Hoover Upright 300 Pets upright vacuum cleaner review

For this Hoover Upright 300 Pets review I put the company’s brand new model to the test. It joins a host of rivals all vying to be among the best vacuum cleaners you can buy, and is the company’s lightest-ever upright vacuum. It comes with a mini motorised brush to tackle fur, along with a nifty attachment that’s crevice, dusting and furniture nozzle in one space-saving tool.

Hoover says the cleaner was designed following extensive research about how often, for how long and when UK householders use their machines as well as their preferences when it comes to features, storage and even colours. But does the vac that resulted deliver in a real home with hard floor, carpet, dust, debris and a whole lot of pet hair? For our Hoover Upright 300 review I’ll reveal exactly how it coped.

Many people have fallen for the charms of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, but upright vacuum cleaners are still – justly – a favourite. They’re particular good for cleaning the carpets that are the top flooring choice for so many UK homes, and the Hoover Upright 300 Pets is no exception. At a weight that’s a smidge under 5kg, it’s not a whole lot heavier than some stick vacuums, either, rather than matching the higher weights of other uprights and cylinders. 

Hoover Upright 300 Pets Vacuum Cleaner

Specs:

• Power: 850 Watts
• Dimensions: H114.7 x W30 x D32cm
• Weight: 4.94kg
• Dustbin capacity: 1.5 litres
• Attachments: 3in1 dusting/crevice and upholstery accessory, motorised mini turbo brush
• Cord length: 8.1m

Who will the Hoover Upright 300 Pets suit?

Lots of carpet in your home? Pets as well as people of all ages? This vacuum cleaner could definitely be a great choice. My home has hard flooring downstairs including both parquet and tiles, plus carpet on the stairs and in the bedrooms, and the Hoover Upright 300 Pets did its job admirably on all these surfaces with their normal accumulation of dust, crumbs and dirt plus fur from two cats.

There are no worries about running out of power in a large home as this isn’t a cordless, and the cable is long enough at 8.1m not to have you switching power sockets all the time. It’s a winner for small homes, too, provided you have the storage space for an upright.

Unboxing the Hoover Upright 300 Pets

Take it from me, as a veteran vacuum cleaner unboxer, that some are a tad time-consuming. Lots of parts wrapped in plastic and assembly instructions with pictures only. This vacuum, on the other hand, only needed its handle slotting in and the two attachments to be put in their place on the machine and it was ready to go. Tools on board and therefore always to hand is great, and also scoring points from me is the fact that the instructions have clear words as well as drawings. And much as I like cordless machines, being able to plug in and start rather than wait for a battery to charge has a lot to be said for it.

Straight out of the box, this vacuum looks smart in blue and grey (there’s a red and grey version, alternatively), and appears robust with no cheap-looking plastics. It definitely is light for an upright at just under 5kg, and it’s also not much heavier than some stick vacuums I’ve tested. The Shark IZ251UKT is one of our top cordless vacuum cleaners and weighs 4.1kg, for example.

What is the Hoover Upright 300 Pets like to use?

The vacuum went down well with me straight away for its obvious and easy to reach on/off button. It’s positioned next to the brushbar on/off button, which has an illustration of a piece of carpet making it pretty apparent that this was the one to press when that was the floor surface I was cleaning. The floorhead gives a clear view inside, too, so I could see if the brushbar was static or moving.

The suction is easy to control. There’s a slider on the floorhead and once again it is clearly marked so you push it one way for carpet and the other for hard flooring and maximum suction – easy, and good thoughtful design. 

Hoover says the Upright 300 Pets is lightweight and steerable. As uprights go, I definitely agree on both counts. If you can carry a roughly average size cat or a mini daschund, say, up the stairs, you’ll be able to carry this vacuum, which is 4.94kg (plus tools and power cord to be strictly correct). But if that’s not a weight you’re comfortable lifting, the best cordless vacuum cleaner will likely be your preference as these are lighter. It lives up to the steerable claim, too, turning neatly and easily. It goes right up to the skirting boards and against the kickboards in the kitchen. 

What you do benefit from with an upright over a cordless stick is more capacity in the dustbin, in this case 1.5 litres. All of us with animal companions know that with the normal household dust and dirt plus their contributions, bigger is definitely better and I watched around twice as much fluff accumulate in the bin as I would with a stick vacuum before emptying.

I didn’t really want to attempt a conversation when I was vacuuming with the Hoover Upright 300 Pets, and I especially didn’t want to when I was using the motorised mini turbo brush – the pet hair tool. Bear this in mind if your animal housemates are sensitive to loud noise.

Another downside for me was the machine’s reach under furniture. The bulk of its body means the floorhead doesn’t fit far under a bed, for example, and we all know the pet hair makes its way there as well. Having to swap to using the hose plus attachment or hose, handle and attachment combo makes the job take longer.

Hoover Upright 300 Pets on carpets, hard flooring and upholstery

Carpets and rugs

Over large areas of carpet, this is a highly efficient pet hair remover. It got up fur knitted into the pile that I couldn’t see when I was standing but couldn’t miss when I got down lower and, once again, wondered how my furry housemates manage to shed so much. I found the vacuum took a bit of effort to push over carpet. It wasn’t too much, but I did know I was working. On a flatweave rug, it was a first-rate fur remover, too.

For the staircase, the hose plus handle and attachment combination provided the best reach. There’s no denying that this was a noisy job, however, with that mini turbo nozzle doing the work. Bear in mind that it’s important to keep this upright vacuum, er, upright when you use tools, which will need care on staircases.

Hard flooring

The fur that blows across the kitchen tiles and the parquet was effectively dealt with by this vacuum, along with crumbs. Cleaning up spilled cereal required a few more passes of the floorhead as it tended to blow some of it over a wider area requiring repeated actions.

Upholstery

The motorised mini turbo brush did get the accumulated fur off my sofa, and the cats’ own bedding but, as I’ve said, it didn’t do it with any hush. If you and your companions don’t mind, that’s fine, but you can definitely hear the pet tool working.

Emptying the Hoover Upright 300 Pets

Removing the accumulated matter from the bin of the Hoover Upright 300 Pets is a piece of cake. There was the wonderfully clear design once again with a labelled bin release button and a bin empty button to push once I was holding it over the kitchen rubbish bin. The dustbin came away from the machine readily and returned to its position with no fuss as well.

Should you buy the Hoover Upright 300 Pets?

If yours is a home with lots of carpet or has a 50/50 type of split between that and hard flooring, and you share your space with small or large pets, it’s a yes. This is a solidly built and good looking upright that’s thoughtfully designed for ease of use and convenience. Both I and the cats would have preferred a little less noise in action ideally, but it’s a value for money choice for all fans of upright vacuums and those looking for the best vacuum cleaner for pet hair.

About this review, and our reviewer

Sarah Warwick is a freelance journalist and editor writing for websites, national newspapers, and magazines. She’s spent most of her journalistic career specialising in homes – long enough to see fridges become smart, decorating fashions embrace both minimalism and maximalism, and interiors that blur the indoor/outdoor link become a must-have. She loves testing the latest home appliances, revealing the trends in furnishings and fittings for every room, and investigating the benefits, costs and practicalities of home improvement. It's no big surprise that she likes to put what she writes about into practice, and is a serial house revamper.