Levoit Aero cordless vacuum review: For people who hate pet hair

Greatest Costs As we speak: Levoit Aero

You may know Levoit for its air purifiers, humidifiers and followers however a number of years in the past the corporate branched out into vacuums, the newest of which is the Aero. Whereas the vacuum itself bears a hanging resemblance to earlier fashions, such because the LVAC-200, there are notable variations.

These embody self-emptying right into a tall base fitted with a bag that may accommodate as much as 60 days of filth, an extended runtime and a better emphasis on choosing up hair, fur and dander with out wrapping across the ground head brush bar or changing into tangled inside.

Design and Construct

• As much as 70 minutes of battery life
• Swappable battery
• Vacuum auto-empties into stand

It’s the bottom that units the Aero vacuum other than rivals. Trying remarkably like a tower fan at first look, it’s residence to what makes this mannequin particular: a tall bag for the cordless vac to empty into. Its 3.5-litre bag is so capacious that its makers estimate you could solely should empty it each two months – an actual win for individuals who dislike coming into contact with mess.

One other plus for the bottom is its comparatively compact footprint (round 31cm diameter), that means that it will probably simply sit in a nook or beneath a staircase. It’s additionally freestanding, so there’s no have to screw in a wall mounting.

The vacuum itself is just like Levoit’s earlier fashions in fundamental dimensions and elegance: round 110cm tall (W25 x D19cm), it has a 3.5-litre dustbin, though the max fill stage is low. It’s a bit of weightier than some at 3.5kg. As a handheld it’s 1.95kg, making overhead cleansing a problem.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

The controls are pleasingly easy although: one button for on/off, and one to toggle by means of three energy ranges from min to max, plus a turbo choice when held down. There’s a countdown to point out how a lot cleansing time is left, which alters when the ability stage is modified, and its battery offers as much as 70 minutes when you persist with the min setting and a software.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

It’s price noting that the ground head offers solely 40 minutes on min whereas the floorhead with turbo will drain the battery in a skimpy six minutes. The truth that the battery might be eliminated is an enormous plus, although, permitting you to have a spare for deep cleansing classes.

Efficiency and Options

• 180AW of suction
• Anti-tangle brush bar
• Noisy in use

One of many large pluses of the Aero is its anti-tangle ground head brush, designed to forestall hair and fur wrapping round it and clumping. Somewhat than solely conventional brush fibres, it options two pairs of stiff however versatile plastic strips with fibres in between, very similar to a sandwich. These are complemented by onerous plastic ridges. The end result was that, in testing, no human or pet hair wrapped across the bar.

However ought to one thing change into caught, the comb bar twists out with the push of a button, making it straightforward to maintain the ground head clear.

There’s loads of suction energy right here too – 180AW – however that additionally means it’s noisy. In testing, med, max and turbo settings drowned out dialog, with solely min capable of be talked over. Annoyingly, the default setting when turning it on was med, moderately than min, that means that any early morning cleansing is bound to wake the family.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

On the plus aspect, emptying the vacuum’s bin into the bottom doesn’t should be an computerized motion – it’s attainable to set it to handbook, so it can save you the loud whooshing sound for later.

Emptying into the bottom does have a serious flaw: the motion opens the vacuum’s bin lid, however doesn’t shut it once more: this must be completed manually when lifting the vacuum off the bottom subsequent time. Throughout testing, I discovered that if the bin didn’t empty totally into the bottom, vacuumed-up mud and mess was deposited on the ground once more earlier than the bin lid was closed.

I additionally famous that the vacuum’s bin has a low max fill stage, which is a couple of third of the particular capability: it’s straightforward to succeed in this with deep cleansing, that means that you just’ll should return to the bottom to empty earlier than you may stick with it.

Total, cleansing was good: the ground head picked up pet hair nicely even on mid-pile carpet, with turbo being probably the most environment friendly, however med being appropriate for on a regular basis cleansing. Nonetheless, the vacuum felt fairly heavy to push round on the upper energy ranges and the deal with wasn’t cozy for lengthy durations. We felt it labored higher for little and sometimes cleansing or for largely onerous flooring.

Manoeuvrability was good: the ground head fitted below the perimeters of most furnishings, its lights supplied additional visibility, and it swivelled simply round corners and curves.

We appreciated the attachment clip that fitted onto the principle tube, because it permits your two most used instruments to be saved on the stick in order that they’re handy as you vacuum. Nonetheless, there’s no storage for the opposite equipment, such because the flexible extension hose.

I examined the Aero vacuum on each onerous and delicate flooring, utilizing flour to symbolize nice mud and oats as bigger particles. On the onerous ground, flour was simply picked up on min, whereas most oats have been additionally sucked up min.

Nonetheless, the ground head had a bent to push a number of oats forward of it, and depart a number of on the rear. A number of strokes have been wanted to select all of them up, and I felt that med delivered a greater efficiency for each.

On the delicate ground, many of the flour was picked up on min, however there have been nonetheless patches deeper within the pile that it didn’t raise. Med was wanted to select these up, though max delivered a visual clear and we didn’t really feel the necessity for turbo.

A lot of the oats have been picked up on min however a number of have been pushed forward of the floorhead and med was required to select the remainder of them up, without having to resort to max.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

Throughout testing, the airway of the vacuum’s bin turned blocked with flour, because it had crammed up previous the max fill line. As soon as cleared, we carried on cleansing, however once more, the airway turned blocked even when the bin was comparatively empty.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry

We additionally examined pick-up for pet hair on a velvet couch utilizing the motorised software. med and max have been too sturdy for the free cowl materials, and tended to get caught. There’s no information to recommended energy ranges for various instruments and surfaces: that is one thing that may be helpful.

Worth and Availability

The Levoit Aero is now in the stores within the US, from Amazon and Levoit. It’s priced at $499, which isn’t unreasonable for what it affords. Nonetheless, it has some stiff competitors amongst self-emptying fashions. The Samsung Bespoke Jet AI is without doubt one of the finest fashions you should buy (and its value displays that), however Shark’s PowerDetect Clear & Empty affords a greater expertise than the Levoit mannequin on the identical or a greater value.

The Aero just isn’t but accessible within the UK. However you may see our high vacuum cleaner suggestions in our round-up of the very best vacuums we’ve examined.

Must you purchase the Levoit Aero?

There’s no denying that the Aero vacuum is a step in the proper course for Levoit: its bagged base station is a present for individuals who hate the mess concerned in emptying bagless vacs, and in testing, we didn’t expertise any hair clogs or tangles. Plus, the vary of instruments is good.

However there’s nonetheless some option to go for a cleaner at this value level: bin lids want to shut with out intervention, nice mud shouldn’t clog an airway – and there’s little level having a 0.45-litre bin that may solely partially be crammed earlier than it must be emptied.