Brief encounters - Miele Hepa 5280 vacuum cleaner review

“This is undoubtedly the best vacuum cleaner I have ever owned” opens Azana in her review of the Miele Hepa 5280 over on Dooyoo.

Having owned several other brands in the past and most recently a Dyson, she took the now well-travelled path of reading online reviews including Which? before making her purchase and she’s not been disappointed during the first six months of use: “Easy to manouvere, quiet and quite simply does the job beautifully” is how she describes ownership, highlighting the Hepa’s ‘quiet’ setting as ideal for vacuuming without waking the rest of the house.

With the three attachments housed in the body of the machine and a generous ten metre power cord, the 5280 “glides beautifully” her only “slight criticism” being “the bag change indicator is rather erratic”. Despite this little niggle she calls it “a pleasure to vacuum with this machine, as much as such a menial everyday task can be, anyway” and “really does live up to the hype”.

Concluding her testimonial by thinking of the day she ultimately has to replace the 5280 she comments that it will “definately be another Miele”. Pop over to Dooyoo and read her review in full.

Brief encounters - Miele T294C tumble dryer review

It’s not often we get a tumble dryer review on Forever Better. Perhaps it’s because it’s the unsung hero in the laundry room with the washer grabbing all the glory and more than its fair share of write-ups.

So with this review of the Miele T294C over at the Review Centre, it’s time for the humble tumble dryer to get five minutes in the limelight and what a better way to start than with a swathe of top marks from the Guest reviewer who’s awarded the T294C 10/10 for ease of use, durability, service and value.

‘Efficient’, ‘economical’, ‘quiet’ and ‘fast’ is how this owner describes using the dryer whose large family means it gets continuous usage and after “having cheaper brands that packed up every couple of months” the T294C is a “sheer delight”. Unable to fault with the dryer they point out the “the next model up gives time remaining but do you really sit and watch it decrease?…[the] buzzer is fine so you can get on with the next load!”

So the T294C gets this reviewer’s whole-hearted ‘thumbs-up’. Jump across to read their review in full and if you find it useful, why not rate it.

Brief encounters - Miele S380 vacuum cleaner review

Ukconsumer75 is something of an expert in the review of vacuum cleaners having previously written five of them over at the Review Centre and this latest one is no different in its thoroughness and attention to detail.

Having previously been a Sebo owner, ukconsumer75 bought the Miele S380 as a replacement for his old K1 and having already purchased an S4210 for his Mum knew what to expect in terms of Miele’s reputation. While he concedes the S380 is slightly more unwieldy to pull around than the S4000 due to its extra weight, unlike its bigger brother it “has a tool tidy storer where the door rises beautifully on well precisioned hinges to show three cleaning tools that fit sugly into their own carry space”. He’s also impressed by the extra length of the S380’s power cord having been frustrated by shorter leads on lesser models in the past.

Although the S380 is due to be replaced by the new S2 line early next year, ukconsumer75 still considers it “an all in one complete vacuum cleaner”. Why not jump over to the Review Centre to read his write-up in full.

Brief encounters - Miele Cat & Dog TT5000 vacuum cleaner review

When George Brown sat down and wrote his review of the Cat & Dog TT5000 over at the Review Centre it appears he struggled to find any negative points. So much so that the only one he could think of was the difficulty in finding one to purchase in the first place since demand was so high.

After using the Cat & Dog over the last year, he gives the vacuum the full ten out of ten across ease of use, durability, service and value, a nine for style and makes special mention of the “effective all angle suction pressure”, something we find is commonly mentioned by other Miele owners.

He concludes his review asking us to “Forget Dyson, Vax, Hoover, Electrolux and ilk, a better vacuum cleaner for tough household and pet hair you will not find at £165 - £200 anywhere!”.

Jump over to read his write-up in full and if you’ve got any comments why not rate his review.

How good are induction hobs?

As something of an early Christmas present saltireblue has promised his other-half a new hob and as they’ve no gas supply to the house is looking at the alternatives including induction hobs. As a novice in these kinds of things, he’s turned to the fellow members of the Land Rover Forums for their thoughts on the subject.

As an induction hob owner and whitegoods supplier, sherpa87 explains the benefits of induction cooking including speed: “faster than gas, takes about half the time to heat the same amount of water”, safety: “a lot safer, because the hob itself doesn’t get hot” and ease of cleaning: “if something does boil over it’s unlikely to be burnt on”.

All of which prompts saltireblue to make use of his decent year-end bonus and splash out a little bit extra on a Miele: “was originally thinking of spending about £750″, although for the grand he spent he got “auto non-boil feature, boost on all 4 zones, timer on all 4 zones” and a “5 year guarantee”.

If you’ve got any experience of induction cooking why not pop across and share your thoughts.