When LG announced the A9 Ultimate Vacuum I had to check it wasn’t April Fools Day – I mean, really, is it possible to mop and vacuum at the same time?
As someone who lives in a house with hard floors all through it, we Vacuum a lot, we sweep a bit, and we mop a lot.
We use the modern moist mop mat style, not the old bucket and strandy mop – and it takes a bit of elbow grease to get the mopping done and crucially it is a requirement that the entire floor area be vacuumed first.
So please – is it really possible that one device could do it all?
The simple answer is yes.
LG’s Cord Zero range of vacuums have come a long way, and they need to – Dyson lead the pack in both reputation and sales so any brand wanting to take them on has to have both features and performance to match and outdo them.
As a stick vacuum I’m a big fan of the LG series because they are a push button start not trigger. I know its crazy but in a long vacuuming session your trigger finger can get tired – Dyson would argue that the Trigger is better for battery life because you only pull the trigger when you need it – but – I’m ok with a few less minutes of usage time for the comfort.
Sadly, the LG style has the Barrel perpendicular to the vacuum stick, this means I found gunk getting clogged in the joint, and it also is no-where near as easy to clean out the barrel when it’s full. I’m not a fan of sticking my finger in there to clear it out, or having to find something else to poke around with.
Those are a couple of big marks against the LG overall.
But the spare battery, and robust floor mount are huge extra points. Run flat? Just grab the spare. It really does work.
Back to the mopping, this is the big feature and the main selling point for the A9 Ultimate.
AT $1099 it’s the most expensive of the LG range, and goes head to head with Dyson, but can your Dyson Mop?
No.
On the Mopping head are two rotating discs. These have fabric pads that attach to them to mop the floor. You wet them, then fill the head with water and off you go.
Each rotates while ahead of them the vacuum sucks up the dust.
It’s a strange feeling when using it, it’s like driving a car with slick tyres on ice – but once you realise you need to take it easy, push it slowly and you’ll cover all ground.
The whole process is slower, but you’re only doing it once – so there’s an overall time saving – I’ve got no doubt, and it does a bloody good job of mopping.
One thing to note is that the two “mop discs” are not joined, so there is a gap between them – you need to take this into account in your mopping pattern.
Of course, there’s a normal vacuum head too – so you don’t always have to mop – which is great.
Overall, I loved it – the mopping was much better than doing it manually.
For anyone with a large amount of hard floors, this is a great benchmark – and well worth your consideration.
