Dyson DC 08 Origin

...a little afraid that the Dyson would not live up to its promises, and that I would be stuck with a gadget that looked pretty rather than an effective cleaning system.

CLAIMS MADE BY THE MANUFACTURER.

The Manufacturer claims to have invented Cyclone technology which sounds very fancy, but what in fact does this mean to the average housewife ?

It meant nothing to me when I bought the machine. They were empty ...
...particles into a pile. The Dyson has a small suction hole at the front of the machine which picks up any particles that may accidentally have been pushed forward by the machine. This is extremely useful and more important than other design features, as I know that my cleaning is effective right to the edges.

NEVER HAVING TO BUY FILTERS

Now this was a big plus. I do not know the readers experience of hoovers, although ... more

When you have animals in the house, one thing that you need in order to make your house smell fresh and clean is a good system of cleaning, and when I looked into which Hoover to buy, I kept being drawn to the Dyson, a little because of the advertising, and a little because of the design, though I have to admit when I parted with my £195, I was a little afraid that the Dyson would not live up to its promises, and that I would be stuck with a gadget that looked pretty rather than an effective cleaning system.

CLAIMS MADE BY THE MANUFACTURER.

The Manufacturer claims to have invented Cyclone technology which sounds very fancy, but what in fact does this mean to the average housewife ?

It meant nothing to me when I bought the machine. They were empty words. Cyclone technology is supposed to give uninterrupted suction. That means something. Not having to stop every five minutes because the machine is blocked means something. It means that I gain time and time that can be used elsewhere with more important things. It means that I do not have to keep going over the same area because the first time, the suction was insufficient, so that means a lot to me as well.

ARTICULATION PICKS UP MORE DIRT

Well here the makers made a claim which proved to be true as well. The pivoting head does pick up more, and I noticed this straight away. I wondered if it was in fact the pivoting head that was responsible or the newness of the machine and put it to a test against my old hoover, and it came up trumps and continued to suck, even when the head was not parallel with the floor surface, which my other hoover failed to do.

PICKS UP RIGHT TO THE CORNERS.

Well this was a new one for me. I had experienced the build up at the edges of the room where the normal hoover pushes small particles into a pile. The Dyson has a small suction hole at the front of the machine which picks up any particles that may accidentally have been pushed forward by the machine. This is extremely useful and more important than other design features, as I know that my cleaning is effective right to the edges.

NEVER HAVING TO BUY FILTERS

Now this was a big plus. I do not know the readers experience of hoovers, although I would imagine that most people have had to buy costly filters for their hovers. The technology of Dyson means that the dust particles are filtered in such a manner that they never get large enough to cause build up. I had my doubts here, although to my astonishment, their claims were true. Normally, I would be spending £3 for filters for my old machine. This cost is now unecessary.

APPROVAL BY THE BRITISH ALLERGY FOUNDATION

Now this claim was interesting to me because in our homes, we harbour all kinds of dust mites, and unpleasant hidden allergens. The Dyson claims to remove even the smallest particles and this is why it has the backing of the British Allergy Foundation. Putting this to the test, I hoovered the bed and carpets that normally house mites that are unseen to the human eye, and my allergies are more in control than they have ever been since using the Dyson. Again, a claim that has been proven.

MANOEUVREBILITY

Dyson claim that the hoover moves easily because its centre of gravity is in the rear of the machine. Here, I cannot question their claim. The Dyson is like a pull along toy. It is so easy to manoeuvre and much less wearing on the back, as well as being able to tackle areas that other hovers struggle with because of their size.

AIRFLOW TOOLS

Dyson claim that because of the airflow to the nozzle, it can clean right down deep into the pile of the carpet. I tried a test here against a conventional hoover, and whereas I would normally have to shampoo the carpet on a regular basis, with the Dyson, the need disappeared. Two rugs, two opposing hoovers, and the Dyson won hands down. The other rug needed shampooing after 12 sessions with the conventional hoover. The Dyson rug is still going strong after 35 cleanings because it does exactly what it claims and does clean out the pile of the carpet.

VARIABLE SUCTION

Now why would a householder want variable suction ? Have you ever tried cleaning curtains and upholstery and found that they kind of stick to the hoover tube ? Most of us have, and here the Dyson has a trigger that reduces suction by 35% for delicate items such as curtains, thin rugs, and upholstery and this for me is very useful in that with the traditional hoover, I would have to do a balancing act on thin rugs to keep them in place whilst hovering them. Now I don't.

CAR CLEANING

This was one of the list of qualities that I looked for in a hoover. I had had difficulty with hoovers when wanting to clean the car, because a lot are bulky and difficult to move. The Dyson comes into its own in small areas, and the nozzle attachment makes cleaning my car a pleasure plus the length of the tube, meaning that I do not need to manhandle the hoover into odd positions so that it reaches every oriface.

ERGONOMIC WAND HANDLE

When firms make claims about ergonomics, I am always a little dubious. We have so many claims thrown at us in advertisements and this was a question mark as far as the Dyson goes. Here, I did another test between the conventional hoover and the Dyson which claims to be easier for your wrist. This is a rotating handle and when I did the comparison, as with all the comparisons that I did, I was trying to prove to my wary husband the benefits of buying a Dyson at such an expensive price, as opposed to a conventional hoover. I was pleasantly surprised that the feeling of wrist ache was actually nil with the Dyson as opposed to the conventional hoover which left my wrist tired. I have recently had a stroke and my hand is weak, although I found that the Dyson diminishes one of the problems I encountered with performing cleaning tasks around the house.

LENGTH OF TUBE

The metallic tube can be adjusted to either longer or shorter, making reaching less of a chore. A simple movement, and the tube becomes longer. For those hard to reach places, this is essential.

TOOL HOLSTER

There is a tool holster which in many ways is useful because it means that you are carrying the tools around with you. Invariably with the old fashioned hoover, these became lost, and the holster means that they can be kept in a place which is easily accessible.

STAIR CLEANING

Dyson claims that the hoover sits on the stairs, and here, I have a large set of stairs which I have usually brushed by hand because of the weight of my hoover. Now, I Dyson them and they look great. The Dyson's lightweight design comes into its own for awkward jobs such as this.

STORAGE

The Dyson stores easily and the tube slips into a yoke so that it stands upright and can easily be put away in a corner. I actually like the design of the Dyson and for days left it where everyone could see it. It is very aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

CLEANING THE BIN

Cleaning the bin is simple and due to the design of the Dyson it is easy to retrieve items that have been hoovered by mistake. I found that the emptying process was not at all messy, and the designers had really given this a great deal of thought. The bin is easily accessible, and also shows how full up the Dyson is and thus when it needs emptying, unlike older models of hoover where guesswork played.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I am not easily impressed with household appliances, though this one actually made the cleaning of my house a pleasure. I have tiled flooring throughout the ground floor and wooden floors on the upper storey and I was concerned because other hoovers have left marks and are not at all gentle to move around. The Dyson has rubber wheels which leave no traces and care as much as I do about my furnishings and floorings.

Top marks to the designers, who, for a change, have thought about the consumer and have taken no short cuts in their design of a first class tool.

Thanks for reading

Rachel
 

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