The Hoover Duros S3590 is a good value in the less-than $200 category of powerhead canister vacuums. Lightweight and simple to assemble, this model will be at work cleaning your house as soon as you get it out of the box.

The canister and wands on this model are sturdily built, with solid metal components not often found at this price range. The hose is durable, yet flexible and moves well with the user thanks to a 360-degree turning radius and the sturdy canister body. The ergonomically designed handle offers comfort and handy fingertip controls.

On the other hand, the Duros powerhead is on the small side and doesn't have the durability that impressed us on the rest of the machine. Lightweight and somewhat flimsy when compared to the other components of the Duros, it resisted picking up anything larger than dirt and lint -- such as the sunflower seeds we spilled in our tests. With a close-to-the-ground design, the head preferred pushing them around rather than picking them up.

We really liked the way the S3590 handled on floors. It zipped along and picked up most of the soil we exposed it to. The ability to use the light when the brushroll was off was an added bonus that helped us do a more thorough cleaning of floors. Unlike its performance on carpet, the low profile powerhead was a plus on floors. Closer to the dirt, it was more efficient than what we usually see with a larger powerhead. The small powerhead is also a plus for getting close to the baseboard and under furniture, both on carpet and floors. Still, we opted to use the crevice tool to get really close to the baseboard of our carpet.

Equipped with three tools, the Duros has a wand-mounted tool caddy for the dusting tool and upholstery brush. Unfortunately, this caddy is not very secure. As a result, we dislodged both tools as we gave this canister a vigorous workout. The crevice tool, on the other hand, rides securely inside the canister and was always on hand when we needed it. The quality of the tools is about average for this price range, with the exception of the upholstery tool; the brushes on the upholstery tool are just about non-existent, leaving you to rub instead brush upholstery.

Hoover's Duros S3590 requires disposable paper bags and is more resistant to clogging than bagless models. It makes a good choice for homes with a mixture of surfaces to be cleaned, such as stairs, area rugs, curtains and ceilings. The major disadvantage of this model is its tendency to get overwhelmed by too much carpet with too much pile. For this reason, we would caution against purchasing the Duros S3590 if your home is carpeted more than 25 to 30 percent.


Pros: Great choice for homes with lots of surfaces to be cleaned (but not too much carpet), offers metal wands, durable hose
Cons: Tool caddy is insecure, powerhead is small for size of machine

Warranty
1 year