Gtech Power Floor Sweepers

****** You can win your very own Power Floor Sweeper right here on my blog *****

When I was asked if I'd like to review a floor sweeper from Gtech, my initial instinct was blimey, do they still exist ?! Well, the answer is yes, but they're nothing like the archaic old Ewbank models that instantly make me think of post-war housewives in pink floral housecoats with their hair up in curlers !

The modern ones are power sweepers so you have to charge them up by plugging them into the mains for - wait for it ! - 16 hours ! That's what the instructions say, but when it arrived, I was too impatient to try it out and, more importantly, the kids had just walked dried mud all across the floor, so after about an hour's charging, I unplugged it and tried it out. It had plenty of energy for the quick whizz round I needed.

But I know that the question you're all burning to ask is, does it actually work ? Well, I'm amazed to say yes, it really does ! In a house with three kids, 2 dogs and a rabbit (who loves flicking sawdust out of his cage !), the floors are constantly covered in a mixture of traipsed-in dirt, spilt crumbs, pet hair, not to mention dust bunnies. I had a really quick whizz around the floor where the kids had just walked in a load of dried mud and found it so quick, easy and gratifying that I carried on into the kitchen, around the computer chair, under the sofa ... Because it cordless, it's so much simpler to manoeuver than a heavy, bulky vacuum cleaner. I know there are times when I see pet hair or crumbs on the floor and can't face getting the vacuum cleaner out because it's heavy and Pierre will trip over the flex or play with the plug or get ideas about poking things in the socket when he sees me plugging it in. It's so effortless to do a few swipes with the floor sweeper that I know I'll be much quicker to react when the floors need a clean.

It's also brilliant for the kids who want to clean their own rooms. I'm always very wary about them plugging in the hoover by themselves but they can use the sweeper with no danger. It's also much less cumbersome to get up the stairs to the loft conversion than the bulky, awkward vacuum cleaner.

Gtech explain : "The Cordless Floor Sweeper is an ideal cleaning tool to help effortlessly clean the home. It not only picks up any debris from stubborn pet hairs to larger objects that have been spilled such as rice, pasta and coffee granules, but it’s the must have tool for ‘quick’ cleaning; the time it would normally take to get the vacuum out of the cupboard and set up, Gtech’s Cordless Floor Sweeper would have already whizzed around the room and been put away. On a serious note, it can save on bills too; the energy efficient sweepers cost just 1p to charge 3 times over and have a cleverly concealed tray which means you’ll save even more money not having to buy dust bags."

To prove how well it works, here's the contents of the dust drawer after a super-quick whizz around the lower floor, where we successfully tried it on carpet, laminate flooring and lino.

The model we have been testing is the SW18 which has another added advantage, "Germguard". The product description explains : "Peace of mind cleaning with the SW18 Germguard our exclusive antibacterial material on machine touch points. Germguard is a ‘silver ion’ antibacterial additive blended into the plastic during manufacture and exclusive to Gtech. It kills over 99% of bacteria including MRSA, E.Coli, Salmonella, and Listeria." As a parent of young children, that's really reassuring.

There is no way I ever would have bought a floor sweeper before testing one because I thought the concept was outdated and inefficient. However, I am happy to say that I have been totally proved wrong ! The only downside is the long charging time - after 1/2 hour's use, it supposedly needs 12 hours charge time again, but ours is ready to go at a moment's notice for a quick tidy up and hasn't let me down yet, even with a much shorter charge time.

Even better news is that I'll have one of these beauties up for grabs on my blog very very soon so watch this space ! :)

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £44.95

for more information : http://www.gtechonline.co.uk/floor-care.html

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