Rowenta Delta Force 18V Review: Great for Edge Cleaning

Cleaning base boards, particularly the corner area is one of the toughest parts to clean with a standard vacuum cleaner head.

The Rowenta Delta Force makes this job easier with its patented “Delta Head” which is the pointed head shaped like an arrow as opposed to a rectangular shape found in most vacuums.

Underneath this pointed head are air inlets that go all the way to the edges that suck dirt in.

This feature makes this vacuum a great tool for cleaning edges.

The 40 minute run time allows for extended use, whether you want to spot clean or vacuum a whole room.

Rowenta is known more for manufacturing high quality irons and steamers but it isn’t as main-stream in this niche as more popular brands like Hoover or Dyson but this vacuum certainly puts them in their league in terms of producing high quality vacuums.

It does not boast of the versatility of a Dyson or has the variety of a Hoover. Instead they focused to be really good at one function and designed everything to fit that purpose well.

The Delta Force is designed to be used on most types of household floors and every aspect of its design revolves around it…

…from the inlets to the motorized brush to the ergonomic handle.

Add to that the 40 minute run time, you have a product that is great for everyday spot clean-ups around the house.

Pros

• Lightweight at just 7.5 pounds
• Long 40 minute run
• Swivel feature makes it very maneuverable
• Motorized brush helps pick up pet hair on hard floors and carpet
• You can leave it plugged even if the battery is full
• Foam filter is washable
• A motorized brush that rotates at 3000 revs per minute helps in cleaning up pet hair and other types of debris
• Decent sized inlets that suck in all dirt, dust and debris in its path, even on edges
• Relatively docile compared to other cordless vacs
• Easy to assemble out of the box

Cons

• Takes a long time to recharge – 16 hours
• Even though it is self-standing, it seems to tilt forward a little bit so if you have kids around the house, keep this out of their way for safety reasons
• Will not pick up dirt well on thick carpets but they’ve clearly stated that this is only for low to medium carpeting but there were some reviews that say it was effective on thick carpet
• Only an authorized Rowenta service agent can remove and replace the batteries – you can’t do it yourself because doing so will void the warranty
• Because of its length, it may not work well on stairs
• You can’t remove the roller underneath the head so a scissor will be needed to cut and dislodge anything that gets stuck on it
• Price – price a bit too high for a single function cordless cleaner

What to expect from the Rowenta Delta Force?

The unique design of the Rowenta Delta Force isn’t just for show. If you look closely every aspect of the design has a specific function and all these design features are interwoven with one another.

The pointed head is designed such to be able to clean corners that a vacuum with a standard head may have a bit of trouble with

and…

Underneath it are several air inlets (which go all the way up to the edge) that suck and funnel all that dirt, dust, hair, and all other debris into the vacuum to the cyclonic system to a foam filter that traps all the dirt collected.

These features make this an efficient floor cleaner that will work on bare floors, rugs, and low to medium pile carpet.

There are no attachments included.

Let’s have a close look at the features

• Powered by an 18 volt nickel cadmium battery that’ll give you roughly 40 minutes of run time but it’ll go down to 30 minutes if used on carpet at high speed.
• It’s signature “Delta Head” design which is a fancy name for the shape is designed to reach corners easily without having to use any crevice tool to pick up dirt in that usually hard to reach area
• The motorized brush rotates at around 3000 rpm which allows this unit to pick up dirt efficiently on most types of floors
• It is equipped with air inlets all around plus a motorized brush in the center that picks up 99% of dirt on bare floor
• Cyclonic bagless system ensures that efficient cleaning power even if the filter is almost full
• Has a big 33 ounce dust container that is transparent so it lets you see if it’s full or not
• Dirt container can be taken of the body so that exposure to dirt is minimized during disposal
• It is self-standing which makes it easier to store and will not require too much space
• 180 degree swivel helps users maneuver this around different areas of their home
• A charger that’ll will plug directly onto the unit
• Has an extra washable foam filter so that you can still use this as you dry the other filter

Bare Floor Performance

Overall, consumers were very happy with the bare floor performance with a lot of them using this for hardwood, tiled and linoleum flooring compared to carpet.

Though there where some commenting that the Delta Force didn’t pick up dirt, as well as a Hoover Linx on this type of floor primarily because the later, is powered by a lithium battery.

For normal sized debris it’ll suck up everything in one pass but you may need multiple passes to clean fine debris like baking soda or powder.

Be careful when cleaning up larger debris that may not fit in the inlets.

In one review, the user mentioned that it even picked up dirt that was accumulated inside the grooves of their wooden flooring measuring between an eighth to half and inch wide.

If your home has expensive flooring make sure to clean the wheels from time to time because dirt has a tendency to stick on them and can scratch those floors!

Carpet Performance

It does a good job on carpet, even on a low setting but Rowenta recommends that you flip the switch to “carpet” when cleaning such.

This model is equipped with a motorized brush that’ll help loosen up dirt trapped in the strands of carpet. Loose dirt is then funneled in one of several inlets strategically laid out on the pointed head.

This will work great on low to mid pile carpeting but in several reviews people mentioned that it worked well for them on thick carpet.

Periodically check the brush underneath the head for anything that can cause it to stop rotating most notably hair, if something gets stuck on it use a scissor to dislodge and a damp cloth to clean.

Pet Hair Removal

Armed with a motorized brush that makes it ideal for cleaning pet hair on both bare and carpeted flooring.

But I don’t think you’ll be able to use this to clean pet hair on your sofa because of its size and I don’t think you’d want to cross contaminate dirt from your floor on to your sofa or chair.

Attachments and Accessories

There are no accessories included, just an extra filter and a charger.

Charging Time

It takes around 16 hours to fully charge. Take note that you can’t remove the battery and it has to be stored near a power outlet but since it is self-standing, it won’t take too much space.

The fact that you can’t replace the batteries (only a Rowenta tech can do this) is a bit of a bummer.

After some time searching online, I can’t find any replacement batteries for this :(.

Filter Clean up

One neat feature that this model has is the removable dirt container – you don’t have to carry the whole vacuum on its side or upside down just to empty it.

Once removed from the body, you can empty the contents on a garbage bin with a push of a button without touching the contents inside.

You may need to shake it a bit to dislodge everything.

Also check the foam filter on top of the canister from time to time and see if it’s clogged.

Don’t worry, it is washable and it has an extra filter included in the package so you can still use it while the other one is being dried out.

Store the extra filter in an air tight zip lock so it’ll not disintegrate over time (foam tends to disintegrate if left unused).

It has a generous 33 ounce dirt canister that’ll hold enough dirt so you don’t need to frequency empty it  but it doesn’t have a HEPA filter so if you have asthma or any other respiratory ailment look for a vacuum with a HEPA filter.

Battery Life

Rowenta claims that at full charge, it’ll give you around 40 minutes on bare floors and 30 minutes on carpet.

Several reviews have confirmed this, with some going over 40 minutes.

They (the manufacturer) weren’t clear though if this is continuous (meaning if you’ll not turn it off) or intermittent use.

Warranty

Rowenta vacuums all come with a 1 year warranty.

See it in Action

Here’s a promotional video from Rowenta USA…

A young lad vacuums low pile carpet with the Rowenta to show you how the swivel steering works plus more…

Here’s another look at the 18v Delta Force in action…

Product Specifications

Customer Reviews

It has exactly a hundred reviews with consumers generally satisfied with the way it performed on both bare and carpeted floors.

A lot of them like the triangle shaped head that helps cleaning corners better and the 180 degree swivel that makes this easy to maneuver even around tighter areas (most notably floors under furniture) in their homes.

I noticed that in several reviews, people were comparing this with the Hoover Linx – both stick vacuums at roughly the same size.

Most of the people who compared this with the Linx gave this a slightly lower rating mainly because it had a better bare floor performance.

People are also comparing this with a corded Dirt Devil and actually preferring this one over the later because it had no cords and was way way lighter.

Also you’ll notice that a lot of the reviews have an Amazon vine tag on it.

This means that these reviewers were among the most trusted and unbiased thus invited by Amazon in this program.

They were then sent test units to get their feedback on any new product coming out to the market.

Where can I buy thi?

You can buy this in Amazon but currently it is out of stock.

Conclusion

This product is great for…

Home owners who are looking for an easy to maneuver stick vacuum that they can use daily to clean their floors at home whether it is hardwood, tile, linoleum, bare floor or carpet (not thick too though) without straining their backs too much.

It is pretty tall at around 47″ so cleaning stairs will be a challenge but this length is great for reaching areas underneath furniture and because the neck is almost flat and it swivels 180 degrees.

Because of those reasons, rubbing against the edge of the furniture will  be minimized when you clean the area underneath it.

Overall, this is a good secondary vacuum to have if you have wall to wall carpeting that you can bring out to do spot clean ups.

It can be a primary cleaner for homes with mostly bare floor, that you can use to clean up messes made by your kids, pets, etc.

The big 33 oz container means that you don’t need to empty it as often and the 40 minute run time (30 mins on carpet) means more real estate cleaned on one charge.

At this price, I think it would have done better if it had a lithium battery plus a few more attachments like a wand, hose or crevice tool.