27 July 2023 , 17:52
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Bagless vacuum cleaners are the way forward, right? Not if you suffer from allergies. My asthmatic wife loves our upright Shark vacuum cleaner, but I have to be summoned to empty it every time its chamber fills, because the dust will have her wheezing.
There are a handful of bagged cordless vacuums about, but another way is emerging on to the market - the self-emptying vacuum.
These come bundled in with a base station that sucks all the rubbish into a bag, which you can cleanly empty or dispose of every few months or so, without any trouble.
Samsung and LG are among the first brands to play with this new technology, but there's a few problems. Firstly, they're pretty hard to come by in this country and, secondly, they're expensive. Very expensive.
The Samsung version is currently on pre-order for £1,199. Not ideal.
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However, blossoming smart home appliance brand Ultenic has developed one that is much more affordable - at less than £400.
It's called the FS1, and it's a powerful cordless vacuum that looks like any other powerful cordless vacuum, but with that all-important base station included.
Once you fill up the fairly compact tank, you slot it into the base station and, at the touch of a button, witchcraft happens, and the dirt is sucked away into a three-litre bag. No dust, no mess, on with the job.
The base station not only sucks out the chamber contents, it acts as a smart stand for the vacuum, serves as a charging station, and there's a neat charging dock for a second battery pack, which isn't supplied.
What's more, the vacuum is really good. It has a 450w motor with two power settings, and up to 3,000 Pa of suction, so it's beefy enough for all household chores, and great for hoovering out mucky cars.
There's a trick telescopic pipe, a twist and pivot ball on the head and, while there's no fancy angular movement of the telescopic pipe, it's easy to get under furniture, and the head does mount directly to the main unit.
The power settings include an auto function, which detects the surface you're vacuuming and adjusts its strength accordingly, or there's a 10-second turbo mode for that last little dog hair that refuses to budge.
I have no complaints over the performance of the Ultenic FS1, it does a very reasonable job of mopping up mess, and it feels well balanced as cordless vacuums go - but it's less impressive as a small handheld.
The main unit is quite bulky by modern standards, and there's only a couple of basic tools in the box, so it's a cumbersome thing to use in tight spaces.
The other stumbling block, for some people, is that the base station is a bit of a cumbersome thing. Modern cordless vacuums will mount on a wall, or shove in a cupboard, but this thing will need to be out there in your house somewhere, and plugged in. Not a problem for everyone, but it's worth bearing in mind if you're tight on space.
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Battery life is good though. I didn't manage Ultenic's quoted 60 minutes, but it lasts long enough to Hoover a house, and it takes a couple of hours to recharge.
It's the value for money that really shines here though. The Ultenic FS1's retail price is £398, and we've spotted a £60 off coupon on Amazon, which will bring the price down to £338. That's in line with some of the top Shark vacuums and, while it might not perform quite as well as a big-brand top-seller, it is an absolute Godsend for people with allergies. And sometimes you can't put a price on that.