Hoover Blaze SP81BL03001 – Stair Cleaning

The Pet head was our tool of choice for stairs, although its fixed neck meant it wasn’t the easiest to use and you needed good wrist dexterity to ensure it was always flat against the stair carpet. The hose is fairly short, so no chance of reaching the full length of stairs, but the Blaze is nicely light and easy to carry with its pop-up handle. The handle has an open back with some rough edges mind you, and it doubles as the cable rewind switch when closed, which caused one mid-stair fiasco.

Despite its challenges, the Pet head turbobrush is effective at cleaning carpets on stairs and did a good job overall. On hard surface coverings the hard floor head also proved its worth, and was easier to use thanks to its pivoting neck. Both tools will attach directly to the handle without tubes, making the Blaze a compact and effective stair cleaner.

Hoover Blaze SP81BL03001 – Pet Hair

Neither the carpet or the hard floor head were very successful when it came to chasing our moulting hounds around the house. The hard floor head tended to catch hairs on the bristles at the front and the carpet head simply run over the top of them. The blade on the carpet head did have some merit on pet hairs though, and managed to clean the test area in under 20-seconds, which is our cut-off time for a no-hoper with pet hair.

Star of the pet-show here was the dedicated Pet head of course, which cleaned the test area of mixed dog hair in under 10 seconds. That would have probably been a little quicker had the head been larger, but it is still a very respectable result. The top of the Pet head flips up for easier access to the brush bar and turbo fan, which should make de-fluffing the brush a whole lot easier too.

Should I buy the Hoover Blaze SP81BL03001?  

At its RRP of £159.99, the Hoover Blaze is a competent cleaner up against some tough competition. Yet at the bargain prices to be found online – as low as £70 – it suddenly looks great value, being light, effective and offering plenty of tool options.

There are some definite issues, such as mediocre pet hair pickup and its very noisy, but overall it comes out as worth consideration. Plus, the money saved can be put towards some ear defenders too.

Verdict

A noisy and not entirely perfect cleaner but one that’s well made with a good selection of accessories at a ludicrously low price.

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