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Hoover H Handy 700 Pets review 2022
This handheld vac works well on most surfaces but isn’t spectacular in any one department. Its short run time and awkward dust release bring it down a notch.
- Generally a good cleaner
- Bit of a pain to empty
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- £99 at Currys
Details
| Price | £99 |
|---|---|
| Capacity (litres) | 0.15 |
| Accessories | LED light, 3-in-1 tool (dusting brush furniture nozzle crevice), Pets turbo brush |
| Warranty (years) | 1 |
| Surface type | Carpet, Hard floor |
| Colour | Black and silver |
| Run time (minutes) | 12 |
| Charge time (hours) | 3 |
| Washable filter | |
| Performance | ★★★★★ |
| Convenience | ★★★★★ |
| Run time | ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder score | ★★★★★ |
Hoover H-Handy 700 Pets handheld vacuum review
How well does the Hoover H Handy 700 Pets clean?
We tested this Hoover first on carpet to see how well it fared tackling Cheerios, rice and biscuit crumbs.
We cleaned the rice with the crevice tool as we couldn’t get the furniture tool to attach properly to the end. It was narrow but managed to clean around 80% of the grains in 3 sweeps. While there wasn’t any clogging, the vents blew away a few grains. All the rice was gone in 5 strokes.
This machine picked up around 90% of the biscuit in 3 sweeps with the crevice and brush tool, then we used the motorised tool to mop up the tiniest crumbs that remained.
The cereal test went generally well – this vac picked up all of it in 3 sweeps although the crevice tool was prone to clogging. When it clogged, the machine made a high-pitched sucking sound and the handle became warm.
The capacity (at 0.15L) is better than that of some machines, such as the Shark Wandvacs (0.1L). A larger vac is less likely to clog, and this is the case with the Dyson V7 Trigger and Gtech MK2 K9 – masters at carpet cleaning.
It excelled on hard floor with the crevice tool and got around 90% of the rice in 3 sweeps; all of the grains were gone in 4. The cereal and biscuit were cleaned in 2 sweeps without any clogging.
The crevice tool came into its own when sweeping biscuit crumbs off the sides of the sofa. It cleaned 80% of the crumbs in 3 sweeps, but made an uncomfortable shrieking noise when it went deeper into the sofa. The experience wasn’t the best; a much better vac for narrow areas is the BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Flexi.
Overall, the Handy sits in the middle of our league table in terms of cleaning.
Can the Handy 700 Pets clean pet hair?
We scrubbed pet hair into the carpet and it cleaned about 70% of it in 3 sweeps – underwhelming compared with some other models we tested. The loose hairs were easily swept up but the hair got tangled in the motorised roller causing it to not spin as well.
You have to manually loosen the snagged hair to carry on cleaning – a real hassle. Because of this, it took around 10 sweeps to scrub most of the hair off the carpet. A better option with a motorised head that doesn’t catch hairs is the Dyson V7 Trigger, based on our tests.
The Hoover upped its game on the sofa, cleaning 90% of the hair in 3 sweeps. A few rogue strands were left behind, but it finished the job in 5. Yet compared to the other vacs specifically designed to clean pet hair, this one was a bit of a letdown.
What’s the run time of the Hoover H Handy 700 Pets?
This Hoover will run for around 10 minutes before it needs a recharge. Though it does have a 3-hour charge time, one of the shortest among those we tested. You won’t be able to clean many rooms with this so if you want a similar-sized vac with a longer run time, a good choice is the Shark WV251UK, which comes with a spare battery.
How convenient is the Hoover H Handy 700 Pets?
For a smallish handheld vac, this model boasts a decent 0.15 litre capacity. Emptying the dust chamber is a chore, though. You have to detach the lower part from the body, remove the filter, then tip the rubbish into the bin, restore the filter, then click the chamber back on (which isn’t the smoothest). It’s the hardest one to empty out of all those we’ve reviewed.
You can charge this model on a dock and it has replacement batteries available in case the original one dies after the (short) 1-year warranty expires.
A cool feature of the Hoover is its LED light, which is at the top of the nozzle. This is great for detecting dust and we’ve only seen one other model, the Gtech MK2 K9, with this shining feature.
The Handy is compact and can be stored easily.
Is the Hoover H Handy 700 Pets easy to use?
The strange thing about this vac is that we couldn’t find a way to attach the furniture tool properly to the end of the nozzle. It didn’t click into place as other attachments do and it felt as if we were sticking the wrong piece into a jigsaw puzzle. The crevice attachment and motorised tool fitted more willingly.
It’s a lightweight vac and you can clean floors and heights well, especially with the rubber grip.
Hoover H Handy 700 Pets customer reviews
This model has received mixed reviews on Amazon, with over 70% of customers giving it a positive rating (based on 840 reviews, and last updated June 2022). Fans love its suction, robust design and compactness. Critics cited the short battery life and hard-to-connect dust bin.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Good surface cleaner
- Decent capacity
- LED light
- Easy to manoeuvre
- Compact
Cons
- Short run time
- Tricky to empty
- Incompatible attachment
- Not the best for pet hair
- Handle got hot when at full capacity
Our verdict: Is the Hoover H Handy 700 Pets any good?
This model fell short of being a Finder Recommended handheld vac. It took too long to empty the dust chamber and pet fur clung to the roller and was dragged along rather than disappearing into the machine. Aside from this, we think it’s a good general cleaner, and will suck up most light and medium debris from all surfaces.
Frequently asked questions
Finder handheld vacuum cleaners scores
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We rate handheld vacuums based on the aspects that matter to you. We explain what goes into our scores in our guide to ratings.
Review by
Reemul Balla
reemul.balla@finder.comReemul is a writer at Finder, specialising in product reviews and news. He's a qualified journalist having worked at local papers in the UK covering breaking news, food and restaurant reviews. He has an MA in Film from UCL and a BA in History and French from Durham University.
Expert review
A few downsides of this vac came to light fairly quickly as I was using it: the dust basket was one of the toughest to empty and re-attach, it wasn’t the best at cleaning pet hair on carpet and it shrieked a bit when cleaning crevices. While this Hoover has its plus points – it’s a good overall cleaner and has an LED light to help you spot specks of dust – I wouldn’t rush to it if I had pets, based on our tests.
