Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: back to basics cleaning

As Home Editor at T3, I’m lucky to try a range of different appliances but when it comes to vacuum cleaners, I definitely fall short. For years now, I’ve had regular arguments with my corded vacuum due to its poor pick-up, chunky design and surprisingly heavy weight. So, when I heard about the Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, I was eager to give it a try.

While I’ve used plenty in the past, the Vax HomePro is one of the first cordless vacuum cleaners that I’ve really gotten on with. Its lightweight design, long lasting battery life and good pick-up on multiple floor types has me looking forward to my next hoovering job – when you’ve spent years kicking your old vacuum, having a good model that actually works is a game changer.

So, how does the Vax HomePro measure up to the vacuum market giants, like Dyson and Shark? I spent some time with the Vax HomePro to find out – and I now have the cleanest floors ever.

Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: price and availability

The Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is priced at £319.99 and is available to buy at Vax and select retailers like Amazon, Argos and Currys. As of writing, it’s been discounted down to £199.99. It also comes with a tool kit worth £50 included in the price.

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Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: unboxing and set-up

The Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner arrived with the vacuum in pieces, a Vax OnePowr 4.0Ah Max battery, a Vax OnePowr 1.5A charger and a wall mount. It also came with a tool kit that consisted of six attachments: a crevice tool, motorised pet tool, pet hair tool, fine dusting tool, deep debris tool and stair tool.

Putting together the Vax HomePro was very easy. It arrived broken into parts and clicking the pieces was pretty self-explanatory. The bottom of the Vax HomePro has a button where you add and remove attachments, and it came with the big, main floorhead already attached.

The battery arrived fully charged and clipped in easily just behind the handle. The charging port doesn’t require any mounting or installation into the wall – instead, you simply remove the battery and charge it in the port by plugging it into a wall outlet.

Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: design and features

The Vax HomePro stands at 116cm high, weighs 3.5kg and has an 18V voltage and a 0.7-litre bin capacity. While the Vax HomePro is extremely lightweight and easy to carry up and down stairs, it’s definitely ‘top heavy’ as is to be expected with the design. The reason I point this out is that it easily stands independently but it does lean forward so I was often worried it’d tip over! It never did but the Vax HomePro comes with a wall mount which I’d recommend using.

The Vax HomePro comes in a black, silver and teal colour and it has a FlexiClean pole that allows the vacuum to bend to get underneath furniture or around tricky corners. It has a cover that goes over the FlexiClean area so it’ll stay upright when covered, and when you slip the cover up, you can bend it. I liked this design choice as I wasn’t constantly interrupted with the vacuum bending when I didn’t want it to – which I’ve experienced with other vacuum cleaners before.

With its 18V voltage, the Vax HomePro has high suction power and two-stage filtration that captures and traps 99.9% of dust and allergens. The main floorhead uses technology to stop hair wrapping around the brush roll, which is why the Vax HomePro is recommended for pet owners by the brand.

The top of the Vax HomePro houses the controls, battery and dustbin. The controls are incredibly basic and easy to use and understand – it just has an on/off button! Around the top of the Vax HomePro is an LED light that acts as the battery life indicator. Just underneath the handle is where the battery sits – it offers a 45 minute runtime and fully charges in three hours.

The dustbin sits at the front of the Vax HomePro. It’s transparent so you can see when the Vax HomePro is full, and it has a simple one-button touch motion for removal. The bottom of the Vax HomePro also has LED lights to illuminate the floor when you’re hoovering, and it has a protective bumper around the floorhead so you can reach the edges without crashing the vacuum into anything.

Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: performance

I really liked the design of the Vax HomePro, particularly the simplicity of the controls. While you can’t switch the power or suction for different floor types, I appreciated that the Vax HomePro offered basic controls rather than too many buttons or a complicated display. That being said, if you want a vacuum cleaner that’s more high tech or has carpet and hardwood options, you’ll want something else.

I have a mixture of hardwood floors and carpet in my house, and despite not having separate floor options, the Vax HomePro worked very well across both floor types. I’d say it works best on carpet but it does a great job on hardwood floors too, plus the LED light shines very brightly so you don’t miss anything.

While I don’t currently have a pet, I have long hair that gets everywhere so I need a vacuum that can handle that. The Vax HomePro is definitely a model that does – it cleaned away my hair with ease and after a thorough inspection, I found no hair tangled around the brush roll. It also didn’t spit anything back out during vacuuming.

The Vax HomePro is easy and lightweight to manoeuvre and while I thought it was a bit top heavy, it self-stands well and its wheels glide smoothly across all floor types. I was extremely impressed by the battery life of the Vax HomePro – I got about five cleaning jobs out of it before I had to recharge. The charging process was easy and the battery was recharged in a couple of hours and ready to go again.

I found a couple of negatives with the Vax HomePro but nothing that can’t be fixed. When in action, the Vax HomePro does make a lot of noise, particularly a high pitched squeaking when moving over hardwood. This can be ignored, of course, and if you’re someone who likes to wake others up while vacuuming, then you’re in for a treat with the Vax HomePro!

Another was that the dustbin could have a better build quality. While it has a simple button for emptying, it was tricky to do which resulted in a few messes. I also accidentally knocked the Vax HomePro over and the dustbin burst open and dirt went everywhere so it’s a bit too fragile for my liking.

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Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: verdict

While I appreciate the advancements in cleaning technology, sometimes it’s best to go back to basics – and the Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is the perfect example of this. Its controls are so simple and you can’t go wrong with it in terms of power and design.

The Vax HomePro definitely excels in terms of ease of use, price and battery life. It glides across multiple floor types, and has so many attachments that it can tackle any cleaning job, both in and out of the house. It’s a little noisy and I’m still distrustful of its dustbin but overall, I can’t find all that much fault in it. Now that I have the Vax HomePro, I’m glad I don’t have to go back to kicking my old vacuum.

Vax HomePro Pet-Design Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: alternatives to consider

If you want a similar anti tangle floorhead and pet tools, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless Pet Vacuum Cleaner is a great alternative to the Vax HomePro. It’s around the same price, and the Shark PowerDetect has Anti Hair Wrap technology so it can tackle short, long and pet hair. It also has a similar pole design that bends to reach underneath furniture.

If you want something cheaper but still good value for money, I’d recommend the Ultenic U12 Vesla. It got Highly Commended at the T3 Awards 2024, and while it can’t stand up on its own like the Vax HomePro, it has a stylish design, incredible suction and futuristic features.