The AmazonBasics Vacuum Cleaner is a budget bagged vacuum cleaner for hardwood and carpeted floor. The vacuum also comes with a selection of tube attachments for different surface types, spaces and upholstery types. What’s The Best’s William Lobley puts the 700W, 3.0L version to the test.
Note: This article was originally published in February 2021.
The Review
The AmazonBasics Vacuum Cleaner is made from black plastic, with silver plastic accenting the filter cover, power slider, and the on/off and cable-winder buttons. There’s a small gauge on the top of the body that lets you know when the bag is full. Accessing the bag is easy - just a quick pull on the lever and you’re in. It’s just as easy to get to the HEPA filter, which can be changed when needed. The lower quality plastic used on the power slider and filter cover reminds you that it's a budget item, but otherwise, the construction seems suitably robust.
The low weight is one of the best things about the vacuum cleaner. Not only is it easy to pull around the room, but it’s great for carrying in one hand while using the nozzle with the other - ideal for getting in all the nooks and crannies, and hauling upstairs. The six-metre power cord is useful here, too, giving plenty of length to work with.
Suction power is variable and controlled by a slider on the top of the vacuum cleaner. There’s up to 700w of suction power available, but it’s not all useable in every circumstance. For example, when cleaning carpets the slider can't go above the minimum - any more than this, and the suction drags the brush head down into the carpet and it becomes a challenge to move. Higher settings are best saved for tougher materials and surfaces, like taught sofa upholstery and hardwood floors.
On the whole, the vacuum is a breeze to use - it’ll clean large open spaces with ease. Apartments and small family homes will get along with it well, but I wouldn’t want to use it to clean a four-bedroom house - the main cleaning head is a tad inaccurate around borders and corners. Trying to take care of a household’s worth of dirt and dust while having to change nozzles and go over missed patches on a large scale would seriously rack up the time. Larger and higher-priced solutions are what you need in these situations.
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There are various cleaner heads included in the package, including a dusting brush, furniture nozzle, crevice nozzle, wooden floor brush, and the hard floor brush, which is the main head also intended for use with carpets. These heads can attach to either the tube nozzle or the metal extension pipe, with most locking in place via a button-press lock. Even without the lock, the attachments are a tight fit, but in time they promise to loosen off, if only slightly. The same can be said for the extension on the metal tube, which can be a little tricky to use until you clock how much force you need to use.
There’s no internal storage for attachments like you’ll find with the likes of Hoover and Miele. Instead, there’s a bracket provided which can clip to the metal extension tube. It’s great for quickly changing heads, but I found it a little cumbersome, so it ended up in a drawer instead.
There are two slots on the body of the vacuum cleaner - one on the underside and one on the bottom. They both match up with a clip on the main cleaning head, allowing two ways of securely storing the nozzle and tube. This is a handy feature if slightly undone by the fact the tube is unwieldy and bends out in all sorts of odd ways. Still, it’s enough for throwing into the cupboard when you’re done with it.
Overall, the 30-litre AmazonBasics Vacuum Cleaner is a solid budget option, ideally suited to an apartment and smaller household. The suction is strong, and the attachment heads allow for some really deep-cleaning. Higher priced vacuum cleaners will iron out some of the small annoyances here - tight attachments, ungainly tube, cheaper plastics - but for under £60, the AmazonBasics Vacuum Cleaner is a reliable choice.
Pros: Affordable and lightweight, power suction with plenty of attachments
Cons: Main head is inaccurate in small areas, not that easy to store
William Lobley is a Content Writer and reviewer for What's The Best, specialising in technology, gaming and outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.
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