Vax Cordless SlimVac Total Home Vacuum Cleaner – the budget Dyson V6 animal alternative

Vax’s first powerful Cordless SlimVac and is aimed at the big boy, Dyson. While Dyson currently has two cordless handhelds; the V6 and the V8, Vac’s first attempt is no less impressive.

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As with Dyson’s approach, the same Vax’s Cordless SlimVac is packaged in several levels, the SlimVac standard with powered head and 3-in-1 tool, the SlimVac Pet with powered head, 3-in-1 tool and a pet tool and finally, the flagship SlimVac Total Home.

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Vac has other 2-in-1 cordless vacuums but the SlimVac series is their first cordless vacuum that follows Dyson’s Cord-free V6 and V8 profile, a self contained trigger and cylinder powerful cordless vacuum with tubular extension and powered brush.

Note: You can find a description of the different cordless vacuum profiles and its benefits here.

The same 22.2 Volt powered motor combined with high capacity long lasting Lithium Ion battery, enough to power the cordless vacuum the up to 24 minutes of cleaning time is in all variants.

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Together with different attachments, the Vax Cordless SlimVac is more than capable of handling any cleaning task around the house. At the top of the series is the  SlimVac Total Home that comes with all manner of accessories a normal household would need.

Why I have decided to drop the corded vacuum altogether?

After spending two weeks with the Vax Cordless SlimVac Total Home, I am totally convinced that it is the only vacuum cleaner I need in our three bedroom apartment. Both my upright and cylinder corded vacuums have stayed in the cupboard ever since.

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For those that think cordless vacuum is just a gimmick, with its tiny motor and low capacity dust bin, I am here to tell you that the days of under powered handheld vacuums you used to clean the interior of your car are over.

These new breed of cordless vacuum cleaners are not only portable, slim and ultra light, but powerful and offers plenty of suction to clean any surfaces.

The biggest contrast to its wired counterpart is how easy it is to get out and start cleaning. The lightweight and cordless design meant I can take it out and start anywhere without first looking for a socket to plug it in. This also means I can go from room to room, again, no unplugging and plugging, just hassle free cleaning.

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Given its size and manoeuvrable design, it glides across the floor easily, tackling corners and bends with no problems. The long tubular extension helps reduce fatigue with pro-long used in floor cleaning mode and reach up high such those cob webs on the ceiling.

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I also found the battery life to be sufficient for our apartment. I can’t say the same for a big 5 bedroom house but in our 3 bedroom apartment it offers ample cleaning time and as you would use it more often due to ease of setup and cleaning, you will have plenty of charge to spare between cleaning.

I would advice that you start with a big clean, on a fully charged vacuum and just carry out smaller, room by room vacuum and spot cleaning thereon. With the handheld vacuum, cleaning does not have to take a long time.

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Detach the powered head and/or tubular extension and you can use the same unit in handheld mode with different extensions to clean different surfaces, such as the carpet, hard floor, ceiling, corners, sofa, crevices and even top of the shelves and cupboards. As it is portable, you can us it in the car, caravan, boat or anywhere you like.

What we like about the Vax Cordless SlimVac Vacuum Cleaner

Vax Cordless SlimVac Total Home Vacuum Cleaner has a solid build, well thought out design and made from quality materials. the handheld unit housing the motor and battery is made from opaque ABS plastic while the cylindrical dust bin is made from see through clear plastic. The tubular extensions is of metal alloy and the powered brush head is made of strong ABS plastic.

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The single action release button makes it easy to switch modes and between the different attachments. Vax calls this a dynamic detachable handheld. We tend to associate handheld with small vacuum cleaners you hold with one hand like you do with a frying pan. This is one with a trigger, that held like a gun except that in place of the barrel is the motor and cylindrical dust container.

From our experience, the cleaning time per charge is close to 24 minutes as claimed by the manufacturer. We do alternate the use of the powered head so it may be that the battery does last up to 24 minutes with the powered head switched off. When the battery is low, the vacuum cleaner just cuts off. There is no gradual lost in power so no lost in suction. Compare this to Dyson V6 with a run time in normal mode of 20 minutes, and 6 minutes in maximum power mode.

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To top it up, plug the charge adapter directly to the unit to charge it up quickly. It takes 5 hours to fully charge the on board battery which is faster than most cordless vacuum but a little longer that Dyson’s V6 3.5 hour charging time.

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The Cordless SlimVac Vacuum Cleaner comes with a powered floor head, great for enhancing pick-up performance on the floor but also perfect to attached directly onto the handheld for stairs, car and upholstery cleaning. The size however is a little narrower than conventional floor head. Dyson V6 on the other hand has a wider motorised cleaner head. It also comes with a mini motorised tool removes pet hair and ground-in dirt. We will look at the tools or attachment list later.

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While for spot cleaning using the trigger to activate the vacuum cleaner is fine but to clean anything more, the power latch is a god send. The continuous power latch is a key feature of the Cordless SlimVac Vacuum Cleaner; This will lock in the power giving you a more continuous clean without having to keep holding the trigger.

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At just 2.1 kg, the Cordless SlimVac Vacuum Cleaner is lightweight when in use and easy to carry from room to room or up and down stairs, a perfect companion for quick and easy cleaning. The Dyson V6 weighs a little more at 2.11 kg but not very different. The bigger Dyson V8 weighs 2.55 kg.

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Finally, we look at the different attachment tools offered by the SlimVac Total Home. Along with the powered head which is great at cleaning both carpets and hard-floors, you can also easily clean above the floor due to its ergonomic design, tackling those hard to reach areas with the use of the advanced cleaning reach wand.

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Feature Overview

• 24minutes of long lasting performance
• 22.2V Lithium battery technology for long lasting performance
• Multi-floor cleaning
• Slim, sleek, lightweight machine with a dynamic detachable handheld
• Powered floor head
• Additional tools included

Specifications