what an animal! (Dyson DC31)

Member Name: freud

Product:	Dyson DC31
Date:	25/08/09 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: really handy, great sucking power, ideal for nooks & crannies & stairs

Disadvantages: takes a while to fully charge & may be too heavy for some.

Hubby comes home with some quite random items sometimes & last month I thought he'd treated himself to (yet another) very large drill but in fact it was a Dyson DC31 handheld vacuum cleaner.

I've never seen a vacuum quite like this & have to admit I was initially a bit dubious as it seemed quite heavy & awkward plus it takes 3.5 hours to charge & you can only use it continuously for about 10 minutes.

I also thought he was crazy paying over £100 for it (Costco) as it was seemingly just to stop me moaning about cat & dog hairs - but now I've got used to it I just love it!

We have a Henry vacuum which is heavy & cumbersome plus awkward to use on the stairs. I wouldn't part with 'him' for the world as it's a great machine but have started to use the Dyson DC31 much more often as it's great for sucking up crumbs, hairs, dried pet food, dust etc. It's also a brilliant vacuum for the stairs, corners, skirting boards & picture rails - in fact. apart from large areas, I use this most of the time for getting into all those nooks & crannies which are hard to reach with a larger machine (even when using the right tool).

It took a bit of getting used to but basically it's straightforward & it has 3 tools with it - 2 different-sized brush heads which are great on carpets & rugs plus a long narrow attachment which is the one I use to get into corners. All you need do is unclick the required attachment & they each lock firmly into place as required.

There's no bag to bother with & thanks to the clear & easy to understand leaflet it was easy enough to see how it empties straight into the bin without having to touch any of the dirt/mess. The leaflet is full of clear, large diagrams which makes using the vacuum simple (even for me!). It also shows how you can clean the filter & attachments & take it apart to reach any obstruction you may have so I can't really see any reason why you'd ever have to pay for servicing (touch wood!).

It has a high power/low power facility but I've only used the high one so far & it has great sucking power - I was amazed, but also shocked, to see how much dirt it lifted even after using Henry & am a happy bunny when I see it all going in the bin.

There's a free 2 year guarantee with this animal which seems to cover those who've used it as instructed in the manual & followed all the trouble-shooting prompts so Dyson must be pretty confident in this newish addition to their family.

I'll just add the following information for those who understand more about electrical appliances than I do! -
- 200 watts
- 65 AW
- 22.2v Li-ion battery
- bin capacity 0.35 litres

summary
~
- expensive but works really well.
- great sucking power.
- handy to use on stairs & in awkward, hard-to-reach areas.
- quite heavy (I'm guessing around 6lbs with attachment?) but much easier & quicker to use than a standard vacuum cleaner.
- takes around 3.5 hours to charge but you get around 10 minutes to clean which is enough for me thanks!
- easy to maintain, clean, take apart & put back thanks to clear & well produced manual.
- has a 2 year (limited) guarantee.
- I'd recommend borrowing one before paying the RRP of around £140 as although it suits us it may not be as useful for others.

Summary: well worth borrowing one before you buy - recommended

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