SEBO FELIX Vacuum Review

The SEBO FELIX's build quality is excellent overall. It meets the standard set by other SEBO vacuums like the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium, with a body made mostly from thick, high-grade plastic, a robust rubber hose, and a metal wand. The floorhead, hose, and attachment latches are solid, too, and the vacuum doesn't creak, rattle, or squeak while in use. The ET-1 powerhead feels similarly heavy-duty as well, also being made from thick plastic and featuring dense rubber wheels. The Parquet Brush feels solid, with a smoothly operating swivel-neck mechanism, though the plastic used in its construction feels just a tad less solid than the ET-1.

There are a few minor quibbles, however: the suction control slider has a somewhat cheap, "crunchy" feel when moving it up or down, and flipping the lever to extend the telescopic wand can take more effort than you'd expect. The accessory clip is also mounted high up on the wand, and it's easy to accidentally knock off any of the tools you store onboard.

The SEBO FELIX is impressively easy to maintain. The dirtbag compartment is very easy to open, allowing you to quickly swap in a new dirtbag and pre-motor filter; the latter even has a built-in handle making it easier to grab from the bottom of the dirtbag compartment. The post-motor exhaust filter simply wraps around the outside of the motor unit and is held in place with a pair of large O-rings.

Similarly, the brushroll inside the ET-1 powerhead can be removed in a few seconds, and its bristles are spaced far enough apart so that you can remove any tangled hair or stuck-on debris by hand. That said, when reinserting the roller, you'll have to be sure that the alignment pin is oriented correctly. This floorhead also features a blockage indicator light and an automatic motor shutoff, preventing the drive belt inside from snapping if something does jam the mechanism.

As for the Parquet Brush, you'll only really need to wipe off the front bristle strip, either by hand or with a cloth whenever you notice a buildup of debris. You can remove this strip by levering out a retention clip with a flat-headed screwdriver or any other similar tool, but make sure not to cut your finger on the metal tray that holds the bristle strip in place.

If you want a full breakdown on how to properly maintain this vacuum, you can consult the user manual.

The SEBO FELIX incurs low recurring costs.

• Dirtbag: The dirtbag should be replaced once it's filled.
• Pre-Motor Filter: The pre-motor microfilter should be replaced after you've swapped out 10 to 20 dirtbags. A pricier Anti-Odor pre-motor filter is also available.
• Post-Motor Filter: The post-motor exhaust filter should be replaced after you've swapped out 15 to 20 dirtbags.
• Brushroll: SEBO doesn't provide an estimated lifespan for this component, but you should swap it out once the Worn Brush indicator light on the ET-1 floorhead illuminates, even when the roller is set to its lowest setting.
• Parquet Floorhead Brush Strips: You'll need to replace the parquet tool's brush strips once they're visibly worn—the manufacturer specifies that it's time to replace them once they take on the appearance of a "worn toothbrush." Brush strips are sold in packs of one or two.

You can find all replacement brushes and replacement bags and filters on SEBO's website.

This vacuum is fairly easy to store. The vacuum is slimmer than more conventional uprights such as the Miele Dynamic U1 PowerLine, and there's an on-board wand clip for its crevice tool and upholstery nozzle. It's worth noting that this vacuum can only stand upright when you're using its ET-1 powerhead, not the Parquet Brush.

This vacuum's debris capacity is impressive. The FELIX uses smaller 3.25L AeraPure bags than the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium. That being said, this is still more capacity than you'd find compared to quite a few bagged vacuums on the market, including the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog. The bags themselves have sealing caps to make sure debris won't spill out after you've removed them, and they are made of a thick, fairly tear-resistant fleece material.

You'll know when it's time to replace the bag once the indicator window on the dirtbag compartment turns orange.

• Vacuum body
• Hose
• Pre-motor filter
• Rosso exhaust microfilter
• 1x FELIX-Series AeraPure™ filter bag
• 2x exhaust filter clamps
• Premium Parquet Brush
• ET-1 powerhead
• Brush roller
• Brush roller end cap
• Crevice tool
• Upholstery tool
• User manual 

The SEBO FELIX has good overall range. Its power cord is long enough that you won't have to swap outlets too often. That said, its hose is somewhat short; while this won't be a problem if you're carrying around the canister unit in one hand, it could make some places, like shelves or dressers, harder to reach if you were to leave it on the ground.

This is a moderately heavy vacuum. Its overall weight is comparable to the full-size SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium, but the FELIX's upright configuration places a little more weight in your hand while in use.

This is a corded vacuum.

The SEBO FELIX has quite a few convenience options. The suction power can be adjusted using the slider on its handle. This wide range of adjustability allows you to fine-tune suction power to various surfaces. A mechanical indicator on the canister body turns orange if the dirtbag is full or if the vacuum is clogged.

The ET-1 powerhead has its own set of features, too. There's a thermal cut-out switch that turns off the motor if the vacuum is overheating due to a blockage or some other mechanical issue. You can turn the brushroll off to clean surfaces like hardwood or vinyl or even more delicate carpeting. The floorhead also has four height settings, allowing you to clean varying lengths of carpet pile.

The SEBO FELIX comes bundled with a Premium Parquet Brush for cleaning hard floors, a crevice tool for cleaning corners, and an upholstery nozzle. It's worth noting that newly manufactured FELIX vacuums now ship with a soft-bristle dusting brush instead of an upholstery nozzle.

In a similar vein to upright vacuums like the Kenmore Intuition Elite, you can detach the vacuum's motor unit and carry it around in one hand while cleaning hard-to-reach areas with its hose.

The SEBO FELIX does a great job of cleaning hard floors when used with its Parquet Brush. In its default configuration, the floorhead sits a little too close to the ground to comfortably pass over larger debris. Thankfully, you can remove the front bristles, allowing the head to pass over bigger material like cereal without forcing you to lift the head.

This vacuum delivers passable performance on high-pile carpets when used with the ET-1 powerhead set to height setting 4. Unsurprisingly, it performs very similarly to the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium when used with the same attachment. The attachment's bulky size means that some large and medium-sized materials, like rice or cereal, might be left near corners and along walls. You'll need to make a second pass to fully clear away finer material that's been worked deep into carpet fibers. It's also worth noting that a small amount of debris can get stuck in the floorhead and fall out once the vacuum is shut off. Changing the height setting to level 3 results in inferior large debris pickup, without meaningfully improving its ability to clear away finer material.

This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpets is sub-par with its ET-1 floorhead set to height level 2. Its floorhead tends to push larger debris forward instead of sucking it up. If you're only dealing with larger debris, it might be best to change its height to level 4 instead.

Otherwise, it does adequately when it comes to clearing away medium-sized debris like rice or sand, though a second pass might be required to get everything.

The SEBO FELIX does an exceptional job of dealing with pet hair on low-pile carpets. A single back-and-forth pass with the ET-1 powerhead will clear all but the most stubbornly embedded strands of hair on carpet, making anything remaining virtually unnoticeable.

This vacuum's real-world suction performance is somewhat low, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Its Parquet Brush sits a little too high above the ground to form a tight seal. That said, suction measured directly from its hose is quite impressive and compares pretty favorably to the vast majority of other uprights on the market, such as the Kenmore Intuition Bagged. To sum it up, you should have no trouble dealing with stubborn debris when cleaning in its semi-handheld configuration.

This is a powerful vacuum. Its 1000W motor doesn't provide quite as much airflow as the 1250W unit found in the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium, but that on-paper difference isn't too noticeable in the real world, and this vacuum won't have any trouble dealing with heavy household debris.

The SEBO FELIX is a fairly quiet vacuum. When used with its Parquet Brush and its suction control left to medium, you won't have too much trouble hearing what people nearby are saying. We also measured its noise output at different suction power level settings and with different floorheads on bare floors:

• Parquet Brush, Suction level Low: 58.7 dBa
• Parquet Brush, Suction level High: 75.5 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction Low: 60.1 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction Medium: 63.7 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction High: 72.4 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll On, Suction Low: 71.5 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll On, Suction Medium: 72.3 dBa
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll On, Suction High: 74 dBa

Conversely, the result for the 'Low-Pile Carpet' test was achieved using the ET-1 electrobrush with its brushroll left On and the vacuum set to suction level High. The noise output on low-pile carpeting in different configurations is listed below.

• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction Low: 57.4 dBA
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction Medium: 62.2 dBA
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll Off, Suction High: 71.4 dBA
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll On, Suction Low: 66 dBA
• ET-1 Head, Brushroll On, Suction Midway: 67.8 dBA

General maneuverability is okay. The vacuum is a little cumbersome, especially when used with its parquet tool, which doesn't allow you to momentarily rest the vacuum upright. The accessory clip at the top of the wand is in an awkward spot and frequently gets in the way when cleaning around tables and chairs. While using the vacuum in its semi-handheld configuration does allow you to clean tight spots, there are a few ergonomic quibbles. The suction control slider becomes difficult to access, and carrying the vacuum in this configuration blows hot air from the vacuum's exhaust toward your face. With all that said, there are a few plus points, too. The swivel neck floorhead makes it pretty easy to steer around obstacles and operates incredibly smoothly.

You can clean shag-pile carpets and tasseled rugs with the ET-1 powerhead, but make sure to lower the suction power setting and raise the roller brush so that it doesn't get stuck.

The SEBO FELIX does a great job of handling pet hair on fabric when used with its upholstery nozzle. It'll clear away the majority of hair within a single sweep, but it's worth noting that hair can accumulate pretty easily on the tool's bristles, so you'll have to clean it pretty often.

It's worth noting that newer versions of the FELIX will ship with a soft-bristle dusting brush as opposed to this upholstery nozzle, but thankfully, you can still buy one separately. SEBO also offers a miniature turbo brush for the same purpose. These attachments can be purchased from SEBO's website.

Despite this vacuum boasting a hospital-grade filtration system that includes an S-Class filter, comparable to the North American HEPA standard, some fine particles can still escape from its exhaust while vacuuming. If this is a major issue for you, consider the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium, which does a better job of locking in allergens.

The SEBO FELIX is excellent at cleaning debris from cracks with its Parquet Brush. When using its floorhead, it easily cleans debris in shallow and medium-depth cracks, though debris wedged in especially deep crevices can get left behind. You should use its crevice tool if you want to completely clear all debris in deeper cracks.

This vacuum has no real impact on stains.