Hoover 5507-900 Elite Auto-Rewind Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
by Hoover
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List Price: Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hoover 5507-900 Elite Auto-Rewind Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Customer Review: Good suction, poor build quality
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this vacuum cleaner with high hopes based on numerous positive reviews on here. There were a few negative reviews, but I was wishing that I would one of the many lucky ones who got consistently good performance and quality. Alas, my hopes were misplaced.
The vac was easy enough to assemble. (Yes, some assembly is required after opening the packaging.) However, I was very skeptical about the one long screw holding the handle to the body. Apparently, that screw does its job as the design makes sure that there are other parts which take the bulk of the load and not the screw. There is the issue that some folks may accidentally over-tighten the screw and strip the plastic threads inside the body, but maybe, not a big one.
What soured my taste was the 'carpet height adjustment knob'. I had barely used the vac for 7-8 times so far when one day the knob simply stopped working. There was no accidental over turn or stepping on or rough usage at all. It simply just decided not to work.
The vac still works with good suction on the rugs. But, without the knob working, it doesn't do a good job on the vinyl floors in the bathrooms. To think I just spent a 100 bucks on this thing which became crippled in less than 10 uses. My old $65 Bissell still has its adjustment in perfect working order.
What good is the suction when Hoover can't make their parts work properly? A classic case of a good concept poorly executed.
I contacted Hoover regarding the issue and instead of offering a return or exchange, I was directed to a repair shop. Looks like Hoover has no concept of customer service. I would not recommend anyone buying Hoover products ever again. I am regretting my decision of buying this vac.
Customer Review: Very satisfactory after nine months
Summary: 4 Stars
I make a point of ignoring all reviews of electrical products unless I can be sure the owner has owned them for long enough to really get to know them. None of this "I got it this morning and it's brilliant" thank you. We have used our Hoover for more than nine months in our 1900 sq ft house with a mixture of polished wood, deep pile and short pile carpet, plus a couple of wool and silk rugs.
The Hoover is easy to use and does a very good job of cleaning, especially getting right in to the edges of rooms. It is easy to empty, although it will clog around the filter if you allow the container to get too full. We have a dog who sheds a bit of hair and it always picks this up effectively. As a guide, a normal once a week clean will fill the dust container without the need for it to emptied during use.
Although there are several adjustments for the type of flooring, after a few weeks I just left it in the central position most of the time. It seems to handle all types of flooring very effectively in this position. For an extra special clean, you might want to adjust it.
Here are the main pros and cons:
Best features:
- Very reliable
- Excellent cleaning quality
- Easy to empty
- Good range of built-in tools
- Extension tube pulls out very quickly if you need to switch cleaning modes
- Great value for money
- Very simple controls
- Feels sturdy even though it is mainly plastic
- Built in headlight
Negatives:
- Heavy for those who have to lift it upstairs
- Extension tube probably too short for doing a flight of stairs
- Retractable flex is a bit short
- Possibly too small for homes over 200 sq ft
Customer Review: Less than a year before it failed.
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased my vacuum around this time last year from a local Wal Mart in a small town in Wisconsin. Out of the box it worked like a charm, picked up the hair from my Rottweiler/Mastiff mix (longer hair, oddly enough), my Doberman (shorter, pointy and rigid hair that got stuck in every fabric) and my kitten (longer, softer hair) without issue. The power brush worked well and I honestly loved the auto rewind cord - so much so, I look for that in every vacuum now and wonder why all vacuums don't have that as standard.
The first thing I noticed that went wrong was that the power brush started to lose suction, I checked the hose, no blockage, the internal connector, no blockage, so I thought it was either the power brush itself (although it is a simple device) or the motor was already wearing out. Had I not used the power brush attachment, I never would've realized that my vac was losing suction power in the first place. I cleaned out the filter, I even went without the filter to eliminate all possible variables, still, the vacuum lost power. --Mind you, this was 6 months into owning it.
So today (30 August 09) my vacuum finally lost pretty much all suction. No filter/or with filter, hoses cleaned, canister empty, all belts golden, no obstructions in the roller, and I can smell the motor wearing out. It has been going very downhill for the last week. It actually just moves pet hair around my carpet now (yes, the carpet is low, and the ride height of the vacuum is set correctly).
When this vacuum worked, it worked very, very well. However it only lasted less than a year. Of note though, I did put this vac through its paces, so maybe it's just not great for every other day - heavy pet hair use?
Customer Review: NOT Dyson technology
Summary: 3 Stars
This was posted on a forum I read:
cycloneman said:
The Hoover Elite Rewind is a cool idea in a vacuum cleaner. But it does not use Dyson technology. It does, in fact, use a filter. It's behind the yellow screen at the top of the clear bin. This pleated filter catches all the fine dust before the air enters the motor. It's VERY important that the operator remove and clean this pleated filter each time the clear bin is emptied. The instruction manual states to remove the pleated filter and tap it on the inside of a trash can until the dirt stops falling from the filter. Then, you can rinse the filter with the sprayer at the kitchen sink, with warm water. Do not use soap, and do not brush the filter. Dry thoroughly (at least 12 hours) then replace the filter in the cleaner. IF the filter is clean, the vacuum will have great suction. When the filter gets dirty (after one or two uses) the suction is very much reduced by the dirt blocking the filter's pores. Air MUST flow through the filter to have good suction. By rinsing the filter often and not allowing the pleats to become full of dust, the Hoover will continue to pick up dirt well. There is a thermostat attached to the little G.S.-built motor that powers the Hoover Rewind, so if the filter gets dirty, the cleaner will shut down until the thermostat resets.
The Hepa filter on the exhaust end of the Hoover should be rinsed once ever six months - but is NOT the same filter that I refer to in the above paragraph. The Hepa filter takes carbon particles created by the motor's contact brushes. That's why the Hepa exhaust filters turn gray - from the graphite particles coming off the motor's contact brushes.
Customer Review: Great for the cost!
Summary: 4 Stars
At the time of arrival, we had four double coated dogs (ranging from 25 - 90 lbs) and it was the beginning of peak shedding season, six cats (one long hair) and several caged pets plus two kids. Dust and hair abound. The amount of pet hair, dust, cage litter, spilled critter food, etc., this machine sucks up compared to our old vac is great! We use this on wood floors, tile, area rugs (braided and non) and wall to wall.
We have been using the Elite for a couple months now and are quite impressed. It gets used daily.
It is light, maneuvers easier than our old Progressive, easy to empty and far less dust. It is also significantly cheaper than the Dyson. It sucks up hair, dirt, bark mulch, cat food, cat litter, wood shavings, etc very nicely and efficiently.
As with all retracting cord vacs, do NOT let the cord fly in - you need to hold the cord and guide it or you can break it (we have owned different retracting cord vacs over the years). But this cords retracts nicely.
The only drawbacks are I would prefer a longer cord. 24' is not quite enough but it is not a major issue unless you have very few outlets in your home or very large rooms. Also, this is mainly plastic (nice and light) but do not drop it or it may crack. The vac does not like to go over a sculpted area rug (it gets hung up when pushed but pulls over it well). Beater bar does not stop when you are using the hand held unit so be careful of what surface you leave it on! But I can overlook these issues when I see how well it cleans compared to my last two vacs!
But for the cost, I am very impressed with this machine and would buy it again.