordless it doesn't pick up everything and tends to push bits around the floor. I do have the hand held GTECH too that has the tools but that's not very powerful either. GTECH do an all in one cordless now and also one with the bag.

I am still tempted by the Shark but if I buy it and its too heavy I know I won't use it. Any advice would be welcome.

freyasmum

We did read those reviews and I am quite the weakling, but I really don't feel that it is too heavy or cumbersome at all. Maybe best to visit a shop to see if you can try it first? We bought ours online from shark and it automatically comes with a 5 year guarantee, so you don't even need to register for it.

Or I'm sure if you have any friends with a shark, they won't mind you testing it out, haha!

It is a bit heavier than the gtech (though I do think that has some surprising heft, given it's size!), but I would still say it's the best.

The cord is also a decent length, so you won't need to be running around changing the plugs ALL the time (unless you have a mansion!).

whiteguineapig

I'm saving up for a Dyson V10 animal, I'v had a try with it in currys and it seems really good (if anyone thinks differently please say!!)

whiteguineapig

I also do the hoovering at my parents and they have a Vax (blade?) and this is another that doesn't pick up grit, as soon as I switch it off it spits it out onto the floor.
I'v noticed adverts now for a new improved Vax but theirs has really put me off that brand, its suction is so poor and its not old and only gets used very lightly.

Gers

freyasmum wrote: »

The gtech is great for carpets and ease of emptying but, unless I'm mistaken, has no attachments to do the ceiling or coving or the skirting.
Corded every time for me.

The handheld one does have all the attachments.

freyasmum

For some reason, I've never been able to use the quote function on my phone.

The OP mentioned the original Gtech, which doesn't come with attachments, so I was talking about that.

Therefore, in my opinion, though it picks up better than the cordless Dyson, it doesn't have the same versatility as you don't have the tools and can only use it for carpets. It wouldn't be my main Hoover either.

I haven't used the newer handheld models, so can't recommend them or not. I've only mentioned those which I have used.

Mistral001

Cordless cleaners are around twice the price of chorded ones and do not last as long due to a finite battery life. I just thought this might be relevant to this discussion.

Fire_Fox

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

I bought a cordless last year, after a very serious scientist friend said to me without a trace of irony 'A cordless vacuum is life-changing'! I can see her point :rotfl:

Totally agree with this. I have an old Dyson cylinder (DC19 T2) and a new Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner (V7). I purchased the cordless last summer when trying to vacuum even a tiny part of my flat (at night, in undies only) with the cylinder left sweat pouring off me.

I use my newer cordless Dyson daily, even several times a day, on the laminate floors and rugs. Often only as a handheld for a minute or two to suck up stray cat litter/ dust bunnies behind a piece of furniture/ cat hair on the curtains. It is so lightweight, so easy to manoeuvre, so easy to change the tools and so easy to empty without dust clouds. I clean much more and wheeze much less these days. :T

I still use the old Dyson cylinder in the parts of the flat in disrepair (trashed carpets and cracked concrete). I hate the weight and the poor manouvreability, and will certainly get rid as soon as these areas are renovated.

I went for the Dyson V7 cordless because it is a Which? Best Buy. The V8 and V9 don't score much higher and are quite a bit more expensive.

In the cordless vacuum category Which? have sixteen Best Buys - almost all Bosch and Dyson - and thirty two Don't Buys. But alternatives (inc. many Shark Lift-Aways) are also scored highly by Which? in the corded vacuum category, and are likely better suited to households very different from mine.

I have posted Which? test scores or reviews for some vacuum cleaner models over on the MSE DIY board, and am happy to do the same here on Old Style if it is useful.

HTH!

Slinky

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Totally agree with this. I have an old Dyson cylinder (DC19 T2) and a new Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner (V7). I purchased the cordless last summer when trying to vacuum even a tiny part of my flat (at night, in undies only) with the cylinder left sweat pouring off me.

I use my newer cordless Dyson daily, even several times a day, on the laminate floors and rugs. Often only as a handheld for a minute or two to suck up stray cat litter/ dust bunnies behind a piece of furniture/ cat hair on the curtains. It is so lightweight, so easy to manoeuvre, so easy to change the tools and so easy to empty without dust clouds. I clean much more and wheeze much less these days. :T

I still use the old Dyson cylinder in the parts of the flat in disrepair (trashed carpets and cracked concrete). I hate the weight and the poor manouvreability, and will certainly get rid as soon as these areas are renovated.

I went for the Dyson V7 cordless because it is a Which? Best Buy. The V8 and V9 don't score much higher and are quite a bit more expensive.

In the cordless vacuum category Which? have sixteen Best Buys - almost all Bosch and Dyson - and thirty two Don't Buys. But alternatives (inc. many Shark Lift-Aways) are also scored highly by Which? in the corded vacuum category, and are likely better suited to households very different from mine.

I have posted Which? test scores or reviews for some vacuum cleaner models over on the MSE DIY board, and am happy to do the same here on Old Style if it is useful.

HTH!

Yes please. We may need to buy another vac soon and want to know if something is better than the GTECH's we already have.