Miele Duoflex HX1 Vacuum Review

The Miele DuoFlex HX1 Total Care feels very well-built. It's sturdy and uses higher-quality-feeling plastic compared to other stick vacuums from the manufacturer, like the Miele Triflex HX2 Pro/Cat & Dog. Moreover, this model trades in the plastic wand for a metal one, adding more rigidity to the construction and providing a more premium feel and finish. Other accessories, like the XL crevice nozzle and extension hose, feature a rubberized finish. The general design is also great. It's straightforward to remove the internal parts, like the pre-filter assembly, for cleaning, and a sliding switch makes it simple to detach different parts and accessories.

It's not perfect, however. The dustbin can't be removed from the rest of the PowerUnit, making it slightly annoying to deep clean. Similarly, the battery is more difficult to remove on this model than on the Triflex series models, as you need to use a flathead screwdriver. Finally, you lose the convenience of attaching the PowerUnit to the bottom vacuum like on the Triflex models, resulting in a top-heavy configuration.

The Miele Duoflex HX1 is quite easy to maintain, as the few parts that require regular servicing are readily accessible. There are a few quirks, however. The dustbin isn't removable, so you must use the included brush to clean it. Also, since the dustbin empties via a door on the bottom, it tends to create a dust cloud; this can be annoying for people with allergies or dust sensitivities. As you can't wash any of the filters with water, it can be a bit tricky to get rid of fine dust.

Otherwise, taking out hair from the brushroll is easy, as it's removable and includes an embossed groove for scissors. The pre-filter and fine dust filter assemblies are both removable, making them easy to clean.

For more information about maintenance tasks and the manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule, see the User Manual on Miele's website.

The only part that incurs recurring costs is the fine dust filter, which you must replace every three years. Though it's unavailable for purchase from Miele's website in the US as of November 2024, you can contact the manufacturer directly for a replacement. It's also available from Miele's UK website.

This vacuum comes with a wall-mounted docking station called the SpeedLock system. It allows you to easily remove the vacuum in two configurations: pull up to remove the vacuum without the wand or pull forward to remove the vacuum with the wand. You can see it in action; note that we didn't install the wall bracket properly, so the movement is not expected behavior if you follow the manufacturer's instructions.

The Miele Duoflex HX1 has a relatively small dirt compartment. Though slightly larger than the Miele Triflex HX2 Pro/Cat & Dog, it's smaller than most other models from Dyson and Samsung. It needs to be emptied frequently if you vacuum a lot or need to clean large quantities of debris, but since it's made of clear plastic and has a max fill line, you can see when it needs to be emptied.

Miele DuoFlex HX1 stick vacuum

• Power unit/Dirt compartment
• Suction wand
• Pre-filter
• Fine dust filter with ComfortClean
• Vacuum user guide

Various tools and brushes

• MultiFloor electrobrush
• Electrocompact brush
• Universal brush
• Crevice tool
• Extendable flexible XL crevice nozzle
• Upholstery nozzle
• Dust brush
• Accessory clip

Charging station

• SpeedLock wall bracket
• Tool holder for wall dock
• Wall mounting bracket
• Power cable

Since this is a cordless vacuum, the remaining battery life dictates the range. When using the vacuum's extension wand and crevice tool, the maximum wand length increases to 4.92 ft (1.5 m).

The Miele DuoFlex HX1 Total Care is quite portable. While not too heavy overall, it is heavier than most other premium vacuums while in use, putting more weight in your hand. Still, this isn't enough to make the experience overly fatiguing.

The minimum battery life figure used the High power setting with the MultiFloor electrobrush attached, while the maximum battery life figure used the Low power setting without an attachment. The vacuum uses three LEDs to indicate the remaining battery life, gradually turning them off as the charge drops.

You can toggle between two power settings, Low and High, using the lower button on the handle, and can easily turn the vacuum On or Off using the top button on the handle. The MultiFloor electrobrush also features a floor detection system that automatically adjusts the brushroll speed. Unlike the Miele Triflex HX2 Pro/Cat & Dog, there are no headlights on the floorhead to illuminate dark corners while cleaning.

The Total Care variant of the Miele DuoFlex HX1 comes with a fleet of accessories and tools. A couple of interesting additions are the XL flexible crevice nozzle to tackle hard-to-reach places and a small brush for cleaning the pre-filter and dust bin that sits in the vacuum's body.

You can use this vacuum as a handheld with a powered tool by removing the wand and floorhead, or you can use it as a handheld with an extension hose and a non-powered tool for cleaning hard-to-reach places.

This vacuum does a decent job on hard floors. Since its MultiFloor electrobrush uses bristles instead of a soft roller, a small amount of debris tends to get caught at the back of the floorhead instead of being swept up. Large debris tends to be no problem, but medium and finer debris requires multiple passes to clean.

This vacuum's performance on high-pile carpets is unremarkable. After a couple of passes, it can clear away most of the larger solid debris, but it isn't very effective for finer debris like sand.

This vacuum's performance is okay on low-pile carpeting. It's fairly effective in dealing with most large and medium-sized debris, like cereal and rice, but it struggles with finer debris, like sand, that's thoroughly embedded within the carpet fibers.

This vacuum offers outstanding pet hair pickup performance. Using the MultiFloor electrobrush can thoroughly agitate carpet fibers and lift away long and short strands of hair in a single pass.

Its floorhead is somewhat large, so it disperses suction over a wider area rather than concentrating it. It's not as powerful as a comparable flagship Dyson model, like the Dyson V15, as the max hose suction is also relatively low.

This vacuum has decent airflow performance. It performs similarly using its included extension hose, with a maximum airflow of 58 CFM (1.6 m³/min). It won't have trouble dealing with most solid debris. However, it lags behind premium models like the Dyson V15 Detect.

This vacuum isn't too loud and offers similar noise levels when using the High suction setting on bare floors, peaking at 71 dBA, or when using the Low suction setting on carpet, peaking at 71.1 dBA. It's unlikely to be a disturbance, provided you aren't vacuuming right next to people in conversation.

The Miele DuoFlex HX1 Total Care offers excellent maneuverability. Cleaning under low-lying furniture like couches and tables is a breeze, although you'll need to crouch to do so, and the sheer number of accessories and configurations makes it easy to find an ergonomic solution for hard-to-reach spots in your home and specific tasks like cleaning your couch. The standard electrobrush pushes around obstacles like power cords, and you can still easily lift the vacuum over them as well. There are a couple of minor inconveniences, though. Changing the accessories can be clumsy, and with so many to choose from, you'll need to plan to avoid clutter. Like most stick vacuums, you can expect rugs with tassels to present some challenges, as they immediately get stuck in the brushroll.

This vacuum is good at cleaning pet hair on fabric furniture. It offers high suction using the Electro Compact brush and is easy to maneuver in this configuration. That said, the exhaust tends to displace some hair while you're cleaning, and you'll have to do a few passes to pick up the hair that gets left behind. Alternatively, you can use the included extension hose and upholstery tool. The performance is similar overall, albeit with a much-improved user experience; you can keep the motor further away, thereby preventing hair from being blown around while cleaning.

This vacuum does a great job of sealing in fine particles. Although it doesn't use a HEPA-rated filter, the manufacturer advertises its onboard filter works to trap 99.9% of fine particles.

The Miele Duoflex HX1 adequately cleans debris in cracks and crevices using the default Low suction mode with the Electrobrush attachment. It can suck up fine debris from shallower cracks but struggles with deeper ones. Performance improves when using the High suction setting.

This vacuum lacks mopping capabilities, so it's unsuitable for cleaning dried-on stains.

This vacuum can't clean liquid spills.