However, using it in its stick vacuum configuration will increase the handle weight, and it won’t stand on its own. This test is particularly important for serious allergy sufferers who want to remove all of the fine dust and allergens they can from their home. The rotating beater (or brush bar) links with intelligent detection of floor type to reduce the rotational speed on hard floors. A five-star score here means that nearly all of the fine dust and allergens that the vacuum cleaner picks up are locked tightly within the container and are not released back into the home.

We preferred the Eco and Max settings, since we have long-pile wool carpet in our home; the Min setting just didn't cut it for us. The Miele TriFlex HX1 has a quoted battery life of up to 60 minutes with no powered brush heads in low power, and up to 17 minutes in high power mode with the powered brush head attached. It’s similar to the Bosch Serie 8 cordless vacuum we reviewed last year and better overall than the cheaper Vax Blade 4 but it lags behind the Dyson V8, V10 and V11. And the second reason is if you’ll rely on it as a handheld extensively, since transitioning from stick to handheld is more straightforward in this form. In max power, the Miele TriFlex matches the Dyson V11 and, in low power mode it’s on a par with the Dyson V8.Miele’s Triflex range also features a removable battery, which means you can swap it out for a fully charged spare. Another experiment I did was a crevice pick-up test, where I scattered debris on this quarter-inch crevice. This is noticeably quieter than the level recorded when using the accessories, which we measuredat between 5dB – 63dB.

This, Miele says, saves energy and prolongs battery life; but we found that it also goes some way towards protecting soft wooden flooring.There are no flimsy plastic flaps or levers to worry about breaking as there are on some of the Dyson machines. It won’t hold much dirt, but I like its placement as an upright – another reason why I prefer using it in this configuration. Founded in 1899, Miele is one of the world's leading manufacturers of premium domestic appliances including cookers and ovens, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor-care products.