When we heard that the power of lithium-ion batteries and cordless technology had come to vacuum cleaners, we immediately took a look at the Hoover Air Cordless vacuum. What followed was a full line-up of cordless offerings, including the new Hoover Air Cordless Lift vacuum and the Hoover FloorMate vacuum (a sort of “power mop” if you will). Hoover also has a cordless handheld model and a 2-in-1 Stick vacuum, but we had to draw the line somewhere. With these three cordless vacuums on-hand we were able to really take a look at what improvements the company had made, and what Hoover did to tackle the issue of hard surface cleaning and cordless technology. I broke down each vacuum separately since they have such unique applications.
Hoover Air Cordless Lift Vacuum
Building upon the Cordless 3.0 upright vacuum, the Hoover Air Cordless Lift vacuum adds extra features that really set it apart as a premium product. It’s also priced at a $100 premium over the Air Cordless 3.0 Upright, but as we go through these features I think you’ll agree that they’re worth the added cost.
Removable Cordless Lift Canister
The biggest feature of the Hoover Air Cordless Lift vacuum is its fully removable canister. You can lift it right off the vacuum and clean stairs, ceiling fans, or any other remote area where an upright vacuum may prove difficult—and you continue to do so with the same cordless 20V Lithium-ion battery. It accomplishes this feat by fully sealing the canister near the base where the hose feeds the nozzle.
Removing the canister involves pressing the release button and pulling the canister (and connected hose) away from the upright handle. The canister is light enough that we had no trouble at all holding it in one hand while extending the hose with the other. For longer reaches, you can remove the handle from the upright and attach it easily and quickly to the end of the hose—giving you over 10 feet of vertical reach! Everything is color-coded for easy identification, and there are notches and grooves to make sure nothing gets re-attached incorrectly.
Using the Hoover Cordless Lift Upright Vacuum
You activate the Hoover Cordless Lift vacuum by pressing the blue Power button. Step on the left side of the vacuum nozzle and the handle can be eased back. If you need an extra burst of power, there’s a handy Boost+ button that will draw the battery down more quickly, but will give you additional suction.
The two Easy Rinse filters included with the Hoover Air Cordless Lift are washable (only one is used at a time). You just push the blue release button on the canister and open it as if to empty it (it empties very conveniently from the bottom). Pull out the filter container by the handle, and you can easily access the filter by the blue mesh to remove and wash it.
Reviewer’s Note on the Use of Color: I love when manufacturers use color well. For example, with a few exceptions, if you see Blue on the Hoover Cordless Lift Upright vacuum, you know that you’re either supposed to grab it or press it. Buttons, release levers, and the handle are all a vibrant blue. Most of the rest of the vacuum is gray or silver.
I also love the way you can control the nozzle on this vacuum. With a simple twist of the wrist, you can make the 11-inch wide nozzle go to the right or left 90 degrees. Snaking around furniture and obstructions is simple—you can get just about anywhere. The vacuum lasts a long time on the included extended runtime 20V batteries. We got around 45 minutes of vacuuming with the brushes engaged partially for our limited amount of carpeted floors. The majority vacuuming with the Hoover Air Cordless Lift vacuum was done on wood flooring and tile.
Hoover Air Cordless Lift Specs
- Warranty: 5 years
- Battery run time: 50 minutes
- Battery type: 20V Lithium-ion
- Charge time: 3 hrs
- Brushroll shutoff
- Bottom release dirt cup
- Headlight
- Steerable
- Bagless
- Dual cyclonic air system
- Rinsable standard filtration
- Comfort grip handle
- Brushed edge cleaning
- Nozzle width: 11 inches
- WindTunnel technology
- Dirt cup capacity: 1.05 Liters
- Weight: 12.2 lbs. (w/extended runtime battery)
- Above floor cleaning reach: 8 Feet
- Accessories included: Bonus Filter
- Tools Included: 2-in-1 Dusting and Crevice Tool, Pivoting Dusting Brush
- Fixed wand attached to handle
Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner
If you live in a home that is largely made up of wood and tile flooring, then you will immediately appreciate the features and benefits of the Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner. No longer will you need to scrub off “party stains” with a wet Swiffer (which works great until the spot requires manual intervention) nor attack it with a traditional mop or a wetted down “sponge on a pole”. The Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner has integrated counter-rotating brushes that scrub your floor automatically. All you need to do is move the upright floor cleaner back and forth across the surface as you lay down cleaning solution and vacuum it right back up again.
Did I mention that this all happens virtually automatically?
The cordless Hoover FloorMate uses the same 20V Lithium-ion batteries that the Hoover Air Cordless Upright and 3.0 use, so if you end up with more than one vacuum you can interchange the batteries as needed. The only difference is that Hoover encapsulated the battery on the FloorMate with a plastic lid—possibly to protect it from getting wet during use, though we never found it to splash or throw water. We found run-time to be exceptional—around 30 minutes when in Wash & Dry mode. If you need more time than that you can pick up an extra battery for nearly an hour of use—but that would be a lot of rooms!
Another neat feature of the Hoover FloorMate Cordless is that the handle flips back easily, letting you store it in a space with only 27-1/2 inches of clearance. That may save you from having to remove it from a closet in order to access items stored on shelves.
The dual tank system on the Hoover FloorMate takes fresh water and cleaning solution from the clean tank and runs it down and onto the SprinScrub counter-rotating brushes as you glide the cleaner forward. Then, when you pull backwards, the vacuum instantly and automatically sucks up the water and dirt and deposits it directly into the dirty tank.
Using the Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner
We used the Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner on both oak wood floors and tile. At first, after watching the videos, we thought the Wash & Dry mode would automatically dispense liquid to the brushes, but as it turns out there is a tiny bit of manual control. The large blue trigger on the handle dispenses the liquid as needed, so that you don’t accidentally soak your floors. I actually prefer this as it lets us treat our wood floors a bit more gently, and with less water, than if the flow were somehow automated.
Cleaning with the Hoover FloorMate is very natural and easy. Moving it forward allows you to evenly apply solution and scrub the floor wherever it’s needed, and pulling the FloorMate backwards engages the vacuum, to suck up all of the water, dirt, and debris. There’s also a Scrub mode for when you want to really apply solution and allow it to soak while you scrub over it with the brushes. Then, when you’re ready to vacuum-dry the floor, you just push the switch further forward into the Wash & Dry mode.
Hoover FloorMate Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner Specs
- Warranty: 2 years
- Battery run time: 30 minutes
- Battery type: 20V Lithium-ion
- Charge time: 3 hours
- Fingertip controls
- Tank system: Dual tank system (removable solutions tank and water tank)
- Modes: Scrub, Wash & Dry
- Fold-down handle
- Motor: 8.5 amps, 20V, 170 Watts
- Nozzle Width: 11.5 inches
- Removable brushes
- Removable nozzle
- Wet nozzle brush type: Spin Scrub Brush
- Clean water capacity: 0.75 quarts
- Dirty water capacity: 0.75 quarts
- Weight: 12.6 lbs
- Cleaning solution included: 16 oz Multi-floor Plus
Conclusion
These are both excellent products from Hoover. We found both of them to be indispensable parts of our cleaning routine. Indeed, they changed the way we clean—particularly with respect to the freedom we found in not having to pull out a mop and get down and low to clean dirty tile. When you have two active boys, that’s a common occurrence! Then there’s the general lack of a cord—which is something you have to experience for yourself. Compared to the Hoover Air Cordless Series 3.0, the Air Cordless Lift gives you a lot more freedom and flexibility for the $100 upcharge. I think it’s well worth it, though Hoover sells both to give you options to match your budget and needs. We can’t recommend these highly enough. To learn more, check out Hoover’s Cordless website.
