When poor old Henry the Hoover took a tumble down the stairs a few weeks ago and died a horrible death I needed to buy myself a new hover, something new and modern which didn't take up too much space and could occupy the space in the cupboard under the stairs which Henry had lived in.
Whenever I buy new household products my first port of call is always my Mum who always gives me the best advice and will often offer to come with me to buy something new and also haggle with the shop manager for a better price. This time she managed to persuade me at long last, as she put it, to buy a Dyson hover. For many years she has been going on about how wonderful these Hoovers are and however much attached to Henry that I was, he wasn't going to last forever.
The Dyson DC21 is what they call a Motorhead Cylinder
Vacuum Cleaner and it weighs only a mere 14kg which is really light in comparison to what I am used to. Looks wise, well this Dyson looks space age to me and with the main body being quite small where all of the dirt goes it expands with a long pip to the brush head. This Dyson and I suspect the case with most of the hoovers in this category is approved for allergy sufferers and they pick up the smallest of dust particles from your flooring whether it is a carpeted or wooden floor. Imagine the shock and disgust I felt when I first ever used my new Hoover, my mum did warn me that there would appear to be a hell of a lot of dirt being picked up and she wasn't wrong. I thought my house was always kept really well, the more common areas I would vacuum at least once a day and the less common areas twice a week. However the Dyson comes into my life and it looks like I had never bothered to hover up at all.
One of the main reasons I bought this hover is because of the lifetime guarantee of not having to buy hover bags, I have found that over time it has become increasingly difficult to find hover bags anywhere other than a specialist shop and even then I would have to order them in, thankfully now this isn't an issue, the only thing I have to do is clean the filters every 3-6 months instead. The Dyson DC21 also stores away quite easily as the hose and the hose can be compressed and stored around the hover using special hooks.
So having purchased by brand new Dyson who was aptly named Doreen by my mother after her neighbour who manages to get her nose into everyone else's business, I find within the box that I have got:
• 1 x DC21 Motorhead which is the hover body itself and it is a lovely shiny silvery grey colour all over
• 1 x Motorised Brush Head - this is the actual hovering up part of the Doreen. The manual states that the powerful bristles remove dirt and pet hair from carpets and it is operated by my foot so that I do not have to bend down and turn it on and off.
• 1 x Crevice tool - the Crevice tool is amazing and since getting Doreen home I have used it probably more than any of the other accompanying tools and it is like a long slim pipe which can fit into the smallest of places, in my case down the back of the sofa, behind the bookshelves and I've even used it to hover my curtains.
• 1 x Stair tool - This is a smaller bristle brush which fits onto the end of the pipe in the same way the Crevice tool did and it brushes each stair with ease. With Doreen being so light, it isn't a difficult task to go up and down each step ensuring it has been fully hovered.
• 1 x Brush tool - The Brush tool I haven't yet used, but it is a circular brush and again it slows onto the end of the hose quite easily.
• 1 x User manual - I have read this from cover to cover on how to use and operate my Dyson and found it to be really easy to read and quite useful in parts.
To clean this hover it is actually much simpler than I first thought it would be. The bin where all of the waste goes into is clear and made of a quite hard plastic so you can see when your Dyson is near to being full or looks so foul it needs emptying which in my case I clean it after every use, you unclip the button and remove the bin and simply empty it into a rubbish sack and after you are happy it is clean enough you simply reattach it to the body kit and it is ready to be used again.
My Dyson came with a 5 year guarantee and cost me £329.99 which to some will be a small fortune but for me it is an investment for the future. I have been using Doreen now for almost 3 months and although I was very fond of Henry she is the perfect replacement. Since buying this hover I have also bought some optional extra attachments to accompany my Dyson. Firstly I bought what is called an Up Top Tool and because I am not that tall (I am 5ft 4) I need something to help me reach the top of the bookshelves without having to stand on a chair and this tool is perfect. I also purchased a mattress tool and this helps to removes dirt and dust mites from mattresses and upholstery. In total both parts cost me an extra £20 and I wouldn't be without them now. There are also many other brushes that you can buy for your Dyson if you visit their website but all of the tools can be stored upon the Dyson itself, other than the two extra ones I bought which remain in their boxes until I need to use them.
Overall I am suitably impressed with my Dyson, it is easy to use, easy to manoeuver, easy to clean and it definitely wins on performance with the amount of dust and cat fur it is able to collect from my house.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
People seem to love or hate the dyson, I think it sounds great and your review is useful. Not having to buy the expensive hoover bags other models need would be a huge bonus but my Electrolux was only £89 with 10 free bags over 10 years ago and touch wood is still going strong.
frankiecesca 22.10.2007 12:42
it is hard to part with so much cash in one go but as you say in the long run the hoover lasts so much longer than most that it works out cheaper over time rather than buying new ones so often!! good review!
Oct 21st, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
