Numatic Henry HVR200-A2 – How does it clean carpets and hard floors?

When pulling Henry around it hides its 8.5kg weight well and follows along behind you, whether you are on hard floors or deep carpet, with ease. On hard floors you need to ensure you don’t pull on the hose too hard or the cleaner is likely to overtake you. The long hose and stainless steel tubes feel very solid in the hand and, along with the 9.6m cable, mean there are few places Henry won’t reach.

With a brand new bag the Henry delivers frankly remarkable suction power for such a low Wattage motor. We compared it with our old 1200Watt office Henry and the new kid had more suck!

Part of this is due to the fact that the actual power consumption is considerably higher than stated, at around 700Watts. That is still very low by vacuum cleaner standards and would result in considerable energy cost savings over the life of the cleaner compared to modern 1600Watt machines.

A secondary benefit of this is very low noise too. It measured just 74dB at ear height above the cleaner, which is quieter than the hubbub in a normal office.

The Henry cleans carpets well, though it leaves some specks of dust around skirting boards. It’s still a good performance for such a cheap machine, though.

On carpeted floors Henry does require considerable elbow-grease as the lack of rotating brush bar means you need to work the head on the carpet for best results. The results are pretty good, however, thanks to the good suction power. Switch the main head to hard floor mode and its short bristles glide across parquet and laminates with ease. You’ll need the crevice tool for skirting boards, though, as the above comparison proves.

If the main head or any of the tools get stuck to the floor or upholstery fabric there is a small slide vent on the handle to release the suction. On both hard floors and carpets the main head cleans pretty close to the skirting board too. The dusting brush, upholstery brush and crevice tool are basic but effective and very solidly built.

Should I buy the Numatic Henry HVR200-A2?

If you need a cheap, basic and effective cleaner that runs quietly and is built to last and last, the Henry HVR200-A2 is a superb choice. While it will never have the suction or sheer cleaning power of models like the Dyson DC41 Animal, it is nearly a quarter of the price and feels built to withstand years of abuse.

The extremely long reach, good selection of tools, large bag capacity and usefully long cable are solid plus points, too. It is easy to see why Henry remains the professional’s vacuum cleaner of choice, and if you’re on a limited budget then it should be your choice as well.

Read our Best Vacuum Cleaners Round-up for more options

Verdict

It’s the most reliable vacuum cleaner you can buy for £100, making it money well spent if you want good value and good cleaning in one.

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