Living / 9 July, 2019 / Ellie Thompson
The advice after a caesarean section is to avoid lifting heavy items for at least the first 6-8 weeks, so our usual hefty Miele vacuum has been in temporary retirement in the spare room. We came across the Gtech Hylite and of course my husband was completely on board with me ‘giving it a go’ – I mean, what else was I going to be doing post giving birth?
The super-light 1.5kg Gtech Hylite arrived and I couldn’t wait to unwrap it, charge it up and whizz it around the house. Okay, so that’s a bit of a lie. I was knee-deep in nappies and reflux sick and all I really wanted to do was catch up on the last month’s worth of Emmerdale Farm. But, seeing as our new baby has been a little trooper when it comes to napping, and our toddler a little menace when it comes to littering the carpet with a crumbs, glitter and sand (yes, SAND! I know!…) I decided I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain in terms of a grit free floor.
The Gtech HyLite arrived in a fairly tiny cardboard box, ‘Ooooh!’ I thought, ‘it’s so compact!’ For someone completely useless at assembling things, putting together the base, battery and handle was really easy. As an upright handheld vacuum the HyLite stands solidly, so you don’t have to worry about it falling out on top of you, like everything else you cram into your under stairs cupboards.
In fact, you can shorten the handle so it takes up literally no room at all.
The HyLite has been a welcome addition to the household goods artillery and the perfect companion for the ironing board that stands alone in the ridiculously narrow 30cm deep good-for-nothing cupboard opposite the stairs. And seriously, never mind the stairs cupboard, this sweet little piece of kit can be stored in a drawer! Yep, a vacuum in a drawer!
The battery has a 20 minute run time and came fully charged so I could get to work quickly – my husband was pleased. The HyLite believe it or not is a bagged vacuum, and the bag inside the head unit is teeny TINY, at only 0.3L. Sounds useless, but au contraire! This little bag can hold up to 1L of dirt. Magical!
The air that’s busy sucking up the dust and dirt is so strong that at the same time it compresses the dirty matter neatly into the bag. Just as well, at the rate I’m losing my hair post pregnancy. The bags sell in useful size packs, 15 bags cost just £12.99 – and this lot will last you well over a year.
The little sucker picks up toddler carnage really well – speedily collecting direct just 1cm from the floor. Unlike most vacuums it has a shorter airpath which enhances its performance. You can remove the handle and use the base of the HyLite as a handheld device, perfect for cleaning stair carpets.
The vacuum is so light weight and quick to use, I was able to assemble it and zoom through the downstairs area in record time, so much so my husband turned to me with that look in his eye – time for ironing.
I’d recommend the Gtech HyLite as a tool for everyday use, it’s perfect for hoovering up after little ones, and will definitely have its place as our go-to vacuum for a quick clean. I think it works well in addition to our bigger hoover which has the parts for all the nooks and crannies. I’ve got a feeling the HyLite will be used a heck of a lot more in our house as those nooks and crannies are for really special occasion cleans only!
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