I have a Hoover Lynx stick vacuum that I use on our tiled floors on an almost daily basis and I'm delighted with it. So I was anxious to try this WindTunnel 2 Pet Vacuum. Unfortunately my experience with this vacuum wasn't as positive. The belt that turns the brushes broke after the first 15 minutes of use and now it won't pick up anything on the carpet without the spinning brushes. The only way to vacuum is to use just the hose or the hose and the pet attachment. I phoned Hoover over a week ago and they were going to send out a couple of replacement belts, but I haven't received them yet. Broken belts are mentioned on reviews on several other Hoover WindTunnel vacuum models. I hope this isn't going to be a recurring problem. Needless to say, I'm disappointed.These are the observations I've made based on the time that the machine was working:
This vacuum has good suction. It worked as well as an 8-1/2 year old Dyson Animal DC07 at picking up pet hair and dust before the belt broke. We have a long haired dog and 2 long hair cats. Our upstairs is carpeted and the downstairs is porcelain tile. It picked up everything on both, even pet hair without having to use the animal attachment. It was pretty easy to maneuver although it's about 20 pounds. It's bag-less which is a must around here because I vacuum often and hate to have to remember to buy bags. There are 4 height settings and a bare floor setting. It has a pet turbo tool, pet upholstery tool, crevice tool, and extension wand. The upholstery tool has rubber flaps on it rather than a brush like most vacuums. It works better on upholstery than the brush, but not well on blinds. The hose is stiff and difficult to pull out but I imagine it will relax over time. It only pulls out about 4 feet before it tips the machine so the hose with animal attachment doesn't work very well on the stairs. It's noisy, but I'm convinced that noise goes along with power.
The dirt cup is difficult to empty. Yes, it has a button on the bottom that you press to make the bottom hang down but if you've picked up pet hair, it's likely that it's going to stick in the dirt cup between the wall of the canister and suction tunnel. Dirt cup capacity is advertised to be high. However, if you read the manual that comes with it, there is this message:
"To maintain optimal performance, empty the dirt cup before the dirt cup reaches the max line, as indicated by arrow."
The arrow in the diagram points to a line about halfway up the dirt cup or canister portion. It fills very quickly. (I'll post a couple photos up above on the product page so you can see.) If you let it fill to the top, it is almost impossible to get the debris, especially pet hair, to empty without taking the whole thing apart, which isn't easy and is very messy. I sometimes have the problem of pet hair getting caught with the Dyson Animal, and have to use my fingers to dislodge it. With the Dyson's larger chamber I can reach my hand most of the way in if necessary. The problem with this machine is that the chamber that collects the dirt is very narrow. I can only fit my fingers a couple inches of the way in between the outer part of the canister and the middle section. To remove the debris from the Hoover, I had to take the whole canister apart. That is accomplished by twisting the top of the canister which is very difficult to remove. I ended up with dust all over myself and my clothes. It was a real mess.
I know it isn't fair to compare this machine with the Dyson Animal since that vacuum is about 4 times the price. But the Dyson been working without a single problem for 8-1/2 years and it gets a lot of use. I can let the dirt chamber fill right up to the top rather than halfway with this one without losing any suction power. I can't help wondering how durable this Hoover will be when the belt has broken in the first 15 minutes of use.
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