Kobold VK200 Upright Vacuum Cleaner feedback thread - NON testers - chance to win a handheld vac NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 10 Mumsnetters trying the Kobold VK200 Upright Vacuum Cleaner.

Non testers - we also have 5 handheld vacuums to be won - simply share on this thread what your least favourite room or place to vac is and you will be entered into a prize draw where 5 non testers will each win their very own Kobold VC100 handheld vacuum cleaner (RRP £129.00)

Back to the test, the team at Kobold say “compact, unbeatably handy and extremely powerful, the Kobold VK200 Upright Vacuum Cleaner is the ideal addition to your household, making life easier and cleaner.
Designed by global German household appliance manufacturer Vorwerk, the Kobold VK200, in combination with two different attachments, takes care of all your floor cleaning needs. Whether it’s carpets or hard floors – the VK200 Homecare System has it covered.
The unique SP530 DuoClean head allows you to mop and vacuum at the same time – a world first! It uses just 100ml of water to cover up to 20 m² of hard floor. And the best part? Simply remove the cleaning cloths when you’ve finished and pop them in the washing machine ready for next time.

“The EB400 brush head meanwhile ensures vacuuming is thorough, gentle and hygienic – driven by its own motor, a special rotating brush scans the floor 16 times per second and removes dirt and dust completely. Even the finest dirt particles do not stand a chance!

“Visit kobold.vorwerk.co.uk to find out more about the Kobold VK200 vacuum cleaner and discover the array of clever additional accessories that turn this machine into the Ultimate Homecare System! Simply click and swap to the attachment you need to expertly deal with upholstery, furniture, mattresses, textiles and anything else you need cleaned. Built to last, the Kobold VK200 is the only vacuum cleaner you’ll ever need”.

Testers - please share below your first impressions (we will add more Qs later on)

~ how did the demo from the Vorwerk rep go? What were you the most keen to try out?
~ how were the instructions in the box?
~ what did the demo cassette bag show after the first use - are you surprised by how much has been picked up?
~ please share a photo!

Testers thanks for sharing your first impressions - after you have used it a few times, please now share the below:

~ Do you think the Kobold VK200 will save you time?
~ Did you think that the vacuum was powerful?
~ Did you think the vacuum was easy to manoeuvre?
~ And do please share a photo!

Finally, testers - now please share the below

~ What are you overall views on the vacuum cleaner?
~ Would you recommend it to other people with similar floors to you?
~ please share a photo and add a review here

Thanks
MNHQ
Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Non-tester - Definitely the lounge. We have this rug that is so difficult to get anything out of.

my stairs are a nightmare! all bendy

Non-tester. Definitely the stairs, too many stairs in my house as built into the side of a hill. Hate having to carry the weight of the vaccuum up every step. Such a killer on the back!

Non tester here.

I have 2 places to vacuum which I hate- the car for the usual reasons of plugs in the wrong place having to feed wire through a window, making reaching the whole car a struggle. Secondly, the stairs as my back is dodgy and balancing the hoover on each step is like playing russian roulette as to whether I will be injuring my back or not each time I do it.

Of course I wouldn't have to hoover either if these places quite so often if it weren't for the 2 toddlers and 2 dogs so maybe I could trade all 4 for a handheld hoover?

least favourite place is behind the corner sofa because it needs three people to move it one each end and one in the middle and the kids and my husband put things on the top of it and of course they fall down the back

non tester behind the sofa If I had a hand held I could get in there by dangling down the back with a light unit in my hand instead of our big upright which doesnt have a long hose

plus with two kids the car is a midden they seem to exhale rather than eat food and i can not reach it from house nor easily hoover it with my large upright - the hose does come off but doesnt extend more than half a metre

Non tester - my DS's room is definitely the worst place to vacuum, it requires clearing up before you can get to vacuum. Even then I usually hear the suspect rattle of something going up the pipe that shouldn't be, usually Lego or some sort of bead.

Tester
DEmo: The demo was very good. CHarlie was very personable and Demo. He didn't speak to script but just enthused about the machine and its capacities, while setting it up and showing us the ropes. He conveyed genuine belief in the vacuum's great cleaning abilities and also was knowledgeable about its environmental and economic aspects. He was able to answer all sorts of questions and made us feel confident in using the machine. He was also clear about after sales help and extras. The vacuum salesman is a legend of cultural history. I had hoped he might bring demonstration dirt...but he didn't. He actually did not need to. So in short, a great demo and not at all boring or a waste of time. I feel confident on hard and soft floors and on vacuuming and mopping.

Instructions: These are very clear and good for reference later,

The machine is fabulous. It has picked up so much dirt. The carpet and the Lino, laminate and tiles all look sparkling and renewed. I am really impressed. It is a dream to use. I am looking forward to seeing how things stabilise. At the start the bags fill up quickly, but we will get into some equilibrium with that soon. I Have never been so excited to clean floors, so it is a bit of a wonder! Expensive, but if it lasts the promised 25 years it would have been very economical. I love the mop function, so unusual. So far, beyond good!

I hate the living room, I've a big dog that is very hairy so lots of hairs everywhere x

I can't really decide which is worst, the spare bedroom which has a hard floor and is frequency used by FIL, with his 3 long haired dogs, I seem to find hair for weeks! The playroom which requires an hour of tidying before I can even begin to clean it, or the lounge, with a dog and 2 cats the cream carpet in the room that all our guests see is always covered in hair even 5 minutes after cleaning.

Non tester. The car for sure! It's such a pain getting the hoover to reach out to the car, and such tricky little areas to clean. This is my excuse for excess crumbs in the car anyway!!

The hallway and stairs! What a nightmare...especially with a one year old in tow...

NONE TESTER - my 4 year old's bedroom is my most hated room to clean, found a mix of Play-Doh which i have no idea where he got it from.....im almost 100% i had hid it all lol

Tester, showing the photo taken during the demo. CHarlie had swept for only a couple of minutes in a small patch, and crikey what a lot stuff was sucked up. There was the deeper compacted dirt and all the fluff of the carpet threads.

My least favourite place to vacuum is the stairs. It is so cumbersome and trying to keep the Vacuum cleaner on there is a total nightmare.

I went to a demo recently (not in UK). The consensus at the end of the demo (by all of us there) was that it is an AWFUL lot of money to spend on a vacuum. If I'd wanted the duo clean thing (which hoovers and mops), it would cost me 1200€. Add on the extras, and it was 1600€. It is also a heavy, fairly bulky machine and you have to store all the bits.

I agree it's quite impressive how much dirt it gets out of carpets though!

That said, I'm not sure I want to have to live with the same hoover for the rest of my life to get the money's worth!!!!

Non tester - my least favourite place to vacuum is the stairs! We have 3 dogs and 5 cats and 7 people in our household so it's a nightmare. I put it off as it's too much hard work. It always does my back and shoulder in and I feel like I've done a workout at the gym when I wake up the next day lol. With putting it off for far too long I end up having to use the steam cleaner to get most of the hair up a bit easier. I do love the finished product and get a sense of satifaction when it does get done for an hour or so before I start seeing hairs piling up again haha.

The stairs! I absolutely detest hoovering the stairs, because our are so steep 😞

Non tester - my least favourite place to vacuum is DS1's bedroom. I have to nag at him to clear the floor of all his socks and crisp wrappers otherwise they end up disappearing inside the hoover. I'm very glad we don't have to deal with stairs though as we live in a flat.

Worst room to vacuum is the hall for me, I hate the stairs, I would gladly do any other job in the house while somebody else vacuumed the stairs for me!

Testers thanks for sharing your first impressions - after you have used it a few times, please now share the below:

~ Do you think the Kobold VK200 will save you time?
~ Did you think that the vacuum was powerful?
~ Did you think the vacuum was easy to manoeuvre?
~ And do please share a photo!

~ Do you think the Kobold VK200 will save you time?
Actually I'm doing more floor cleaning than ever before, so in fact the VK200 is taking up more of my time but of course I have spotlessly clean floors now!

The VK200 Duo Clean saves me about 50mins every time I use it to clean our hard floors downstairs, compared to a separate vacuum and steam. I wouldn't steam very often due to the time taken but now I whizz it around in under 9mins (I know because I can put a batch of cookies in the oven and I'm done before the time buzzes!) and I use the Duo Clean every day. My downstairs has never been so clean and I just love it.

The vacuuming takes the same amount of time, it's just that I know it's picking all the ground in dirt up too. I have subsequently cleaned our mattress which took about an hour, which I wouldn't have done without having the VK200. It smells really fresh now and does look cleaner.

~ Did you think that the vacuum was powerful?
The vacuum is really powerful, not only did the test filter show how much it got up after I'd used my existing vacuum cleaner, but I can now sit on the carpet with dark trousers on and not have them covered in dusty fluff. This is a revelation and makes a difference when I'm always sat or kneeling on the floor with our toddler.

The vacuum is also great on hard floors, hardly anything gets spat out or zoomed across the floor. You can see the vacuum drawing dust in from around the cleaner head such is the suction power. There's also really good edge cleaning, not only with the front of the vacuum head but also the sides.

~ Did you think the vacuum was easy to manoeuvre?
The vacuum is a breeze to use with the Duo Clean head as it pretty much glides along the floor under it's own momentum. The swivel joint is so much better than the ball one on my existing vacuum, it was easy to swivel into tight spaces and easy to swivel out, I rarely needed to use two hands.

With the vacuum head on, it's also very easy to manoeuvre and when my 7yo wanted to have a go, I simply reduced the suction power to help it glide easier for her, I was impressed that it still picked up fluff on the carpet on the 'soft' setting.

I easily vacuumed under our double bed because the vacuum goes flat to the floor, I can also vacuum under furniture in situ too for the same reason, it really is so easy to use; I think Vorwerk have thought of everything.

I will post some photos when we've taken some. Because it's so quick and easy to use (and the vacuum is so quiet) I use it during the day when it's just me and 16mo DS at home, normally I would have to wait for the evening as cleaning just took so long DH would need to be home to watch DS.

I now have clean hard floors for virtually zero effort and am all ready for any random pop-in visitors (we don't have many). I no longer stress when it's raining out and I wheel the buggy in trailing wet tracks across the floor, or my daughter walks mud in.

Do you think the Kobold VK200 will save you time?

Definitely. I had a house inspection today (I rent) and I was able to vacuum and clean the hall floor in one go. The Kobold easily sucked up all the gritty bits and leaves from by the front door and left the floor looking clean and shiny. The laminate floor is pretty worn so I am impressed at how easily the Kobold cleans it. A normal mop head would get caught on the cracks and holes in the floor. The DuoClean is also particularly good in the kitchen where there is always crumbs and stickiness (I have four messy children!) It really comes into its own on the dining room floor since my toddler likes to tip his plate over the floor when he's finished eating. It even effortlessly sucked up little bits of PlayDoh which makes a change. One of our giant teddies had exploded polystyrene balls all over the place and the Kobold sucked them all up rather than spraying them everywhere.

The Kobold is also great on carpeted floors. The vacuum head is flat so you can get it quite a way under the sofa. The edge cleaning works well so you can get in to most nooks and crannies without needing to take the vacuum head off the unit.

I accidentally ran the vacuum over the blind cord and the machine automatically stopped as soon as the cord got wrapped around the brush which made it quick and easy to untangle.

Did you think that the vacuum was powerful?

I don't think the vacuum is particularly powerful. My old vacuum cleaner would be impossible to push on its highest setting. BUT the auto setting on the Kobold makes it much more useful. You can push it over hard floor, carpet and rug and the head automatically detects what type of surface it is on and adjusts the suction power to the most appropriate level. So you get an effective clean every time without effort.

Did you think the vacuum was easy to manoeuvre?

Yes, it is very light and the head swivels easily. My children could use this vacuum cleaner easily.

And do please share a photo!

I have posted a few photos further up thread.

Additional comment

I suspect that my floors are now the cleanest part of the house. I would really like a mini DuoClean attachment that would clean kitchen worksurfaces, shower walls, baths, sinks etc. Please please please can you make one Vorwerk?

Do you think the Kobold VK200 will save you time? Absolutely! I used to spend a whole morning before going to work with a broom and a mop cleaning our tiny downstairs, now I can have the whole downstairs hoovered and mopped in about 10 minutes
Did you think that the vacuum was powerful? very. It's not as noticeable on my hard floors just how much it's sulking up but I took it to my friends shop and hoovered the carpet there... it sucked the carpet up off the floor! The carpet was a completely different colour when wed finished aswell
Did you think the vacuum was easy to manoeuvre? The unit is quite heavy to pick up and hang on its peg, but is really light to maneuver when it's switched on and I like that it has little wheels on the back so it can be easily transported between rooms without having to drag it around. It also goes completely flat which makes it fantastic for hoovering under furniture