Henry, Charles & Harry Hoovers

Henry, Charles & Harry

Numatic names its machines rather than numbering them, and each name is a different specification rather than a colour change, which is the thing people most often get wrong. Henry is the standard cylinder vacuum and the one most households mean when they say the name: bagged, corded, exceptionally durable and built around a long cable and a large capacity drum, which is why it turns up on building sites and in offices as often as in homes. Harry is the pet version, adding filtration and a brush arrangement suited to animal hair. Charles is the wet and dry machine, and this is the genuinely important distinction because it is the only one of the three that can safely pick up liquid: a flooded utility room, a car footwell or a workshop spill will destroy a dry-only vacuum. Never use Henry or Harry on water. Capacity is quoted in litres for the wet and dry model and reflects the drum rather than the bag. All of these are bagged machines, and that is a deliberate design choice rather than a compromise: emptying is cleaner because dust stays sealed in the bag, and filtration is better, but bags are a running cost so it is worth keeping spares. Microfibre bags hold more and filter finer than paper.

Numatic supplies the range. The Henry HVR200 covers standard dry vacuuming, the Harry HHR200 in green is the pet version, and the Charles CVC370 at 15 litre handles wet and dry. Replacement microfibre HEPA bags are stocked in a 10 pack and microfibre bags in a 5 pack, both fitting Henry, Hetty and other Numatic machines. For bags across other brands see Vacuum Bags, and for the wider range Vacuum Cleaners.