Garlyn MDC-1000 Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Self-Cleaning Station Review

The main advantage of vacuum cleaners is that we do not get our hands dirty or inhale dust while cleaning. Unfortunately, this advantage is lost when it is time to empty the dust container.

However, it is possible to do without this procedure. For example, you can buy a vertical vacuum cleaner with a self-cleaning system, which allows you to remove a tightly closed bag of garbage from the base once a month or even less often and dispose of it entirely. Today we will consider exactly such a model — Garlyn MDC-1000 — and find out what other features it has.

^* Contrary to popular belief, this is not a period after which the device will necessarily break down. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its functionality and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.

The vacuum cleaner was delivered in a cardboard box with a bright print and a contrasting black and orange triangular pattern on the top and bottom covers. As usual, the silk ribbon with a bow attracts attention, which immediately gives away the Garlyn corporate style.

The front and back sides of the packaging show the device, next to which the manufacturer highlights the key advantages of the model. These include a self-cleaning station, laser illumination of the working area, two HEPA filters, high suction power and automatic power control technology.

Additional information, such as the delivery set, technical specifications and contact information of the manufacturer, is indicated on the side edges.

After opening the box, we found inside:

• a motor unit of the vacuum cleaner with a dust collector and a cyclone filter
• a removable battery
• a telescopic extension tube
• a floor nozzle with an electric brush
• two non-motorized nozzles: a 2-in-1 brush and a crevice nozzle
• a base station for self-cleaning and charging with an installed dust bag
• four additional bags
• a user manual
• a quick start guide
• a service book

If it weren't for the self-cleaning station, we could call the package rather modest: the vacuum cleaner comes with only the main floor brush and two traditional attachments.

However, it is worth noting that the manufacturer has shown concern for consumables: in addition to the bag installed in the base station, the package includes four additional garbage bags. This supply will allow the owner to not worry about the need to buy new consumables for a long time.

The vacuum cleaner has a strict and solid design: the plastic body is made in gray and black shades and does not contain any excesses. The signature orange color of Garlyn is used exclusively for moving elements — buttons that fix the dust collector, the end cap and attachments.

The Garlyn MDC-1000 is designed in a longitudinal format: a cylindrical container with a cyclone filter is located parallel to the air flow. The engine is installed behind it, and the exhaust grilles are located at the rear of the engine block, on the right and left sides.

Thanks to this choice of location for the holes, the user is not disturbed by the air flow coming out of the vacuum cleaner, and dust from uncleaned areas does not rise upwards.

The waste container is held in place by an orange latch — it can be removed for manual cleaning. However, you won't have to do this very often: the model, as we remember, is cleaned at the base station.

On the back end of the cylindrical body is a control panel with LED indicators: we will take a closer look at it when we charge and turn on the device.

The standard-shaped lithium-ion battery (2500 mAh, 25.2 V) is attached to the vacuum cleaner from below using a 10-pin connector. Interestingly, there is a round connector for a network adapter in the front part of the body, but it is not included in the kit: the model is charged exclusively at the base station and is not equipped with an additional power source. Probably, a standard battery was used, which simplified the design for the manufacturer.

In the front part of the vacuum cleaner, in addition to the standard pipe with a two-pin connector for powering the electric brush, there are two metal contacts that provide charging at the base station. A little higher is an orange button that automatically opens the end cap when the device is placed on the base.

In the transparent dust collector we found a cyclone filter with a barely noticeable “skirt” for separating large and heavy particles, as well as a steel mesh with microperforation, which is designed to trap fine and light dust.

The upper part contains a fine filter, which is protected from damage by a plastic frame.

The airflow from the cyclone passes through a blue foam pre-filter and then reaches the cylindrical HEPA filter. The manufacturer claims that it uses an H13 class filter, which traps up to 99.95% of particles larger than 0.06 microns.

The vacuum cleaner comes with a telescopic extension tube that can be extended from 40 to 60 cm.

At the top of the floor nozzle we see a transparent plastic cap that allows you to control the rotation of the rotor.

The weight of the structure is distributed on a wide rubber roller of small diameter, located at the rear. Closer to the rotor are two smaller wheels designed to improve sliding. Brush elements located behind the brush and on the sides of it contribute to better adhesion to the surface.

On one of the sides of the body there is a plastic lens installed at an angle, under which a laser LED is hidden, providing illumination of the working area.

The rotor is made of soft velour with a spiral pattern, which in our experience makes it most effective on hard floor coverings such as parquet, laminate, linoleum and ceramic tiles. This model does not come with a special brush for soft surfaces.

The vacuum cleaner comes with two non-motorized attachments: a crevice nozzle and a 2-in-1 brush attachment. Both accessories have a standard design. We come across exactly the same attachments quite often.

The base station is shaped like a column mounted on a disc base. The front panel folds down to provide access to the waste compartment.

A disposable non-woven bag should be placed in the compartment and secured with a plastic frame.

The opening is covered with a rubber membrane, which serves as a check valve, preventing accidental spillage of the contents when replacing the container. The set includes five bags: one is installed on the base, and four are additionally packed.

There is a sensor in the compartment that does not allow self-cleaning to be started without a bag, and the inlet is covered with an additional foam filter that protects the engine.

At the base of the base there are three attachment points: two on one side and one on the other.

The vacuum cleaner is installed on the base together with the extension tube and the floor nozzle. If desired, you can charge only the motor unit, and place the tube with the nozzle on a separate mount.

The user manual is a small horizontal A6 brochure printed on thick glossy paper.

As always with Garlyn, the quality of the printing of the documents is high: images, diagrams and small text are easy to read. The manual contains comprehensive information on preparing the vacuum cleaner for work, its operation and maintenance.

For those who do not want to study all 44 pages of the technical description, there is a quick start guide in the kit: brief information on a small double-sided card is enough to start the first cleaning.

Also included is a service book.

The vacuum cleaner is switched on and off using a traditional button on the pistol grip.

To control the power, there is a round panel with LED indication at the end.

This model starts in automatic mode: the suction power is adapted depending on the volume of debris, which is determined by the dust sensor in the air tract. If necessary, the user can switch the mode manually, for which there is a single button on the control panel.

When placed on the base station, self-cleaning is activated automatically: the end cover of the dust container rests against the internal latch and opens, after which the stationary vacuum cleaner built into the base removes dust and debris from the container.

If for some reason the user does not want self-cleaning to start automatically every time the vacuum cleaner is placed on the station, this function can be disabled using the «Manual/Auto» regulator. In this case, the built-in vacuum cleaner will start by pressing the «Start/Stop» button. The automatic mode can be returned in a similar way.

Before using the vacuum cleaner, remove all packaging materials and stickers from the components and accessories, and then place the device on the charging base.

Like any battery-powered device, the Garlyn MDC-1000 must be fully charged before first use. Since the first charge cycle can take longer, we left the vacuum cleaner on the base overnight and started cleaning in the morning.

The vacuum cleaner is comfortable to hold in your hand, well-balanced and easy to control. Its weight is average for this class of devices and is almost unnoticeable due to the ergonomic design.

The floor nozzle provides excellent maneuverability, allowing you to easily clean narrow areas and corners of the room. The compact height and convenient shape of the body allow you to conveniently clean dust under cabinets and sofas.

Unfortunately, the floor nozzle does not have a parking position, so when you need to pause cleaning, the device has to be placed on the floor or leaned against furniture and walls, which can lead to a fall and damage.

The telescopic tube allows people of any height, even teenagers, to comfortably use the vacuum cleaner.

The Garlyn MDC-1000 model offers three power levels: minimum, medium and maximum. However, manual selection is only available for medium and maximum modes, and the minimum is activated only in automatic mode.

In the adaptive control mode, the vacuum cleaner automatically changes the speed depending on the readings of the built-in dust sensor: the more dirt, the more powerful the motor works. The automatic mode settings are adequate, and the response to an increase in the dust level is almost instantaneous.

Laser illumination of the working area effectively helps to distinguish hardly noticeable debris in the semi-darkness and even in complete darkness. However, in bright sunlight its effectiveness is slightly reduced: the right half of the cleaning area, in our opinion, is not illuminated well enough.

In manual mode, the vacuum cleaner is as effective as when sweeping the floor: it is quite light and fits comfortably in the hand. The two attachments included in the kit allow you to cope with most quick cleaning tasks at home. However, in our opinion, they are not enough: during testing, we missed a motorized furniture brush and a flexible tube for hard-to-reach places, for example, in the car.

The self-cleaning function made a positive impression on us. A powerful motor built into the base creates an air flow that pushes the contents of the container into a garbage bag hidden in the body. The duration of the self-cleaning process is about fifteen seconds, which is enough to completely empty the container.

The only thing that is required from the user after the automatic cleaning is to manually close the lid of the dust container.

The volume of the dust bag is an impressive 2.5 liters, which is five times more than the capacity of the vacuum cleaner tank. This means that one bag will last for several weeks with daily cleaning of a large apartment with a normal level of pollution.

The transparent walls of the waste container allow you to see its contents perfectly. The two photographs shown show the container before and after cleaning.

One start of the system was enough to clean the completely clogged tank from debris. The only traces of dust remained in the narrow gaps between the body and the cyclone element: if desired, they can be removed manually, but this will not affect the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.

The air flow directed in the opposite direction not only cleans the container from debris, but also thoroughly knocks out dust from the filters. After several cleaning and self-cleaning cycles, only minor contamination is observed on the foam pre-filter.

There is almost no dust on the HEPA filter either: one can hope that in this operating mode it will last quite a long time even without additional maintenance.

The outer surface of the fine filter looks new: it is hard to believe that the vacuum cleaner with this element was actively used. We consider the filtration quality of the Garlyn MDC-1000 to be excellent.

The self-cleaning function greatly simplifies the maintenance of the device, as the base station effectively keeps the dust collector clean. The user only needs to periodically wipe the body of the vacuum cleaner and the base, as well as remove hair and threads stuck on the rotor of the electric brush.

Every few weeks (depending on the frequency of cleaning, cleanliness and size of the apartment), you need to remove the filled garbage bag and replace it with a new one.

At the time of writing the review, we did not find replacement bags on the manufacturer's website, but we assume that they will appear soon, since the MDC-1000 model has only recently entered the market.

We provide the mass measurements of the main components of the vacuum cleaner in the table:

In the dry cleaning configuration (with the main unit, battery, extension tube and floor nozzle), the vacuum cleaner weighs 2415 g. The minimum weight of the device when used in handheld mode is 1550 g.

We measured the suction power when the vacuum cleaner was running without a tube and nozzles in both modes. The graph below shows the dependence of the suction power on the created vacuum.

We measured the suction power: 26.5 watts in Normal mode and 41.6 watts in Turbo mode.

The noise level varies depending on the selected speed and the nozzle mode. We present the measurement results in the table.

The battery life of the vacuum cleaner also depends on the nozzle used and the selected power mode.

A fully discharged device charges in about 4 hours and 20 minutes. The charger consumes up to 21.2 W, and about 0.083 kWh is required to complete a full cycle.

Let's present our measurements in a table.

The Garlyn MDC-1000 vertical cordless vacuum cleaner with self-cleaning function allows the user to avoid hand contamination both during and after cleaning. Simply place it on the base: in automatic mode, you don’t even need to press a button.

The Garlyn MDC-1000 self-cleaning system not only removes debris from the container, but also blows dust out of the filters, sending it into the bag. The user only needs to close the dust collector lid after cleaning, and replace the bag in the base station body every few months.

The vacuum cleaner has an attractive design, convenient construction and good power, providing a decent battery life. Thanks to automatic suction power control, it increases speed only when necessary, which contributes to more efficient battery consumption.

Laser illumination of the working area helps to identify small debris, improving the quality of cleaning, and the telescopic tube ensures comfortable use for people of any height.

The disadvantages include a limited set of attachments and the lack of a parking position for the floor brush.

Pros:

• Efficient dust bin cleaning system
• Adequately adjusted automatic power selection
• Laser illumination of the working area
• Telescopic extension tube
• Stylish appearance

Cons:

• The floor brush does not have a parking position