Hoover U5140-900 Tempo Widepath Bagged Upright Vacuum
Get Discount Click Now!Hoover Widepath bagged upright vacuum with powerful 12 Amp motor and on board tools for complete cleaning.
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Yes. This is all true.
However . . . this thing feels CHEAP. I understand that an under a $100 vacuum is not going to be built to the same standards as one two or three times as expensive . . . but . . . I still expect it to be a well designed product no matter what the price. This vacuum is not. The dust bag cover fits poorly and has--I kid you not--a full quarter inch of play between it and the mating surface. When the suction is on, air pressure will push the seal against the mating flange, yes, but when the vacuum is off . . . well, it's just not sealed. And also this dust bag cover DOES NOT HAVE AN ACTUAL LATCH. You latch it by flexing the whole cover downward enough that the catch clears the top notch in the body that secures it.
Next in the list of poorly designed items comes the back cord windup. It looks and feels like an after thought. There is a top and a bottom "L" bracket around which you wind the cord, but the vacuum hose is right there in between, which forces the cord winding coil to be bulged out and to feel insecure. Don't get me wrong. It does work. Or it would have if my unit hadn't been defective, that is (more on this in a second). But even though it works, it's the sort of thing that would annoy me every single time I used the vacuum. And, in my case, the "C" shaped rubber clip at the base of the plug (molded into it) had so small a channel that there WAS NO WAY that it would actually grab one of the earlier winding loops of the cord so that the whole coiling would remain secure and in place! And, on top of that, the "guide hook" at the top "L" bracket which is supposed to hold the cord in place in a convenient location while you vacuum, was ALSO so incredibly small that there was no way the cord would actually fit down into it. Maybe they changed their supplier for cord and didn't update the molds for those two things? I don't know. But I was not impressed.
Another item on the list of poorly designed features is the power switch. It is not located on the handle. It is about one foot down and to the left on the top of the main vacuum body. This means that you will need to release the cord that your left hand is holding, in order to turn the vacuum on or off. This is minor, but it is still an issue. Obviously, placing the switch there was a way to make the design cheaper, so I understand, but it is still yet another thing that makes using this vacuum an unpleasant experience. And, yes, the vacuum is indeed LOUD. Not crazy loud, but definitely louder than average in my opinion.
Finally, the agitator (spinning roll with bristles on it to brush carpet for best cleaning) is made of black plastic. This makes it harder to see and remove hair from the agitator. Another thing that makes cleaning the agitator hard is that there is a pretty serious plate in the way, which has multiple cross bars that prevent you from getting your hand easily into the area for cleaning. And it takes removing FOUR phillips head screws in order to take this plate off. The very opposite of convenience. And overall, the whole vacuum just feels cheap. The upside is that it's a bit lighter than many other upright vacuums.
If you can only spend $100 or less and you need a good performing upright, this is your product. Or if you just want an upright for the basement or upper floor or for your camp, and it just needs to work, then this is also your product. But, if you appreciate quality and good design and ergonomics, and if you are bothered by the lack of those things, then do yourself a favor and save up the extra money for something better. I decided very quickly to return this vacuum and spend the money to buy a new agitator for our Kenmore ($50 all told). I don't like it a whole lot and will eventually replace it with a Miele, but it's still a much better vacuum than this Hoover Tempo Widepath.
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