mmcphee's Full Review: Vax X3 Bagless Upright Vacuum
Moving has meant buying a lot of item that we took for granted in our previous house. Since we had a central vacuum system I had to go out and buy my first vacuum cleaner ever. I chose the Vax X3 Bagless Upright Vacuum.
The Basics
This is a basic upright bagless vacuum cleaner. The copper (orange) and silver/gray vacuum cleaner weighs in at almost 20 lbs. It features a headlight, rotating brush with an on/off switch separate from the power switch and 27’ retractable cord. The crevice tool and upholstery tool are stored on the back of the vacuum while the end of the accessory wand has a built-in brush. The stretch accessory hose extends up to 11 feet and stores inside the wand when not in use. The Vax uses a lifetime 2 stage HEPA filter and the vacuum comes with a 2 year warranty.
Up and Running
I purchased my Vax as a floor sample so I did not need to assembly it, just drag it through the mall back to my car. Assembly appears to be straight forward requiring only a screwdriver. Once that is done you are ready to clean! Just pull the power cord out, plug it in and you are ready to go.
The Proof is in the Cup
I absolutely could not believe the amount of dirt this vacuum pulled out of our carpeting. Our short hallway and two small bedrooms are carpeted plus we have an area rug in our living room. After my first vacuum session the dirt and whatnot in the cup were almost up to the fill line. I never would have believed that the existing wall-to-wall carpeting was as dirty as this vacuum showed me. I knew that the area rug had not been getting as clean with our central vacuum as I might have liked and the VAX made it look like new. The strong suction pulled out dirt and fluffed up the fibers of the carpet, making the rug feel much softer underfoot. There is an edge cleaner on the head that sucks up dirt along the baseboard, while the bumper protects the walls.
While I mainly purchased my Vax for the carpeting in our home, it works well on our hard floors too. By turning off the brush the vacuum does not scatter the crumbs and such around the kitchen floor. The vacuum is a little bulky for maneuvering around our dining room table and chairs, but it works just fine. The vacuum transitions smoothly from carpeting to hardwood floors. A couple of times I have caught the fringe of the rug in our bedroom in the roller when I have forgotten to turn off the brush. The roller motor cuts off automatically so the motor does not burn out. Once the obstruction is cleared there is a resent button on the back of the cleaning head to reset the brush motor.
For some reason, our new home seems to be a haven for spiders. There were lots of cobwebs in the corners when we moved in. The long wand and stretch hose makes it easy to reach up or down into the corners. I have yet to use the crevice tool or the upholstery tool and I doubt that I really will. The brush on the end of the wand is sufficient for most of my non-floor cleaning needs
You Have to Clean Your Cleaner?
I had initially wanted a bagged vacuum cleaner; I just didn’t want to deal with dust flying everywhere from emptying a cup. However the deal on this vacuum was such that I decided I could empty a plastic cup. It turned out to be much easier than I expected. The canister pops out of the back of the vacuum and it is completely sealed. The intake is only open when it is attached to the body of the vacuum, so you don’t have to worry about introducing dust and dirt back to your just cleaned house. The cleaning canister opens from the bottom so you need to hold the canister over your garbage can before pressing the release button. The dirt falls out of the cup, mostly. Some dirt does stick to the inside of the cup and some to the filters at the top of the canister. Remembering to the bang the canister a few times to dislodge the dirt before you open the canister helps a lot.
There is still more cleaning to be done to your vacuum cleaner. The HEPA filter, foam filter and exhaust filter need to be cleaned “periodically” for maximum performance. It can be as simple as tapping loose dirt off of them, or washing and air-drying them. Washing requires nothing more than rinsing under running water but plan on about 24 hours for them to dry and they need to be dry before using them again. I have completely washed the foam and HEPA filter twice but I shake them clean after each use, since I empty the cup after each vacuuming as well. So far the exhaust filter has not needed to be cleaned at all; it seems this vacuum does a great job keeping the dirt in the cup where it belongs. The extra filter cleaning amounts to only about 5 minutes a week; well worth it to me for such clean carpets!
It’s All in the Details
I’m sure some vacuum cleaners get the dirt out of the carpet better than others, but in my mind what separates one vacuum from another is the little details. The Vax X3 has its share of little pluses and minuses to consider.
I love the auto-rewind of the power cord although sometimes I do have to push the last 6” into the vacuum cleaner. The power cord is attached at the base of the vacuum so if someone pulls on it (like one of my kids), the vacuum is less likely to topple over. This also means that the cord can get in the way while vacuuming since it is at floor level. There is a small hook to clip the cord onto to get it up and out of the way, but then you lose about 3 feet of cord length; for me that makes the difference between having to change outlets to vacuum the whole house. I generally just hold the cord by hand and move ti out of the way as necessary.
The accessory wand and hose have an interesting design. The hose actually loops from the back of the vacuum, through the vacuum and to the front where it is attached to the wand. With the wand place rather high on the vacuum pulling too hard can cause the vacuum to tip over. To get around this Vax includes a hook and clip to attach the hose to the base of the vacuum. While it does make it almost impossible to tip the vacuum over I also can’t reach the ceiling. I don’t bother hooking the hose and instead deal with a slightly tippy vacuum. I like that the hose compress and stores right in the wand, no hoses to keep control of.
Something I found odd was that there is no pedal to release the handle from upright to any position down to nearly flat. You have to step on the front of the vacuum to hold it in place and then pull down on the handle. This means that sometimes when I am vacuuming and I lower the handle a bit the front cleaning head lifts up. I hope with additional use this hinge will loosen a bit because in tight places it is difficult to stretch your leg up to the front of the cleaner while pulling down on the handle. This also comprises the automatic level system, I think I would rather slide a button!
When you put the handle back into its upright position the power brush does not automatically stop. You need to flip the power switch on the handle so the brush isn’t running over the same place on your carpet over and over again. Since the brush and vacuum motor are powered separately there are no belts to replace, a definite plus!
Final Thoughts
I am very happy with my vacuum cleaner. It does exactly what I want it to do, which is to clean my carpets. I paid $78 for my floor model and I feel like I got a great deal on a powerful vacuum. My biggest complaint is the stiffness of the cleaning head hinge, which I hope will break in and become looser with more use. It would be nice if I didn’t have to clean my vacuum cleaner, but it is something I am willing to do for clean rugs.
2motor system allows you to turn the 12amp motor on and turn the brushroll on or off, Integrated 11 hose reaches stairs and furniture and the bottomre...More at Target
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