INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum review – a lightweight vacuum that’s good for dog hair

REVIEW – Our daughter and her husband recently moved into a new home.  They have a dog, and like many dogs, it’s highly skilled at shedding a lot.  The first story of their house has synthetic hardwoods, so my daughter needs a vacuum that can easily vacuum up dog hair.  Together we are testing the INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum to see if it’s up to the challenge.

What is it?

The INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum is a battery-powered stick vacuum cleaner that comes with three attachments, an LED display, and a max runtime of 55 minutes.  INSE’s goal is “to make cleaning effortless and help families enjoy a cleaner, more comfortable life with less effort.”

What’s in the box?

• Main body (motor with dust cup)
• Retractable tube
• Motorized cleaner attachment with soft and rubber brushes
• Crevice and brush attachments
• Brush cleaner
• Battery and power adapter
• Spare filter
• Wall bracket with screws
• Quick start guide and user manual

Specifications

• Motor Power: 400 W
• Suction Power: 30 Kpa/150 AW
• Runtime: Up to 55 minutes (13-25-55)
• Dustbin Capacity: 0.8 liters
• Charging Time: 4.5 hours
• Main Body Weight:  3.4 pounds
• Max Height (Upright):  43.5 inches

Design and features

The INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum looks like many other stick vacuums on the market.  There is a handle and a motor at the top, a cleaning attachment on the bottom, and a long tube that connects them together.  This design allows for a lightweight vacuum that isn’t tied down by a power cord; it’s practical if not innovative.

Installation and setup

The S9 arrived well-protected in a sturdy box with custom inserts.  I removed everything from its packaging.

The adapter plugs directly into the battery, which I think is convenient, because it allows me to charge the battery anywhere I want.  I plugged the battery in, and a small LED turned blue to indicate that it was charging and turned off when done.

The quick start was unhelpful, but the manual was better, so I began assembling the various components.  I connected the battery to the base of the main body, much like connecting a battery to a cordless drill.

I tested it out by pressing the on/off button on top.  The motor came on, the LED display lit up, and the body around the motor turned blue.  That’s a good start!

I attached the retractable tube, which is very sturdy, to the main body, and then extended it to its full length.

I connected the tube to the motorized cleaning attachment, which is what will be used most often to clean the floors.

The INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum comes with three different attachments, though I suspect that the cleaning attachment will be the one used 99% of the time, as it’s best for dog hairs.

The next step was to remove the clear plastic dust cup and attach the filter system.  INSE asserts that the little white filter is a HEPA filter, and it includes a spare one in the box.  This filter needs to be cleaned frequently to maintain max efficiency.

I reattached the dust cup, and the main body was ready to go.

The motorized cleaning attachment has two different brush types.  The rubber one is for primarily for carpets, and the soft cloth one for hardwood floors.  I removed the rubber brush and inserted the soft one; now the S9 was ready to go!

Performance

The first INSE S9 that arrived had a couple of problems.  The lights on the front of the cleaning attachment did not light up, and the motor did not rotate the brush.  Upon closer examination, it appears that one of the pieces near the motor was not assembled properly; it prevented the electrical connection from the motor from reaching the tube.  Whatever the reason, I provided a video of the problem to INSE, and they agreed there was a problem and quickly sent another unit out.  It’s good to know that INSE stands by its products.

I tested the INSE S9 on the hardwood floors on my house.  The primary advantage over a traditional vacuum is that the S9 is light and maneuverable, so easy to move it anywhere I wanted it to go.  The primary disadvantage is that the brush is small.  On our Hoover, a traditional vacuum, the brush is 13.5 inches long; on the S9, it’s only 9.5 inches; that means it’s going to take longer to vacuum the same area.

I found that on auto mode, where the S9 sets how much suction it needs, it picked up plenty of hair and dust.  This brush was not, however, able to pick up small pieces of dogfood or corn flakes that I dropped on the floor, a rather big problem for anyone who might have a messy dog or a toddler around the house.

I switched to the rubber brush and tested it on the area rugs in my house.  I felt like it lacked power on auto mode, especially compared to our Hoover.  When I changed the setting from auto to level 3, the max power, it felt a lot better.  It was able to pick up dog food, corn flakes, hair, and carpet fibers.  INSE notes that the battery will only last 13 minutes at this setting, which is not long enough to vacuum my entire house.  I especially appreciated how easy it was to vacuum under our end table, a place that our Hoover cannot reach.

My testing revealed a tradeoff, one that will surprise no one.  The S9 is nimble and easy to use, but it comes at a cost of being small and having limited run time.  That’s a summary of stick vacuums in a nutshell.  Once I was done testing, I gave the vacuum to my daughter, and the rest of this review captures her thoughts.

The INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum has a single finger trigger button on the handle for turning the vacuum on and off.  Unlike other cordless vacuums that I have used, it is not a button that needs to be held continuously.  Press once to turn it on; press again to turn it off.  There is another button on the top of the vacuum that can be used to change modes, from auto to power levels one through three. For the majority of my testing, I set it on auto and let it run. The visual display on the top of the vacuum displays both the current power mode and the current battery percentage in increments of 10.

My entire downstairs is synthetic hardwood, as is my upstairs hallway; I have carpets in each of the bedrooms. As my dog sheds quite frequently, I want an easily accessible vacuum cleaner to help take care of the mess without the hassle of carrying a large vacuum downstairs or dealing with a long cord.

I predominately used the rubber vacuum attachment, as the manual claims it is the multi-use cleaner for both hardwoods and carpet.  The soft roller is ideal for hardwood use only, but since I wanted the flexibility to easily use this vacuum anywhere in my house, I left on the rubber roller.

The wall bracket is designed to hold the attachments and help prop up the vacuum cleaner. To my disappointment, it is not designed to hold the vacuum cleaner up off the ground; it cannot support the weight of the vacuum on its own. Instead, it is designed for the vacuum to be sitting flat on the ground and simply keep the vacuum from sliding side-to-side.

This wall bracket would definitely be useful if the vacuum is stored in a location where it might easily get bumped or moved around, but as I chose to store it in my front coat closet, I didn’t find it necessary. The vacuum can stand up on its own while leaning against a wall.  I found it easiest to leave the battery on the vacuum and plug it in while in the closet—it’s so convenient that my coat closet has an outlet in it—but I could also take the battery off to charge and slip it back on to use. The website claims the vacuum will run on its lowest setting for up to 55 minutes. I found that I could easily vacuum my entire downstairs (about 700 sq ft), stairs, hallway, and one of my upstairs bedrooms on the lowest setting without the battery dropping below 70%, which is more than adequate for my needs.   When I tested it on high, it lasted 19 minutes, which is not very long, but at least longer than INSE claims.

To test the INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum’s dog hair-collecting skills, I thoroughly brushed my dog and collected a pile of fur to sprinkle all over the floor. My dog was more than happy to share, and I soon had a thick layer of fur across the living room floor. The INSE S9 vacuum had no difficulty collecting the hair and leaving a nice clean surface behind. (Note the difference in the picture above between the left and right side.)

The dust collection bin on the vacuum is relatively small, so I will have to dump it after every use; I didn’t have any issues with it filling up or getting clogged with regular usage. This could be more of an issue with infrequent vacuuming instead of daily, or if someone owned a couple of high-shedding dogs—think huskies—instead of a single dog. The bin has an easy-to-use lever that makes it easy to open and empty everything into a trash can.

The manual says to clean the gray pieces with water but to only use their provided brush to clean the white filter. The INSE website does sell replacements for the white filter, either a 2-pack for $12.99 or a 4-pack for $16.99.

While the INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum did pick up hair very well, I did have some issues with the small wheel wells on the bottom of the vacuum collecting dog hair and getting stuck. The first couple times I used the vacuum, I could just pull these hairs out by hand, but after a couple times of forgetting to clean that part, the section was too tangled for me to clean by hand. Instead, I had to use a small seam ripper to pull the hairs out and clean the area. I wish that these wheel wells were just a little bigger to help clean this area by hand.

Overall, the INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum handled very well, providing me with exactly the easy-to-use cleaning tool I was looking for. I feel that the vacuum is shorter than I wanted it to be. In comparison to other vacuums, it did not feel as tall, and therefore had a slightly shorter reach and was a little more awkward to use. The handle has the ability to slide up and down, to be shorter or longer, but even at its longest, it wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be. That said, the INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum is a really good choice for a reasonably priced cordless vacuum for casual use.

What I like

• Easy to pull out and use on a regular basis
• Light and flexible
• Long battery on low power
• Multiple tool attachments

What I’d change

• Change holder to allow the S9 to be hung on the wall
• Design wheel wells and felt bottom to not catch hair
• Increase length of stick for a more convenient hold

Final thoughts

The INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum is a simple, easy-to-use stick vacuum that is great for daily vacuuming of dog hairs for a relatively small residential space.   It has made a big impact in my daughter’s house, and together we recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to some to the larger and more expensive models.

Update 10/31/24

After helping me to write this review, my daughter has been using the INSE S9 regularly for the last year. She has appreciated how effective it is at vacuuming the dog hair from her hardwood floors and how lightweight it is when vacuuming her stairs. Unfortunately, the vacuum recently began malfunctioning in four ways. First, the brush that rotates at the bottom wobbles and rattles; it sounds similar to a washing machine with an unbalanced load. Second, the vacuum runs for less than a minute before the light on the handle changes from purple to red, indicating a problem. Three, the motor stops rotating the brush. Fourth, when I put my hand against the right side of the brush attachment, it is very hot. My daughter has taken the cover off the attachment at the floor and removed all the hair and dust that she can, but that doesn’t make any difference. My working theory is that some hair has gotten into the motor housing and is gumming things up. INSE has not designed this area to be accessible, so I can’t really verify my theory or clean out any hair. The bottom line is that this vacuum is now useless. That’s $200 spent on a vacuum that only lasted one year. That’s not a good deal, so I am changing my recommendation on this gadget to “do not buy.” INSE needs to design a more robust product.

Price: $199.98
Where to buy:  Amazon or INSE’s online store
Source: The sample for this review was provided by INSE.