I don’t have a pet shedding all over my house, or kids dropping food in unexpected places, but what I do have is a major tendency to spill things. With my daily habit of making a mess, I have become accustomed to the arduous task of wheeling out a vacuum cleaner and plugging it in to clean up after myself.
The answer to this problem is simple. Yes, I could stop spilling things, but who has time to fix their flaws? More realistically, I have had my mind on handheld vacuums for a while now, giving me the ability to quickly and easily sort a mess, and deal with those awkward spots (looking at you, stairs).
With this in mind, I spent a month using the Gtech Multi Mk2, a handheld vacuum that promises to make clean-ups easy without sacrificing any of the features and tools that are needed in a vacuum.
Design
While this is a relatively small cleaner, even with one of its attachments in place, the Gtech Multi Mk2 packs on the weight at 1.5kg. It’s not heavy enough to cause issues while using it, but it is certainly noticeable.
Despite its mostly plastic design, the device feels sturdy and well-built with a premium finish. Thanks to its flat bottom, it can be stood up easily without having to precariously balance it.
Battery life
Like almost all wireless vacuums, the battery life isn’t exactly optimal. You get up to 20 minutes of runtime from a four-hour charge.
If the plan is to simply use this for quick spills and the occasional clean of the car, this won’t be the end of the world, but for regular use, you’ll need to have a plug dedicated to keeping this charged.
Four LED lights on the side of the cleaner alert you to the remaining charge to easily see when a top-up is needed. For the pre-planners, a backup battery can be bought from Gtech for £69.99 to switch back and forth when one dies, but this is a pricey solution.
While disappointing, this battery life isn’t a surprise. It is, even by the standards of handheld vacuums, a small device. There isn’t space for a giant battery and unless you’re trying to clean a huge house in one go, 20 minutes should be enough time.
Transformers
It’s not uncommon with these smaller handheld vacuums to find yourself limited to just one attachment, but the Multi Mk2 gives you a few choices.
There’s the ‘small power head’ which is the typical rolling style of device, there is a long tube attachment for crevices and small gaps, and an extension option for the harder-to-reach spots.
Between these three options, the cleaner works for most situations, including car boots, stairs, gaps between appliances and awkward parts of the ceiling.
For those who are planning on keeping the device in the car, Gtech offers a car accessory kit to go along with the Multi Mk2 (priced at £50). This includes 3 more attachments, but realistically the kit that it comes with will do just fine.
Another feature is the included scented cartridges. We repeat: scented cartridges. These slot into the middle of the cleaner and release a flowery scent around the room while you are cleaning.
Experience
In my time using the vacuum, I found it useful on multiple occasions. All of the random debris and dirt that seems to magically appear on a kitchen floor were easily dealt with – even the bits down the side of the fridge and in small gaps with the extension attached.
A hefty pile of soil was pulled up out of my carpet with surprising ease, which, I of course dropped on purpose for this test and not further proof of my clumsiness. And I found it had more than enough suction power to give the sofa a good clean, removing any hair, dirt and random bits that had attached themselves.
It performed in awkward cleaning spots, like up the stairs, in small gaps and those annoying cobwebs in corners and across the ceiling. Realistically, this is when it was best, for the quick cleans and awkward nooks.
The real test is cleaning out a car. The Gtech is perfectly suited here, light and small enough to carry around the vehicle, armed with the combination of the long attachment and the rolling vacuum part, all of the nooks and crannies of a vehicle were surprisingly easy to clean out.
Cleaning out a car showed one of the vacuum’s big selling points, offering enough suction power to pull out dirt that was deeply trodden in. It equally shows how annoying the battery life is, only getting halfway through a clean before needing a break to charge.
Throughout all of my uses of the vacuum, whether in a car, up the stairs, in the kitchen or outdoors, I did not once get a whiff of the scented cartridges that Gtech claims fill your home with heavenly smells.
Maybe I got unlucky here, or maybe my nose isn’t accustomed to these light scents, but I tried multiple cartridges and had no luck.
Verdict
It’s hard to find criticism in the Gtech Multi Mk2. Of course, there are more powerful vacuum cleaners out there, and ones that will better clean your whole house with better accuracy and a longer battery life.
But that doesn’t feel like what this is aimed at. Random spills, cleans of awkward spots, the car, cupboards and drawers were where this really thrived.
If you live in a small flat with not much space that needs cleaning, need a vacuum that can be grabbed in a dirt emergency – or just want something to deal with the sofas, cars and stray cobwebs in your life – the relatively affordable Gtech Multi Mk2 fits the bill.
Alternatives
Shark Samba
A similar size to the Gtech Multi Mk2, this vacuum cleaner from Shark is perfect for quick clean-ups and hard-to-reach places.
It comes with its own charging dock to keep it fully charged and neatly out of the way.
While it offers plenty of power for most small cleans, it does lack on the battery side, only running for 8 minutes at a time.
Miele Triflex HX2
The Miele Triflex HX2 is a serious bit of kit with a price to match.
Miele claims it is their most powerful vacuum to date, offering 3 in 1 flexibility with multiple forms.
This allows you to use it as a full-length vacuum with a long arm, a compact mode for small clean-ups and a more flexible mode to get under sofas and in tight gaps.
With a 60-minute run time, you shouldn't have to charge too often, and the 99.99 per cent filtration captures fine dust, allergens and viruses.
Bosch Unlimited 7
The Bosch Unlimited 7 blends the best of both worlds, offering a powerful vacuum that is also flexible and portable.
With its array of attachments, you can easily get under chairs, sofas and tables, without having to get down to that level.
Equally, there are attachments for small gaps, or awkward spaces.
It has a 40 minute run-time, and automatically detects the kind of flooring you are on, matching the power and battery to this surface.
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