Dyson DC24 BALL ALL Floors > Reviews (21)

When I moved house last year I left behind my little Panasonic vacuum cleaner which I had bought purely for cleaning the stairs. As I was downsizing considerably I couldn't really justify keeping it and I felt the new buyer of my old home would appreciate something which had been bought purely with that house in mind.

What I had forgotten however is how heavy my Dyson DC04 is. I've had this vacuum for over 7 years now and it's been a veritable workhorse for me. I love it except for one thing - the weight of it. As I get older I find it more and more of a chore to carry it up and down stairs - even just one small flight of stairs.

I decided that I would like to get a lightweight Dyson to use upstairs, and all research pointed to the DC24 which is an upright but is compact and light. Unfortunately the DC24 has a very high recommended retail price of £275, which I couldn't justify as a second vacuum.

I decided to buy one when Costco put the cleaner on offer - meaning it would come in at £188 - still expensive - but probably the best deal I would get. I must admit I was nervous - I had read mixed reviews of the cleaner but had concluded that it fitted the bill for upstairs cleaning and went ahead and bought it.

General Information

The DC24 Multi Floor is the most lightweight upright vacuum cleaner Dyson produce. It weighs just 5.4 kilos - which compares brilliantly to my DC04 which is a whopping 8.1 kilos. Of course lightweight and compact means this is basically a "stripped down" machine - the cable cord and hose are both shorter and the dust canister smaller than on a full size Dyson.

Out of the box it does require a little assembly but this isn't complicated - basically the handle with hose and the brush bar have to be attached but they click into place very easily.

The instruction manual is very easy to follow - pictures are used to show you how to assemble your DC24 and how to turn the machine on and off.

The DC24 has a telescopic handle, which means you can push it downwards making this a very compact vacuum to store away. This was the deal breaker for me - light to carry and easy to store - perfect for my upstairs cleaner. It's worth noting that you can't carry the vacuum using the telescopic hose handle however - if you want to carry this there is a small handle on top of the dust canister.

The cleaner only comes with one attachment for hose cleaning - this is a floor cleaner so if you wanted a brush cleaner attachment or a crevice tool you would have to buy this separately. The attachment sits neatly in place on the vacuum when not in use and unlike some of the attachments on my DC04, this one doesn't fall off.

Using the DC24

Although I have been using a Dyson cleaner for some time now, the DC24 represented a change for me with its ball. Rather than have just wheels, the Dyson uses a ball for supposedly more efficient movement. I must admit I didn't buy the cleaner because of the ball - the weight was my biggest concern when it came to choosing this machine - but having used the machine now I have to say I love the ball.

The ball is the first thing you notice on the DC24 - it is large and yellow, surrounded by silver plastic and the clear dust canister. There are two wheels at the back of the cleaner but these are effectively for moving the cleaner from place to place - ball power kicks in when you press the red foot pedal to raise the wheels up before turning on the power.

Turning the DC24 on is a piece of cake - there is a large red power button you can't miss. The cleaner is a multi floor machine, meaning it works on hard floors or carpeted ones. You need to turn off the brush bar when vacuuming on hard floors and this is easily done using the switch beside the power button. The vacuum default means the brush bar is always on so it's worth remembering this if you have predominantly hard floors.

Suction on this vacuum is excellent - as I would have expected from a Dyson. This makes light work of my bathroom floor for instance - this room for some reason is a dust magnet - and I am happy to use the vacuum both as an upright with the hard floor setting and using the hose with the attachment tool for around skirting boards and other nooks and crannies.

The vacuum is fairly noisy - but certainly not as noisy as my DC04. I would expect this in light of the fact this is a smaller machine of course.

The hose is fairly straightforward to use but it's worth noting at this point that it's nowhere near as long as the telescopic hose on larger Dysons. The hose involves you removing the entire handle from the main body of the Dyson, turning it upside down and attaching that to the concertinaed part of the hose which is permanently attached to the vacuum cleaner and then putting the attachment tool on at the end. I tried to use this to clean my stairs but it doesn't stretch right up to the top, meaning I could only clean half the stairs from the bottom and had to do the rest taking the cleaner up to the top of the stairs and working down - something I dislike doing as I live in fear of the vacuum cleaner falling down the stairs.

I wasn't too bothered by this however - I had specifically bought this cleaner for use upstairs only but this may be fairly crucial if you are looking for a vacuum that can cope with your stairs easily.

The cord, which measures just over 6 metres, is another factor to consider - the cord is over 2 metres longer on my DC04. This isn't too big a deal for me as I am only using the cleaner upstairs and it's easy enough to switch the plug from room to room but once again it's something to consider if this were to be your main vacuum cleaner.

I do think this machine works at its very best on carpets. The ball ensures the vacuum glides easily around and because the brush bar is narrow it can go a good few inches underneath furniture for cleaning. The motorised brush bar is particularly effective - picking up dirt which has penetrated the carpet. The DC24 is designed to handle pet hair too but as I have no pets I cannot comment on that. It has HEPA root cyclone technology which Dyson claims produces cleaner expelled air.

I have a couple of expensive rugs, one of which is a Persian rug and I do sometimes worry about brush bars on vacuum cleaners having the potential to damage them but I have had no such problems with the DC24 which cleans well but is kind to the rugs.

The dust canister is easy to remove and empty. It empties from the bottom however - unlike the bin on my DC04 - worth noting so you avoid having the contents of your vacuum landing on your feet! It is easy to remove and empty.

Maintaining the Vacuum

What I love about Dysons is the design makes maintenance fairly easy and with one minor exception, the DC24 doesn't disappoint.

As already mentioned it's easy to remove the canister and it is easy to clean too by using a brush and a damp cloth. The DC24 has two foam filters - one is located on top of the dust canister and is a piece of cake to remove for cleaning. The second filter is located in the ball and this is slightly trickier to remove to clean but not impossible to do. Filters should be cleaned once a month - clean in clear water and allow a full 24 hours for them to dry before replacing them in your vacuum.

The brush bar is easy to clean too - simply release the brush from the bottom of the machine and remove hairs which have attached to it and replace.

I have yet to encounter a blockage on this machine - perhaps due to the fact I do vacuum as carefully as possible - but the design is such that it's easy to remove the telescopic tube or the brush bar to get to a blockage and clear it.

The DC24 comes with a free 5 year guarantee from Dyson which is easy to activate - you can do so online, by phone or by post.

Final Thoughts

If you live in a flat or want a second vacuum cleaner, then the DC24 comes highly recommended by me. It's powerful, effective, not too noisy and easy to use. It is also versatile, being able to cope with hard floors or carpeted floors and pet hair. However because the DC24 is so compact it's unsuitable for a larger home because the downsizing of the power cord, dust canister and telescopic hose mean it's just not quite large enough.

As a second vacuum it's been a hit. I love the fact I can store it easily in a cupboard and it doesn't take up a lot of space, thanks to the telescopic handle. I love how light it is, and the fact the ball makes it so easy to manoeuvre. I also love how easy it is to change this from upright cleaner to hose cleaner and back again - the entire process is very straightforward and quick.

The best thing however is how effective this cleaner is at picking up dirt. The brush bar is even better than that on my DC04 and the suction is better too. It quite simply doesn't miss anything I roll it over and for that reason alone, it's worth the hefty price tag to me.

I do appreciate that hefty price tag means the limitations might put you off. For a second vacuum or if you live in a flat however it's quite simply brilliant.

This is on offer currently in several outlets for £199.