Makita cordless vacuum cleaner
By Tim Saunders
My old terrace house doesn’t have a driveway.
That does make being a motoring journalist a little tricky but fortunately there are nearby car parks. The trouble is that when the interiors of my wife’s Fiat Punto or my Ford Fiesta get dirty we either have to park on the road outside our house, plug the vacuum in and clean or we go to Caroline’s parents’ house, which has a driveway.
“Wouldn’t it be useful to have a cordless vacuum?” I suggested to Caroline the other day. Fifteen years ago I had a Black and Decker one and it had no suction whatsoever. The battery didn’t last very long either. I recall it broke not long after I purchased it and even though it was replaced I was never impressed.
Revisiting the world of cordless vacuum cleaners I notice that there are now many manufacturers.
I thought I’d try a Makita BCL180Z, a brand I haven’t heard of before. I am impressed by the fact that it looks like a traditional vacuum but without the cable. It also has the useful head attachments ensuring that it sucks up most of the dirt. There’s no bag, instead all the rubbish is collected in the plastic head, which is simply unscrewed to empty. It is ideal for the car, home or office.
My wife’s car was filthy and after an hour or so the interior was vastly improved thanks to the Makita. My car was in a similar state as you can see from the video and the Makita has transformed it.
Priced at under £200, this vacuum uses a rechargeable battery that is charged using a separate charger. When charging a flat battery there is a bit of a whirring noise as you can tell from the video and so it is best to charge it in a vacant room, for fear of annoying anyone.
The charged battery slots under the handle of the vacuum cleaner and it is quite heavy but the overall design is easy to operate for a young fit adult.
Overall this product scores 8 out of 10 and it’s no surprise that Post Office engineers use them to clear up after themselves and that flight operator Jet 2 uses them for quick turnarounds.
For more information visit: http://www.makitauk.com/
