This Review of the H2O Turbo Vacuum Rip Off was easy to write, especially since I was so upset that the advertisers were clearly selling a product that did not live up to its claim to fame. According to their website, “This Suction Monster Never Clogs!”. I agree since this rolling red canister doesn’t have the power to suck up anything that would clog itself. I was also very frustrated that the Thane H2O Turbo Vac is clearly not a quality product. The infomercials show that it looks and acts just like a regular canister vacuum cleaner, but what you don’t see on television is a close up of the attachments or the parts of this product. I found out the hard way that if you don’t research on the internet for reviews before you buy, you may regret your purchase. Of course, there are going to be some good reviews, as well as bad reviews, but if you take time to read them, you can get a feel for whether or not the person writing it has personal experience. For me, I have personal experience, unfortunately.

I waited over 8 months to buy my H2O Turbo Vacuum Cleaner. electrolux vacuum cleaner model zs-320 grI had seen the infomercial in 2009 and made a decision to wait until I got my tax return in 2010 so I would have enough money to buy it without putting myself into any credit card debt. dongyi vacuum cleanerI knew I would be buying it on a major credit card and then paying it off immediately. lux vacuum cleaners christchurchPlus, I wanted to be sure I had some recourse with VISA or MasterCard in the event I might have to return the product. For 8 months, I kept thinking how wonderful it was going to be when I got my new vacuum cleaner. I currently have a Sears Kenmore upright that I bought over five years ago that is heavy and awkward and it doesn’t seem to do a very good job around corners.

The biggest draw for me about the H2O Turbo Vac was the aqua-force water filtration technology that was being promoted in their advertisements. The use of regular tap water instead of vacuum bags was a definite plus because I felt that the dust and allergens would not escape back into my floors after they leaked out of the paper bags used in my upright. Supposedly, the H20 Turbo Vac cleans up all kinds of household dirt and fungus, as well as hair (pet and human), and other debris. Well, I put it to the test. I compared it to my current Kenmore Whispertone vacuum and it lost – miserably. Here are the details. Let me talk about the attachments first, and then I will tell you about the testing I did on the power of the vacuum itself. As far as I’m concerned, the attachments are worthless, cheap plastic. The brush attachment for carpets has two tiny little wheels that do not roll smoothly. The brush design angle is also bad because you have to bend down in order to get the brush attachment to lie completely flat on your carpet.

I’m only 5’3” and if I have to bend down to vacuum, that is a really bad angle for taller people. The brush attachment also only has two very thin rows of bristles – one on the front and one on the back. The bristles are only about 1/16” deep and are not even stiff enough to stir up the debris on your carpet. You have to keep rolling it back and forth in order to stir up the items on the carpet. The suction works only if the brush is perfectly flat on the carpet and if you test the suction power with your hand, only the middle of the brush (which is directly at the end of the cleaning tube) has any suction. The ends of the brush do not have any suction activity. That is why you have to keep running it over and over on your carpet in order to get everything. This is because only a 2” wide path which is at the end of the hose is actually sucking up the dirt. Suction Monster Never Clogs ! The other attachment is the wet/dry squeegee.  This is supposed to be used on non-carpeted floors but it has the same issue as the carpet attachment. 

It is just a big squeegee and all it does is push the dirt around unless you tip the handle so it can lift enough to allow the dirt under its edge.  You really have to bend over when you use this attachment because you have to keep tipping it to get the dirt up.  Have you ever tried to vacuum with a squeegee?  There is no sliding, there is no rolling involved at all.  You are basically “rubbing” your floor with a squeegee on a long handle.  There are no wheels on this attachment, so there is no “gliding” over your wooden floors.  You are basically just scraping it.  If you are using it as a wetvac, then this attachment may be a little easier to push, but again the attachment just pushes the water because the rubber edges are a single piece so there is no way the water can get under the edges to be sucked up by the hose. The real test of a vacuum cleaner, of course, is the cleaning power.  Does this product work or not?  My opinion is NO.  I tested its suction power on my carpet and compared it to my Kenmore upright. 

To be fair, I put a brand new bag in my vacuum and then tested both of them on various surfaces.  First, I used my upright to vacuum a patch of carpet in my living room that has heavy traffic.  Then I ran the Turbo Vac over the exact same surface.  When I checked the water container, the only thing I could see was a little bit of fuzzy carpet hair and the water was only slightly cloudy.  Next, I ran the carpet attachment over another patch in my house that had not been vacuumed, and checked the water condition afterwards.  It was mildly cloudy and I did see some hair and debris in the water but certainly not a significant amount to show that this is a really power suction vacuum The next test was my mattress.  The advertisements claim it will clean your mattress of skin particles and help reduce dust mites.  I used the hose attachment on my upright and ran it a couple times across the top of the mattress.  I then used the small brushless attachment and ran it over the same surface area and again checked the water. 

There was absolutely nothing in the water.  It was clear and clean.  It had picked up nothing at all that my regular vacuum had missed.  I then tested it on a patch that was not previously vacuumed and, again, got nothing in the water to indicate it had picked up dirt or skin particles. The last test was my furniture.  I have a Lazy Boy chair and a sofa in my living room and they only get vacuumed once in a while because I forget to do it when I’m vacuuming my carpets.  I would think that the H2O Turbo Vac would really shine when it came to this test because the furniture attachment is being pushed flat against the surface and would have maximum suction.  I cleaned my entire Lazy Boy from top to bottom and from front to back.  When I checked the water receptacle I found hardly any dirt in it.  I also pulled out the filters and they didn’t show any dirt or dust particles on them. The last complaint I had with this product is that it is very cheaply made overall. Trying to get out the water container took a major effort because the design made it tough to get a grip on it with two hands.

Also, the wheels that are under the canister do not roll in all directions so I had to keep pulling it in different directions in order to get around corners. The plastic of every part of this vacuum is of poor quality and I believe that wear and tear will start to show very quickly. I hope that my Review of the H2O Turbo Vacuum Rip Off will help you make an intelligent choice when you are considering buying a new vacuum cleaner. This product failed in every test I put it through. It does not live up to any of the claims on its website or the infomercials on television. My Kenmore vacuum cleaner basically so out shined it, that it was pathetic. The only good thing I can say about the Thane Company that manufactures this product is they are true to their word when it comes to a guarantee of satisfaction. I got my money back immediately after they had confirmation the product was returned. I was pleased with their customer service. It’s too bad the product was so sucky. Shark Rocket Corded Hand Vac