Yes, Henry Vacuums still exist - their cordless model is actually really good

The Henry is an iconic vacuum. It’s the one I remember seeing cleaners use in schools and hotels, so what happened when it comes to homes? That's where the Hetty Quick Cordless Vacuum appears. It's the retro brand's answer to domestic cleaning.

Pretty-in-pink, Hetty is a svelte, cordless, and really affordable vacuum. What’s not to love? I took her through all the same tests that I put the best vacuums —including Shark and Dyson — through. I think you’ll be pleased to know that this is a faithful, reliable friend to all homes.

Complete with a bag, reliable charge, and reasonable price tag, the Hetty Quick Cordless vacuum sounds like a dream come true, because that's exactly what she is. I took her for a spin. Here's how she fared.

Specifications

Unboxing

The Hetty Cordless Vacuum comes complete with all the accessories you could ask for. There’s a bag pre-fitted in the canister, but you get a spare five to keep you going. If you're worries about these pods, you'll be pleased to know that they're offset by the brand and made from up to 65% recycled materials, so they end up being climate positive. Then, alongside your floorhead, you get a crevice and an upholstery tool, which store neatly on the vacuum handle. All of these are wrapped in paper, which brilliant. You can recycle everything that comes with the Hetty Quick. Both your bins and the environment will thank you for that.

The floorhead, stick, and motor all slot neatly together, clicking, very satisfyingly into place. You’ll need to charge the battery up before use, which takes about an hour. Yours might come with a little juice in it, but you’d be lucky if that’s the case. The charging itself is really inobtrusive — you just plug the battery in, so it’s very easy.

Who would it suit?

First and foremost, the Hetty comes with a bag pre-fitted. This is pretty rare for a cordless vacuums and a relative godsend if you have allergies or if you don’t want to get your hands dirty when you’re shaking dust out of the motor. So, if you’re sensitive and you want a tight, squeaky clean cordless vacuum, this is perfect option.

The Hetty Quick is also really convenient. As a small, inexpensive vacuum, it makes the perfect model for flats, new homeowners, and small spaces. I used this in my urban flat for months and was very sad to see Hetty go. She does a wonderful job of quick run arounds.

As you'll see in the tests, Hetty is really good at light cleaning and lifting up dust and dirt from floors. She struggles to lift bigger dirt and debris without flinging it across the floor. This was more notable on my extreme review tests, but did persevere at home. You'd fix it by vacuuming over the same spot a few times — which I'd actually expect to have to do with a cheap vacuum — but it's important to note if you want a really powerful vacuum.

What is it like to use?

Once I charged the Hetty up, I could start vacuuming. You can see that the top motor and bin is a really slim design. This makes it really nice to vacuum with: the body is lightweight and very nimble.

You get to control the speed from the control panel. This is a very simple '+' button that graduates up through speed settings. If you accidentally go past the one you want, you'll need to cycle back through them, but it's not a problem.

In spite of the slim design, the dust bin can collect 1 litre of dust and, if you run the vacuum on a low speed, you'll get up to 70 minutes of life from it. I can testify for this, as in the months that I used the Hetty for, I found that I rarely needed to go to any high speeds and so also didn't really need to charge the battery too often. It's really handy for quick runarounds.

Test 1: flour and sugar

I sprinkle 100g of flour and sugar onto carpets, hard floors, and linoleum to see how well the Hetty Quick collected up finer particles. This emulates the dust and light spills that you might have on the floors in your home, so it's a great place to start.

Unlike most cheap vacuums, the Hetty Quick didn't track any flour or sugar in its wake. You can see in the image above that I got some impressive suction power from the Hetty, whipping up clean lines in the debris. It's a brilliant start.

Test 2: granola

This next test was a little less successful. I scattered 100g of granola on the different floor types and, whilst the Hetty was brilliant at picking up granola clusters on the carpet, on hard floor the floorhead scattered them across the room and spat out oats in all directions. Granted, hard floors are hard at the best of times, and I served up quite a challenge, but this wasn't ideal. It didn't take many passes and run arounds to clean up after myself, but there were other vacuums that managed to pick everything up in one pass. It's what you get when you opt for a model that's a little cheaper.

In my longer-term tests, I didn't struggle as much with this issue. It's mostly because it's very rare that you'll empty 100g of cereal onto the floor to vacuum up — it's an extreme task to set. It did still spit and scatter some debris, but not in a way that I would find intolerable if I used this.

Test 3: hair and whole home cleaning

I have long hair and a dog, which means that there's a lot of strands lying around my house. To make the last tougher for the Hetty Quick Cordless Vacuum, I scattered hair extensions around the house to see whether they would get caught in the rollers.

I thought this would be the toughest task for the Hetty, but, as the picture demonstrates, there was hardly a strand caught up. All the scattered pieces lifted off the carpet and into the dust bag. Combined with the fact that this has a bag, the Hetty makes a brilliant case for being the best vacuum for allergy sufferers who want something light and quick to clean with.

Cleaning and maintenance

Having cleaned the whole house, I'd given the Hetty Quick Cordless a real run for her money. The 1-litre dust bin, surprisingly didn't need emptying very often. I only replaced the bag once on my first day of testing and that was through vacuuming hair extensions, granola, flour, sugar, and a family home.

The battery life promises up to 70 minutes of vacuuming, especially if you are conservative with your speed and, unlike some other vacuums, it was true to its word. I made my way through all of our tests, and vacuumed the whole house multiple times before the battery needed changing. It's a nice change.

How does it compare?

The Hetty Quick Cordless falls firmly into the bracket of cordless vacuums that are good value, perfect if you want a small, inexpensive solution for quick jobs in compact homes. The comparison that always springs to mind is between the Hetty and the Shark vacuum that I'm currently testing, the Shark PowerPro Cordless Vacuum, which costs almost exactly the same amount, if not about £20-30 more.

Whilst the Shark isn't bagged (not ideal for allergy sufferers), this can stand up independently; has a flex in the floorhead, so it can reach easily under sofas; and can automatically adjust to different floor types. This means that it ups the ante compared to the Hetty, taking the edge on performance. The down side is that the dust bin is bigger and, therefore, less elegant to store and tuck away. Both are brilliant for their price: Hetty is better for allergies and super-clean vacuuming, whilst the Shark has more power.

Should you buy it?

If you want an inexpensive, reliable vacuum for speedy run arounds the Hetty Quick Cordless is perfect. You'd struggle to get the same size, bagged, cordless vacuum around this price point. I'm pleased to see that the retro Henry has found a way to work its magic in our homes still.

How we test

At woman&home, we have a series of tests that we put every vacuum through so that we can compare all the best models to help you to find the perfect one for you. I cover all the different types of dust and debris that you might find on your floor, from fine particles of flour and sugar, through to long strands of hair as well as clusters of granola. I'll assess how well these are picked up by the vacuum, but I'll also talk about charge, how easy the vacuum is to hold, as well as how nimble it is. By the end of my review, you should know everything that you would need to before making a purchase. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to email me. I'm always happy to talk about vacuums.

To find out more, you can see how we test vacuums on our dedicated page.