Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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The CVC - a user-friendly vacuum cleaner from Contico that works wonders!
My daughter Chervana won a scholarship this year that enabled her to take an MSc at the University of Southampton - and, fed up with student accommodation, she decided to rent a house with a friend who goes out to work. The house was completely unfurnished apart from the white goods and when I asked what the pair would like for a housewarming gift, the request was for a Contico CVC vacuum cleaner, just like the one we have at home!
I made a call to Contico's Nikki Vaughan-Smith to see if I qualified for a trade discount and the CVC was delivered in double quick time. It has not disappointed, as Chervana's report (which also reveals some of the problems regarding cleaning student accommodation) shows:
During my undergraduate degree, I did not have much luck with vacuum cleaners.
In my first year at Keele University, I was in Halls and our rooms were cleaned by the facilities management team each week. While this was a great luxury, I found it frustrating that we did not have access to a vacuum cleaner as if we dropped crumbs on the floor or smashed a glass, we could not clean up the mess properly. The other students did not seem to mind much but as I had been an office cleaner for two hours a night, five nights a week for three years whilst at college, I had a bit of a passion for keeping things clean and I knew that once-a-week cleaning in a heavily used area was not condusive to good health or hygiene or ensuring the longevity of the carpets!
When I moved into my first student house the following year, I was pleased to learn that we had a vacuum cleaner which we could use at any time. Unfortunately though, I had placed my hopes too high, as although we had one, it did not have a pole on it and so, to the amusement of my housemates who refused to use it, I ended up doing all the vacuuming throughout our tenancy, on my knees.
My luck did not improve much in my third year. Our vacuum cleaner was a really old fashioned, heavy one that was difficult to push around, so we could not get into the corners with it or do the stairs. As it did not have any attachments, we had to brush these areas manually, which was not efficient and did not feel very healthy as most of the dust became airborne and what did not find its way into our lungs eventually settled on the surfaces, making them dusty again.
I am now the proud owner of a smart new Contico CVC vacuum cleaner... It is so lightweight and easy to use and it sucks everything up in its path in seconds! I managed to vacuum my entire three bedroom, two reception room house and stairs in 20 minutes - and the carpets (plus our laminated, lino and tiled flooring) now look as if they have all been professionally cleaned!
This definitely makes up for the past few years...
The CVC's super powerful 1000 Watt motor definitely works wonders; the telescopic steel wand allows for exceptionally easy movement as it can be easily and quickly adjusted to suit a tall user like my housemate or a shorter user like me. This really comes into its own though on the stairs, where you can shorten the wand to the extent that you feel as if you are using a powerful portable vacuum cleaner, rather than a full sized one. Being able to get so close to the stair you are cleaning is far more efficient as you can check visually that you have not left any dirt behind. And at just 6.7kg, the machine does not make you feel as if you are lugging a sack of bricks up the stairs!
The hose is long enough that it allows us to vacuum the odd cobweb away from the upper walls and ceiling and the long lead means we don't have to keep swapping sockets. Furthermore, there is a tool holder on the CVC itself and this houses four push-on connectors for use in corners, on walls, ceilings and stairs, so you are always within hands-reach of the connector you require. We use the upholstery tool a lot for the sofas and curtains, while the radiator tool is great for preventing a build-up of dust behind the radiators and between their skins.
We have several different floor surfaces to clean but the CVC makes light work of the changes. To swap from cleaning carpets to hard floors and back, you simply press one of the flaps on top of the floor tool with your foot, to extend and retract the brushes.
In conclusion, not only does the CVC look the part; it is lightweight, very powerful and allows for faster, more effective cleaning. So, if you are looking for a fantastic value for money vacuum cleaner, which is both practical AND versatile - look no further, for the CVC will meet ALL of your vacuuming needs.
Chervana Hobbs
15th December 2011