NOW CLOSED: Dyson Digital Slim DC44 Tester feedback review thread – Non testers – you could win a Dyson

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the testers currently putting the Dyson Digital Slim DC44 through its paces this Christmas.

Once you've received the Dyson and have had a play please let us know your first impressions.

Then let us know - across the next couple of weeks - how you're getting on with the challenges (do also let us know if you've invented or discovered any other ways the Dyson helped out!).

Here's what Dyson say about their challenges:

The balance challenge - "We know that often busy parents need to multi task. So can you still vacuum with the Dyson digital slim whilst the other hand is doing something else - carrying the baby, the dog, the phone, cooking, putting things away (you name it)".

The versatility challenge - "how useful are the different attachments in cleaning those hard to reach places?"

The cobweb challenge - "can you reach those high up cobwebs that have been sat there lurking for a while?"

The family mess challenge - "pets, children, mud, crisps, crumbs? what family mess can the Dyson digital slim pick up?"

The 20 minute dash challenge - Guests turning up announced? How much of the house can you clean in 20 minutes with the Dyson digital slim?

You will need to add feedback at least twice - once everyone has added their feedback on the challenges we'll add some questions to find out your overall views.

If you're not a tester, we've persuaded Dyson to give one lucky MNer the Dyson machine of their choice - all you need to do is, on this thread, share your cleaning tips and/or the hardest place you've had to reach when cleaning and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a Dyson (could be vacuum, an Air Multiplier fan or a Dyson Hot).

Thanks, MNHQ

[FrillyMilly]

Added a bit more feedback.

The versatility challenge - I haven't been using the attachments too much as the main head is used most if the time. I have used the brush for dusting around the fire and getting cobwebs and the wand for around the edge of the skirting.

Family mess - it seems to manage with anything pretty well. Dry mud, cat hair, glitter, sugar after baking. Only thing is with bigger bits it just pushes them about. Found this out with Cheerios that had been dropped on the floor.

20 minute dash - we have a 3 bed detached and I could do practically the whole house in 20 minutes. Not a complete clean but I could rush around doing all the visible bits easily in that time.

[thepuddingchef]

Hardest place....my kitchen blinds....they drive me mad!

[PavlovtheCat]

I am a non-tester highly jealous of the testers and on the blag to be put in the draw!

The underneath of the sofa is the hardest place to reach when hoovering, as it is quite low and my current hoover pipe doesn't get under it, and the sofa is quite heavy to move, which I can't do at the moment. So it is, in effect, another storage cupboard for small toys and crap! An old Dyson I had swivelled properly so I could lay it almost flat and the head of it stayed flat enough for me to get right under it.

Tip for cleaning - I have bought one of those dusting mitts that you just wipe over things, it is especially great at getting the dust from our black glass tv stand and I do much more dusting with this than I used to.

[chocolatelime]

Another non tester here!

My hardest place to clean is the skylight in the bathroom. It is ridiculously high and impossible for me to reach to vacuum away the cobwebs. Also under the sofa which is a heavy corner sofa and needs more than one person to move it.

My top cleaning tip is to put some music on while you clean, it helps me to get the job done!

[InMySpareTime]

I'm going to add the oddest thing I've vacuumed with my old Dyson:
A model railway!
Tights over the nozzle to avoid inadvertently sucking up tiny farm animals, the long hose is great for going along the track, and the crevice tool works a treat on the tunnels.
Would have been easier with a Dyson slim though I hope I get picked for the last one

[baahhumbug]

A quick addition: funnily enough my cats aren't as scared of the Dyson DC44 as they are of my upright (a Dyson Animal). This makes things a little easier as they aren't dashing away petrified the minute I fetch it to vacuum a few crumbs!

[gilliancd]

My husband has just put anti-vibration pads under the washing machine. It's about an inch off the floor so I've no idea how I'm going to clean under it, let alone remove all the puzzle pieces and DVDs my darling daughter will jam under there

[ShiftyFades]

Hardest place to reach is the top shelf of a cupboard, I'm 5'1", the top shelf is like the top of the pyramids to me... As for the very top of a cupboard.... It'd be like dusting the Shard!!

I have a "handy" stool to reach these places (although only DH can get to the very top), so if I had the new dyson (my handheld dyson died 2 weeks ago after just 2 years of abuse use) I'd have a new lease of life

[HipHopOpotomus]

has anyone used it on venetian style blinds? Is it suitable for that job?

[brighthair]

I'm sure the advert shows it being used on those type of blinds. The little brush head would probably work - I've done skirting boards, door frames, windowsills, and an ornate mirror with it
Actually going to name change to givenupdusting

[swallowedAfly]

i am going to lend mine to my sister to clean her car - will let you know her feedback.

[natcat7000]

I'd have a lot of nerve presuming to give other people cleaning tips. I generally tend to go on a monthly cleaning frenzy which is probably hormonal. Also, when I know we are going to have people over, I clean at roughly four times my normal capacity. So, my cleaning tip is to invite people over regularly!

Hardest place to clean is the cobwebs I can currently see on the ceiling at the top of my stairwell which I can't reach. Worst place to clean is always around the loo (sharing a house with two boys who have crummy aim).

[alemci]

yes, good point Nat, you tend to clean up alot more if people are coming. it is a definite motivator.

[Grockle]

My tips:

DS(7) is in charge of replacing toilet rolls. He loves this as it means he gets to go in the cupboard under the stairs which, for some reason, he loves.

Give DS a cloth and a spray bottle filled with water. It keeps him busy for ages. He loves polishing too. And cleaning the car - he uses a little hand help vacuum.

Hoover EVERYTHING to save on wiping & dusting.

As well as the floors, I hoover:

crevice tool
edges & corners of the rooms
under appliances
back of radiators
In between cushions on sofas

little round brush
skirting boards, picture rails, door frames & windowsills
venetian blinds (close them first), windows, kitchen worktops
lampshades, bookshelves, tops of books/ ornaments
picture frames, TV
leaves of plants
bathroom pipes

[2Old2BeABluePeterPresenter]

Non tester here, my tip for easy cleaning is make it fun, switch on some music, give the toddler a clean duster to help and chase the preschooler with the vacuum cleaner! So much fun :)

[bubbaloo]

This machine just gets better.............

Put the tree away today and there was a fair amount of glitter on our hard floor.Within about a minute,it was gone! Just used the Dyson in handheld mode-you can really feel it sticking to the floorland doing it's job.Love it!!

[chesky]

i hate trying to hoover up parrot seed and feathers, end up having the hoover out 5 times a day just to keep hallway clean and tidy.

[noseynoonoo]

My best tip is to get a squeegee (sp?) for the shower screen. A quick wipe every time is all it needs et voila - you barely need to give it a proper clean again - result!

[NiniLegsInTheAir]

I'm a terrible cleaner (seem to end up only hoovering once a month!) . My tip is to tidy and clean as you go through the house - starting at the highest room, tidy, put things away, then hoover. And work to the ground floor of the house that way. It takes longer but the house looks great when you're done!

[Santasapunkatheart]

I live in a very old house with lots of spooky corners and a proliferation of cobwebs.

The most difficult place to reach? Most definitely a very high corner in the thatched part of the house. Trickiest is the dark and dingy cellar. That needs a tough and easy to carry hoover!

[weenwee]

Cleaning tip:
The perfect baby surface cleaning solution:
2 cups boiled, cooled water
small splash of baby shampoo
a few drops of tea tree oil

Pour in spray bottle, shake before use. Works a treat with a scrub pad, and completely safe for floor, table, high chair, and non toxic to little baby mouths! :D

[chrismse]

Hard to clean places high corners and behind furniture.

Hand held is smart but having to hold the handle down all the time is painful so a switch would have been a better idea.

[bunchamunchycrunchycarrots]

Non tester here - I have the DC35 and love, love, LOVE the long extension on my little teeny vacuum. I live in a v old tenement flat, which is prone to lots of beasties and HUGE spiders that dwell in the nooks and crannies of the high ceilings/cornices. Instead of having to drag my enormous ladders out every time I spot another giant spider which usually disappears by the time said ladders are in place and I cannot find the little bugger I can reach it easily and the suction is good enough to catch the speedy gits. As someone with a not so small phobia where spiders are concerned, this little wonder is a god send. It's brilliant for keeping my lovely ribbed-cord sofa spotlessly clean (having a 7 yr old messy eater of crumbly snacks, this is trés handy). And also good for getting DD involved in the cleaning in a way that actually cleans - she has previously tried to convince me that her small ELC toy hoover is just as good as my large dyson .

[SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots]

I'm very that I wasn't picked to be a tester. I love to Hoover.
The hardest place to clean in my house is a glass lampshade on a high ceiling in the middle of the stairs. Impossible to reach, even with a ladder. Resort to nagging DH to balance on ladder on the bannister. Not very elf and safety compliant.

[HannahLI]

My hardest place to clean is behind the bed frame of our queen, you can see the dust but I can't lift the bed frame it's too heavy, and there are boxes underneath which are difficult to move without help. It's so frustrating! I also find behind the back of the TV really hard to get to too!