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

I hate the vacuuming the stairs!

The stairs. I always manage to get stuck somewhere down the stairs. The steps have odd corners on them. The cable is not long enough to do the stairs top to bottom. A pain. Really

non tester - vacuuming the car. It's a huge struggle to fit in the hose and nozzle and hoover without braining myself.

It has to be our upstairs landing, my cat and dog have made this their sleeping nook and the animal hair on carpet is a real chore to vacuum up - I am yet to find a machine up to the job!

My DS room, it is always a mess with lots of stuff on the floor so it takes me double the time to hoover.

i hate doing the stairs and i have right up to the attic to do.

~ What are you overall views on the vacuum cleaner?

I like the Kobold. I don't love it but i like it.
It has made me vacuum more than ever! It is enjoyable to use and not a hassle. I do really like the dry to wet head to save time and mop my floors at the same time as cleaning. I definitely wouldn't be bothered to mop as much as i should but this stops me using up all my time and killing two birds with one stone, so to speak! I also like how it puts just enough coverage on the floor to wash it but without soaking it.

I like the way it automatically adjusts from flooring to carpets, so you don't have to mess about with that too and the way it swivels when you use it and that it lies flat is also great and unique.
I don't like that it is not suitable for (long) rugs and without buying the attachments, it isn't very suitable for stairs either.

It is fascinating and gave me a completely different experience to floorcleaning. I would have liked to get the full experience with the other attachments as they made it sound far more exciting and new but with what i had, i was suitably satisfied.

~ Would you recommend it to other people with similar floors to you?

I would recommend to people that had a lot of hardwood flooring as the dry to wet part of the Kobold is fabulous and would be beneficial to everyone that has to vacuum then mop.

What are you overall views on the vacuum cleaner?
The vacuum cleaner on its own works brilliantly. It pulls up more dirt from the carpets than my previous vacuum cleaner and it's much better at getting in to the corners because of the suction. The real game-changer to the Kobold is the DuoClean head. Being able to vacuum and mop hard floors and do both well has made cleaning much easier and quicker. I have remarked to a couple of people that my floors are now the cleanest part of my house. A few members of the household are allergic to dust and there is a definite difference in the allergy levels - I'm not sure whether this is because the Kobold works so well or because it's so easy to use that I'm cleaning more often. The big issue with the Kobold is the cost, especially if you buy all the add-on parts. I do think that it's worth shelling out for if you can afford it. If you have hard floors then the basic package with the DuoClean head would be well worth getting.

I like the way the vacuum gets into all the corners and cleans thoroughly, it even fits under the sofa.

I love the DuoClean head possibly more than I love DH.

I like being able to clean my carpets - it isn't as good as a dedicated carpet cleaner but it has allowed me to keep on top of the mess that my kids create and it leaves the carpets looking bright and 'newer'.

The mattress cleaning seems to be very beneficial, especially with dust allergies. My DH gets too hot if we use an allergy mattress protector so being able to thoroughly clean the mattress is a godsend.

I love the way the vacuum head automatically adjusts to hard and soft surfaces and also adjusts the suction so you can move from a hard floor to a carpet to a rug without having to do anything.

Some of the attachments are very good - for example the dusting attachment, and the crevice tool for cleaning the car. The polsterboy attachment is bloody brilliant for cleaning the soft surfaces in the car boot and the footwells. I haven't got to grips with all the attachments yet but the instruction manual is easy to read which makes a change.

Would you recommend it to other people with similar floors to you?

Yes. Definitely. Buy it. Buy it now. If you start with the basic vacuum or DuoClean set (approx. £750 I reckon) then you can add the accessories later if needed. It's not only that your floors will be super-clean, it's the ease of cleaning them.

Please can Vorwerk make a mini-DuoClean head for cleaning the kitchen and bathroom.

My photo of the Kobold and the 2 attachments...

Stairs for me too - I've got a bad back to all the lifting etc is punishing

Non tester: the stairs.

non-tester: least favourite place to vacuum is the car! I never quite know what i will find in there and how long it has actually been there. We think the record is a macdonald's fry which was there for over 6 months with no sign of mould. Or possibly the cheesestring that spent around a year in the car - again looking fresh as the day it was bought. Certainly wouldn't risk eating either of them though. Usually they are accompanied by a handful of gaming stylus' which somehow always fall through the seats and are nearly impossible to retrieve again.

Least favourite is the boarded loft.
All those nooks and crannies and roof joists to clean between, lugging the great big Vaccuum cleaner in the and then falling over it. Hard work!!

~ What are you overall views on the vacuum cleaner?
I love it! On carpet with the vacuum cleaner head it is so powerful and can get under most furniture as the head is so slim. Saves me so much time. The DuoClean head is amazing on hard flooring abs it hoovers and mops at the same time - I now do my hard flooring more often but spend hardly any time actually doing it.
It seems to be really good quality. It's an expensive cleaning system but if it lasts 15-20 years as it is supposed to then I think it is completely worth it.

~ Would you recommend it to other people with similar floors to you?
Absolutely. I use the DuoClean head in my hall, kitchen and bathroom which are laminate, ceramic tiles and lino. It is so quick and simple to vacuum and mop those rooms at the same time with the DuoClean attachment.
As a vacuum cleaner it brings up my carpet beautifully, and the sensor on the head automatically adjusts when I move from carpet to my hard floors and gets all the dust and crumbs off them too so it is so simple and quick to do an all over vacuum.

Without a doubt it has to be the car! Very awkward everywhere!

Non tester here:

The stairs! What a nightmare! And my vacuum is too heavy to lift up them so it's just so awkward!

Teenage DD's room! She hates me going in there (I need my privacy mum) and 95% of the floor is covered in dirty clothes, empty wrappers, school books, jewellery, money, computer .... I could go on but I think you get the idea.

The stairs! The dreaded stairs! Worst place ever to hoover with an upright hoover.

The stairs! HATE Carrying the vacuum up and down.

Non tester
Vacuuming the car.... Yuk! Cables, extension cables, heavy machine. Impossible...

Non-tester. Least favourite place to vacuum is DS's bedroom - lots of stuff to move so that I can do the whole floor.

Non-tester: worst place to vacuum is definitely the stairs. Balancing the heavy machine then the cord doesn't each the whole way up the stairs. I vacuum them as little as possible!

non tester

I hate hoovering the stairs - with 4 cats and a dog you can imagine the mud and random twigs and leaves that get dragged in.

I also hate hoovering behind the armchairs and sofa as they are so heavy to pull out to reach but again with the animals they have to be done regularly overwise we would be taken over with fur!

Non tester - the corners behind and under the door jams!!!

Least favourite place to vac is the stairs, I hate it!