I test a LOT of vacuums; dozens each year. It’s fun because it means I get to have a pretty clean house at all times. But even right after vacuuming, there’s two little critters in my home that mean there’s always another vacuuming job around the corner. That’s why I was very interested in the promise of the Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree. This vacuum has a few neat features and key among them is that it’s designed for homes with pets. Not only does it double as both a portable cord free stick vacuum, but it converts to a handheld too. Plus with its new more elegant design and freestanding auto-empty tower it seems to check a few more boxes. And even more interesting is that it comes with a special attachment that lets you vacuum up the pet hair before it even leaves the pet! In this hands-on review in my home I will try out the vacuum to see what it’s like to use, how well it cleans, and what my pets thought of the comb and vacuum attachment. I’ll add up the pros and cons and see if this new vacuum concept might be for you.
Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree
Summary
The vacuum turns out to be a surprisingly lightweight champ and the included FurFree Kit will be a welcome add-on for pets that love grooming.
Pros
- Overall design is attractive
- Very versatile; both a stick vacuum and a handheld
- FurFree pet kit for pet grooming
- Battery charges when on it’s base
- Self emptying dust bin needs no bags
- Cleans really well on both carpet and hard floors
Cons
- Nowhere to store FurFree pet kit
About the Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree
The Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree is a variant of Tineco’s Pure ONE Station flagship vacuum announced back in February. Both vacuums actually have the same specs which means they are equally capable of vacuuming pet hair, but the FurFree model uses a navy colour instead of a white design.
What makes the FurFree version special is the two additional accessories that come in the box. More on that in a sec…
Retailing at $799 USD / $999 CAD, the Pure ONE Station FurFree is currently the most expensive Tineco product in the “Smart Vacuum” series. Tineco’s smart vacuums are strictly dry vacuums that can intelligently apply the appropriate suction power depending on the dirt it detects thanks to some special sensors. This approach balances power efficiency with cleaning performance.
Unlike the cheaper Tineco Pure ONE vacuums in the S-series, the Pure ONE Station models come with a docking station called the OmniHub which charges the vacuum and unloads the dust.
What’s in the Box?
The Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree comes with the stick vacuum itself along with a ZeroTangle power brush, mini power brush, 2-in-1 crevice tool, and a pair of maintenance tools. Exclusive to the FurFree model is the 2-piece FurFree Kit which consists of a pet grooming brush and an extension hose.
The package also comes with three separate components of the OnmiHub – the docking base, dustbin module, and upper part.
The FurFree Experience
Unlike the Tineco Pure ONE Air Pet, the Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree is a vacuum strictly for pet owners. As I mentioned before, most vacuum manufacturers put a “pet” or “animal” label on their models to highlight their specialty in eliminating pet hair without tangling the roller brush. However, this FurFree model focuses on pet grooming with the included kit.
To try it out, dock the vacuum and remove the stick attachment. Attach the hose to the vacuum while it’s in the dock and connect the other end with the grooming brush. Then press the dedicated Pet Grooming button to activate the feature and comb your pet’s hair.
When turned on the vacuum operates at a much quieter level and with lower section than it does when it’s doing regular vacuuming. This helps to make the vacuuming less frightening for your pet. With that said, you’re going to want an awful lot of biscuits, some praise, and ideally a day or two of simply brushing your pet with the Tineco pet brush just to acclimatize them to the experience. While our labrador cross Kica was up for a brief grooming, she had her feel quickly enough. And skittish little Rainie was getting nowhere near FurFree.
The brush has a nifty trigger which helps collect the hair and cleanly dispose it in the docking station’s bin.
The OmniHub Clean Station
On the topic let’s get a closer look at the docking station.
You’ll need to set aside some space in your home because the OmniHub Clean Station when fully assembled is quite tall but it’s not bulky and doesn’t actually have a large footprint.
The 3-liter eco dustbin doesn’t rely on disposable bags and is large enough to hold about two months’ worth of pet hair, dust, and debris. But the real magic of this station is how well it knows how to take care of itself and the stick vacuum.
Whenever you charge the vacuum with the station, the OmniHub checks the state of the vacuum’s bin and brush and decides on the intensity of the cleaning and auto-emptying operation across three levels. Basically, the station sucks away the bin dry and then clears the extension tube all the way down to the end of the brush head. Once the station accumulates enough dust and debris, you can easily take the bin out with the release button and use the latch to open up the bottom of the bin for emptying hands-free into your garbage.
Tineco recommends you wash the mesh filter every year and clean the HEPA filter every two years, but the OmniHub takes care of the tedious stuff.
Vacuum Stick Design
Let’s get to know the vacuum.
Weighing just 2.79 pounds, this Pure ONE vacuum is so much lighter than the massive 7-pound Tineco Pure ONE S15. That weight difference really helps not only with floor vacuuming but also handheld vacuuming when you remove the extension tube. Tineco achieved this by making a couple of sweeping changes to the vacuum’s overall design.
The vacuum has a smaller 0.3-liter dust capacity than the Pure ONE S15 but that smaller onboard dust bin shouldn’t be an issue because each time you put it back for storage and recharging it will automatically empty itself.
Cleaning tests
After I get a new vacuum to test I try it out in several ways. I will just keep it in the house and use it for a week or two to see what it’s like and how convenient it might be. With this one I found that the small footprint of the base station meant I was able to keep it in the kitchen. That allowed it to be very handy and I found myself grabbing it frequently to keep the kitchen and dining room tidy.
Whenever I test out a vacuum I also run it through a series of more intensive tests. I will check out how well it vacuums everything from finer flour or cornmeal, to middle sized bits like rice or oats, and then larger cracker crumbs and cracker pieces on both carpet and hard floors.
I have to say I was blown away by how powerful and effective this vacuum is. On carpet it was able to suck up absolutely every grain of all of my test spills. It got most of them on the first pass and only in rare cases did I need to go over the area again. When it comes to getting things off hard floors, it was equally adept. It had no problem tackling fine cornmeal, and it was even able to inhale all of the rolly grains of rice I set out, in a single go, and often this spill can and does trip up some vacuums.
I tested the handheld on things like the sofa, dog bed and furniture. In each case it’s light, maneuverable and easy to use handheld, so I found myself reaching for it again and again.
Battery & charging
The battery is also no longer removable which helps reduce weight while offering room for a bigger 4,000mAh battery. Although I have battery lifespan concerns with this approach, Tineco did state that this built-in pouch cell battery can withstand more charging cycles while minimizing battery degradation according to their internal lab tests.
At the lowest setting, you can use the Tineco Pure ONE FurFree vacuum for about an hour. Setting it on high power or Max Mode will only get you about 15-20 minutes. That shouldn’t be a problem though because it’s going to get a full recharge when you put it back.
Auto Mode
The real value of a vacuum’s runtime lies in its auto mode.
The auto mode utilizes the vacuum’s built-in Tineco iLoop Smart Sensor which dynamically adjusts the suction power based on the dirt and debris it detects, you can see the feature in action just by looking at the Dust Monitoring Loop indicator on the digital display. This indicator will stay blue when it doesn’t detect anything and gradually switch to red depending on the amount of dirt present. The average runtime in this mode really depends on how messy your floors are.
Other floor vacuums may have better runtimes, but don’t forget how heavy most of those vacuums are.
Overall Thoughts: Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree
Overall, Tineco Pure ONE FurFree looks a bit deceiving because when docked with the OmniHub, the whole package seem bigger than it needs to be, but the truth is with the elegant docking and charging station, and the relatively small footprint, its a vacuum I’ll be happy about leaving out in plain sight. The vacuum turns out to be a surprisingly lightweight champ and the included FurFree Kit will be a welcome add-on for pets that love grooming.
Let’s cover the pros and cons…
On the pro side, the overall design is really attractive and you wouldn’t be ashamed to leave this out with company coming over. The fact you get both a stick vacuum and a handheld makes it very versatile, and the addition of the FurFree pet kit will definitely be a boon to some pet owners. The battery seems to last long enough for me to clean my house, and since it rests on its charging base when not in use it’s always ready to go with a full battery. I like the fact that all the attachments connect seamlessly to the base station. Plus I love the fact that it will empty the vacuum dust bin, clean out the extension tube and even run the roller brushes in the cleaner head to make sure everything is ready for a fresh start. Plus with no need to buy extra dustbags for the OmniHub’s dustbin, I’m saving both money and added waste. And the cherry on top is that it has great vacuum power and cleans really well on both carpet and hard floors.
What are the downsides? There’s not a lot that’s giving me pause/paws on this one. Pun intended. I do understand that for some folks the tall narrow base station may not fit into every space, but I think Tineco has done its best to make this Station not only attractive but compact as well. I suppose my biggest dislike with this is that there is really nowhere to store the FurFree kit. While Tineco does include a drawstring storage bag that holds the tube and brush handle, and I was able to loop it over the back of the station, it’s not the most attractive presentation.
Even so I can absolutely recommend the Tineco Pure ONE FurFree vacuum for you. It sells for about $999 CAD/799 USD though I have recently seen it on sale for far less. Plus, if you don’t need the FurFree kit, you can save a bunch of money, and go for the original Pure ONE Station.
The Tineco Pure ONE FurFree offers a lot out of the box and can throw some smart punches while effectively undercutting most competitors in both weight and price. With the OmniHub, you get those cool maintenance-free luxuries that used to be exclusive for robot vacuums!
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