Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction

Avg. consumer rating = 91/100 

The graphite grey Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction is a bagless canister vacuum cleaner. It is powerful yet quiet, and the filters never need to be replaced. This is also a rather sleek looking machine and it is made in Germany. The Pure Suction is great on hard floors and it also very good at pet hair pickup. However, we wouldn’t recommend this for homes with carpet. The floorhead does not have a brushroll so this vacuum is best for homes with mostly hard flooring and limited areas of low pile carpet (and the occasional area rug).

Quick Specs
Type	Canister
Bagged/Bagless	Bagless
Best for...	Hard Floors & Very Low Pile Carpet
Pet Hair Features	No
Approx. Weight	19 lbs
HEPA Level Filtration	Yes
Power Cord Length	21 feet
Motor Driven Brushroll	No
Warranty	1 Year P&L, 7 Years motor/housing

CONSUMER RATINGS
A total of 81 actual owner ratings were found at a number of quality online retail outlets. You can see the figures in the table below. A weighted average results in an overall vacuum score of about 91/100. This is a very respectable score. You can compare it to the scores of other Miele vacuums here: Miele vacuum ratings. You can also view all vacuum scores in our Vacuum Finder application.

Source	Consumer Rating	#Ratings
Amazon	4.6 stars out of 5	68
Bed Bath & Beyond	3.9 stars out of 5	10
Overstock	5 stars out of 5	3

A note on some of the low owner ratings we’ve seen. Floorheads with no brushroll, like the one that comes with the Pure Suction, do not perform well on carpet and owners with significant amounts of carpet are sometimes disappointed with cleaning performance. As a result they may give these vacuums a low rating. However, a little more research should have indicated that the forte of these machines is not carpet. This is, in our opinion, not really a failing of the vacuum but it can still result in a lower rating (and thus a decline in the overall score) than is perhaps warranted.

PROS & CONS
Pros and cons have been determined via a thorough analysis of owner comments.

PROS
- Excellent cleaning of hard floors
- Powerful suction
- Quiet operation
- No filters or bags to replace
- German made
- Top notch air filtration
- Retractable power cord
- Sleek, good-looking machine
- Good on pet hair (on hard floors)

CONS
- Short power cord
- Not good on carpet
- Short crevice tool
- Expensive
- Built-in dusting brush not great

WHAT ARE OWNERS SAYING?
Owners are pretty much unanimous in their praise of the Pure Suction’s abilities on a hard floor. They report the Parquet Twister floorhead works very well and that pickup is excellent, including pet hair. However, they are not quite so convinced about the vacuum’s ability on carpet. Some say it is adequate on low pile carpet while others say that it isn’t very good. All agree that for anything deeper than low pile carpet this would be the wrong machine.

Folks like the strong suction and the ability to adjust the vacuum power. Also, despite the strong suction, owners report that the Pure Suction is very quiet. So quiet that you can have a conversation while you are vacuuming.

The low operating costs are a hit with some people. This is a bagless vacuum cleaner so there are no bags to buy and the filters are designed to last the lifetime of the vacuum. The exhaust filter doesn’t even need to be cleaned.  Also, it is reportedly very easy to empty the dust canister.

The vacuum has been awarded the British Allergy Association seal of approval and those with allergies write that the air feels fresh after vacuuming. Some have said that the Pure Suction does not cause their allergies to act up like so many other vacuum cleaners do.

Other popular features and characteristics include the retractable power cord, the large dust canister (infrequent emptying), the canister mobility (tracks well behind you), and the fact that the unit is made in Germany.

Overall many folks like their Miele Pure Suction and we’ve seen plenty of comments such as “easy to use” “awesome vacuum” “love this vacuum” “extremely quiet” “money well spent” ‘just get it!”

Having said that, there are still some complaints and concerns beyond the unit’s difficulties on carpet. Some people would have liked a longer power cord stating that the short cord results in hunting for new power outlets if you have a large cleaning area. Others feel the crevice tool is too short. There are also a number of complaints about the built-in (integrated) dusting brush on the handle. Part of the problem is that the brush cannot be detached from the handle so it cannot be used with the wand. Also, some folks say the brush doesn’t move down the handle and back very well.

You can see more CX1 Pure Suction owner reviews on Amazon.

IS THE CX1 MADE IN GERMANY?
There is continued debate online about which Miele vacuums are made in Germany and which vacuums are made in whole or in part in China. This is not always easy to determine, however we did find some information on the Miele website. Their website states that the Swing H1, Compact C1 & C2, and Complete C2 models are produced at the Dongguan, China plant. But the vacuum motors for these units continue to be made in Germany (Euskirchen factory).

With respect to this vacuum, the Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction, our research indicates that it is indeed German engineered and German made. Many people ask this question.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
• Miele CX1 Pure Suction Bagless Vacuum
• Parquet Twister Floorhead
• AllTeQ Combination Floorhead
• Crush-proof Flexible Hose
• Telescopic Wand with Integrated Dusting Brush
• Crevice Tool
• Upholstery Nozzle
• All Filters
• Owner's Manual

FLOORHEADS
The vacuum comes with two floorheads:
1) SBD 285-3 Pure Suction Combination Floorhead (sometimes called the AllTeQ Floorhead)
2) SBB 300-3 Parquet Twister Floorhead

The AllTeQ floorhead has retractable bristles and is designed for both hard flooring and low pile carpet. The Parquet Twister has very soft bristles (non-retractable) and is for gentle cleaning of delicate hard flooring.

The AllTeQ floorhead has a toggle footswitch on top (see below) that allows you to extend and retract a set of bristles around the bottom of the floorhead. With the bristles extended the floorhead can be used on a hard surface and with them retracted it can be used on carpet.

 

The Parquet Twister (see below) is very maneuverable and can turn at complete right angles. The bristles on the Parquet Twister cannot be retracted so this tool can only be used on hard flooring.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE CX1 TURBO TEAM?
So what differentiates the CX1 Pure Suction from the next step up, the CX1 Turbo Team?

The Turbo Team comes with the following floorheads:
- Miele STB 305-3 TurboTeQ Floorhead
- Miele SBB 300-3 Parquet Twister Floorhead

As you can see, the Pure Suction has the AllTeQ floorhead (no brushroll) and the Turbo Team has the TurboTeQ floorhead (has a brushroll). If you have carpet you want a floorhead with a brushroll! The TurboTeQ brushroll is spun by the vacuum suction (so it doesn’t require electrical power at the end of the wand) and thus is capable on low to medium pile carpet. There has been some owner frustration with the CX1 Pure Suction because it is not great on carpet. If you have low/medium pile carpet you may want to step up to the Turbo Team.

If you have deeper pile carpet then look to a floorhead with a motorized brushroll (the motor is in the floorhead). A brushroll spun by vacuum suction is fine for some low/medium pile carpet, but it does not have the deep cleaning power of a motorized brushroll. You may want to consider something like the Blizzard CX1 Electro Bagless Vacuum (see pricing on Amazon).

VARIABLE SUCTION
A dial on the canister body allows you to choose between four suction settings:

1) Curtains & lightweight fabrics
2) Deeper pile carpets
3) Low pile carpet and area rugs
4) Hard flooring and heavily soiled carpets and rugs

You can also use setting 4 with the upholstery nozzle when you are cleaning upholstery and mattresses.

The ability to increase or decrease suction can be very handy especially when vacuuming delicate items like drapery, lampshades, etc.

AIR FILTRATION
Like most Miele vacuums, the Pure Suction has very good air filtration. This vacuum has a cyclonic chamber which spins air very rapidly removing most of the dust and debris from the air flow. The air also passes through a fine dust filter, a pre-motor filter and a HEPA 13 exhaust filter.

The fine dust filter (Gore CleanStream fine dust filter) sits in a separate container and when it is dirty it can be cleaned manually or automatically. Automatic cleaning occurs when sensors in the vacuum determine that the dust filter needs cleaning (the airflow reaches a certain level of restriction). When this occurs the vacuum automatically turns off and the filter shakes/vibrates for about 20 seconds thereby removing surface dust, then the vacuum starts up again. You can also initiate the automatic cleaning process yourself by pressing the ComfortClean button on the canister body.

The HEPA 13 exhaust filter is considered medical grade filtration and it is capable of removing even the smallest particles from the air. The CX1 has been given the British Allergy Association seal of approval.

The filters used in this vacuum are all lifetime filters. Meaning they should last the lifetime of the vacuum without needing to be replaced. The pre-motor filter and the fine dust filter can be rinsed in water should they need a thorough cleaning, and the HEPA filter never needs to be replaced or cleaned. This, and the fact that the CX1 is a bagless unit, helps to minimize operating costs.

SEALED SYSTEM
Coupled with top-notch filtration, the CX1 also sports a sealed system. This ensures that no unfiltered air leaks out through poor seals in the vacuum body and no air bypasses the filters. This kind of system makes certain that only properly filtered air exits the vacuum cleaner. Many other vacuum cleaners highlight the fact that they have a HEPA filter but they do not have a sealed system. This halfhearted approach does not always allow the HEPA filter to do its job and often results in overall poor filtration despite the high efficiency filter.

POWER CORD
Miele often provides “cleaning radius” statistics as opposed to power cord length. Cleaning radius should (predominantly) include the length of the power cord, hose and wand. The Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction has, according to Miele, a cleaning radius of 33 feet. A little digging reveals that the unit has a 21 foot power cord.

The power cord on the CX1 is also retractable. A button (foot pedal) on the canister body initiates the automatic rewind and the power cord is pulled into the vacuum body at a constant speed. Owners love this feature. Wrapping power cords in not a popular pastime.

TOOLS
- Dusting Brush
- Crevice Tool
- Upholstery Tool

The vacuum comes with three tools. One of the tools, the dusting brush, is integrated into the vacuum handle. It slides forward to engage and can be slid back up when you are not using it (see image below). Some folks like this approach but a number do not. One drawback is that the dusting brush cannot be detached from the handle, so it cannot be used at the end of the wand like the other two tools can.

The crevice tool and the upholstery tool are not integrated and two inserts on the back of the vacuum provide on-board storage space. These tools can be attached to the end of the handle or the end of the wand.

It should be noted that neither the hose nor the wand of this vacuum carry electricity so no power tools or floorheads can be used with the Pure Suction.

CANISTER MOBILITY
The vacuum canister sits on four swivel casters which provide stability. Each caster is capable of turning a full 360 degrees and this allows the unit to track very well behind you as you move. The caster are also rubberized to ensure no scuffing or marring of floor surfaces.

WARRANTY
The Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction carries a 7-year limited manufacturer's warranty on the body and the motor, and a 1-year limited manufacturer’s warranty on the rest of the vacuum cleaner.

VACUUM CLEANER MANUAL
The operating manual is in English, French and Spanish. It covers the basics including preparing to use the vacuum, operating the vacuum, maintenance, troubleshooting, warranty, and contact information. As mentioned this document is rather basic and does not provide a lot of detail. You can see a copy of the manual here: Miele Blizzard CX1 Pure Suction Manual