Disclosure: We were sent the featured products for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.
Recently, we were asked to try out the brand new Philips Dust Mite Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner, Anti-Allergen with EPA Filter + UV Light. I personally had never heard of a vacuum cleaner with a built in UV light and wondered what on earth it might possibly be used for and how it would be beneficial in a vacuum cleaner.
What are the Philips Dust Mite Handheld Vacuum Cleaners?
The Philips Dust Mite Hand Held Vacuum is aimed at people who might suffer from allergies or who want their house as clean as possible. As it is a corded handheld vacuum cleaner, it was never going to replace a proper upright vacuum but offers an alternate cleaning experience, cleaning deep within rugs, furniture, bedding and even curtains.
The UV lamp plays an important role in zapping household dust mites that are present in every home, making your house a more healthy place to live. Combined with three padded vibrating feet that oscillate at 3600 rpm to really loosen hidden dirt inside your rugs etc… the Philips dust mite hand held vacuum gives you a real sense of achievement when you see the dirt chamber filling up when used on upholstery that you previously thought was clean. Now, it’s really clean and dust mite free.
What were our overall thoughts of the Philips Dust Mite Handheld Vacuum Cleaner?
Practically, the Philips Dust Mite Hand Held Vacuum is a little on the cumbersome side to use. The dust chamber is quite small so I would only use it after having a main go with a proper sized vacuum cleaner. It is also quite heavy at over 2.2kg and the buttons on the top of the unit are not very well placed. When I was using it, I kept on knocking the sensitive switches to either ‘off’ or I accidentally cycled through the cleaning options (suck, suck and UV or suck, vibrating paddles and UV). The UV lamp also has a safety feature in the form of a pressure switch on the bottom of the cleaner, so the UV lamp will only come on if the unit is held correctly. This is so that you don’t shine it into your eyes, onto pets etc… In order for the pressure switch to work, I found that I had to hold it quite far forwards on the handle which in turn, frustratingly made me trigger the sensitive buttons inadvertently. It was a ‘Catch 22’ situation!
As an additional cleaning option, theDust Mite Hand Held Vacuum is a great idea for those that want to reduce their exposure to harmful allergens, but I think that it is too bulky, awkwardly designed and has limited appeal to be used everyday to make it a worthwhile investment.
The Philips Dust Mite Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner has an RRP of £230.
It’s a shame this isn’t too easy to use, we have a handheld vac that’s really easy to use and it’s great for doing the stairs without lugging a big vacuum up there.
Nat.x