Chris has been asking me for a cordless Dyson for a couple of years. I always agree until I see the price, and then I decide that a broom and a dustpan and brush will do just fine. Then the other day he just came out and told me he was getting one. If it takes a snazzy expensive gadget to get him to even think about cleaning, then maybe it’s worth it!….
First of all I’ll give you the low-down on our hoover situation. Years ago we bought a Dyson in a January sale. It had a good run, but when it kicked the bucket we could only afford a cheapy hoover to replace it. This was our worst household purchase ever – it can barely lift a dead flea off the floor, let alone cope with all the pet hair we have in our house. So anyway, we came back from a holiday, during which my parents had been house and pet-sitting, to find they’d very kindly bought us a new state-of-the-art cylinder Dyson. (I don’t think they could stand to live amongst the dirt the cheapy hoover left behind!) This is the DC23 Animal model and is flipping fantastic. However, it’s also flipping heavy and is quite difficult to lug up the awkward stairs to hoover up there; nor risk your life trying to carry it down the narrow stairs to the cellar, where Chris has his study. We used the cheapy hoover for the bedrooms upstairs, and a broom for the cellar as that’s all laminate flooring.
Cordless Dyson review
We are currently in the process of having a bloody good clear-out as our house is getting overrun with stuff. Chris did his study last week and was left with rather a lot of dirt. Hence the cordless Dyson. I didn’t put up much of an argument against its purchase because I can see its benefits. We do have three cats and a large dog who roam the basement and all shed hair and skin and dead fleas, and for health reasons, it’s probably a good idea to get rid of all that up a hoover rather than brushing them into the air with a broom.
Ok I’m rambling – onto the actual review of the Dyson V8 Absolute cordless vacuum cleaner. I won’t tell you all the technical stuff – you can read that on Amazon, but I’ll give you a quick low-down on whether I think it’s worth the money. Basically yes, if you’re in a similar situation as me, and have areas of your home that are difficult to get to. Also yes for small flats/bungalows/mobile homes or very small houses if you hoover regularly. The biggest drawback is the size of the bit the dirt gets sucked in to. It doesn’t hold very much at all. Just to hoover the rug in our living room (6’x5′ approx), we had to empty it twice. Ok it had been a while since its last hoover, but you get my point. You’d
Handheld Vacuum cleaner review
definitely at least have to be an every-other-day vacuumer to not get really annoyed. So no, it isn’t worth it if you live in a 3 bedroom family home with a pet or two and only hoover once a week or less!
If you’re in a small home and space is at a premium, then it’s another plus point because this takes no room to store at all. You do need to find an ideal spot though to screw the holder in the wall near enough to a plug socket to keep it charged and ready to go.
The power is very good and the carpet attachment picked up almost all the usual dirt and pet hair off the rug, but not quite as well as the Dyson DC23, and it did take very slightly longer to do it.
The hard floor attachment is so soft Chris didn’t think his study floor was worth it! He used the regular attachment and that was fine – no scratches or anything to the floor. There’s also the usual duster brush and crevice tool which slot neatly into the body of the vacuum cleaner. (Sorry – I should’ve said vacuum cleaner, not hoover all along.) I’ve used the soft attachment for the wooden floor upstairs and it works great.
It’s very lightweight and comfortable to use and the battery lasts about half an hour; so not really long enough if I want to do a good hoovering session of all the bedrooms. It’s proven useful for rescuing the kids from spiders as it’s so quick and easy to grab and take where you need it. It won’t replace the proper hoover, which will continue to be used on the main living level, but we will use it instead of the useless cheapy hoover upstairs. I’m actually looking forward to giving those rooms a decent clean!
So that’s it really; if you’re trying to decide whether to buy a cordless Dyson, I hope I’ve helped make your mind up. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments.
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(Nearest currently available cylinder Dyson)
