Dyson is definitely king of the hill when it comes to innovation in vacuum cleaner tech, but a company by the name of Zenith Technologies is giving them a run for their money with Soniclean; a new vacuum that boasts a number of high-tech features that allegedly boost its cleaning power.
First and foremost, Soniclean vacuums incorporate a patented sonic bar situated just behind the roller brush. Apparently, this thing beams out super high-frequency vibrations designed to penetrate deep into your carpet and help loosen dirt and other gunk particles before they’re sucked up into the machine. It sounds vaguely similar to the way a sonic toothbrush supposedly breaks up plaque when you brush your teeth, just scaled up and hooked to a suction tube.
In addition to the sonic dirt-destroyer tech, Soniclean is also ridiculously lightweight, tipping the scales at just over ten pounds. Inventor Mark Bosses claims he and his team have built a specially-engineered intake chamber designed to minimize turbulence and increase efficiency, thereby allowing the machine’s 4.6 amp motor to achieve 30 percent more airflow than a 10-amp Dyson DC41 Multi-Floor. We can’t verify this objectively, but in the company’s infomercial, they show this off by sticking the machine on a wall, turning it on, and letting the suction hold it there.
Lastly – and perhaps the weirdest feature on the machine – is the fragrance dispenser. The vacuum is designed with a deodorizer pod just beneath the filter bag that releases the smell of freshly-folded laundry whenever you run the machine. We’re not sure if they sell it with other fragrances at this point, but we’d whip out our wallets in a split second if they made one that smells like bacon.
We haven’t had a chance to test it out for ourselves and see if the sonic cleaning tech is just a gimmick or not, but Popular Mechanics’ David Dunbar recently did a few informal tests of his own, and he was pleasantly surprised by how effective it was They tested the Soniclean against two other vacuums using cracker crumbs and oatmeal mix, and in each test it came out on top, but the other machines were admittedly much older. We’d be interested to see how this sucker performs compared to something current from Oreck or Dyson.
Despite all the high-tech bells and whistles, Soniclean’s biggest selling point is actually its price. The machine sells for just $200, which – assuming its as powerful as Zenith claims – is a steal.
Be sure to check back for our full review, but for the time being you can find out more here.
