Celebrating Mom Finale: Hoover WindTunnel Air Bagless Upright Vacuum {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, dropastitch!}

When I was younger, my idea of a great gift was fashionable clothing, jewelry, electronics, etc... pretty much something lavish and fun.

Interesting how the times have changed, isn't it? Now that I'm a homeowner, wife, and mother, I enjoy those luxury items but really focus more on practical gifts. Things like kitchen appliances, home decor, and items for my kids are on the top of my list for Mother's Day this year. Pretty much as long as it is great quality and can make my life easier, then I'm all for it.

And having a long lasting, easy to use, extremely lightweight, versatile vacuum cleaner to rid my house of the dirt, dust, and crumbs that are continually appearing? That must mean that Mother's Day came early in the form of the WindTunnel Air bagless upright from Hoover.

A leader in the floor-care industry and known for manufacturing quality, high-performance vacuum cleaners for home and commercial settings, year after year Hoover continues to set the highest standard of clean.

Offering a complete line of machines for general and special-purpose vacuuming, Hoover has everything from full-size uprights and canisters to deep cleaners to hard-floor cleaners and more. Their patented technology and modern designs have been seen before, but with the introduction of the WindTunnel Air I knew I would now have a way to get my home clean quickly and easily and get back to what was really important in my life.

The first thing I noticed when pulling the WindTunnel Air out of the box was that it was nearly fully assembled, something that I definitely appreciated. Knowing that I wasn't going to have to spend a great deal of time (or any amount, really) sifting through an instruction manual to get things put together was a welcome realization.

After sliding the telescopic handle into the base with a click and connecting the built-in hose to the brush, I was ready to put this vacuum to the test.

Before I even had the WindTunnel Air turned on, I noticed how great it was that the handle can be adjusted to such a varying degree of heights. Not only does that come in handy when it is being used as a wand to reach up or on places, but it makes it possible so that users of varying heights can have a custom fit in seconds.

Hitting the power button, I was struck just what Hoover meant when they deemed this vacuum lightweight. Even though the WindTunnel Air is still a full-size bagless upright, it weighs only 12 pounds. That's it! It glides smoothly and effortlessly and even after cleaning room after room, you aren't left feeling worn out or exhausted from lugging it around.

And boy, can this vacuum clean everywhere! First, the body reclines all the way to the floor, meaning that I can reach under every table or piece of furniture much further that with a traditional upright... how in the world do so many crumbs get underneath the couch?

Second, switching over to use the built-in hose to clean the stairs or reach up high is a breeze with a few well-designed features that Hoover included. Simply unhook the hose from the base, pull the wand out from the handle, and clip the two together in seconds:

And not only does the wand reach plenty far on its own, but there is an innovative addition of an extra stair hose stored right on the side of the WindTunnel Air, giving you an extra, get this, 12 feet of extension.

Connecting the two hoses together is a snap and I can then clean my entire flight of stairs without having to carry the vacuum along with me. No more trying to get it propped in just the right place or lifting it from step to step!

Other intuitive features that Hoover thought to include are the convenient power and brushroll controls (easily located within reach), a durable handle on top of the dirt cup to make carrying up stairs easy, and a clear nozzle with no-scuff bumper. It's great being able to see right into the brush or cup to keep track of what is going in or might be stuck, as both my husband and I are notorious for sucking up things that we shouldn't.

When it comes time to clean out the dirt cup, that is also made easy by the convenient one-touch release of the cup from the stand. Just pop it off and bring it to the garbage can to let the dirt fall out the bottom and never worry about getting your hands into the debris.

Even though this is a lightweight vacuum, that doesn't mean that Hoover has skimped on the suction or the cleaning aspects as well. Their patented WindTunnel technology removes embedded dirt and minimizes blowback or scatter on the carpet and the multi-cylonic filtration system cleans the air by moving it through a high quality filter.

And this isn't a filter that you're going to have to constantly be spending more money for replacements, this lifetime HEPA filter can be easily removed and rinsed in the sink. I love a product with minimal maintenance!

The Hoover WindTunnel Air bagless upright is a great vacuum for small places and is plenty easy enough to push and use for anyone. The 30' cord and reclining base make going room to room simple and the addition of the extension wand, stair hose, crevice tool, and upholstery/dusting brush extend the reach and make it possible to get every nook and cranny clean.

With a retail price of $169.99 (available on Amazon or from retail locations near you), this vacuum has comparable features and performance to similar uprights that cost a considerable amount more. For all the power you need to get your floors clean, Hoover has invented a way to give peace of mind that you are getting your home truly clean without spending unnecessary time and effort.

This Mother's Day, give Mom a high quality gift that she'll appreciate for years to come. Or, better yet, give her a helper to do the work for her so that she can really enjoy some free time...

Thanks to the generosity of Hoover, this spring one person will also be able to see just how easy a 12 pound vacuum can be to use and how clean their house can be with it, because...

One very lucky A Mom's Balancing Act and Thanks, Mail Carrier reader is going to win a Hoover WindTunnel Air bagless upright vacuum!*

*There will be one winner drawn from the compilation of all of the entries on both blogs. Be sure to enter both places to increase your chances!

To enter to win: Visit Hoover and tell me another of their amazing products that you would like to own.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry if you head over to A Mom's Balancing Act and enter to win this Hoover WindTunnel Air bagless upright vacuum over there as well!
1 Extra Entry if you follow Hoover on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook.
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the Celebrating Mom giveaways (Celebrating Mom giveaways ONLY) running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Celebrating Mom Finale: WIN a Hoover WindTunnel Air Upright Vacuum (ARV $170) from #thxmailcarrier & #momsbalancingact http://bit.ly/eXlLYN!

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you have our Celebrating Mom button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on May 13th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Hoover for providing a WindTunnel Air for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner from the entries here and on A Mom's Balancing Act. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.