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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Are henry hoovers any good?

39 replies

NinjaChipmunk · 26/02/2013 14:22

My vacuum cleaner died in a puff of smoke yesterday which is a shame as I liked it. It was fairly small, bagless, and reasonably powerful, however it only lasted 2 years (it was about 6 weeks outside its warranty). I don't really want to spend much more than £100 or so and DP seems very keen on getting a Henry for some reason. Are they any good? How the chuff do you do the stairs with them? Do they last? DP has form for hoovering up DIY/ sawdust/ brickdust etc even though I try to stop him (which I am sure is a culprit this time). Your recommendations/ ones to avoid please....

OP posts:
KatyTheCleaningLady · 26/02/2013 14:57

They are very good at hard floors and non-fluffy carpets. They aren't as good on deep pile carpets, especially if there's pet hair. Henry's are good because they are workhorses that take a beating and keep on going, and because their wand attachment set-up is easy to use. (That is, while you're hoovering, you can just pull whatever head you have on off and switch to an edging tool or just use the bare tube end for getting into small spots.)

They have a long cord and the hose-and-tube combination is long enough to reach a lot of things. This makes them good for things like getting cobwebs in high corners or dusting the tops of wardrobes.

If you have a lot of deep-pile carpets, especially with pet hair, then an upright would likely suit you better. They have beaters in the heads that beat the crap out of the carpet. Henry does have an attachment with a revolving brush in the head that is OK on carpets, but it's powered by the air flow and not as effective as an actual motorized beater.

They are dependable and simple. When my dyson sucks up a child's sock, it can take some doing to locate and remove the sock. In a Henry, something is either stuck in the head or is sucked into the bag. Not much really gets stuck in them.

KatyTheCleaningLady · 26/02/2013 14:58

Also, if you want the revolving carpet brush, you need to buy a model that includes it. The standard head has two settings for hard floors and carpets, but it is really only good for flat smooth carpets like you see in commercial settings.

Original poster
NinjaChipmunk · 26/02/2013 16:30

Thanks for that, it's really helpful. We have just moved in and inherited a lot of laminate flooring so for the time being it might be ok but we do have carpet in the hallway, stairs and landing and some fairly thick rugs. And we were thinking about carpeting the lounge and bedroom.
Anyone else got one?

OP posts:
Jdub · 26/02/2013 16:54

I hate my Henry - you pull it, it helpfully falls over or bangs into something -it's just an arse and it make me cross!

Jdub · 26/02/2013 16:55

See? SO cross I can't type properly! sp 'makes me cross'

weegiemum · 26/02/2013 16:58

We have both a Henry (in our old house/holiday home) and a Hetty (pink Henry). They are simple, light, easy to manoeuvre, get everything up (we have a house rabbit so that is important!). I'd highly recommend them!

insancerre · 26/02/2013 17:00

We have a henry at work- it is easy to use, very quiet and has a very long power cord.

haggisaggis · 26/02/2013 17:05

They're good for hard floors. We moved to a house with no carpets and only one rug - and the upright was absolutely useless. Bought Henry and he's great - good long flex - does the whole of the downstairs without unplugging then do the stairs and plug him in upstairs. Hose doesn't quite stretch to the top of our stairs - but I find him light enough to carry with one hand while I hoover. I agree that for deeper carpets it might not be suitable.

RugBugs · 26/02/2013 17:08

We have one and love it.
I can do all but three stairs from the bottom Grin
We have three house cats and a pair of guinea pigs who are indoors atm and it makes very light work of the litter debris and hay that DP throws around.

CremeEggThief · 26/02/2013 17:17

If you decide not to go for a Henry, may I put in a good word for my Bosch? I'm not sure of its model, but I got it online from John Lewis for approximately £98.

I won't lie, it's not quite as good as my old Miele, but it's great for the price, and works well on short-pile carpet and vinyl flooring (the two types in my house).

Spoonful · 26/02/2013 17:46

I like mine.

CalamityKate · 26/02/2013 17:55

They're ok on hard floors but even if I had no carpets I'd never get one.

The hoses aren't long enough and unless you guide them tenderly round corners in the same way you'd help a toddler up a flight of stairs, they take the hump and turn turtle.

I agree with those that say they're hard to choke but frankly after five minutes with one you'll want to throttle it yourself.

And don't get me started on the faux-friendly "Hyuck Hyuck Hyuck I'm just a simple soul who just wants to help" grin. Henry is a psychopath.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/02/2013 17:57

I like my henry, I can feed him anything without it breaking and I admire the engineering simplicity. However he is crap with our cat hair.

WipsGlitter · 26/02/2013 17:58

I agree that it falls over all the time - you need to wind out most of the cord first. It also bumps into things. But it's suck is great.

erowid · 26/02/2013 19:19

We had a henry at my old pub. Hoovered a 200 square foot carpet every day for over 8 years and it didn't die on us once.

Brilliant for durability and great on hardwood floors or short pile carpets. But I've had no experience with them in a domestic situation (stairs, pet hair, long pile carpets)

jeee · 26/02/2013 19:27

My Henry's nearly 10 years old and sucks as well as the day it was bought. We have a fairly large house, and the previous vacuum cleaner literally blew up (a bang, followed by lots of smoke). We tried a Dyson which miserably failed to suck anything up (the shop said this was a problem with the model, and didn't want to give use our money back Confused), and then went with the Henry.

It's a bit cumbersome if you don't have unlimited storage space, and the bags can be quite expensive, but when Henry dies he'll be replaced by Hetty (a promise made to 12 year old DD1 when she was 3 which she insists she'll hold me to).

MiddleAgeMiddleEngland · 26/02/2013 21:09

Love them! We have a Henry at home and one at work. Both get used daily at least once, they last for years. Our home one has seen us through a major renovation and still smiles happily at us.

adagio · 27/02/2013 14:44

I have Hetty and I love her Smile

Hard foods downstairs, one big rug, fully carpeted stairs & upstairs - in fairness, it is a bit harder to do the carpets than the hard floors but it does leave lovely stripes in the pile so at least everyone can appreciate you have just hoovered!

Major benefit - as it is 'commercial' you can buy replacements bits of everything - I got sick of cheaper hoovers dying just out of warranty and no spares easily available, another one we lost the hose in a house move and a new hose was almost the same price as the hoover etc. After major building work I just got a new filter for Hetty and she is as good as new again (well I had to ajax her body too to make her look pink again). Used daily, including sucking ash out of wood burner (DH doesn't seem to appreciate this is not good for hoovers) and replacement brushy bits available cheaply from the market for when you lose them.

No hairy pets in my house so can't comment on the pet hair situation.

adagio · 27/02/2013 14:45

*only got a new filter because sucking up bitumen chips/dust when I took old parquet floor up left the other one a bit whiffy - still sucked fine though if you don't mind the smell of tar every time you hoover!

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 27/02/2013 14:48

I hate it. It doesn't pick up the dog hairs effectively, they just get stuck on the bristles of the head, it falls over and it's a pain in the arse to store, it also smells like cheesy feet. I'd rather pull out my eye teeth than buy another one. All the cleaners at the school I used to work in hated Henry too as it was impossibly hard to use on the 'hospital grade' carpets.

Lafaminute · 27/02/2013 14:50

I love my henry and he came after two Dysons (HSSSSS!) and a Miele. I have only hard floors but a very hairy dog and messy children so he does have to pull his weight!

SaskiaRembrandtVampireHunter · 27/02/2013 14:53

I like my Henry. He seems to cope with anything we throw at him, even dog hair (short haired dog though), and has lasted longer than any other machine we've had, including a couple of expensive state of the art gizmos.

Jins · 27/02/2013 14:54

Utter shit.

Works well on hard floors but so does a brush. Skims the surface of carpets. You would not believe what came out of a small freshly Henry'd carpet when I ran over it with a dyson.

Absolutely the worst household appliance I've owned. I can't even give it away

If I see a Henry in someone's house I keep my shoes on Grin

HJBeans · 27/02/2013 14:57

I adore our Henry - he's never fallen over and sucks up really well on hard floors and thin carpets. And I'm quite charmed by his cheeky grin. Grin Only trouble I've had is that the suction is too good sometimes, even on energy-saving low power, and has taken up tiles near the fireplace, nearby socks, etc.

derektheladyhamster · 27/02/2013 14:59

Our Henry is 15 years old Shock We have had to replace the hose, but that wasn't expensive on ebay, which is also where I buy my spare bags.

It has coped with hay etc from when we had indoor guinea pigs through to bits of food (especially rice cakes) when the kids came along.

I have fairly flat carpets and rugs though so I don't know how it copes with long piled carpets.

He does fall over when I try and make him go round corners though.

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