When we first got our greyhounds they came with brand positioning – they don’t smell (true, they smell delicious), they don’t bark (mostly true but Maggie is very chatty), and they don’t shed hair (mmm, compared to other breeds maybe not, but their hair is everywhere!).
My normal cleaning routine has been a Dyson which I swap from upright to hand held for all the nooks and crannies, then I have a spray mop which most of the time just gathers muck and dust at the front and I have to constantly use hand towels to clean the gunk. Surely there is a better way to live with two adults and two dogs in a small townhouse?
To be fair when Tineco approached us to review, I really hadn’t heard of the brand, but a chat with a few American pals put me straight. It’s like buying a car, you can go the Skoda option or Porsche 911. I am trying the all new FLOOR ONE S7 PRO – I like to think of it as Tesla, with a screen, automated help, and interactive displays. This is the vacuum you buy for wooden, tiled, concrete floors. It’s your equivalent of a Vidal Sassoon shampoo and set.
Unpacking & Installation
Opening the box and putting it together was pretty straight forward. Click the water tank into place, pop the handle in with a satisfying ‘thunk’ and pop into its charging station, which has handy little sections for the extra filter and roller should you need it later. The station plugs into the mains.
The Controls
Now i have never owned a vacuum cleaner with a TV. What is going on? In fact this is a 3.6” LCD full-size screen which is where I meet the helpful Tineco Assistant welcoming me to Tineco with a quick mini guide tour. It’s quite bizarre. Gen Alpha help please!
I learn that it’s the handle (not the screen) which controls this beasty. Instead, the rectangular pad has right and left arrows to navigate through cleaning modes in real time. Like the novice I opt for ‘Auto’, rather than Ultra, Max or Suction options.
Water Tank Set Up
With an easy click out of the clear plastic section. I fill the water tank with one capful of the cleaning fluid and fill it up from the tap to the ‘Max’ water mark. I am ready, I am weirdly excited and am looking forward to cleaning. Um? What has happened to me?
Ready Set Go! – The Clean
I am wielding a lightsaber. The front of head of the roller has a light, I mean, whose vacuum has a light? It’s a jolly great invention, I can really see all the dirt, hair, crumbs on the floor (shock horror), why has no one thought of this before (perhaps because they don’t want you to know if you vacuum literally sucks?… or not).
This is where it all goes wrong for me. My Tineco is shouting at me “clean the water tank”. I have just started cleaning. This seems a bit strange. The next ten minutes is a mix of pulling the tank out, tinkering with it until I admit defeat and reach for the instruction manual which tells me this means the water level is too high. Feeling victorious I start again only for it all to stop with the same problem. ARGHHHH Now, it is at this point I am considering calling customer service until my partner, Mr G points out there are two water tanks (at the front and back) have actually filled up the wrong water tank at the front (this is the one that collects the dirty water).
With a deep sense of remorse that I was blaming Tineco for being faulty, it is of course my user (human) error. The next 15 minutes are an absolute blast, in fact I have never seen my floors so clean, dry and not one grain of dirt. The turn around in emotional and product love is like a Mills & Boon finale, when star crossed lovers finally get together and all their misunderstandings are forgiven.
iLoop Smart Sensor
There is so much to love. There is no pushing forward or pulling back, this techno beast has a self propulsion system. So it’s more like moving a hovercraft around as it detects your movement. By far the best way to use it is like a lawnmower – first up one side and then back the other way. It also has dual edge cleaning and gets right up to within 1cm of the edge.
Colour Coded Debris Alert System
A clever iLoop smart sensor alerts me to debris. The colour code system is great fun. I zoom over some of Maggie-the-greyhound’s fallen fur, and the ring sensor glows red, I go back over it and it turns to blue telling me that this gnarly spot is now spick and span.
Four Modes of cleaning
In ‘Auto’ mode it senses the level of dirtiness and automatically adjusts the intensity of the clean. It has a ‘Max’ mode which I use in the kitchen area on some stubborn stains which it lifts easily.
Now get ready for it, ULTRA mode uses electrolyzed water. This industrial-grade technology uses electricity to change the chemical structure of salt, water & vinegar into a cleaner and disinfectant as effective as bleach but with no harmful chemicals. Crazy right? When I press this mode it takes about 30 seconds to prepare the water. It’s great in the bathroom, whilst it doesn’t seem to deep clean the grout, the tiles are noticeably cleaner and streak free, which is a first for many years!
Self Clean
Whilst it has a 40 minute run time which is about 300 sqm. I have cleaned my lounge, kitchen, bathroom and laundry in less than 15 minutes.
I put it back on the docking station and it then asks me which of the two self cleaning modes to opt for: a quickie 2 minute clean or a 6 minute deep cleaning mode? The two minute clean kicks off with the roller spinning inside the stand as clean water gets rid of dirt, then the pipes are being cleaned and thanks to centrifugal drying the roller and system are clean.
The only slightly icky-but-satisfying bit is to empty the dirty water tank at the front (yuk!) but also kinda cool to see how much gunk has been removed. A quick wash and air dry of the tank pieces and the Tineco is all ready to go another day.
The Verdict
What we are addicted to: It is without doubt the best wash and clean system we have used. Sleek, modern, quiet and the finish is spectacular. Totally addicted.
What we need to be more addicted? The price point might be a little to high for some. BUT you are worth it!
Tineco FLOOR ONE S7 PRO – $1299
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