Customer Reviews

EL1012A Ergorapido Hand Vacuum

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

This is the most INCREDIBLE stick vac and hand vac! I really LOVE it! I am used to my Kirby and while I adore it, I was really curious about this item. My opinion is that Electrolux has a wonderful reputation and paired with the potentially extreme convenience I decided to give this a try. I have 2 babies, 2 kitties, hardwood floors throughout with some ceramic tile and a couple of area rugs. This item is fabulous on each and every surface! I use it on all floor surfaces, rugs, furniture, even bedding (ie: kitties go under the bed leaving their fur on the dust ruffles) with great results! It will pick up kitty hair, remodeling dust, new rug shedding, cheerios, and more! I've seen gripes about emptying the 'chamber' and, in my opinion, if you don't want your stick vac to pick up debris - find a cheaper stick vac! This one is absolutely wonderful, worth every penny and then some! Buy It!

I will start by stating that this unit for me is a life saver and it has made a difference in how my house is staying clean!

If you haven't already figured it out, yes I have two Shelties and they SHED a lot! Especially here in Hawaii where the weather is normally humid and warm! I also live in a tri level house and with my arthritic back, you can see that dragging a full size vaccum up and down stairs can really be a back breaker. And dragging a cannister vacuum around isn't much fun either especially up and down the stairs, having to avoid tripping on cords. Last but not least, I have several throw rugs and my upstairs are fully carpeted.

If you own a dog that sheds, you know that rugs and carpets are like velcro to dog hairs! You also know what it's like to vacuum several times a week.... aaargh! And with Shelties,if you don't vacuum at least every three days the floor and especially the rugs and carpets begin look like a hens nest!

Imagine having to vacuum two sets of carpeted stairs and dragging that heavy vacuum or a clumsy ole cannister around? Also, try vacumming a little 3' x 5" throw rug with a full size vacuum and see if it doesn't try to suck the entire thing inside. You wind up having to play 'TUG O WAR' with the vacuum, and if you have (string) fringes around the rug, it winds up badly torn up.

Now if you have EXPENSIVE or ANTIQUE rugs, then you're liable to have someone who gets pretty angry with you for letting the vacuum eat the rug! I guess it's a good way of getting out of having to vacuum the house, if that's your objective! The problem is the spouse won't want to drag that heavy duty full size vacuum around either so you wind up with a hens nest until someone gets tired of looking at it!

I purchased this Ergo Rapido January of 09 and I'm truly amazed at what it can do! I can drag it up and down the stairs with ease, vacuum the stairs with ease and the little throw rugs without it trying to devour them. It has plenty of power to do the carpeting and for wooden or tile floor and you can set it to lower power to extend battery life. It has a rotary brush as with most floor vacuums and you know how tangled up those get after a while?

But what's neat about this one is that it has a release button in back where you can easily remove the brush for cleaning! Believe me, this can be a critical issue if you're constantly vacumming long stringy things like dog hair and thread. If you're not able to clear this out easily, you won't want to do it often and the brush becomes useless. So this is a must! This vacuum lasts about 20 minutes on full power, longer on low power.

I find that with my Shelties, I have to empty the cannister several times, but that's done within a couple of minutes ... not a big deal!
... and oh yes, you can remove the lower portion which is really the vacuum section and use it as a hand vacuum for vacuuming the inside of your car!

Bottom line? My house (and my car) has stayed clean and almost free of DOG Hairs ever since I bought this thing! .. and my back thanks me for it!

An Addendum: It's nearing summer here in Hawaii (if you can believe that Hawaii also have seasons), and my Shelties are really losing a lot of fur. It gets all over the floor, rugs etc. and I have to vacuum at least once a day! Imagine having to drag a large vacuum or a canister vacuum every day and having to put them away each time! Cords are NOT my favorite and having to wind them up each and every time gets to be a real pain in the you know where. With this stick vacuum ... piece of cake! when done, just empty the little container (about one min) then put the vacuum back into it's cradle. a SNAP. The more I use this, the more I appreciate it. Just a small note: This works well for short hair carpets and rugs, WILL jam up on large pile carpeting!

A Tip!
The best tool I've found to remove strings, long hair and threads that gets wrapped around the rollers and brush is a little $2.00 SEAM RIPPER! And oh yes, the little rollers sometimes get jammed up, they can be popped out with a little screw driver for cleaning.

You should know before you buy: the battery only allows 10 minutes of vacuuming. This works for about 800 sq ft, maybe 1000. It needs 20 HOURS of charging between uses. No where in the sales description or owner's manual does it say this. I called customer service and they said that's normal.

I thought about returning it because of that, but I do like it. It's lightweight and easy. It does great with pet hair, but it fills up quickly. Basically, it's a dustbuster with a long handle. The dustbuster part comes off to pick up larger things, like coffee beans. The attachments allow for sucking dirt from under the stove, fridge, etc. It is no good on upholstery and probably not great on carpet.

UPDATE: I wish I could up my stars to 4 because even with the short battery life, I love it for the ease of use. It kind of forces me to do my vacuuming quickly with no dilly dallying around. I always know my 1500 sq ft of polished concrete floors will be vac'd in less than 15 min, so it's no big deal for me to vac more often. This beats sweeping any day!

Electrolux EL1012A Stick Hand Vac 2 N 1 Ergorapido Cordless

I bought this from [...] after reviewing this model and a less powerful model. The suction works really well on hardwood floors (dog hair, crumbs etc.) and somewhat well on very low-pile carpet. Designed for floors and that is what I based my decision on. I have used it now for a couple weeks. 15-20 minutes at a time and the suction was still strong (haven't had a need for a longer time frame yet) after each use. The storage/charging base has a small footprint as well as being easy to put the stick/hand vac on and off of it. I have a Dyson DC18 Slim and the hose attachment is totally a bother to use (as well as the floor setting [no brush spinning]. This Electrolux works so much better for the job on the floors that I highly recommend it. Even though I have never tried the latest Shark model, from what I've read, this product is far superior.

I wasn't sure about the Ergorapido because I'd read a few critiques of its Pronto predecessor. No vacuum cleaner is perfect, but this one seemed best to suit our needs. If considering this vacuum, be aware of its limitations and adjust your expectations accordingly. If you're buying this Electrolux cordless as your main, whole house vac, you'll most likely be disappointed. If you're buying it for spot cleaning or bare floor cleaning, you'll probably love it.

Assembly - There's really not much to it especially if you don't mount the charger unit on the wall. The vacuum comes in two pieces attached with one screw and the two charger pieces simply snap together. Even a caveman could do it.

Length of charge - This is why you can't vacuum your entire house, unless you do it piecemeal, vacuum quickly, or have a small house. We've found that the battery maintains power about fifteen or twenty minutes with continuous use depending on whether you're using the high or low power settings. The first charge takes 24 hours, and subsequent full charges are said to take up to 16 hours. Mostly we use the Ergorapido (Latin for therefore fast?) for small tasks and return it to the charger, so it's always charged and ready for use.

Performance - For what it is, the performance of this little vacuum is great. It works better on bare floors, but the pick up on carpet is more than adequate, especially for touch ups, like for scatter rugs by the doors. We really like being able to clean around the parakeets so quickly, easily, and quietly. Just don't expect it to perform like a full size upright.

Ease of Use - This appliance is absolutely remarkable. I've never had a tool that was so easy to place on and remove from its charger. It's such a smooth and effortless task that we constantly marvel at the Ergorapido's engineering and design. Somebody deserves kudos. Separating the hand vac from the stick vac base is also almost effortless. Press a button and it almost falls into your hands. The hand vac snaps back into position just as easily with no jostling, manipulation or positioning.

The stick vac is easy to push and literally glides on the floor. With each passing day we find needs for the hand vac and may soon think of it more as a necessity than as a convenience.

Cleaning - There are three ways to clean this little wonder. You can simply detach and empty the dust container. You can use the hose of a second vacuum to clean out the dust chamber by lifting a latch and pressing the second vacuum's wand against the Ergorapido's cleaning hole. Or you can remove the filters and shake them or use a cleverly designed spring to free dust from the filters. Just pull and release the spring 5 or 6 times. The filter may be washed in lukewarm water. It's made of a material that's much easier to clean than other bagless vac filters I've wrestled with.

Looks - This is by far the most attractive stick vac we've ever seen. Even the fussy Mrs. Spudman is quite taken by it, and is proud to keep it out in the open. The elegant Ergorapido looks nothing like those 29-dollar bargains we've bought in the past. And that blue charging light is really cool.

Finally - The Electrolux Ergorapido almost the perfect combination of form, function, and utility. My main gripe is that when the battery dies, the vacuum must be discarded. What a waste! Hopefully when that eventuality occurs, the Electrolux will have designed a cordless with a replaceable battery.

I've had Kenmore cannisters all my life... many of them. They lasted several years, always leaving marks on my floors, and eventually they'd stop running or fall apart. I wanted an easy-to-use vacuum with good suction, one that would not harm my hardwood floors. The Ergorapido is perfect for me. Easy to use, efficient, easily recharged. I had always hated vacuuming. Now it's fun.

I've read some of the reviews and found that people who are rating this thing highly are the ones who are sweeeping up their floors and then vacuuming up the sweepings. This is not what a vacuum is for. If you can't use it as a vacuum, then it isn't a vacuum.

This vacuum will have a dead battery within 3 months
This vacuum has terrible suction power
This vacuum has a tiny dustcup which must be emptied before use and several times during use to maintain the already poor suction.
This vacuum has cheap plastic parts which frequently break, (ex. the small rollers on the bottom which make it possbile to roll the vacuum around)

After owning this product for a month and suffering the headaches, I hope this review can save you time and money and especially the headaches.

I bought one of these for my Mom - it has made her life so much easier.
So I bought one for myself. For tile or wood floors it really does the job. For low pile carpet - it is not a deep cleaner - but sucks up the pet hair and other debris readily. The head swivels - so you can get under furniture easily. The hand vac makes cleaning the car a breeze.
The only problem I see - is that it can't stand up by itself - if you stop to move something - you have to lean it on something or hold it. The charging stand provides a nice blue night light for my laundry room.
Very easy to empty and the spring loaded filter cleaner works suprisingly well. This Ergorapido beats the swiff out of my Swiffer.
I highly recommend it - in fact I talked my neighbor into getting one and she is crazy for her's as well. She got the peach color - I got the mocha.
Buy it - you won't be sorry.

My dog sheds a ton every day and the hair collects in certain corners. I use the 2-in-1 to pick it up without having to haul out the larger vacuum cleaner daily. This product does not pick up solid items, but it is great for dust and pet hair. It has surprisingly powerful suction. The dust cup is a little too small. You have to empty it after one or two uses, but it isn't hard to empty and if you want to, you can use another vacuum to clean it out. Great product overall.

I have had this vacuum for about 6 weeks and love it. With 2 toddlers and a dog we have no shortage of crumbs, messes and dog hair. It works very well on the hardwood floors and I am very impressed with how close it picks up near the edges of the cabinets and trim boards. I also use it on the rug under our kitchen table and it works great. The hand-held vacuum works well for cleaning up messes on the furniture. Clean-up is very simple. The filters are easy to remove and empty. One of my favorite things is that you can rinse the filters with warm water, let them dry overnight and they are ready to go the next day.