Let's Hoover! (Dyson DC04)

Member Name: CarolineH

Product:	Dyson DC04
Date:	01/10/01 (226 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can see all the dust going round!, Excellent suction, Easy to push around

Disadvantages: Price, Noisy, Heavy to carry up and down stairs

Now, ask anyone who knows me, and you will learn that I am not the housework type. When it comes to hoovering - well, I'd just rather not. When I was working full time, a quick whiz around the bits you could see, once a week, was enough for me, with maybe a little extra picking up of the larger bits of fluff (by hand) in between.

When I had Thomas, 20 months ago, two things hit me regarding hoovering. Firstly, that having a baby, particularly when that baby begins to be mobile, calls for super clean floors. Secondly, that when you are home a lot more, you notice things, and fluffy floors did begin to annoy me. We have owned a Vax since we moved in to our first flat, 6 years ago. When we bought our house, it was brilliant, as it meant we could clean the carpets. (Which we did. Once.) However, over the years this particular cleaner has lost its place in our hearts for one reason or another (namely bits keep falling off it), and so the time came four weeks ago to replace it.

I had been doing my research for some time before this. Friends and family recommended the Dyson for ages, saying that it was easy to manoeuvre, has excellent sucking power (!) and you don't need to buy bags (or filters on the newer models) ever again. Off we all toddled to Curry's, knowing how expensive Dysons are, expecting to come home with the oldest model. However, we were luck enough to go on a day when Curry's had a special offer on the next model up, the DC04 with 'adaptive brush control', for a mere £178. Bargain! The brush control business is good, as it means you can change the position of the brushes on hard floors and rugs, so as not to bash away at your precious floorboards - so far it seems to work.

Excitedly (I have never used that word about a household cleaning item before!) we packed our new purchase into the car, went home and tried it out. What a dream! In the first week of owning our Dyson I hoovered the whole house, top to bo
ttom, all nooks and crannies, a record breaking (for me) THREE times! Our carpets looked so much cleaner, it sucked without effort and because all the weight is right at the front (it's an upright one) it is dead easy to push around. The lead is long enough for me to be able to hoover all of downstairs without having to unplug and start again. The hose is kept hidden away as part of the handle, and my goodness is it extendible! You can easily do all the way up the stairs, leaving the hoover itself at the bottom.

The model we bought comes with a nozzle, a stairs and upholstery brush and a round brush for things like curtains, and these can be replaced if lost or broken (at a price). The only real disadvantage for me has been the fact that it is heavy to carry up and down the stairs - you do need to lug it round the shop a bit before you buy it, to make sure its okay for you. The Dyson is really easy to clean - you simply unclip the cylinder and empty it into a bag or the bin. Twice a year you need to clean the filter, and there's even a little diagram where you circle the months in which you do this, to remind you. (I was impressed, as my memory is useless.)

An extra thing to bear in mind is paying to extend the 2 year guarantee you get with your Dyson. It's worth doing, as apparently if you have a problem they arrange to pick your Dyson up, mend it and deliver it back to you in 48 hours, which would help withdrawal symptoms? Also, this covers accidental damage, which the standard guarantee doesn't. It's worth it for peace of mind, I reckon.

One word of warning. You will be amazed, mesmerised, and completely appalled by the amount of filth that comes out of your carpet! The cylinder is clear, and you can see every last bit of fluff spinning around? all three of us have a fascination for this, and I think it could be the reason for my new-found hoovering (or should I say Dysoning) passion!

***Hoovering update!**
*
I still love my Dyson, but have noticed a few extra things which you may need to bear in mind before you buy one. If you have stairs which go round a corner (like we do), you may find (like we do) that there are certain parts of the stairs you can't get to. This is because quite a long section of the hosey bit is inflexible, and you can't get around the banister properly. A small thing, but quite annoying.

Another little irritation is that when you open up the Dyson to empty the cylinder of all your lovely dust, some of it always falls onto the floor. Aaaaagh! Tip - hoover after you've emptied the cylinder, not before!

Oh, and don't hoover up your little boy's shoe laces if you can help it. It makes a terrible noise and he won't go near his shoes or the hoover for days.

That's all! Go out and buy one!

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