Miele Boost CX1 review

Miele has been offering both upright and canister vacuums in the US for more than a quarter of the decade. They are expensive compared to the rest of the market, but you get plenty of bang for your buck through powerful suction and excellent dust pick up. 

The Miele Boost CX1 is worth considering if you’re after one of the best vacuum cleaners for home (opens in new tab). This compact canister vacuum offers four levels of suction meaning it can be used on thick and medium pile carpets, as well as hard floors and even soft furnishings such as curtains. The bagless design means it's easy to empty and it comes with some handy features such as automatic cable rewind, and a power button that can be activated using your foot. There’s also three additional tools for cleaning upholstery and soft furnishings, as well as getting into tight corners.

The Miele Boost CX1 also features a more unusual design with the wheels at the side, rather than the back of the main unit, so it can be set down on a stair more safely.

We put it to task in a real home to see how it copes with everyday cleaning on hard floors, carpets and even upholstery. We wanted to see if it really was as lightweight and easy to maneuver as Miele claims, and if its diminutive stature meant compromising on cleaning power. Read on to find out whether this expensive canister vacuum is worth splashing the cash on.

Miele Boost CX1: Design

Like most Miele vacuum cleaners, the Boost CX1 has a premium look and feel to it. The glossy white finish is complemented by a red accent, while positioning the wheels at the side of the canister rather than at the back means it sticks to the direction you’re maneuvering it in, and won’t veer off course crashing into your furniture. It comes with a 6ft suction hose and a telescopic wand that means it can be easily adjusted for comfortable cleaning no matter what your height.  

Suitable for both hard floors and carpets, the suction level can be adjusted using the dial on top of the canister, and the power switch, which sits to the side of the dial, is of a size and shape that means you can control it with your foot, reducing the need to bend down to turn the appliance on or off. We also liked the integrated handle on the main unit, which means it can easily be picked up when cleaning stairs or simply moving the vacuum back to where it’s being stored. 

The Boost CX1 comes with one floor head, and while it doesn’t have a brush roller as most freestanding and cordless vacuums offer, it does have the ability to protrude or retract two horizontal brushes depending on whether you’re cleaning hard floors or carpets. 

Miele Boost CX1: Features and accessories

The Miele Boost CX1 comes with the following accessories:  
• Universal floorhead
• Upholstery nozzle
• Crevice tool
• Dusting brush with synthetic bristles
• Tool storage caddy
• 6ft suction hose
• Pre filter
• Fine dust filter
• Hygiene Airclean filter
• Cleaning tool

When it comes to tools, there’s not the level of choice offered by some vacuum cleaners  on the market, but those the Boost CX1 does ship with are suitable for most homes. The crevice tool is ideal for cleaning the tops of baseboards or ensuring there’s no dust bunnies left in tight corners, while the upholstery nozzle is, as the name suggests, great for cleaning sofas. Meanwhile the dusting brush is ideal for removing, well, dust from upholstery and even soft furnishings like curtains. The floor cleaning head and telescopic tube click into place, and have a release button meaning that they won’t fall off while being used. While the other accessories don’t have release buttons, we found they remained secured attached to the suction hose during use so this wasn’t an issue. 

As we’ve already mentioned, the canister vacuum has four suction levels, suitable for different types of surface. 

Miele Boost CX1: Setup and assembly

The majority of the packaging is easily recyclable cardboard. While there are a couple of plastic bags, there are no chunks of styrofoam to dispose of. As with most canister vacuums, it boasts a modular design so there’s nothing really to assemble, other than clipping the suction hose and accessories onto the main unit of the vacuum.

It’s a mains-powered vacuum, which means there are no batteries to charge, so it can be plugged in and used straight away. Although it’s more fiddly to store than other types of vacuums. An integrated park system means the wand and floor head can be attached to the main unit of the vacuum, but this does make the vacuum tall - something that should be considered when you’re deciding where to store the vacuum. 

There’s also a handy automatic cable rewind function, which means you don’t have to worry about trailing cables when storing the vacuum as well. 

The instruction manual contains all the info you need so assemble, use and even clean and maintain the canister vacuum. 

Miele Boost CX1: Performance

The Miele Boost CX1 impressed when used on carpets, hard floors and even upholstery. It collected finely crushed biscuits and flour, to simulate fine dust, in just one pass from both carpets and hard floors - in both cases we made sure the collect suction power was selected and the the brushes on the floor cleaning head were protruding for hard floors, and retracted on carpets.

When it came to larger debris, which in this case was oats, the canister vacuum wasn’t as efficient at collecting all of the oats we sprinkled down in one pass. Instead we found the floor head tended to push some of the oats around the floor, meaning we had to make more passes to remove all of the debris. 

The maneuverability on this vacuum is good, it glides on all floor types and transitions well between hard floor and carpets.

At 6ft in length, the suction hose meant we were successfully able to clean 8 stairs without having to pick the canister vacuum up off the floor. However, its compact footprint meant it could also be positioned on one of the stairs and remain stable. 

Our decibel meter registered 63dB when used on the highest suction power and just 60db on the lowest level of suction, the Miele Boost CX1 is also one of the quietest vacuums on test, making the same amount of noise as a dishwasher mid-cycle. 

Miele Boost CX1: Care and maintenance

The Miele Boost CX1 has a 0.2-gallon dust canister so you won’t need to constantly empty it. That said, it’s easy to empty, just remove the canister using the integrated handle and press the catch on the bottom so the dust and debris falls straight into a bin. During testing, we didn’t find any dirt or hair get stuck in the canister, but if this does happen, Miele includes a small brush, which fits snuggly in the main unit, for you to remove it with. This can also be used to clean the fine dust filter (more below). 

The Boost CX1 comes with three filters. The pre-filter and fine dust filter should be cleaned once a month using cold water, and the cleaning tool mentioned above, and left to dry for 24 hours before being re-fitted. The Hygiene Airclean filter must be replaced rather than cleaned, and Miele says this should be done once a year. 

Replacement filters as well as some replacement parts and tools are available direct from Miele and there’s a warranty that’ll cover the vacuum for defects within the first two years.

Miele Boost CX1: Price and availability

• $449 / £269

This is the cheapest of three variants offered in Miele’s Boost CX1 range, although at $449 /  £269, the range sits at the pricer end of the canister vacuum market with offerings from Hoover and Bissell coming in around $100 less. 

The Miele Boost CX1 Parquet comes with the HEPA  filter instead of the Hygiene AirClean filter, so it will remove finer airborne specs of dust, and a dedicated hard floor head that swivels. It will set you back $549 but isn’t available in the UK. 

Alongside the Boost CX1 Parquet is the Miele Boost CX1 Cat & Dog, which builds on this canister vacuum with an additional floor head designed for collecting pet hair, for $649 / £369. 

All three models are available from Amazon, as well as Miele direct.

Miele Boost CX1: User reviews

At the time of writing, the Miele Boost CX1 had an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars on Amazon, with 80% of reviewers giving it either 4 or 5 stars. The floor cleaner was praised for being “super lightweight, quiet and easy to move around and put together”.

The bagless function impressed many reviewers as it was something they’d been looking for from Miele for some time, as did the compactness of the floor cleaner. However, the suction power divided owners, with one commenting that vacuum would “suck the mat off the floor if you have it turned up too high”. 

Others meanwhile felt it didn’t match up to brands such as Dyson and according to one user “had less suction than my Shark that is over 5 yrs old”. Although as one user remarked, users need to “ensure all your hoses are connected correctly, or else you’ll not get the suction properly”.

Miele Boost CX1: What the experts say

We spoke to Laurie Billson, Floorcare Manager at Miele GB (opens in new tab), who gave us some insight into just who this vacuum is aimed at, and why it’s more sustainable that other vacuums on the market.  the thinking behind this vacuum and what’s going on under the hood.  

“Our Boost cylinder vacuum is well suited for smaller homes, as it has a footprint smaller than an open magazine. Miele keeps spare parts for a minimum of 15 years after production stops, to enable repairs on appliances rather than replacement, and we also test our cylinder vacuums for 20 years use so you can have peace of mind.”

Should you buy the Miele Boost CX1?

If you’re after a canister vacuum that offers cleaning power to rival an upright vacuum, this Miele model is worth the investment. Compact and lightweight, it offers excellent dust pick up on both carpets and hard floors. It’s quiet in use too.  

However, as with most canister vacuums it's bulky to store thanks to the telescopic wand and suction hose, and it doesn’t come with the array of tools and attachments that other vacuums offer. It’s also fairly pricey, sitting at the top of the canister vacuum market. But if it's within your budget, it’s worth the investment. 

How does the Miele Boost CX1 compare to competitors?

The Miele Boost CX1 is similarly priced to the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal (opens in new tab) and while both offer good suction power and an array of tools making the floor cleaner suitable for a variety of surfaces, the Cinetic Big Ball Animal is the only one of the two that offers true HEPA filtration. However, it's also more cumbersome than the Boost CX1, and certainly won’t fit on a stair without being unstable, and it's louder too.  

In comparison, the Shark DuoClean & Anti Hair Wrap Bagless Cylinder Pet Vacuum CZ500UKT, is more affordable than the Miele Boost CX1 but also heavier too, which may cause a problem with those that want to clean a lot of stairs or have a large home.