Towards the end of Spring, the rotating brush bar in my Vax cordless stick vacuum started working only intermittently, which left me having to perform contortionist tricks while trying to figure out the angle at which I would have to use it in order to make it work properly. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn’t work at all, and it took me until late autumn to decide to start looking for a new vacuum cleaner altogether.
So all of a sudden I was presented with the hundreds of different vacuums on the market, with all kinds of fancy features that I did not understand. All I wanted was something simple to use that was built tough and would last us (as a family of 4 who need to vacuum every day) for years.
And then Henry popped into my head. This vacuum is an icon in the British psyche. It has a reputation as a no-nonsense machine that is used by professionals and homeowners alike. So I decided to take the plunge and purchase one as a replacement for our broken Vax to see whether it lives up to the hype and is functional as a daily vacuum cleaner.
The original Henry comes with a good set of sturdy attachments that are uncomplicated but still very well designed, with practicality at their heart. The lack of complicated moving parts means that there is less to go wrong.
James Cook - Product Tester at The Henry Range
Is Henry the right machine for you?
Before we jump into the review, I want to make it clear that Henry is not a fancy vacuum cleaner. There are no advancements in cyclonic technology that you would expect from the latest Sebo or Dyson. Furthermore, this machine is quite heavy, and you are going to be dragging it around behind you as you go, so if you have strength or mobility issues, this isn’t the vacuum for you.
However, if you are looking for an incredibly strong, well-built vacuum that sets out to achieve one purpose (suck dirt into a bag) and does it very well, read on.
What’s the Difference between Henry and Hetty?
The only difference between the
Unboxing and Assembling
Henry comes in quite a compact box, when you consider just how much Numatic have managed to fit in there. The contents include the crush-proof flexible hose, the three stainless steel extension tubes, and the floor head, plus the various attachments. All that was required of me was to connect the hose to the nose of the
Overall, I was impressed with how easy it was to assemble and how quickly I was able to connect the bits together. The internal dust bag was already connected, so I was ready to start vacuuming in no time.
To illustrate just how easy it was to assemble the
The last thing to do was to plug in to the wall and flick the green switch on, which is located at the back of the machine.
Cable Length
Henry comes with a fully retractable 10-metre long cable, which is enough range to allow us to vacuum an entire floor in our 3-bedroom Victorian terraced house without having to relocate to a new plug. To illustrate this, the three images below show that I was actually able to reach from the plug in the downstairs hallway, up the stairs, and into my study. This is a really nice, practical benefit, as a shorter cable would mean you would have to keep moving the plug and dragging the cable around.
To wind the lead back in, there is a manual handle at the top, which is completely effortless.
Dust Capacity
Henry is an old-school vacuum cleaner that uses a bag to store all of the horrible dust and debris from your floors instead of a bagless compartment that you have to empty. The bag has a six-litre capacity, which is indeed very large. So large in fact, that it is actually the same size as my sofa cushions!
This kind of capacity means that you won’t have to change the bag for at least a month with regular use. Once the bag is full, all you have to do is slide two clips that sit on the side of the machine to lift off the top, then lift out the filter to access the bag (which you then just slide off the end of the hose).
Then, simply pop the full bag into your outside bin and slide a new one on. There is a self-seal tab that will stop any of the horrible dust and dirt escaping.
Hepaflow
The dust bags in the
Attachments and What They Do
The Henry comes with a large number of attachments that can either be pushed on to the end of the extension tubes or, more commonly, on to the end of the flexible black hose. The only exception to this is the floor tool, which is not really an attachment, but I will include it here anyway, which you will need the extension tubes attached to use.
Combination Floor Tool
The combi floor tool is the rectangular head that you would associate with a traditional vacuum cleaner, and it is what you will be using for the majority of your vacuuming. As already mentioned, it slides onto the ends of the three connected extension tubes and it has a foot pedal that raises and lowers a brush bar. You are going to want to raise it for hard floors and lower it for carpets (the brush bar agitates hair and dirt).
The brush bar does a really good job when it is lowered on carpets. It definitely does require a bit of strength to stroke back and forth, but the results are very good. The 620 watts of power that the motor produces are really noticeable on dirty carpets.
Combi Floor Tool Before and After (1 stroke up and down)
For this test, I used an outrageous amount of dust and debris, and the combination floor tool almost sucked up all of it in just two strokes (one up and one down). I wanted to see how well it would do right up against the skirting board, and the results were pretty good. There was definitely some debris left at the very edge, but I was able to remove it fully with a third stroke back upwards.
One thing that particularly impressed me was that the floor tool had great results along its entire width, rather than being more concentrated where you would assume the most suction would be (in the middle near the pipe). Upon flipping the tool upside down and inspecting it further, I can see why. Numatic have designed it with a clever ridge that ensures the suction power is dispersed along that full width.
Now one of the areas of our home that is most neglected when it comes to vacuuming is under the beds, and this is partly due to the fact that our previous Vax cordless stick vacuum was really unreliable, meaning the suction power was pretty poor. So I really wanted to test out
In terms of the results, I found that with the combination tool attached, I was able to reach approximately 1/3 of the way under the bed before the limitation of design stopped me from reaching any further. However, to extend the cleaning range, I simply swapped out the combination tool for the upholstery brush (more on that later), which allowed me to spotlessly vacuum every inch of carpet under our double bed.
Upholstery Brush
This is the brush that you will want to attach when you want to tackle chairs and sofa cushions, car seats, and stairs. Essentially, it is a smaller version of the combi floor tool that is perfect for small, flat surfaces. I had some great results when I tested it out on our carpeted stairs.
Upholstery Brush Before and After
I was also able to get great results with this tool on the floor in the boot of our car (more details below) and the flat surface underneath the sofa cushions.
Soft Dusting Brush
The soft dusting brush is small and circular, with soft bristles (like horse hair) around the circumference that are meant to gently agitate dust and dirt. This attachment is ideal for delicate items such as picture frames, ceiling lights or lamps, ceiling fans, and the top of your curtains. I found this brush particularly useful to clean my ceiling fans, as they are quite flimsy and look like they could be scratched quite easily if I were to use one of the other attachments.
The circular shape of this attachment really came into play when I tackled the curtains, which would have been hard to vacuum properly using the alternative upholstery brush.
Soft Dusting Brush Before and After
Crevice Tool
The crevice tool is long and cylindrical, and its purpose is to access those really tight spots in your home (or car) that are smaller than the width of the hose. This tool funnels all of that suction power through a very narrow space, meaning that you get incredible results on the smallest of surface areas. I found the crevice tool to be perfect for the edge of the carpet where it meets the skirting board, as well as down the side of our sofas and in all sorts of nooks in the car (particularly between the seat and the door).
Crevice Tool Before and After
I was very impressed with this tool overall. It is very satisfying to be able to reach those really tight spots that usually get ignored by regular everyday vacuuming.
Manoeuvrability
I found that as I moved around and between rooms in my house with the Henry, I tended to drag the machine behind me using the strong crush-proof hose. I was confident that this would be fine and not damage the hose, as it feels incredibly thick and strong. However, this did mean that
All in all, I found it very easy to manoeuvre the
Car Cleaning with Henry
One of the original reasons for purchasing our Vax was the fact that it was cordless, which I thought would make it ideal for cleaning our car. However, without the rotating brush bar (when it worked), the suction power just wasn’t sufficient to lift up the food crumbs, mud, and other debris from the thick carpets and mats. So for this reason, I was really hoping that Henry would perform well with car cleaning, and I was not disappointed.
Firstly, the long 10-metre cable meant that I could easily reach our car parked outside on the road, although our drive is quite small. However, connecting an extension cable would not have been much of a bother if it were needed.
The crevice tool was perhaps the most satisfying attachment to use in the car, as it allowed me to reach the really tight gap between the car seats and the side of the car, which was absolutely filthy thanks to 5+ years of not being able to access it with the attachments that came with our old Vax. The suction power shooting through that very narrow gap meant that it was highly effective in these types of nooks.
The soft dusting brush was the attachment that I used for the majority of the car cleaning, however, due to its sheer versatility. I found that it was really useful for cleaning everything on the car dashboard, including vents and around the digital controls on the steering wheel. It was also perfect for the seats themselves.
And lastly, I used the upholstery brush to vacuum the flat surfaces in the car, which included the floor in the boot, the sides and floors of the footwells, car mats, and the head rests. The thick, tough bristles were really good at agitating some of the mud that was stuck to the floor, in particular.
Storage
This review focuses on the
Secondly, there is a really handy storage caddy at the back of the
Stair Cleaning with Henry
To be completely honest, Henry is not really designed for easy stair cleaning. Firstly, he is too wide to fit on a regular-size stair tread, so I was forced to carry him in one hand as I went up the stairs, using the upholstery brush attached to just the hose as I went. Now, I did not find this particularly challenging but the machine itself is fairly heavy (7.5 kg), so if you have any strength or mobility issues, you should perhaps consider a different, more lightweight vacuum if you are going to be tackling stair vacuuming.
How Well Does it Tackle Pet Hair?
For all of the pet owners out there, and in particular, dog owners, you will be disappointed to learn that Henry is not very effective at removing pet hair. This is really down to the fact that
Our Verdict
Over the years, Henry has built a reputation as an extremely tough, reliable, and well-built vacuum cleaner that is the ideal choice for tradesmen, professional cleaners, and regular homeowners. I have to say that I think it continues to deserve these accolades because it is just so user-friendly and feels like it will last for decades.
It comes with a good set of sturdy attachments that are uncomplicated but still very well designed, with practicality at their heart. The lack of complicated moving parts means that there is less to go wrong, and this is exactly what I was looking for.
However, it is worth highlighting that this is a heavy machine and that it does require a certain amount of strength to get good results (particularly on your thick carpets), so if you are looking for something effortless to use, this is perhaps not the vacuum cleaner best suited to you. Similarly, if you own dogs, you should go for the Henry Xtra or Henry Pet instead.
My overwhelming conclusion though is that this is a fantastic, no-nonsense vacuum cleaner with a cheeky grin that is perfect for homeowners like myself, who need an all-round machine that will effectively tackle everyday dust, dirt, and debris, which also performs as an excellent car cleaner.
Our old Vax has gone, and the
Where to Buy Henry
- Review of the Henry Wash Carpet Cleaner - March 17, 2025
- Henry Quick Review - January 13, 2025
- The Henry Vacuum Range – What are the Differences in 2025? - January 5, 2025
Can you explian the Autosave function? i purchashed my HVR 160-11 on the basis that it had this function, but there is no ‘hi’ switch I can see
Ben I’m afraid the Autosave feature has now been removed from the Numatic range of vacuums, along with the hi-lo switch.