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

[MissMummy1]

The display ledge halfway up our double height hallway. Can just about reach from the stairs with the hoover extension..

[Salmon8]

I find the brush end on our dyson excellent for cleaning inside the lampshades without ending up getting dust in your eyes. The hose on our pull along dyson is also great for reaching all the way up the stairs.

[BoerWarKids]

I'm a non-tester.

My top cleaning tip is to never leave a room empty-handed and to clear up every night before bed. This little and often approach means the mess doesn't build up much.

I live in a Victorian house with very high ceilings and many nooks and crannies - I find most areas a bit tricky to clean!

[Loretta61]

There's an undiscovered planet, underneath my daughter's soft toys. To get the vacuum in there, you need to negotiate the eddies in the space-time continuum. Which is tricky, when you're in a rush.

[stimlin]

Hi, I'm a non-tester! Cleaning tip: I always start cleaning a room from the furthest corner & work my way back to the door - that way I'm not traipsing dust etc over clean areas. Micro fibre cloths are excellent on mirrors & windows too & can usually be found in poundland!
Hardest place to clean - top of the washing machine! Its kept under the worktop & has the tiniest gap, i dont lke pulling it out as last time i did this i loosened a pipe.............that was a bad day!!

[Squiffie]

My top tip for cleaning is a preventative measure - any mumsnetters that go camping and cook on open fires with billy pans - smear the outside with washing up liquid before cooking and then when you come to wash up the soot comes off really easy, no hours of scrubbing!

My other tip is to vac the crumbs off the table and from the kids laps after meals so wiping the table is easier ;)

[OhWesternWind]

The hardest place I have to clean is the gaps between the floorboards which I've not got round to sealing yet. They collect all sorts of muck and bits of plastic, screws, polystyrene balls etc. my vacuum won't get them clean unless I poke along them with a knife to loosen everything first. Total pain! One day I'll be able to afford new carpets!

[neddle]

the hardest place you've had to reach when cleaning

Under the sofa last week - it has a metal frame and I had to reach in and hoik out the crap that had accumulated under it, without being able to see what I was touching .

[swallowedAfly]

just wanted to add i tried another attachment yesterday - don't know what to call it or what it is meant to be for given the forementioned lack of labeling and details. it was a short one with a large flat opening and i used it to vacuum the sofa. it was very good

must try out the other attachments.

[Mouseface]

The hardest place you've had to reach when cleaning/cleaning tip - (other competition)

Under the washing machine. I had to try and get spilt milk cleaned up from under the back (kindly deposited by a bottle which had flown across said machine on it's way to the recycling bin, courtesy of DH's rubbish aim) of the machine, which was far too heavy to lift or shuffle for me.

I used a tape measure and a soft cloth wrapped on the end of it to get the milk soaked up, and then an antibacterial wipe used in the same way to make sure there was as little risk of smell as possible! Yuk!

A slimmer tube or attachment on my vacuum would have been perfect to grab the small car I'd also found there whilst dealing with the milk!!

[CheeseStrawWars]

The hardest place you've had to reach when cleaning - my parents have a double-flight staircase, so the wall opposite is about 14 foot high. They have a mirror about 10 foot up, and reaching to get the dust off the top of the mirror is a nightmare!

[CelineMcBean]

Challenges (sorry for multi posts - I am balancing sick children and phone and keep losing longer posts)

The balance challenge using the telescopic bit it is quite hard to hold something in the other hand because I need the other hand to guide it. However, it is light enough that I can tidy away as I go which with a zillion toys cluttering up my living room makes a big difference and means I actually start the cleaning even if I haven't had a chance to finish tidying. The best thing is that I can clean around the toddler because it's light enough to just lift over him, so I have temporarily beaten the tantrums caused by moving his things around because "I still be using them!".

[CelineMcBean]

The versatility challenge I don't think much of the brush attachment it just seems to push dust and dirt around. I gave it a go on skirting boards and the metal cooker hood. I like the mini attachment that looks like the main one. It does excellent sucking without doing the boost so good for things like dried mud off welly boots and the feathers from sofas and bedding that get everywhere and are sticky. It was also good on flat surfaces for dust. However, the red strip along the front of it is now filthy and I can't get it clean. Tbh that line of grime is the worst thing about what is otherwise an excellent product. The narrow pipe-like one is good for skirting and the cracks of the buggy and bouncer. I also use that for running around the tops of the walls, down the chairs and sofas, under furniture, bookcases and getting into cracks and crevices (of which there are many in my house!)

[CelineMcBean]

Forgot to say when using it hand held for the balance challenge I carry it around while doing other things like steam mopping the floor or putting clothes away to catch stray dust bunnies and Hoover up dust I've misses from surfaces, mirrors, bookcases and pictures.

I also take it in the kitchen when cooking to clean up stray bits and it is brilliant for getting the crumbs DP makes when he insists on making sandwiches and cutting bread seemingly all over the kitchen. There is always a tide mark of crumbs on the floor when I go in every morning . So this may save the cost of running two homes because I just suck then straight up using the pipe attachment

[CelineMcBean]

The cobweb challenge don't have many of these (low ceilings) but I do use it to clean the uneven walls that seem to accumulate dust daily. It's a very old house and I think there's more dust than in any other place I've ever lived. If gets everywhere but the Dyson is beginning to make a difference. I've been dusting for years in vain.

The family mess challenge i haven't found anything it can't tackle. I've sucked up hair, crumbs, dried mum, dust bunnies, sand, feathers to name just a few. I also managed to retrieve a small piece of Lego that accidentally got sucked because I could see it and the container is small enough there's not too much yuk to sift through. Actually minimal sifting was needed!

[CelineMcBean]

The 20 minute dash challenge I can whizz round all the downstairs hard floors: living room, kitchen and bathroom (small house though!) with the main attachment and use the handheld bit for stray dust bunnies, crumbs and the first few stairs while I run the steam mop over all in 20mins. I also use it on mantel piece, table and TV which are dust/crumb hotspots... and the kitchen work tops. Then I just use e over multi surface cleaner on the worktops and sink and a microfibre cloth on taps and mirrors.

So if I properly dash and have a clear run (ie no toys or washing up) I can do all floors and surfaces, taps, bathroom mirror and the first 6 stairs in 20 mins.

[CelineMcBean]

Please tell us your overall opinion of the DC44overall it is excellent. A couple of niggles as mentioned above like the lack of complete instructions in the booklet and the weird collection of grimey dirt on the smaller, more powerful head and the fact it only has space for 2 attachments not 3 on the holder (with fourth on motorised bit. The blue pole on mine has also got a big scratch on it just through normal use and it hadnt even been chucked in the cupboard at that point. It is also a bit of a fiddle to open and get the crap inside out. I have to use it around the bin afterwards because the dust goes everywhere and then wipe it over with a disposable cleaning wipe cloth. My main gripe is storage. Unless you screw the holder to the wall it is a pain to keen all the bits together. The brush head is also pretty useless in mine. But all that said I love it. I can actually lift it and do a quick clean without all the palaver of getting out the cylinder Dysin that weighs a ton. It is perfect for cleaning up after toddler meal times and because I can see what's in the bin part I know when to empty it. I actually clean more now but it doesn't feel such an effort.

What have you found it good for around the house? I've already answered this above. I could use this as my main cleaner because I mainly have hard floors. If I had more carpet then I would want an upright too.

What about the features such as: weight of the vac, recharging time, charge time, accessories etc all good, with the exception of the attachment niggles listed above. I really like how lightweight it is.

Do you think you'd recommend to other people (if asked)? Yes, and I already have! I adore mine and you're not having it back!

[AnnMumsnet]

Thanks for all the feedback and tips etc.
Am pleased to say the winner of the Dyson is KateByChristmas - I have emailed you! Well done.

[swallowedAfly]

congrats kate definitely one of the best freebies to land here.