Henry has to be the the world's most popular vacuum

Numatic's Henry has earned the right to be called the world’s most recognisable piece of janitorial equipment.

Even though he is referred to as “The Henry Hoover” it is critical from a marketing, branding and not getting sued angle to draw attention to the fact that Hoover is a trademark and not an actual product name.

Currently there are on average 40,000 search engine searches on the term Henry Hoover each month, this alone is proof, even though the Hoover group have nothing to do with with the name Henry, given how catchy it is, it seems to have been forced onto him.

We are unsure as to how many The Henry Hoover there are in out shores or how many homes even own onebut you’ll more often than not discover one under the stairs if you decide to have a nosey round. This draws focus to another great feature of the product, The Henry Hoover demands minimal “living space” and unlike an upright can be placed on top of other objects and stacked.

Many people like an upright cleaner; this personal preference is difficult to overcome. The most commonly cited reasons for this are that they uprights are more mobile and easier to push about. Traditionally hoovers in the design of Henry are clumsy, awkward and generally just difficult to use - it does not take much in the way of real effort to move Henry about and we have already highlighted how well put together and effective his wheels are so this point is really a non-issue!

His smiling red face makes this cleaner memorably yet the stocky and circular design really doesn't do Henry any favours as it makes him appear immobile and heavy which is not the case thanks to the carefully weighted wheels placed beneath him.

Numatic, the innovators of this popular vacuum, could be understandably angered that, because of the rhyming name, “Hoover” have become associated with this highly successful product. However, Henry Hoover’s success will no doubt ease this pain - as he has been a best seller since the '80s and, unlike almost any other product, if you search online you will be pressed to find even one negative review.

The usual add ons, accessories and bits and pieces you would expect to get with a vacuum are all included. There is a huge selection of nozzles suitable for most locations and surfaces (from soft curtains to filthy tiled industrial floors). A hi/lo switch in an easy to reach location on the handle also allows you to go easy on the especially delicate surfaces that you need to clean.

The price of the Henry varies hugely depending where you look, you can find shops online selling them for as low as £99 delivered next day or £70 delivered next day if you are happy to opt for a used model (although these still come with the usual guarantee if you use a reputable website such as Amazon).

We are in the process of sourcing a batch of Henry’s that we will be able to supply to you for considerably less than any other retail/website, however, this looks to be several months away. For the moment we would suggest you have a look at Amazon where new and used options are available.

Beware of “clicking through” on an Amazon affiliate banner on a third party website, there is no need to do this, just type the amazon URL in your browser, visit their site and pick up a Hoover. Keep checking back here for when we are able to supply as we hope to bring you the spares/bags and parts as well as the actual unit at a cost much lower than you have seen anywhere else online.

There are loads more information regarding the history and usefulness of Henry Hoover, have a search around to find out more about how such a simple product went viral.