I’ve used cordless vacuums extensively over the past several years for small job site cleanup and even for vacuuming out the truck. What I hadn’t thought of was the practicality of using cordless for a home vacuuming solution. But it certainly makes sense. Dragging a cord anywhere is a pain, let alone in the home. With the advancement in lithium-ion technology, Hoover did what I hadn’t expected, but which made perfect sense: Reinvent the vacuum cleaner. The Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum Series 3.0 is a lightweight, practical vacuum that has a 11″ wide head and weighs just 10 pounds (with the battery). It’s incredibly light—unbelievably light—and it works really well as a cordless vacuuming solution in the home.
Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum Features
Because of the way the Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum is made, the WindTunnel 3 design never loses suction and you don’t drop dirt every time you cross over a threshold or lift the vacuum off the floor. The Hoover Air also holds a full liter of dirt which it pulls through an easy rinse cleanable filter. The canister is also clear, so it’s easy to see when it needs to be emptied. You can use the Hoover Air cordless vacuum cleaner on just about any surface. Two modes allow you to vacuum on hardwood floors (rotating brush disengaged) or regular carpet (brush engaged). The head of the vacuum is steerable, turning nearly 90 degrees simply with the turn of your wrist. This takes a little getting used to, but makes the vacuum incredibly easy to maneuver. It’s actually an incredibly simple mechanism that just works. After using the Hoover Air I can’t imagine going back to a non-articulating vacuum ever again.
There are two extended runtime 20V 72 WAh (3.6 Ah) Li-ion batteries included which provide an average of 25 minutes of runtime each (per battery). That’s 50 minutes of total cleaning time if you happen to have a house that large. For our 2800 square foot house with lots of tiled areas and wood flooring, two batteries actually takes care of a full cleaning, and one battery is more than sufficient for whole-house touch-ups. When you turn on the vacuum, you can see how much battery time is remaining on the battery. You can also press the blue button on the battery to check it at any time.
Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum Series 3.0 Testing
The first thing to note about the Hoover cordless vacuum is that it runs on a single 20V (18V nominal) lithium-ion battery which snaps right into the front of the unit and can take up to 180 minutes (3 hours) to fully recharge. This is, admittedly, one of the slowest chargers I’ve ever used in the lithium-ion realm, and definitely an area that could use improvement. In addition to powering the Hoover’s powerful motor, it can light up a path with two bright LED lights located on the front of the unit. They come on automatically by activating the power switch.
The battery is strong enough to provide suction for up to 25 minutes on hardwood—a fact we verified through testing. You will get slightly less time on thicker carpet due to additional torque on the brushes, but you don’t lose much in either mode. The vacuum features a mode for carpeted floors as well as wood floors (which disengages the spinning brush). I am a cordless tool fanatic. When a cordless tool comes out that replaces a tool that had previously only been corded, I rejoice—provided it works. When the battery life on the Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum worked out to yield a reasonable run-time, I was convinced this will be the future of vacuuming in the home. It’s only a matter of time before other companies catch on and the economy of scale makes this as common as the cordless drill. Dragging a cord on a vacuum is a pain in the home.
I handed this vacuum to my lovely chief domestic tool tester to try out (she’s so good, I married her 16 years ago), and she commented that the pivoting head on the Hoover Air Cordless let her easily steer it around obstacles like chairs, tables, plants…small children. This vacuum feels right in the hand and maneuvers like a mature product that hasn’t compromised its design to accommodate the battery technology. The handle pulls out and you can detach the lower hose to allow for an extendible wand for vacuuming low shelves, stairs, couches, or other off-the-floor items. The hose itself is rather deceptively long. It has a very tight coil that expands almost exponentially, giving you a 6 ft maximum (useful) reach with the extension wand attached. For anything higher up you’ll again appreciate the light weight of this vacuum, and lifting it in one hand while vacuuming with the other became a favorite way for us to take the dirt off of picture hanging moulding, hit the top of a door frame, or even pull the cobwebs off ceiling fans.
Conclusion
Here’s the thing: this Hoover Air Cordless Vacuum cleaner is a tool—a tool for the home. It’s impressive and bound to change the way manufacturers and consumers alike look at vacuums. The sheer fact that the run-time and power are where they are makes this an excellent replacement for any home vacuum. At a retail price of just under $300 it may not be the cheapest vacuum you ever buy, but it just might be the most convenient, useful, and capable.
