Our In-Depth Review
The cordless, bagless Hoover Linx is ultra light and ultra easy to use.
It cleans hard floors, carpets and rugs easily.
All the controls are right by the top of the handle, so all you have to do is make sure your battery is charged up and you can get cleaning.
The swivel neck on the Linx doesn’t turn very far, so you do most of the maneuvering using the two rear wheels.
With its low profile, you can clean under the edge of cabinets and under furniture very easily.
The detachable dirt cup is clear, so you can see when it’s time to empty out all the dirt and dust you have cleaned up.
The best part about using this Hoover stick vacuum cleaner is that it can go anywhere.
A cordless vacuum is always nice because you can go from room to room. There is no need to stop and plug in a cord.
Performance: Using the Hoover Linx Cordless Stick Vacuum
The Hoover Linx cordless stick vacuum features a “no fade” lithium-ion battery. This is nice because it doesn’t just gradually lose power and effectiveness.
If you are worried that the machine will die on you in the middle of cleaning, just check the battery gauge to see how much power is left. When it does run out of power, it will shut off completely. It takes three hours to fully recharge.
Performance on Carpets
Activate the brush bar by putting the vacuum on the second power setting. We liked how even though it is a lightweight stick vacuum, the cleaning head is 11 inches wide.
This allows you to clean a larger room quicker. On carpets the Linx did a very nice job on smaller and larger particles.
It cleaned up the flour with one pass. The larger particles were cleaned up nicely as well.
Performance on Hard Floors
Located on top of the handle is the power switch. The first setting is for hard floors. There is a brush bar on the bottom of the Linx, but you don’t need this on to clean a hard surface.
We were impressed with the cleaning capabilities for both smaller particles and larger particles. The flour we dumped on the floor was pushed all the way up against the quarter round, and the stick vac was able to suck it all up, even on the edges.
The most of the larger particles fit under the cleaning head, but sometimes the largest particles took more than one pass to get sucked up into the dirt cup.
Performance on Rugs
Because the power switch is located right by the handle, you can easily switch on the brush bar as you roll the Linx onto the rug.
The suction power is strong enough to clean up the debris on a rug, but it isn’t so powerful that it will pull your area rug or large entry rug off the floor.
The neck of the Hoover Linx cordless stick has a little bit of a swivel to it for turning, but it works best just going back and forth like a full sized upright vacuum.
Edge Cleaning
We were impressed with the edge cleaning ability. This is very important, because there are no on board tools with the Hoover Linx.
On carpets or hard flooring, the best approach is to go head on with the front of the vacuum. Small particles like the flour we tossed onto the ground were cleaned up.
Some of the flour that worked its way right up against the molding took more than one pass to clean up, but eventually was sucked up off the flooring.
Filtration
As can be expected from a lightweight stick vacuum, the filtration isn’t up to HEPA standards.
We use an airborne laser particle scanner to test if any particles that are sucked up by the vacuum find their way back into the air through the exhaust system. This did happen with the Hoover Linx stick vac.
The air coming out of the filter on the Linx was dirtier than the air quality in a home. This isn’t that important to most adults, but if you suffer from airborne allergies, you might not want this vacuum.
Ease of Use
We are always a little bit worried with cordless vacuums because of the quality of the battery life and the suction power generated from the battery. Hoover did a great job with this battery powered stick vacuum.
We liked that it only took three hours to completely charge the battery. There are several cordless models that take over 12 hours to charge. Also, the 15 minutes of battery life is long enough to clean up two larger sized rooms.
Getting Started
To put this vacuum together, you need a Phillips head screwdriver. Take the handle, slide it into the body of the machine and then screw in the bolt to put the vacuum together.
Attach the dirt cup to the vacuum. The battery isn’t charged when you buy this so take out the small charging dock, set the battery in the dock and wait at least three hours for it to be completely powered up.
Once the battery is ready, take it out of the charging dock and slide it into the battery cavity on the front of the Hoover Linx. Turn it on and get to cleaning.
Noise
Even though this is a battery-operated vacuum, it still produces a fair amount of noise. An average full sized vacuum cleaner roars in at 80 decibels.
With our noise meter, the Hoover Linx stick BH50010 vacuum averaged 75 decibels. You won’t be able to hear much talking or music playing over the noise of this vacuum cleaner.
Ease of Use on Stairs
Even though this is a lightweight machine, it doesn’t work well for cleaning stairs.
You can carry the 7-pound vacuum up and down the steps with ease, but the 11 inch wide cleaning head is at a disadvantage on smaller stair steps.
You can get some of the landing areas on a staircase clean, but you will not be able to clean the corners or the lip under each step effectively.
There aren’t any on board tools either for cleaning up all the nooks and crannies on a staircase.
Maintenance
There are no recurring costs associated with the Hoover Linx cordless stick so long as you properly care for this machine. The battery can be recharged countless times and is covered within the limited two-year warranty.
One tip for the battery is after you have charged it for three hours, put it back into the machine. Leaving the battery on the charger for extended periods of time can damage it and make it not as effective.
The dirt cup is messy to empty. When you see that the clear dirt cup is full, detach it from the main unit. Empty it directly above a trashcan. Often, hair and fuzz will get wrapped around the red cylinder inside of the dirt cup.
You have to take this red cylinder out of the dirt cup and manually pick off the hair and fuzz. It’s a dirty job.
The manufacturer also recommends that you wash the filter out EVERY TIME you empty the dirt cup.
The filter is on top of the Hoover Linx. Take it out, wash the filter under cold water, and set it on the counter.
You should wait at least 24 hours for the filter to be completely dry before putting it back into the vacuum cleaner.
Value For Money
This vacuum can’t do everything you need to keep your floors or house clean. There are no on board tools. It will run out of battery power before you can clean up an entire home (unless you live in a small apartment) and it costs over $100.
It shouldn’t act as your main cleaning machine. The real value comes from its ease of use. You can grab it and start cleaning right away. Small messes, and quick tidying up is exactly why you might want the Hoover Linx BH50010 cordless stick vacuum.
Final Vacuum Verdict
What do you want from a vacuum cleaner? If you already have a larger machine, but detest lugging out that big thing, the Hoover Linx Stick cordless is a lighter, nicer alternative for those quick cleaning jobs. If you have a small home or apartment with both hard floors and carpeting, the Hoover Linx BH50010 stick vacuum might be right for you.
