Our In-Depth Review
Performance / Using the Eureka 96H Quick Up 2-in-1
Our first indication that the Eureka Quick Up 96H would be a nice little cleaning tool was when we noticed it stood up on its own when not in use as we charged the vacuum overnight to get it ready to test. Once it was ready to go, it did a very good job on almost all of our tests.
It works well on rugs and short pile carpeting. It also does well on hard floors as long as the particles aren’t too large.
Performance on Carpets
Remember to activate the brush bar by turning on the “carpets” switch first. On our short pile carpeting we first looked at the Quick Up’s ability to clean off small particles.
The flour we poured onto the rug was cleaned up, but it took at least two passes. There was a faint flour residue on the carpet after one pass.
This means you should go over a spot with a larger mess multiple times to make sure to get all the debris cleaned up.
This is a battery powered vacuum, so the suction is not nearly as powerful as a plug in standard size vacuum. For large particles, the Eureka did a very good job. Even the largest debris fit under the vacuum head and was sucked up off the carpet.
Performance on Hard Floors
When vacuuming on hard floors, make sure the Eureka Quick Up is set to “floors” on the front on off switch. This setting is necessary for hard floors because the floor brush is deactivated.
With it on, you use up more battery than necessary, and the rotating floor brush can kick particles away instead of sucking them up.
First we vacuumed up flour that was dumped onto the hardwood. With one pass the dusty white flour was gone. We also put the flour near the edge of the floor and it was cleaned up with ease.
Next up we tested the Eureka 96H on its ability to suck up larger particles. The crushed up crackers we used weren’t entirely cleaned up. It wasn’t because of poor suction. There was enough power.
The problem was the large cracker bits didn’t fit under the front of the vacuum head. We had to lift up the vacuum and set it right on top of the largest particles to clean them all off the hard flooring.
Performance on Rugs
Rugs were also cleaned up with ease. Because the suction isn’t too powerful, the area rugs weren’t lifted up off the ground. The dust, dirt, and debris were sucked up nicely though. We could feel the brush bar grabbing at the carpet and dislodging dirt easily.
One thing to note though is human hair or longer pet hair can get wrapped around the brush bar. You should check this occasionally after cleaning carpets and rugs and remove some to make sure the Eureka continues to operate effectively.
Edge Cleaning
The edges were cleaned up effectively on hard flooring, but not necessarily on carpets. This is because dust slides around on hard floors much easier, and the suction was able to pull the dust and debris from the edge into the vacuum on a hard floor.
Also on hard floors, the Eureka Quick Up was able to get under the edge of the cabinets easily. This is a huge positive because a stick vacuum should be able to get into those tighter spots and smaller spaces.
On carpet, for our small particle flour test, some of the flour wasn’t cleaned up right up against the edge of the wall. This is because the rotating brush bar can’t dislodge this dust that is in the carpet. It does get about ј of an inch away if you vacuum head on, but from the side, there is a much larger gap that doesn’t get clean.
Filtration
The Eureka 96H isn’t an airtight machine, and we didn’t expect it to be for such a very inexpensive price.
The Airborne particle scanner detected double the amount of dust coming out of the Eureka filter than what was in the air.
This means that small dust particles like pet dander are too small for the filtration system to capture and hold. It’s a good system for the price, but it isn’t HEPA quality.
Attachments / Onboard Tools
There are no on board tools that come with the Eureka Quick Up 2-in-1. Its only cleaning head is the 10-inch wide base that it comes equipped with. The only cleaning option you are left with is the detachable stick handle.
We tested the vacuum almost exclusively with the handle attached. The only time we took it off was when we didn’t have enough space to clean when going up a staircase.
It’s so light even with the handle on, that it really isn’t necessary to take it off that often.
Ease of Use
This is another huge positive for this lightweight vacuum. You can use the Eureka Quick Up in a variety of cleaning situations, and it does a good job cleaning too.
The cordless feature is very nice, although this does limit the amount of cleaning time you have before you need to recharge the battery again.
Getting Started
The most difficult part of getting started with this Eureka vacuum is waiting for it to charge. When you take it out of the box, you have to attach the filter, dustbin, and the extension handle.
Then you have to plug in the cord and attach the unit to the charger. The manufacturer recommends at least 14-16 hours.
As an added bonus, you can attach the charging unit to the wall and have the Eureka Quick Up charge as it hangs on the wall out of the way.
Noise
On both settings, on either hard floors or on carpeting, our decibel reader registered just over 70 decibels of noise.
This is
relatively quiet for a vacuum. A standard sized vac averages 80 decibels.
Ease of Use on Stairs
We absolutely loved this cleaning machine for stairs. We snapped off the extension handle and held the vacuum with the handle that is on the main unit.
A wooden staircase can be cleaned up nicely with the Eureka 96H Quick Up, but because it has the rotating brush bar, it can clean carpeted stairs very easily as well.
Maintenance
Maintenance is messy! This was our biggest complaint with the Eureka 96H cordless vac. All the debris that you clean up will be stored in the dust cup. The dust and dirt falls down to the bottom of the cup. The fuzz and hair gets pulled up and grips tight to the filter at the top of the dust cup.
When you take the dust cup off to empty, you have to take the filter off first. The dirt dumps out easily, but you will have to shake the filter a lot to get all the fuzz and hair dislodged.
To totally get it clean, we had to use our hands, which made this a very dusty process. If you can, go out in the garage or outside to empty the dustbin.
That way all the dust you cleaned out of your home wont just fall back out onto the floor as you try to shake it into the garage can.
The other element for maintenance is charging the vacuum battery. Once you take the vacuum out of the box, charge it for at least 14-16 hours, but we recommend up to 24 hours.
The battery lasts for less than a half hour without the brush bar activated, and it works for even less time if you use it exclusively with the brush bar on.
To charge it fully again, let it sit on the charger overnight. The user manual suggests that you always have your Eureka Quick Up 96H charging.
The only reason you shouldn’t have it sit on the charger when not in use, is if you don’t use your vacuum for one to two weeks, it can actually damage the battery. So, use your Eureka weekly and you won’t have any problems with the batteries.
Value For Money
Our expectations were very minimal going into this test. The Eureka Quick Up 2-in-1 was so inexpensive at under $50 USD; we thought it wouldn’t perform well on our tests.
We were wrong. This vacuum did well in most of our tests, and was enjoyable to use. For those little messes and quick clean up jobs, the Eureka was outstanding.
Final Vacuum Verdict
If you are tired of lugging out your full sized vacuum, or hate using the central vacuum for every little job in the house, the Eureka 96H Quick Up is right for you. The cost is so minimal, and the cleaning ability it has is more than sufficient for simple vacuuming duties.
You can tidy up a room in minutes because of the relatively wide cleaning head on such a small machine. It is very light and easy to operate as well.
And finally, you can simply stand it up in the corner of your closet, or hang it on the wall easily when not in use. We were impressed with this machine.
