Hoover HF500 Pet vacuum cleaner review

The model tested here is the Pet, which costs a little more and comes with a motorised tool designed specifically to tackle pet hair, but which is also useful on fluff, feathers and lint.

This won’t compete with the top-end models from the competition when it comes to pure suction power, but you can expect it to have enough oomph to leave floors, of varying types, clean and clear. And with a faster charging time over the previous model, this gets you back up to full, faster – or lets you swap out batteries for even longer use.

You may, however, find the dust capacity a little low as that could be your reason for stopping mid-vacuum.

When we review cordless vacuum cleaners, we do so across a range of methods and testing types. That includes rigorous and specific tests in our lab, before testing in real-world situations, at home and over a longer period.

Vacuums are tested across a range of flooring types to assess how performance varies in different situations, from hard floors and carpet, to stairs, cars and more.

Battery life is also an important testing point when it comes to cordless stick vacuums. Run times are measured across rooms, floors, entire properties, and how a single charge lasts and how long it takes to recharge. 

Suction is an important metric, too. Vacuums are tested to pick up coarse and fine materials, including sand, dust, hair, and more. How it picks these particles up across various surfaces, and from crevices, around edges, and working from various angles, are all taken into consideration. 

Bin capacity is another area we look at. In the case of stick vacuums, that means how much they can store in an onboard bin, but also how far it will get you in real-world use before you need to stop for an empty.

The Hoover HF500 Pet is an attractive vacuum with a brushed metallic finish on the angular shaft, which looks great in the electric blue colour. But what makes it stand out is its compact form. Not only is this light, at 2.5kg (5.5lb) – which makes it ideal for those with limited wrist or arm strength – it’s also easy to store.

This model is designed to be compact enough to store in a standard 72cm (28in) high kitchen cupboard. Since the battery can be removed to charge anywhere convenient, this is a genuinely useful design feature that allows you to keep the vacuum tucked away in your home.

Heads are easy to swap out and click reassuringly into place, with a feel that is premium and clearly made to last. The fact you can slide attachments over the down tube, for quick and easy access when vacuuming, does help to make the process easier when changing tools. 

The LED light at the head of the vacuum is helpful for seeing dirt under cupboards or at night. There is also an LED alert light on the vacuum, which lets you know when the filter requires a wash, a helpful feature for maintaining maximum efficiency.

The bin capacity is one of the smaller ones in the stick vacuum category, at just 0.45 l (just under a pint). That said, it does keep this light and compact while only being a little less than a lot of the competition, at 0.5 l for many, and at 1 l for the largest, the Henry Quick.

The Hoover HF500 is very easy to remove from the box and set up to get started; there are just a few pieces to clip together and you can start vacuuming right away.

As with all these types of models, you can install a mount if you want to dock this upright on your wall. That said, the charger plugs into the battery directly, so the drop in to charge style that some of the competition offer – yes, Dyson – isn’t a feature here. But, on the plus side, you can store this anywhere, even without a power socket nearby.

The handle is very ergonomically designed, meaning it feels super comfy in the hand with a smooth finish to the handle section. The weight is also well placed, with a light head that twists and moves with great sensitivity – in fact it takes a bit of getting used to initially, as you can move it with the slightest wrist twist. 

Crucially, there is no power trigger to hold down, making it one of the best cordless vacuums for those with finger strength challenges. What it does have is an on-off touch control power button. While this is easy to use and lights up so you know it’s on, you may find yourself touching it accidentally when vacuuming, meaning that you then need to power on again. This, again, is something that just takes a little getting used to. 

There are also turbo and carpet touch control light-up buttons to adjust power and head brush use as needed. The ability to turn the brush head on and off with ease is a really useful feature, especially if you have longer-pile carpets or light rugs that might otherwise cause sticking or pulling issues.

This vacuum stands out as a handheld, as you can easily swap out tools to make it even smaller for use on pet beds, in cars, on stairs and curtains, and more.

It is super lightweight and, again, very easy to manipulate with minimal movements of your wrist. Yes, this has smaller dust and power capacity than other models, but for light ease you’re getting that benefit here.

When it comes to raw suction power, you will find that the Hoover HF500 isn’t as powerful as many other models out there, even similarly priced ones.

That said, there is enough power to get most areas clean across an average sized three-bedroom house, it might just take a few more passes than more powerful models.

In our lab testing we found that the rotating brush head did well, specifically in our coffee test to get up all the granules – but it struggled with the lighter sand test. In each case, when finished, the head was lifted and some left-over grounds or sand fell out onto the floor. This appeared to be due to blockages, which were noted in the hair and wool tests. 

With the latter, the majority was sucked up, but there was some blockage at the back of the head that runs up to the stick and at the collection chamber entrance.

When power was turned up this was less of an issue, and when tested on deep-pile carpets it didn’t happen at all – perhaps due to a better suction seal against the carpet. Even then, the best results, when used on turbo mode, was that 87% of debris was collected.

In our edging test, where the front edge and vinyl edges are tested, as well as crevices in-between tiles, the vacuum performed poorly – unable to pick up much of the debris at all.

That said, when it does fill up it happens fast, especially with pet hair. So you may find you need to stop to empty the bin, even before the battery has run out. Since the emptying process is a little fiddly, and requires shaking and sometimes a supplied tool to drag out stuck hair, it’s not something you’d want to do often.

As a pet vacuum, this model performed well, with very little to no hair tangling or collecting when tested on carpets. On hard floors, there was some wool and hair found between the comb bar behind the roller. In these cases it was easily removed without the need to use scissors.

All that said, in real-world testing – with a moult-heavy German Sheperd – there was little to no hair stuck on the roller, a feat even some Dysons failed to achieve.

This review model was supplied with a single battery, which appears to be the only option when buying from Hoover. This isn’t ideal as the battery lasted 29 minutes in a charge, at best, in our testing.

This might be enough to zip around a three-bedroom home, very quickly. But since the suction isn’t the best, you will likely need to be using the turbo mode a lot of the time and still need to take several time-consuming passes. 

All that means you may need to invest in a second battery, since swapping out is a positive feature for this vacuum. There is an LED alert that blinks red when you have 10% power left, which isn’t a lot of notice, and before that alert, you simply have to guess – so, not ideal.

By having two batteries, this would offer enough power to cover most situations. Just keep in mind you will need to swap out batteries to make sure both are charged for next use. Either that, or invest in a second charger so you can leave both to power up when you’ve finished vacuuming. While these do charge pretty quickly, at a little over two hours, they’re still too slow to get a longer job done in one pass quickly.

While replacement batteries cannot be bought on the Hoover site, you can pick one up for £69.99 from Amazon.

The Hoover HF500 Pet, when at the reduced price, does offer a high-quality design with some useful features at a relatively low price. You get a premium-build quality, which is backed by a three-year warranty.

That said, you may have to consider investing in a second battery, and potentially another charger, to get the most out of this when used in larger homes, or if you think it will take you more than 29 minutes to get your home clean.

Keep in mind it performed better on carpets, so if your home is mainly carpeted, you may be fine with a single battery. But for homes with more hard floors, it could take you longer.

This cleaner doesn’t require bags, which means you won’t have to consider any ongoing expenses with this model. While it financially undercuts most of the competition – from the likes of Dyson Gen5 Detect, Shark and the Hetty Quick – it also performs less powerfully.

What you get here is a far lighter and easy to use vacuum that’s great value for anyone who wants to keep storage to a minimum, or has issues with mobility, which this easy to use model could help with. 

This vacuum undercuts a lot of the competition on price, but if you compare it with other pet-specific models, it does come up short on pure suction power. That said, its ability to avoid being blocking with hair, and the ease of clearing when any does collect, makes its a useful pet-specific tool.

The more premium Shark Stratos also offers technology suited to pet hair vacuuming. Its anti-wrap tech keeps the hair in the dust bin rather than on the brush heads. Plus it offers a rather unique air freshener feature that actively makes your home smell better, even with more hirsute pets in residence.

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Shark Stratos IZ400UK Anti Hair Wrap Plus cordless vacuum

RRP: £449.99

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The Hetty Quick is a heavier model but offers a lot more storage capacity, and longer battery life, and works across different floor types well – including for taking on pet hair. While this model costs a little more and requires the ongoing bag replacement cost, it does mean keeping allergens at bay and dust contained when emptying – something the Hoover HF500 struggles with.

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Hetty Quick

RRP: £249.99

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The Hoover HF500 Pet is ideal for anyone who wants a lightweight and easy to use vacuum, with an on-off button rather than a power trigger. It works well for anyone with movement issues, and offers super sensitive movement capabilities for accurate cleaning with ease. The storage friendly design also makes it perfect for keeping tucked away in a cupboard without taking up too much storage space.

However, due to below average suction power and battery life, it does involve taking a little longer when cleaning than some of the competition. If you’re in no rush, or don’t mind buying an extra battery, then this vacuum can keep up with most homes of varying sizes and with different floor types. 

This is built to tackle pet hair, and the roller head remains largely clear – even with majorly moulting mutts making mess.