Eureka 71A Hand Held Review

Vacuum Review: Eureka 71A Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner
Vacuum Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5 for having adequate cleaning power and a couple cool features but failing to deliver customer value and a cordless design.

Konichiwa! Today your Sensei has a review of the Eureka 71A Hand-Held Vacuum. It’s not that often I get a hand held vacuum here at the dojo. Most people don’t bother to bring them in unless they’re covered under warranty. These things are simple enough to make so a vast majority of hand vacs outlive the length of their warranty and when they do break down it’s usually cheaper to buy a new one. Fortunately for my readers a cheapskate came in asking to have the Eureka 71A Hand Held Vacuum repaired.

After I gave this man an estimate of $27 to fix his hand vac he said “no thanks.” I stopped the man just as he went for the door and said “I could use it, I’ll give you $10 bucks.” The man agreed and your Sensei has repaired the hand vac and gave it a thorough review. This is what your Sensei found.

The Eureka 71A has a very similar look and feel to the Power Paw included with some Eureka Upright Vacuums. If you read my thoughts on the Power Paw you’ll know I really, really liked it. Just like its counterpart the Eureka 71A Hand Held Vac has lots and lots of power for a hand held and picks up plenty of dirt.

The 71A Vacuum by Eureka separates itself from a lot of hand helds by including a built in vacuum. You’re probably buying a hand held to clean hard to reach areas and the rectangular design of most hand helds prevents users from taking full advantage of the portability they offer. An on board suction hose allows you to reach places you normally couldn’t with your average hand held vacuum cleaner and your Sensei really likes this feature.

Another thing your Sensei likes is the spinning brush head. This is a relatively new trend in hand helds and it looks like it’s catching on. Your Sensei prefers spinning brush head hand helds over the conventional style because spinning brushes or “agitators” loosen up dirt and dust in your carpet or upholstery making it easier for your vacuum to pick up.

However, your Sensei can’t give this hand held vacuum cleaner his best 5 star rating. I’m really of vacuums that don’t do what they’re supposed to do well. A hand held vacuum cleaner is supposed to be quick and easy to use, put away, and store. Unfortunately, the Eureka 71A is powered with an electrical cord rather than batteries. It’s not convenient to reach high to vacuum out cob webs or go behind your couch if you’re tethered to a cord. For this your Sensei is going to mark this Eureka Hand Held down quite a bit. A power cord ruins a lot of the benefits of buying a hand held. As far as price, this unit comes in around $45 - $50 and as far as I’m concerned, it’s an average deal.

*One note your Sensei forgot to mention is that this unit is a little heavy.