Philips Aquatrio 9000 Series review

Philips recently announced a new stick vacuum that you can also mop with: the Philips AquaTrio 9000 series. It is not the first stick vacuum with a mopping function from Philips, but it is the first that can clean itself.

I have decided to buy this new stick vacuum and test it extensively. Because, does that self-cleaning system really work that well? And how well can he vacuum and mop? Discover my experiences in this extensive Philips AquaTrio 9000 series review!

Unboxing Philips AquaTrio 9000 series

The huge box in which the Philips AquaTrio 9000 series arrives reveals enough: this is a vacuum cleaner with many accessories. And it shows when you put the entire contents on the floor. View in the photo below what you get with the AquaTrio 9000 series.

The complete contents of the package © Vacuumtester.com

1. Philips AquaTrio: the handle of the vacuum cleaner with the motor and battery
2. Vacuum cleaner rod for vacuuming: the normal vacuum cleaner rod
3. Vacuum cleaner rod for mopping: vacuum cleaner rod with water tank
4. Mopping brush: for vacuuming and mopping in one pass
5. Vacuum cleaner floor brush: for vacuuming only, with LED lighting
6. Mini Turbo Brush: a motorized mini brush for pet hair
7. Crevice tool: for vacuuming hard-to-reach places
8. Wall mount: for hanging and charging the vacuum cleaner
9. Floor cleaner: special floor cleaner with which you can mop
10. Maintenance brush: for cleaning the vacuum cleaner
11. Charging cable: for charging the battery
12. Storage station: for storing and cleaning the vacuum cleaner

It's good that you get the storage station included. This allows you to keep and store all accessories well together.

Suction performance: how well does the Philips AquaTrio vacuum and mop?

As the name suggests, we are dealing here with a stick vacuum cleaner with a mop function. The suction performance test therefore also includes a mopping performance test. Like every other vacuum cleaner review, I tested the vacuum on three floor types: hard wood floors, low-pile carpet and long-pile carpet. I use different dirt sizes and animal hairs to investigate the performance.

I tested the Philips AquaTrio on three floors with different dirt. © Vacuumtester.com

Performance on wood floors, carpet and pet hair

The Philips AquaTrio 9000 Series proves to be an extremely good choice for wooden floors. Especially if you also want to mop it. The floor brush that you can also mop with is equipped with two super soft roller brushes. This protects the floor well.

The mopping function makes me happy: finally a stick vacuum that can really mop, instead of a stick vacuum that sweeps wet cloth over the floor. Compared to the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua, for example, the AuqaTrio actually scrubs the floor. You can indicate yourself how much water is used by means of the control at the handle, instead of a pressure pump on the floor brush.

Compared to the Philips SpeedPro Aqua, for example, the AuqTrio actually scrubs the floor

You also have the choice to only vacuum: you can then switch to a vacuum cleaner rod with the normal floor brush. You can also vacuum properly on wooden floors with this: thanks to the LED lighting you can see the dirt well.

Both floor brushes work well on wooden floors © Vacuumtester.com

If you want to vacuum the carpet, you can transform the vacuum cleaner into a stick vacuum cleaner without a mopping function. The Philips AquaTrio performs very well on both high-pile and low-pile carpet. The dirt is removed well and the floor brush glides well over the carpet.

Do you have pets? Then I have good news for you. The floor brush is motorized: it effectively removes animal hairs from high- and low-pile carpet. The hair is, as it were, pulled along. And, as you just saw during the unboxing, you also get a mini turbo brush. With this you can easily make fabric furniture hair-free.

• Hardwood floors: 8/10
• Carpet: 7/10
• Pet Hair: 7.5/10

Suction power: suction power (kPa) and airflow (m/s)

In addition to the suction performance, I also research the suction power. In measures the suction power with a custom made vacuum tester in Kilopascal. This measurement makes it possible for me to compare different vacuum cleaners.

The Philips AquaTrio 9000 Series has a suction power of 4 kPa. This makes the number of kilopascals a lot lower than many other stick vacuums I've tested.

© Vacuumtester

In addition to the suction power, I also measure the airflow in meters per second. This Philips stick vacuum cleaner has an air speed of 25.8 meters per second. This is the stick vacuum with the highest airflow that I have ever measured. Only the Miele Triflex HX1 comes close at 23 meters per second.

The Airflow measurement of the Philips AquaTrio. © Vacuumtester.com

User-friendliness of the Philips AquaTrio

A big issue in my vacuum cleaner reviews is how user-friendly a vacuum cleaner is. In my opinion, the user-friendliness of a cordless stick vacuum is determined by the following factors:

• Versatility
• Maneuverability
• Weight
• Noise level
• Battery life

Versatility and agility

Thanks to the many accessories and the mopping function, the Philips AquaTrio is an extremely versatile vacuum cleaner. With the handle – thanks to the storage station – you can easily switch back and forth between a vacuum cleaner with or without a mop function.

With the handle – thanks to the storage station – you can easily switch back and forth between a vacuum cleaner with or without a mop function.

The vacuum cleaner itself is very manoeuvrable, which is mainly due to the flexible floor nozzle. This brush can make sharp turns and sucks up dirt in 360 degrees. Thanks to the LED lighting on the normal floor brush, you can see dirt on dark floors extra well and you are less likely to miss something.

Weight and noise level

In terms of weight, I had to weigh the vacuum cleaner twice. The vacuum cleaner with mopping function and the vacuum cleaner without mopping function. With the mop function I arrive at 4,225 kilograms (excluding water). The vacuum cleaner without mopping function (with normal vacuum cleaner rod and suction nozzle) weighs 3.25 kilograms.

The weight without mop function (l.) and with mop function (r.) © Vacuumtester.com

It is certainly not a lightweight vacuum cleaner. In fact: with a mop function, it is the heaviest stick vacuum I've ever tested.

The vacuum cleaner has a noise level of 66.9 decibels. This makes it a remarkably quiet stick vacuum!

Sound level measurement of the Philips upright vacuum cleaner. © Vacuumtester.com

Battery life: without and with mopping function

I am very satisfied with the battery life. Philips promises a battery life of 90 minutes if I use the vacuum cleaner in normal mode and use it without a mop function. There appears to be nothing wrong with that: I have left the stick vacuum cleaner on constantly and came out with a battery life of 92 minutes.

Do you use the vacuum cleaner with a mopping function? Even then you can vacuum for about 46 minutes. Philips gives an indication of 50 minutes and that comes pretty close.

What is also very nice is that you can check the battery life on the LCD screen.

Maintenance: Empty and clean Philips AquaTrio

A vacuum cleaner with a mopping function requires much more maintenance than a ‘normal stick vacuum cleaner'. For example, you have to deal with a water reservoir and a floor brush that gets wet while vacuuming.

Emptying the dust container

The dust container has a dust capacity of 0.4 liters. That means you will have to empty it after every use. I find emptying the dust container a bit cumbersome: you first have to remove the vacuum cleaner rod, then the handle and then the filter. Only then can you empty the dust container above the trash can.

Emptying and filling the water tank

If I look at the water reservoir, it's a lot easier. You can easily click this off the vacuum cleaner rod, after which you can fill it under the tap. You can use a special floor cleaner – which you get with it – for the best cleaning result. Emptying the water collection container is also easy: you can also click it off the vacuum cleaner rod, after which you can empty it.

Filling and emptying the water tank is easy © Vacuumtester.com

Cleaning: self-cleaning brush and washable filter

As I mentioned earlier, this stick vacuum is equipped with a self-cleaning system. When you put the vacuum cleaner in the storage station, you have the option to start a cleaning process. The mopping brush will then clean itself. It goes like this:

• Place the Philips AquaTrio 9000 in the storage system
• Empty and replace the water collection container
• Fill the water tank to the correct level and replace it
• Click on the round button to start AutoClean (takes about 4 minutes)
• Empty the water container and rinse it well
• Let it dry well before putting it back

You can use the maintenance brush to unscrew the roller brushes from the mop nozzle and let them dry in the storage station.

The Philips AquaTrio can clean itself with Auto Clean. © Vacuumtester.com

Conclusie Philips AquaTrio review

The Philips AquaTrio is a very interesting stick vacuum with a mopping function. Thanks to the storage station (which unfortunately takes up a lot of space), you can easily switch between with or without a mop function. Handy for homes where there is also a lot of carpet on the floor.

In terms of suction power and suction performance, the AquaTrio 9000 series scores very well. Also in terms of versatility: thanks to the many additional accessories and the possibility to mop, it is a very versatile vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner, on the other hand, is a bit on the heavy side: with more than 4 kilograms, vacuuming can feel heavy. The price is also a bit on the high side, but for this you get a very versatile vacuum cleaner that you can use for everything.