I have a really bad back, and when I was pregnant I also developed SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction) which made getting up and down the stairs really painful, near on impossible at times. The last thing I wanted to do was carry my big hoover up and down the stairs all the time, but I didn't want to never hoover upstairs either!

My husband very sweetly thought of getting me a handheld hoover. The idea being that I could sit on the stairs to hoover thus easing my back a bit, and scoot down the stairs on my bottom (which I had to do anyway due to the SPD) whilst sitting down to hoover. Bless him, it was the best thing he ever bought!! Despite our daughter now being 2, I still use the handheld hoover on the stairs every time.

My husband chose the Dyson DC16 as it was the best model at the time, but within a year the battery started to give up and we ended up upgrading to the Dyson DC31. The DC31 is more expensive at around £150, but we love Dysons and think they are amazing so we bought it.

The charging time is about three hours, and when fully charged you get 10 minutes normal power or 6 minutes on super power. I only tend to use the boost button when I am cleaning something really messy like the car - the downside is then that I sometimes have to leave the job half done to recharge the hoover! But for cleaning the car it is not only handy but very very efficient. I tend to use the normal power setting the most, for cleaning up spills, bits of mud, crumbs, cat fur and even the piles I make after sweeping the floors. The suction is unbeatable - it is incredibly efficient and quick to use.

To charge the battery, you have a plug that goes into the mains, with a small adapter on the end which goes into a port on the handle of the Dyson. There is a light on the mains plug which will be red if the unit is failing to charge, green if it is charging, and off when it is ready.

The Dyson comes with a few attachments - a combination tool with a wide nozzle and a brush on the end, a long crevice tube and a motorised brush. The motorised brush is designed for getting deep into carpets and it really is brilliant on our shaggy rug. I find that the brush does not really get clogged (but then again I don't have any dogs, only cats) but occasionally a few hairs will remain on the bristles, but really 99% get sucked up which is fantastic compared to other hoovers.

There is a washable filter which I have never really needed to wash. To empty the Dyson you press the red button and the bottom of the hoover flips open on a hinge (do this over a bin as it all falls out!) - this is so quick and easy and much less messy!

All in all, this is by far the best handheld I've ever had. It beats my old Dyson (which had a dodgy battery) hands down! More than a year on with daily use it is still going strong. My best buy!

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