Hoover HF122GH Cordless Vacuum Cleaner (Single Battery) - H-Free 100, Grey/Red

Product Information

If you’re renting a flat and you’ve got limited storage, you’ll appreciate how the Hoover folds up to a small size, although there’s also a wall mount if you’re inclined to store it that way. Coupled with the fact that it doesn’t require your finger to be pressed onto the trigger like a Dyson, we think this is now the best option we’ve tested if you’re looking for a vacuum that can double as a handheld cleaner for your car or upholstery. The H-Free’s powerful motor and fairly basic filtration don’t make it particularly quiet compared to the very best cordless cleaners on the market. It has a bold, purposeful sound and that is further bumped up by the noise of the motorised brush bar. The filter is only basic; it isn’t EPA or HEPA rated. If you any folk in your home who suffer allergies, a vacuum cleaner with better filtration may be required, such as the Dyson Small Ball Allergy.

Make sure to always use Hoover-recommended spare parts and follow the safety instructions mentioned in the manual. There’s no doubt that the 3-in-1 tool is convenient, especially since it handily clips onto the machine, but performance-wise it isn’t great. The soft brush was fine, but the short and wide crevice tool wasn’t likely to go in anything you could describe as a crevice, plus the upholstery tool was basic. The tool was also a bit fiddly when it comes to switching nozzles, making it feel rather cheap. A few weeks on test and the H-Free performed admirably throughout. The detail and dusting tools are good, the air-flow is ample on high power and it’s a neat cleaner for getting to those high up cobwebs without needing shoulders like an Olympic swimmer. In fact, the H-Free’s greatest assets are its light weight and outstanding manoeuvrability. It makes vacuum cleaning easy and reaches the parts many other cleaners just can’t get to. A blue light illuminates on the head on the higher power setting when the brush bar is running. This goes red if the brush bar gets jammed in rug tassels, for example.While the Shark IZ201UK has anti-hair wrap technology for this, you’ll have to break out the scissors every couple of weeks with the Hoover to cut free the hair on the roller. With the battery but no tools attached the H-Free weighs in at a featherweight 1.4kg. The low-slung battery position makes it wand-like pointable. Clipping on the tube and main floorhead adds less than 1kg to the total weight, making the H-Free one of the lightest cordless cleaners we have ever tested. Over a couple of weeks, it became the vacuum cleaner of choice in our flat, working over carpet, tiles and floorboards. Hoover provides a single battery for this model, which can be charge in-situ, or pulled out and charged separately. The latter is handy to keep your vacuum cleaner topped up if you don’t have power in your storage cupboard. However, if you don't stumble across their products on sale, they are more likely to be a little bit more expensive than the Hoover H-Free 500. How does the Hoover H-Free 500 age?

In the box, Hoover has provided a good range of tools. There’s the floor brush, as mentioned, plus a 2-in-1 crevice tool with brush, an upholstery brush that has a clip-on hard brush, and a mini-motorised pet tool, which is great for use on sofas and stairs. For those without furry friends, there is a non-pet version of this cleaner available (the HF322HM 001) that comes minus this tool. The same can be said of the hose. Releasing the upper section of the handle to use as an extension tube, push-fitting the hose in the floor-head and handle is a rather flimsy affair. It does give you fairly decent reach, however, and we effectively used the extension tube with the dusting brush to clean above canvas paintings. In the case of the H-Free 500, we found Hoover offered a budget alternative to the top-end vacuum cleaners. The two dual-purpose detail tools are a simple push-fit onto the tube or cleaner. Oddly, they only go on a little way before binding, leaving an odd ‘ridge’ between tool and tube. It doesn’t affect performance but does suggest the industrial designer was having a tea-break at the point he got to the tool-fit interface. To reach those difficult-to-clean areas under chairs and sofas, the Hoover’s handle tilts and reclines very close to the ground, allowing the head to get under low obstacles. Three LEDs on the front light up the pet hair tumbleweed and dust in these darkened areas, although they’re not very bright compared to those on more affluent cordless uprights.You can get cover for your appliance against the surprise costs of accidental damage and breakdown with protection policy. For this, we're proud to work with Domestic & General Insurance PLC who protect, fix and if needed replace the things that keep your home running. By running the powered floorhead and increasing power we expected dramatically decreased run time, but that wasn’t the case. Even in this mode the H-Free ran for a very useful 19 minutes. That is a fabulous result given its decent cleaning abilities in this mode.

For darker areas, there are three LED lights on the front of the floor-head although, strangely, they only come on in carpet mode. With the growing trend for hard floors like laminates, this seems an odd way of setting up the lights, particularly as we find LEDs most useful for spotting pet hair on hard floors. Sadly, the lights are pretty dull so their function is more decorative than useful anyway.We also used the hose on its own, without extension or tools, to see if this increased the suction power – but it barely improved. Unfortunately, this isn’t a cleaner for stairs. Hoover H-Free C300 – How does it cope with pet hair? The last Hoover cordless model we tested wasn’t up to much. The company rushed out the Hoover Freedom FD22G by buying a design ‘off the shelf’’ and badging it Hoover. The H-Free HF18RH is a different kettle of cleaning potential altogether. The design has been well thought through, there are plenty of must-have features and it comes with plenty of tools.

Hoover H-Free has plenty of alternatives if you're willing to search around for yourself, as large brands like Samsung and Dyson have created their own cordless hoovers. Grey in colour and complemented with the deep-red Hoover logo on the front, the H-Free C300 looks neat and compact for an upright cleaner. With hard-floor, carpet and Eco modes, it promises comprehensive floor cleaning around the home and a super-long run-time – up to an hour on the Eco setting. Buttons are located conveniently on the front, below the telescopic handle that doubles as an extension tube for extra reach when using the detail tool.

How much does the Hoover H-Free 500 cost?

This vacuum cleaner includes a filtration system, ensuring that small dust particles are separated and tissues are clean. It is designed for easy operation and care, and its compact size makes it easy to store in small spaces. The Hoover H-Free 100 is a cordless vacuum cleaner equipped with a 22 V battery, providing a runtime of up to 25 minutes. The unit has a cyclonic/filtering dirt separating method and a dust capacity of 0.9 L. Designed for dry cleaning, this vacuum cleaner has a width of 260 mm and a depth of 234 mm. It weighs 2400 g, making it easy to handle and store. A full charge took us just over 6 hours, as the manual suggested. That’s a seriously long time and clearly not going to see multiple cleaning sessions in the same day. Then again, if the Hoover does deliver on its promised 60 minutes run-time, that shouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t find the Hoover H-Free 300 too loud, either, coming in at 67.9dB on Low, 69.5dB on Medium and 74.9 on Turbo. That makes this one of the quietest cordless vacuum cleaners I’ve tested. Not everyone needs a top-of-line, do everything cordless vacuum cleaner. For some, a cheaper, less powerful model will likely fulfil most needs. Step forward the Hoover H-Free 300 (HF322PT), then: a well-priced cordless cleaner with a removable battery, pet tools and a great range of accessories.