Hoover Windtunnel MAX Bagged Upright

Being a daily vacuumer who's very fond of vacuum cleaners, I welcomed the opportunity to run a Hoover Windtunnel Max through its paces. Like some other reviewers here, I also owned and enjoyed the Eureka Boss for many years; for the past year I've been using a Hoover Platinum upright. So how does the Hoover Windtunnel MAX Bagged Upright UH30600 compare?

Assembly Putting the Hoover together is quite easy, and it takes only a few minutes to attach the handle and the front cover holding a preinstalled bag. After attaching the carry on accessories, I was ready to vacuum. Figuring out how to attach the hand powered nozzle and keep it attached was the only glitch, and a minor one at that.

Features and Dimensions -

At 18.4 pounds, this Hoover model is relatively heavy and should gain a couple more pounds as the bag fills. Someone with back problems or arthritis might want to seek out a lighter vacuum cleaner.

The 12 amp power is more than adequate, so much so that I was able to lift a 3.5 pound can of tomato juice several feet by using the hose end. That's some impressive suction.

The fifteen inch wide swath of the Hoover speeds up vacuuming. The 30 foot cord reduces the number of time consuming replugs, and the 180 inch attachment hose is great for reaching high places and multiple steps.

My personal preference has always been a bagged vacuum cleaner, especially one with HEPA bags and filters. The cloth like bags are said to trap 99.7% of dust and pollens. In addition, the vacuum also carries a washable secondary filter to protect the motor and a washable final filter for filtering air returning to the room.

Bag check indicator Seems convenient and useful, but I've never had one that was completely reliable.

Drop off bag removal Push a lever and the bag falls into a waiting trash can. Seems gimmicky and marginally useful. I'd rather have the control of removing a full and heavy bag myself. Update /30/11 Changed the bag and it did not drop off by itself; I had to pull it off. Also noticed that the fill hole is in the middle of the bag, not the top. The bag still filled, but I prefer a bag with an opening at the top.

Performance and Comfort The vacuum appears to pick up rather well; I can hear the dirt particles flying into the bag and if one is not careful light scatter rugs can get sucked up into the roller. In front of our sliding glass doors we keep floor mats that collect quite a bit of dirt in the course of a day. The Hoover cleans them quickly and thoroughly.

Pushing and maneuvering this Hoover takes some effort, but I look at it as good exercise. I don't like running the revolving brush on the hardwood floor, so I use the convenient carrying handle to lift the upright from one carpeted area to another. Another option is to use the step on brush roll shut off control. To turn the brush back on, just step on the control again.

Like many uprights, this one has an adjustable seven position height adjustment. Push down on the control knob located on the base to the desired position. For most users this isn't a task that has to be repeated often once the ideal height is found.

Final Thoughts

I think this vacuum is a good buy for the money and stacks up well to the Eureka Boss. The tool less roller and belt access is a great design, and the convenience of carry on tools is wonderful. Perhaps the best feature of all is the air-powered hand tool attachment. I've had this feature on previous vacuums but the tool on this vacuum excels. The brush roll turns powerfully and is fabulous for vacuuming steps.

NOISE As much as I love vacuums, they are inherently noisy, and this Hoover Windtunnel is no exception. Using a sound level meter (bought on a whim from Amazon) , I got a reading of 80 decibels on this new vacuum. My Hoover Platinum upright registered the same decibel level. My small Hoover canister reaches 102 decibels, a Panasonic canister reaches 85, and for quiet vacuuming our cordless Electrolux Ergorapida reaches 77 decibels. Happy Vacuuming.

Final Final Thought 10/20/11 Recently while vacuuming I was thinking there should be some kind of clip to hold the cord in place. I looked under the handle and there it was. As Mrs. Spudman would say, "All you have to do is look."

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