Taking the container out of the machine was a piece of cake: it lifts out easily. Once over the bin, there was no fiddling about with the catch. It pops open to let out the dust. The size of the container opening might mean you have to size up your bin, though, to avoid the debris overshooting. Miele Blizzard CX1 handy features Due to the high air throughput of the specially designed motor, the extremely high flow velocity ensures outstanding separation of coarse soiling and fine dust in different containers. The containers are emptied completely through the bottom with a minimum of dust being blown around.

Wireless remote control, variable power, self-cleaning low-maintenance filters, easy-to-empty bin and a raft of tools are just the beginning of the story. It isn’t great for pet hairs on carpets (there’s the CX1 Cat & Dog version for that) – but otherwise, the CX1 Comfort PowerLine never fails to impress. It’s got all the best smart sensor technology so that it can detect and make its way around your house but it does sometimes struggle to go from room to room.

The EU brought in new regulations limiting vacuum cleaners to a power of less than 900 w to increase energy efficiency. The CX1 body and single cyclone produce prodigious suction and a huge amount of airflow, translating through the floorheads into highly efficient cleaning. Yes, the EcoTeq head will clamp down on carpet on the highest power setting as if it’s lead-weighted, but on the carpet and rug settings it balances great suction with far easier manoeuvrability.

Dyson has superior cleaning power. But they also make upright vacuums instead of canister ones like the Miele.

Brilliantly designed, powerful, controllable, flexible, and with great touches such as the self-clean filter – Miele’s first bagless cleaner is a real winner. If you ask people who already own a Miele vacuum how long they’ve had it. Most of them will tell you they’ve had it for at least 10 years! Henry Hoovers are similar in price to the basic C1 model but if you’re wanting a better vacuum it’s going to cost more for a Miele.

Finally, there’s a small crevice tool and an equally compact upholstery brush, both parked on the rear end of the cleaner for instant access. Beside the Comfort Clean button, the control panel sports four power level indicators with graphics depicting increasing power for curtains, rugs, carpets and parquet/hard floors. There are no controls for this on the cleaner, however. That’s handled by Miele’s sumptuous comfort handle with its wireless remote control. With a modern 1200W motor under the hood, the CX1 Cat & Dog is extremely quiet. Maximum noise of the cleaner – including the Cat & Dog head running on its fastest setting – was just 72dB. In fact, the sound of the air rushing into the cyclone at over 100mph is a large part of that noise since the motor itself is very well suppressed. Not having to get dirty digging out dust from the bin too often and not having to remove, wash, rinse and dry out foam filters were both real winning features for us. Yes, some maintenance of emptying the filter bin and cleaning the internal gauzes will be necessary, but much less frequently than typical foam filters.On hard floors both the EcoTeq and SRD heads were excellent at capturing loose hair balls, thanks mostly to the CX1’s high suction and airflow. On occasion, hairs can become caught on the bristles of the EcoTeq head, but the stepped cut-outs in the bristles help to reduce this effect. You simply can’t beat the CX1 Cat & Dog’s superb suction, high airflow and super-quiet operation. Add in the self-cleaning main filter, outstanding build quality and the Cat & Dog floorhead for great carpet cleaning (with or without a pet), and the Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog PowerLine is a fabulous all-round cylinder cleaner. Verdict