I’ve done quite a lot of housework over the last three weeks, which is fine, but it’s made me think quite a lot about vacuum cleaners. And if you are looking for a new, light vacuum cleaner then our new one, this Bosch Athlet that I bought a few months ago, as an alternative to the barely-concealed psychosis of our Henry, is really good. It is light, cordless (you charge it up and it gives you an hour of vacuuming time) and bag-less and it genuinely makes vacuuming less of a chore.
This is ideal for a 3-bed house, or flat, or as a second vacuum cleaner if your house is massive.
I have a cordless Dyson which is fab- it only lasts 20mins between charges but that is enough to dash round and the amount of dust and dirt every time is extremely gratifying/horrifying. Cordless vacs are great because getting the big one out takes about 15 mins and I can never be bothered so we would just end up in squalor.
Please expand on the ‘barely-concealed psychosis’ of the Henry – this sounds marvellous! I love it when machines have minds of their own (or rather, when other people’s machines have minds of their own. Mine I prefer docile).
ha ha! I only really mean that the Henry is SO heavy and SO brutal (one speed, would suck up a kitten/small child if in the way)…
Oh God, yes – my upright Dyson weighs a ton and sucks the carpet off the floor, and the pull-along one is lighter but unwieldy, too short of hose and has the suction capabilities of an asthmatic duck. And falls down the stairs EVERY TIME. Fucking things, they are so crap. I just fear that an hour of hoovering is not enough in my dog-hair-infested hovel. I know the answer is to use it more than once a week, but Christ how dull. Give me squalor and a good book instead.
vacuuming more than once a week is a bit OCD