Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua review

What if you could also mop your floor with a vacuum cleaner? This may sound too good to be true, but it is possible from now on. The new Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua is equipped with a special mopping nozzle, with which you can vacuum and mop in one movement.

To check how well this works, I bought this stick vacuum with a mopping function. In this extensive Philips Speedpro Max Aqua review I discuss my experience with this vacuum cleaner.

Unboxing Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua

There are different versions of the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua. For my review I chose the entry-level model, the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua FC6904/01 to be precise. See below what I discover in the packaging.

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1. Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua: the stozfuiger itself, equipped with a battery and dust container
2. Brush with mop accessory: a floor brush with mop function (with water tank)
3. Floor brush: a floor brush with LED lighting that sucks up dirt from all sides
4. Mini Turbo Brush: Motorized Mini Pet Hair Brush
5. Vacuum cleaner rod: vacuum cleaner rod with fold-out dusting brush
6. Extra filter: an extra washable filter
7. Wall holder: to hang the vacuum cleaner against the wall
8. 4 microfibre pads: two soft and two extra soft microfibre pads for the mop accessory
9. Charging cable: a magnetic charging cable. This can be integrated with the wall holder (7), so that you can store and charge the vacuum cleaner at the same time.
10. Screws and plugs: with these you can mount the wall holder (7) against the wall

Suction performance of the Philips Speedpro Max Aqua

Now that we know which accessories we get with the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua, it's good to test the suction performance. Since we are dealing here with a stick vacuum cleaner with a mop function, I also test the mop function of the vacuum cleaner.

Suction performance (wooden) hard floors, carpet and pet hair

The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua comes with two different floor brushes: a suction nozzle with a mopping function and a multi-surface brush. The floor brushes are suitable for different floor types. Mopping is only possible on hard floors.

For the test on wooden floors I used the multi-surface brush. The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua has no problem with small and large dirt. Everything is neatly vacuumed, and thanks to the 360-degree floor brush, dirt that is pushed aside is also vacuumed up. The floor brush is not as soft as a parquet brush, so it scores less well on the degree of protection.

Everything is neatly vacuumed, and thanks to the 360-degree floor brush, dirt that is pushed aside is also vacuumed up.

The stick vacuum cleaner also has no problem on carpet (high-pile and low-pile carpet). Different sizes of dirt are vacuumed up without any problems. Thanks to the motorized roller brush, the carpet is cleaned deep into the fibres.

This stick vacuum is very suitable for pet hair. Not only is the combi brush motorized, you also get a motorized mini turbo brush. With this you can easily vacuum dog and cat hair from furniture.

• Hardwood floors: 7/10
• Carpet: 7/10
• Pet hair: 8/10

Extra: mopping function test

We are dealing with a stick vacuum that you can also mop with. I'm really curious if this really works that well. The mop accessory is located behind the suction brush, so you first vacuum the dirt, after which you mop with a wet microfibre pad. View the underside of the floor brush with mopping function below.

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Contrary to what I thought, you cannot vacuum damp dirt with the vacuum cleaner. So it's just about being able to mop the floor. On the left of the mop accessory you will discover a button that you can operate with your foot: with this you ensure that the microfibre pad becomes damp when you encounter a dirty spot on the floor.

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I really like the mopping and vacuuming in one movement: it works super easy and you can immediately take action if you come across a dirty spot on the floor. Normally you have to do this after vacuuming, which you quickly forget. This functionality is particularly interesting on dark floors: fine dust can become visible on the floor during vacuuming, which is immediately removed with a wipe of a damp microfibre cloth.

Don't you have to mop? Then you can simply click the mopping accessory off the floor brush or, of course, use the multi-surface brush.

Suction power and airflow test

In addition to the suction performance on specific floor types, I always test the suction power and airflow of the vacuum cleaner. These measurements make it possible for me to compare the suction power of vacuum cleaners in a valuable way. And that in turn makes it possible to discover the best powerful vacuum cleaner.

The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua has a suction power of 5 kilopascals (kPa) in normal mode. In turbo mode, the vacuum cleaner has a suction power of about 7 kPa. This makes the vacuum cleaner comparable to the Dyson V8 in terms of suction power.

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The vacuum cleaner's airflow is 13.2 meters per second in normal mode and 19.6 meters per second in turbo mode. This airflow is comparable to most stick vacuums I've tested.

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User-friendliness of the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua

The user-friendliness of a vacuum cleaner is a broad concept. For example, the noise level and weight of the vacuum cleaner play an important role in assessing user-friendliness.

I test the following factors for the user-friendliness of the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua:

• Versatility
• Weight
• battery life
• Noise level

Versatility: suitable for all floors and pet hair

When unboxing the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua FC6904, I already discovered several floor brushes. The vacuum cleaner is suitable for any floor type and thanks to the included mini brush you can also vacuum smaller surfaces well. The vacuum cleaner rod is equipped with an integrated dusting brush, which you can easily fold out. This also allows you to vacuum the ceiling.

Weight: a lightweight vacuum cleaner

We are dealing with a cordless vacuum cleaner, which you have to wear in its entirety. This makes the weight an important factor in determining the user-friendliness: if a vacuum cleaner is too heavy, it is less easy to vacuum with it.

I always measure the weight with the vacuum cleaner rod and the floor brush included: after all, this is how you will use the stick vacuum most often. Philips reports that the vacuum cleaner weighs 2.7 kilograms and that appears to correspond with my test: I measure 2.71 kilograms (5.975 lbs).

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Although it is not the best lightweight vacuum cleaner (the Dyson Micro 1.5kg weighs almost half) it is still not a heavy vacuum cleaner.

Battery life and charging time

The Philips SpeedPro Aqua has a battery with a maximum battery life of 75 minutes. However, the average battery life is about 60 minutes. I fully charged the vacuum cleaner and then left it on to find out how long the battery life actually is. The vacuum cleaner lasted for 65 minutes. With this I speak of an extremely long battery life!

I fully charged the vacuum cleaner and then left it on to find out how long the battery life actually is

If you use the vacuum cleaner in the turbo mode, you can vacuum for 16 minutes. This is considerably longer than other stick vacuums with a turbo function. The vacuum cleaner needs about 5 hours to fully charge the battery.

Charging cable with magnet

The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua comes with a charging cable that you can attach magnetically. One of the advantages of this is that the charging cable comes off easily and is less likely to break. The charging cable can be integrated into the wall holder, so you can always charge it when you store the vacuum cleaner.

Noise level of the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua

The noise level of a stick vacuum cleaner is in many cases a lot higher than other types of vacuum cleaners. This is mainly due to the fact that they are bagless vacuum cleaners. The noise test of the Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua comes out at 76 decibels. This is the noisiest stick vacuum I've tested.

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Do you think a low noise level is important? Then take a look at my research into the best quiet vacuum cleaner.

Maintenance of the stick vacuum with mopping function

“A vacuum cleaner that you can also mop with. That can only become a mess.” That was honestly my first thought when I saw this stick vacuum cleaner. Fortunately, this is all okay.

Refill and clean the mop accessory

The floor brush with mopping function is easy to refill (it reminded me a bit of refilling a Super Soaker). If you wish, you can put a small amount (maximum 3 milliliters) of cleaning agent in the water tank.

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Since we are dealing with water, limescale will also get into the mop accessory. To prevent this, you should descale it once a month. You can put the limescale cleaner with water in the mop accessory, after which you have to leave it for 12 hours. You can then empty it and rinse it, after which it is ready for use again.

You can easily wash and rinse the microfibre pad under the tap afterwards. You get three extra microfibre pads, so you never have to use a dirty one.

Cleaning the filter

A micro filter is used as an exhaust filter. This is located under the dust container and you can easily detach it. This is a washable filter that you can wash under the tap. Philips recommends doing this – just like the mop nozzle – about once a month.

Emptying the dust container

In the Philips Speedpro Max Aqua vs Dyson V11 comparison, it became clear that there is a somewhat smaller dust container. With a dust capacity of 1.58 gallon, you will have to empty the vacuum cleaner after vacuuming about two or three times. This of course depends on how much you vacuum.

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Emptying the vacuum cleaner is simple, but less suitable for people who quickly suffer from an allergic reaction. Unlike Dyson vacuum cleaners, for example, there is no ‘No touch' emptying mechanism. You quickly come into contact with dust and dirt.

Conclusion: Philips Speedpro Max Aqua review

The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua pleasantly surprised me. I clearly see the added value of going over the floor with a damp microfibre cloth immediately after vacuuming. With a simple push of a button you can immediately remove dirty stains that you encounter while vacuuming.

As I mentioned earlier, I had my doubts about the maintenance of the vacuum cleaner, which in the end seems to be not that bad. the mop accessory is easy to fill and empty, and thanks to the additional microfibre cloths supplied, you will never go wrong.

The vacuum cleaner is less suitable for people who quickly suffer from an allergic reaction, because I do not detect a HEPA filter and it is best to quickly come into contact with dust and dirt while emptying the vacuum cleaner.

Thanks to the included accessories, it is a versatile vacuum cleaner. The Philips SpeedPro Max Aqua is also suitable for removing pet hair: this can easily be done with the multi-surface brush or the mini turbo brush, both of which have a motorized brush.