At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Park system for pauses
- 4 cleaning modes
- On-board accessories
- Height-adjustable handle
Cons
- Not easy to adapt to different floors
- Only comes in black
- Requires replacement bags
Our Verdict
Miele vacuum cleaners have earned a reputation as being among the best and the Guard L1 Cat & Dog is no exception, combining thoughtful features with a thorough clean. But in giving it a keen price point, a few compromises have been made: its handle is far from comfy for prolonged use and you’ll need to remember to engage or disengage brushes or swap heads for the best results. Outside of that though, it’s easy to use, well-equipped, and beautifully quiet (rated 75dB by its makers) on the lower power levels.
Price When Reviewed
This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Best Prices Today: Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog
For those not up to date on their cleaning news, Guard is Miele’s latest corded vacuum cleaner range. It comprises different size products, small to large, which are split into models for different purposes, such as those suitable for allergies or those tailored to hard floors. You can see how they compare to our top recommendations in our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners .
The Guard L1 Cat & Dog is one such model, kitted out for the hairiest of households with a pet TurboBrush, charcoal filter and XL flexible crevice nozzle, as well as a 3.5L dust bag capacity in a lightweight body and 12m radius – so you can go from room to room blitzing dust and dander without skipping a beat.
Design and Build
- Lightweight
- Long cable that automatically retracts
- Accessories stored on vacuum
Cylinder vacuums can be lumpen things, awkward to drag around and weighty. Miele’s Guard L1 Cat & Dog is far from this, with features that make using it easier. These include four swivelling castors underneath, a neat ‘park’ system, which allows you to slot the floor head into the canister so it doesn’t fall over while you move furniture or pause cleaning, and overall, it’s lightweight: at 6.6kg, it’s less than the medium-sized M1 model (6.7kg).
The canister isn’t especially big for storage either, at just H38 x W59 x D32cm. Its 12m range is similarly impressive: a 8.5m cable results in less frequent unplugging as you vacuum. This is retracted with a quick tap of a button.
Two-in-one cleaning head
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
As you’d hope, there are other clever features galore. These include a telescopic tube that extends to different heights, so there’s no excuse for everyone in the household not to vacuum, a dusting brush that stores on the tube, and a foldable, 2-in-1 crevice & upholstery nozzle that stores within the canister. In addition, it has a long, flexible crevice nozzle for getting into awkward spots and a pet TurboBrush head in addition to the standard one.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
The control panel is pleasingly simple, with a plus and minus for selecting power levels (helpfully illustrated as curtains, an armchair, a rug/carpet and hard floor rather than numbers), and alerts to let you know when to change the filter and empty the 3.5L bag. Sadly, while the Guard range comes in exciting colours, such as Terra Red and Nordic Blue, this is model-specific. Pet owners appear to have drawn the short straw with the slightly less thrilling black.
Performance and Features
- Telescopic wand
- Turns on at last-used setting
- Weak at vacuuming edges
The Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog vacuum cleaner is equipped with a ‘Comfort handle’. Presumably, this refers to the tube’s telescopic abilities, which we found incredibly convenient, giving good reach overhead and adapting to the height of the user, and not the handle itself.
Plasticky, with small indentations, presumably to help with grip, I found the handle tended to slip around unless held tightly, and was uncomfortable to use for longer cleaning sessions.
Small issues aside, there’s lots to appreciate. I liked that the Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog vacuum cleaner turned on at the last power level used – rather defaulting to auto or eco – and that not even its maximum power was loud. It’s still impossible to have a conversation over maximum power, but it’s far from deafening.
In contrast, it’s possible to talk loudly over level 3, and have normal conversation over level 2. Level 1 is easily talked over and may even allow you to have a quick clean without waking the household. We also thought that the range of accessories was excellent – although if you have a 3D printer and wish to supplement your model, Miele offers 3D4U for free printable extras.
As the Guard L1 Cat & Dog comes with two brush heads, we tested both on hard and soft flooring, using flour to represent fine dust and oats as larger debris. Both brush heads require that the airflow or brushes be altered on the head itself when you change floor types – it’s not automatic – which can slow you down when moving from hard to soft or back again.
Overall, pick up wasn’t great at floor edges, and I found that the standard floor head could become stuck on flooring on the higher power levels if I forgot to raise its brushes. I also noted that the pet TurboBrush head was prone to hair wrap – although this was long human hair rather than pet.
On a hard floor using the standard brush head, I found that flour didn’t pick up on level 1, but required level 2. Oats were mostly picked up on one but not entirely, meaning that again, we had to up it to level 2 then 3. The floor head had a tendency to push larger particles ahead of it as it doesn’t have a roller – its straight brushes are better at sweeping a hard floor rather than lifting large particles.
The pet TurboBrush head on the other hand, does have a roller: it picked up flour easily on level 1, although level 3 was required for oats to prevent them from being flicked around.
For the soft floor – a mid-pile carpet – the standard brush head mostly picked up flour on 1, but needed 2 to pick it all up, while oats were mostly picked up on 1 but needed 3 to suck up the remainder. The pet TurboBrush head demonstrated good flour pick up on 1, with 2 for a more thorough clean. Most of the oats were picked up on 1 but 2 and 3 gave a better pick up.
We also tried the 2-in-1 crevice & upholstery nozzle on a velvet sofa. Its pet hair removal was good, even on the lowest power setting and when working on looser material. I also liked that it was always to hand, easily slotting away again after.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
Price and Availability
The Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog is not yet available in the US, but it’s widely available in the UK. It has an RRP of £399, but you can currently buy it from Currys , Argos or direct from Miele for £329. Miele products are robust and this is very well priced for a powerful, reliable appliance that’ll last you a long time. We’d recommend it if you have problems with pet hair on furniture or flooring.
If this isn’t the right model for you, see our top recommendations in our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve tested. We’ve also got advice on the best wet and dry vacuums you can buy.
Should you buy the Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog?
Whether you’re looking for an all-rounder vacuum, something with more power than a lacklustre cordless or a product that’ll tackle pet hair, the MieleGuard L1 Cat & Dog should fit the bill. Its raft of accessories gives it some serious flexibility while there’s sufficient suction power for most messes.
Yet while its design is predominantly well thought-out, there’s room for improvement: a more comfortable handle would be welcome as would an easier switch between floor types. However, its efficient cleaning performance – and lack of annoying noise – can make you forgive the little problems far more easily.
Best Prices Today: Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog
Author: Rachel Ogden, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Rachel Ogden specialises in reviews of home appliances, from kitchen gadgets to smart home tech. She’s a UK-based freelance journalist with more than 24 years’ experience and has written for publications including Ideal Home, BBC Good Food, The Sunday Telegraph and The Evening Standard.
Recent stories by Rachel Ogden:
- Levoit Aero cordless vacuum review: For people who hate pet hair
- Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo robot vacuum review: Bye bye, bulky dock
- SwitchBot K10+ Pro Combo robot vacuum and cordless vacuum review
