Chris Hurley cleans up with the new cordless cleaner from AEG
Over the years I have added many items and gadgets to my domestic arsenal. Some are quickly relegated to the backs of cupboards where they gather dust and are quickly forgotten while others prove to make life so much easier that they soon become an essential part of the cleaning routine.The Ergorapido®, a cordless vacuum cleaner from AEG, definitely falls into the second group and I am now wondering what I ever did without it.
When I initially came across the Ergorapido I was a bit cynical about its usefulness. It seemed to me to be a glammed up version of the carpet sweeper that my mother used to get out to keep the rugs spick and span between the main weekly clean-ups. Well the principle is the same but the Ergorapido is so much more powerful, doing much the same job as an electric vacuum cleaner but with far less fuss.
It’s a very lightweight machine and being completely cordless makes it really quick and convenient for cleaning up everyday dirt and spills. One of the rules I have learnt is that if an appliance is going to earn its keep it needs to be readily at hand. When the Ergorapido is not in use, it stands in a neat docking station to recharge its batteries and it’s slim enough to fit into a a corner near to a power point – and it looks good enough to keep on show in the kitchen. Mine is a rather sophisticated black model but there’s a whole range of stylish colours that would fit in with most colour schemes.
Talking technicalities, the Ergorapido has a powerful motor, excellent airflow and a cyclonic system that makes it a very efficient beast and I’ve already found it lots of tasks. It made short work of picking up the soil I walked in from the garden and crumbs distributed all over the Persian rug by my delightful grand-daughter were sucked up in no time. It works equally well on carpet as on my tiled kitchen floor and its 180 degree head rotation makes it very manoeuvrable. Certainly much less bother than getting out the broom and the dustpan and brush.
When it comes to getting into awkward corners and edges, there is a handheld vacuum that unclips easily from the body of the Ergorapido. It neatly stores an add-on crevice nozzle and a brush making it ideal for taking care of dry spills on working surfaces, crumbs on the sofa and cleaning out dirt from drawers or the car interior.
Another piece of technology that really puts the Ergorapido ahead of the rest is the hair and fibre removing function. Simply pressing the foot pedal activates a blade that cuts through and removes any cottons or hairs entwined around the cleaning head in just seconds and sucks them into the dust cap.
So far this is a problem that no other vacuum manufacturer has managed to address and it is certainly quicker and more hygienic than the tiresome process of trying to remove fibre strands by hand. It also prevents clogging and keeps the appliance performing at maximum efficiency.
At £169.99 I thought the price was possibly a little on the high side. But as with buying more expensive clothes, I tend to measure cost on amount of times used and as I use the Ergorapido every day it has to be good value.
Vacuuming the floors every day would seem like too much of a chore but it’s easy to whiz around with this cordless number and keep things looking neat and tidy. All in all the Ergorapido has become a very welcome member of my domestic armoury.
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