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The Animal takes on the Hoover By Barr Hayoun Tags: Israel It's the Passover season and it's traditional to spring-clean one's home. A good vacuum cleaner can make all the difference in the effort required. But which delivers the most suction for your money? TheMarker set out to find the best models, with the help of WiseBuy, and the conclusion was absolute. The Dyson cylinder model got the highest mark, but if you factor in price, then the Hoover is the best buy. We checked by contacting the leading companies and asking to check their bagless vacuum cleaners. Five rose to the challenge and sent over their most advanced model in the category, and two - Delongi and Vax - declined. Experts working with the WiseBuy consumer affairs Web site checked the vacuum cleaners to judge their suction and filtration ability (45% of the total mark), convenience of use (40%) and durability (15%). Filtration by the way refers to the air that the cleaner expels. Quality of suction and filtering: The manufacturer claims that the "cyclone" technology in this machine is utilized more efficiently than usual, which means that the Animal's suction power is maintained over time. We were convinced: Almost every kind of dirt disappeared with the machine's first pass. It's just a pity that the minimum strength is also pretty powerful. Even when using the most delicate of brushes, keep it away from the curtains. Advertisement Convenience of use: Don't be deterred by its relative heavy weight, 8.6 kilograms. The Animal will obediently roll after you throughout the home. Its electric cable is short relative to other models we checked, but WiseBuy says it's enough for the average home. The Animal is also rather like a morphing robot: Its rigid pipe telescopes and opens to a length of two meters, allowing flexibility and access. Although extending the pipe is easy enough, learning to adjust and lock the desired length may take a few trials. The cleaner comes with three different heads, each of which supplies different suction characteristics. One is for rugs and floors, the second sucks hair and fibers from upholstery, couches and stairs and the third is for delicate surfaces. In short, there isn't an angle in the house that the Animal can't reach efficiently and conveniently. It's also convenient to store after use. The telescopic hose contracts to a very small size and the rest of the accessories are conveniently fitted onto the body. The capacity of the transparent receptacle is two liters, and there's a gauge showing its status. It's simple enough to empty out, but until you learn the process, you're going to get dirty. Durability: The body is in a massive casing and the push-buttons seem strong and stable. It seems durable enough. But the valves in two of the heads seem less impressive: it takes strength to use them. Pros: Impressive suction power, compact, maneuverable, terrific human engineering, durable. Cons: Expensive, operationally complex, limited intensity adjustment. Quality of suction and filtering: It sticks to the surface well and overcomes even stubborn dirt at the first pass. Its power is impressive and it's adjustable, allowing a great range of uses - rugs, floors, cabinets, books, even delicate curtains. Convenience of use: The control buttons are on the handle, rendering adjustments convenient throughout use. The machine weighs about seven kilograms and is easy to move along the floor, but vacuuming the rugs took some strength. Also, even though it has a conveniently retractable carrying handle, the handle's location is not that convenient. The cleaning head has a convenient, stable pedal to switch between rug or floor. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to swing along an axis and to penetrate less accessible places. Again, this may take some strength. Unlike the other models, this one can be stored standing up, which saves space. But its long hose requires a tall storage space. Durability: Most of its parts are massive and the finishing quality is very good. The base even has a coating to protect the device, presumably from collisions with furniture. Pros: Impressive and precisely-adjustable suction power, convenient operation, very high quality. Cons: Heavy and difficult to maneuver, can't access high or remote spots. Quality of suction and filtering: If the last time you cleaned the house properly was last Passover, choose a different model. Its suction is good but it isn't for heavy use, and it has a capacity of only 1.2 liters. It does better on floors than rugs, but can also be adjusted to delicately clean curtains. Convenience of use: It's relatively light yet its wheels move heavily. Sometimes you have to drag it by force over the rug. It would also have been easier to cart it about if its retractable carrying handle hadn't been located on its bottom. The hose opens easily but it's too short, up to one meter; however, the power cable is a terrific 10 meters long. The cleaning head has a dial to switch between floor and rug mode, but floor mode isn't for delicate surfaces such as wood. Accessories to clean the sofa and corners are conveniently stored but they aren't convenient to unpack and assemble on the vacuum cleaner. The dust brush does the job but the sofa cleaner isn't soft enough and may leave marks. Durability: The outer shell is strong and assembling and dismantling parts is easy, other than the accessories, whose finishing is less polished. You'll need to use force to switch between floor and rug mode but the massiveness creates the impression of durability. Pros: Easy to use, mainly because of the location of the intensity dial, convenient maintenance. Cons: Heavy and only moderately maneuverable in nonstandard areas, finishing of accessories is less good. Quality of suction and filtering: Very good suction quality. Use of designated heads makes it easy to clean corners, window bars, even radiator ribs where you haven't sent a rag since last Passover. Convenience of use: It's relatively light, moves effortlessly and is easily portable. The suction intensity control has a relatively wide range. The triangular brush tool is great for corners and there's a wide pedal to switch between floor and rug mode. Both work well, but the pedal takes hard pressing and has a tendency to come out of its place. Also, the mechanism for detaching and assembling heads and accessories is not convenient and certainly will not find favor in women with expensive fingernails. The hose telescopes well and its length can be easily adjusted during work. Too bad there's no handle at the end. Durability: The parts and disassembly mechanisms seem strong enough. But in practice, the spring-operated locking button erodes the main contacts from the first use. The hose is flexible and long and the rigid pipe adjusts smoothly: Both seem likely to last in the long run. Pros: Very good suction power, very convenient to use and maneuver. Cons: Frequent filter maintenance, inconvenient spring-operated locking mechanism. Quality of suction and filtering: The official suction intensity is 450 WSP (working steam pressure) but in practice, it doesn't always manage to get the rug clean at the first pass. It did fine on other missions. Convenience of use: It's heavy and it's a shame that it doesn't have a more convenient handle. Its movement while vacuuming is not smooth but its hose has enough maneuverability to compensate. The on/off switch and power cable (seven meters) retraction buttons are on the machine itself, and could stand to be more prominent. The telescopic hose can reach impressive lengths but it's hard to adjust while vacuuming. The machine's flexible hose looks short at first glance, but when using it, one discovers that it can elastically stretch to twice its original length, which is quite a unique feature. The machine comes with three accessories to clean narrow spots and upholstery. Assembling them takes strength and it isn't always clear whether the accessory has been put on properly. Durability: The shell seems strong enough and the accessories are of good quality other than the hose, which showed signs of wear after the first use. Pro: Large storage receptacle. Cons: Needs a lot of maintenance, some of the parts are of inferior quality compared with the competition. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Passover in Damascus Syria's 100 remaining Jews say they feel free to celebrate Passover openly. Shanghai surprise A Jewish couple in Shanghai weds inside a synagogue for the first time since WWII.

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