Having been away for half term, I hadn’t vacuumed for a few weeks so when the Beldray Airgility arrived for a review, I could hardly wait to get it out, in fact it was possibly the first time I’ve looked forward to housework.

Out of the box, it’s simple to set up. I literally plugged in the charger until the LED stopped flashing and I was away.

I found it surprisingly very light to handle, it glides over the carpets so lightly that I initially wondered whether it was actually picking anything up. Other than the odd noise of something heavier than dust flying up the hose, it didn’t feel like anything was being lifted at all.

But I after I’d gone over the living room and hallway I took a look at the dust container, and it was full. I stared at it, wondering how my one room and hallway could have collected so much in such a short time. Even writing this, I’m still amazed. It was full up and needed emptying before carrying on with the rest of the house.

So, later I told my mum and she said she’d vacuumed already that morning and to bring it round, so I did. After which we both stared in disbelief at this now half full dust container. “I think I need a new vac” she said.

The dog test

While at mum’s, we tested it directly against her Vax Air, also a cordless upright, which had been used that morning to vacuum her living room. The Beldray picked up far more than we thought it would – we expected the dust container to be virtually empty but it was half full. So we then got the Vax out again to directly compare on another room, and it just wasn’t picking up anywhere near as much. Not that there was much to collect anyway!

Hilariously, the dog – a 5 year old Rottie, paid little attention to the Beldray, likely because of it’s more petite size and sound. However she chased the clearly intimidating Vax as if her life depended on it.

Needless to say, it is a small yet powerful, and quiet vacuum cleaner.

Using the Beldray Airgility

You attach the main unit to the floor brush with the extension tube to use as a normal vacuum. It’s cordless so if you’re used to a cord, it’ll take a while to realise you don’t have to consider where the cord is when moving around the room. That was heavenly.

I’ve never before considered the handling of a vacuum in a car sense, but it handles cornering really well, just a light turn of the wrist and the vacuum changes direction, ideal for adjusting its direction when moving from room to room or when going beneath a sofa or table.

You can then remove the extension tube and use just the floor brush on sofas and stair treads.

Or you can use the 2-in-1 crevice and brush tool with the extension tube to get in nooks and crannies, or in the corners of the ceiling and behind curtains.

There’s no need to switch anything to use on a hard floor setting; it glides seamlessly from carpets to rugs and then over hard floors too. And the nifty lights that lead the way on the front of the brush head is really useful!

Emptying involves simply pushing a button and shaking the dust out over the bin. And storage wise it takes up very little room as it folds right down and takes up little space.

A car vacuum

One thing I didn’t realise it would be useful for was in the car. After our trip to a safari park at half term, the car was filthy inside, but I grabbed the Airgility and 10 mins later the car was dust free. So much easier than getting the extension lead out and lugging the big vacuum around outside which I had no motivation to do.

It has now become my go to tool, and knowing that I no longer need to pull out a cumbersome cord, plug it in and lug a big vacuum around, it’s being used several times a week – especially after my teenager’s had his mates round… biscuit crumbs have never been so welcome. And at £65 it’s a great price.

Awesome tip to get kids to vacuum the house

I heard a story once that a mother wanted help around the house, upon realising her kids were frightened of ghosts, she told them that a vacuum is able to suck ghosts up and rid them from the home. I’m not suggesting this as parenting tip but one could argue it’s a genius move…

Where to buy

You can buy a Beldray Airgility direct from Wilko, for £65 or pick on up in Wilko stores from March 10th.
You can also use this link to read our Beldray window cleaning hacks.