Customer Reviews

Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary Upright Vacuum, Bagless, U5786900

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I highly recommend this vacuum. I received it two weeks ago after purchasing on Amazon and it is hands down the most superior vacuum I have ever owned, and definitely outperforms other vacuums I have paid a lot more for.

I always shop the field and do fairly extensive research for all consumer purchases. We consulted Consumer Reports and this model ranked fairly high in overall performance yet had a reasonable price tag. We have about 1800 square feet of carpet, most of it medium-pile. We have one australian shepard, three manx cats, and a two-year-old child, so pet hair and dander pick-up were important to us, as well as filtering.

This model comes in a bagged version, the bagless version (the one I bought), and a bagless self-propelled version. I found the bagged version in some local stores, but I am not interested in a bagged vacuum. My local Costco carried the self-propelled version, but it was very very heavy and besides I just don't understand why the self-propelled feature even exists.

This vacuum is very quiet for it's power. It has exceedingly powerful suction. The dirt sensor has two modes - normal and sensitive. The sensitive setting is truly microscopically sensitive. The vacuum is relatively light weight for its size. Either way, this feature works and it is helpful in high-traffic areas.

Best Feature #1: The canister is almost "self-cleaning". You have to see it to understand, but there are two chambers...the first chamber contains the primary filter, and then all the medium and course particulate and hair and whatnot fill the second chamber. To empty, you just drop the bottom like most canisters, but the difference is that there is nothing in the second chamber for the course matter to get caught up on so it just empties right out without your having to fuss with it, and then the filter (this is genius) rotates via an exterior handle that unfolds from the canister. You spin the filter, and it spins against a plastic tab inside the canister, causing all the fine particulate to just drop out the bottom. When you are done you canister is almost brand new again, and you are dust-free and NOT breathing a bunch of crap!

Best Feature #2: I don't know how this is happening, but this vacuum rolls so easily it FEELS like it is self-propelled. Only it's not. I think it must have exceedingly high quality wheels.

Our house smells better after running this vacuum. We breath easier. This vacuum is so good I would by it new every six months if I had to. We paid about $180 with shipping, an absolute bargain given its performance and features. Oh yeah, the detachable pet hair attachment actually works!

I went and got this vacuum from bi-mart today to clean out the germs, dust, and other filth that has been getting me and my room mates sick all winter. I ran it through my living room once and it sucked up a dust ball the size of my cat. I don't know how I ever lived without this vacuum cleaner.

Prior to purchasing my new Hoover, I read a lot of reviews on all the leading vacuums, i.e, Dyson, Hoover, Oreck, etc. And for the price and powerful suction, I went with the Hoover. Owned a Oreck previously becasue I wanted something that was more light weight to manuever, but it just didn't have the suction power, especially with pet hair.
My only complaint about the Hoover is emptying the canister, which is messy. But, knowing and seeing what it picked up makes me feel confident that it works!!

I have 2 cats that have 2 favorite spots each on our couches. My old vac's hose no longer worked and I was getting tired of vacuuming the house and then bringing out the dustbuster every time I wanted to vacuum the couches. I wanted a vacuum that was capable of handling both tasks.

I purchased this vacuum based on a previous review that stated that this vacuum sucked up a hairballs with no problem and has incredible suctioning power. I completely agree. This vacuum really gets the job done.

The cat litter and hard catfood was sucked up from my hardfloors with out it being spit back out at me from the back of the vacuum. The attachments are fantastic. I used the "turbocharged"self rotating brush attachment on my fabric room-dimming blinds and all the dust and cat hair was picked up in no time. The dingy runner in my hallway was actually fluffier after I ran the vacuum over it. It seems like this vacuum literally sucked the fibers so much that the suction picked up the carpet pile in the rug. This is a great vacuum and I am really satisfied with this purchase.

The Hoover Windtunnel is an awesome upright vacuum. It has tremendous cleaning power. The Pet Hair attachment really works.

I have a large dog (SPCA German shepherd mix) and she sheds. The old vacuum we had picked up a lot of stuff when I vacuumed (every weekend, once a week). It is bagless, and I dumped it twice while vacuuming. But when I finished, I could still use my shoe to "scuff up" some dog hair from the carpet, especially places where my dog naps or sleeps. Some places I get a little, and some places I get a lot, even after I just vacuumed. I decided I had to get a new vacuum. After a lot of comparison and reading reviews and looking at models, we bought the Hoover Windtunnel bagless vacuum. I love it.

To put it together, you need a Phillips screwdriver, and you put in 4 screws. Pretty easy.

I vacuumed up the whole house right away. I had to dump the bagless bucket about 4 times. I usually dumped the old bagless vacuum twice. When I finished, I went back to all the places where our dog sleeps and naps. I scuffed my shoes around. I scuffed some more. No dog hair came up. None at all. Not big piles which would make a small chihuahua. Not little piles. Not a little bit. Nothing came up. I was impressed. The carpets looked very good - better than they had in a while.

My wife Ida broke out the "Pet Hair" attachment and did the dog's couch. Yes, our dog has her own couch. She vacuumed up enough dog hair to make another chihuahua.

We took the new vacuum to both our cars and got enough dirt and dog hair to make ... an impressive pile of dirt and dog hair.

Great vacuum, a lot of power, really cleans, the attachments work well. The extension cord is 31', which is just long enough for me to vacuum all of the upstairs or downstairs without unplugging. It came with an extension hose which makes it easier to get the stairs.

Dumping the bagless container is a little messy, so do that outside. The crank to knock dirt out of the filter actually works pretty well. I found the filter easy to remove to clean it more thoroughly.

I would recommend Hoover Windtunnel bagless Vacuum to anyone who needs a powerful upright vacuum, and especially to anyone who owns pets.

------------- Update to the review ----------------

After two+ years of heavy use, I was disappointed in how the Windtunnel was performing. It didn't pick up as much stuff anymore. Had I worn out the vacuum? No, it was the rubber belt which drives the beater brush that was worn out. It took me about 2 months to figure this out (I was a little slow, huh?) and about 10 minutes to replace the belt. WOW! Works like it did the when it was brand new! I got a 4 pack of belts from Amazon partner for about $5 and plan to change the belt every year, whether it is worn out or not.

I found these reusable & washable (and they are washable) filters for the Hoover Windtunnel (2 for $10). They work as well and are 10x easier to clean than the $30 paper filters I had bought in the store.

[....]

Have been very satisfied with this vacuum! Excellent suction and cleaning (carpeting is visibly cleaner), easy to empty dirt bin (filled it a few times 1st use - we empty directly into outside trash can so no worry about flying dust, etc). Only concern is killer brushroll, which likes to eat rug fringes. Nice job removing pet hair on carpeting - have not tried upholstery attachment yet.

We had a 9yr old Dirt Devil that I hated. It required repair less than a year after we bought it and I had a grudge against it ever since. Thursday it fell apart on me - it would no longer stand upright, then the hose started to break free, and, while I was using it the hose completely came apart so I threw it to the curb, dug out the relevant issue of Consumer Reports and hit Amazon.

I settled on the U5786900 due to it's price point, quality of the reviews here, and CRs Recommended Buy (it's not a Best Buy, my wife deemed those too pricey). The local S-Mart had a similar model (UH40125). I don't know what the difference is other than the lesser warranty and the lack of a Pet Hair designation, but it looked the same and the specs were the same, and it was $10 cheaper (so FYI). I found the U5786900 at another retailer for the same price as Amazon was selling so I bought it as it was the one I was looking for.

I put it together and vacuumed the family room. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to push - the suction literally pulls the vacuum forward. A little more than expected effort is needed to pull it back, but it made vacuuming easy. I had just vacuumed the day before and was a bit embarrassed by the amount of dirt the Dirt Devil picked up (I don't vacuum as often as I should and my wife never does), but the amount of dirt the Hoover picked up was a shock! I thought I was imagining things but it looked to me like the carpet was noticeably cleaner. When my wife came home she stopped dead and noticed the difference immediately and said it looked like I had just shampooed.

The vacuum, while still noisy (it's a vacuum cleaner after all) is quieter than the Dirt Devil (I hated having to bend down next to that thing when it was on - it was deafening) and the dog didn't run hide when I turned it on. The wheels are rubber coated so it glides easily across our hardwood floors. The Dirt Devil had plastic rollers and was so loud I picked it up when crossing the hard wood.

Of course, time will tell if the vacuum will retain this quality over time, but out of the box it's amazing.

There are a few negative reviews here and I wanted to address a few points some have mentioned (and some of the reviews just seemed to be trying to get people to buy a different brand):
- Cheap power switch. The switch is on the handle but it's not the actual switch. The real switch is on the base under the handle and the handle switch merely toggles it on and off. I can understand if this part breaks but a replacement handle is only about $2 from Hoover, and I find it hard to believe this part breaking would be a common problem.
- Someone commented that it wasn't a true bagless, but then complained about the filters, saying the 'bag' is in the base. I have no idea what this person is talking about. There is no bag.
- Another person complained about the filters, that they're expensive ($20) and that this vacuum has three of them so it'll cost a fortune over time. Actually, two of the filters are washable, but can be replaced if desired. The replaceable filter is deemed "long life." Not sure how long that is but it, too, can be cleaned if necessary with a little compressed air.

My only real complaint at this time is that I wish the dirt cup sealed better against the vacuum. When you remove it there's a small littering of dust under it. You have to blow this out then vacuum that area again. I would think a simple rubber ring around the opening is all that would be needed.

I am a 74 year old "Granny" who, in my lifetime, has owned just about every brand of vacuum made,so I feel I am well qualified to judge this vacuum. I have been using an Oreck upright and a top of the line Kenmore cannister vac. As soon as I received the vac, I naturally had to try it out immediately. First, I tried in on a 20' long by 3' wide hall runner. I vacuum this runner almost daily as my two cats love to sleep on it. I was SHOCKED at what this vacuum got out of this runner. I had to empty it before I was halfway down the hall. The runner now looks like new. I had the same experience with all the other rugs and carpets in my home. I am truly impressed and actually feel like everything is clean. The vac is very easy to push (it feels like it is self-propelled). I couldn't be more pleased and highly recommend this vac.

Pros:
- good suction and cleaning power on carpet
- sense of satisfaction seeing the clean bagless chamber fill with dirt and debris

Cons:
- Poor build quality on dirt canister, broke after 6 months
- overly short power cord
- floor brush head does not stop spinning when attachment tools are in use

Having 2 more feet on the power cord would have been nice. I don't have a problem with the weight of the vacuum, or the noise level. But I'm very irritated with the build quality of the machine, especially with the dirt canister, which is apparently engineered with build quality flaws. The canister filter seems to do its job, but is very labor intensive. I literally have to wash the thing off after each use, and they're about $15 to replace, so I don't want to do that very often. After about the second time of use, the button that controls the bottom hatch that you're supposed to push to free the debris from the canister stopped functioning, and then I was forced to pull open the top door of the canister and bang the contents out in the trash can, which is very messy. I have to do this outside or in the garage to avoid a dust cloud going all over. Also, after 6 months of this problem, the lever on the top of the canister just snapped, which made emptying the canister very very difficult. The nearest warranty center is 30 miles away, and when I phoned them they told me I would have to wait a month for the part. At least my vacuum functions with the part broken but what if it didn't? I can't be without a vacuum for a month. I finally got in touch with Hoover customer service, had to be transferred to a few different departments, and was told the canister isn't covered under warranty, and that I would have to pay $41 to get a new one...but hey, they would pay for the shipping. Of course the junky canister isn't covered under warranty. If only my last vacuum (Orek) had better suction power for my dog hair I would never had gotten rid of it. I have two regrets with this Hoover; first, I should have bought the vacuum at a local big box store, so I would have an easy place to return it; second, I wish I would have bought the Eureka 4870MZ Boss instead; it appears to be made better.

Hoover U5786900 Windtunnel Anniversary Bagless Upright--Excellent performance; Excellent Value

Unmatched price and performance--You will be amazed at what this vacuum pulls out of your wall-to-wall carpets. ( Maybe too strong for Orientals) Forget the popular Dyson models unless you have an extra $499+ hanging around and even then Dyson models in my opinion don't come close to the performance of this unit. Easy to push--( check Low/High setting if it feels heavy--higher setting = easier to push with NO noticeable loss of cleaning power ). Bagless-- no need to go on vacuum bag "specific model" hunting/shopping trips. I worried about wood floor cleaning since you can't turn off the brush on this model (I have a lot of wood flooring) No worries just move the "high/low" switch to "high" and while the brush continues to spin--it will not contact the wood or tile floor and its spectacular vacuum capabilities will clean your wood or tile floors.

Again, excellent price value--spectacular cleaning ability!