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

Overall opinion of the DC44:

- What have you found it good for around the house? I have found it really handy around the kitchen, vaccing up dog hairs that settle when the dog shakes herself coming in from the garden, and picking up spilt flour, breadcrumbs, dog food crumbs around her bowl, and going into low corners around the kitchen cupboards. It's great in the bathroom, getting around pedestals and into hard to reach places behind the bath. No vac has ever been there, but the DC44 can reach the most inaccessible places.

- What about the features such as: weight of the vac, recharging time, charge time, accessories etc. it's great to have such a lightweight vac, especially for carrying upstairs. It recharges very quickly, and so far has aways had sufficient charge to go round the house without running out. The accessories are similar to those on other vacs, but I feel more able to use them on this Dyson as the vac itself isn't cumbersome. I am going to order the pet grooming tool, as it is such a quiet vac which won't worry the dog, and I use it to vac the dog basket which can get quite hairy.

- Do you think you'd recommend to other people (if asked)? Yes, I've already recommended it to a couple of people.

I find the Dyson good for quick vaccing jobs, obviously. My main delight is with how easy it is to do the stairs with it. I have been struggling to manage with my heavy old cylinder vac for ages, and using the Dyson is a dream. Quick, light, easy, and I could, if I wanted, drink a cup of tea or a glass of wine at the same time!

The accessories are good. I use the large brush for vaccing the carpet, the smaller one for the stairs, slender attachment for awkward corners and down the side of chairs. Other small attachment (with that rather strange brush fringe on it, for cobwebs.

I have to use both hands to get the Dyson up to ceiling level but once there I can deal with cobwebs one handed, again leaving one free for the tea or wine.

I would most definitely recommend this item to a friend, with one reservation, they would have to be able to afford it.

That I suppose is another slight negative in my assessment of the Dyson, it isn't cheap!

End of feedback, unless you have more questions GNHQ

It looks as though we were doing our feedback at the same time when

Snap Petallus!

One more comment GNHQ.

I don't like the idea of 'the 20 minute dash'. Just the thought makes me panic and I like to think that these days, being older and wiser, I am not so concerned with making my house look like something out of Ideal Homes when I am having friends or family around.

20 minute saunter maybe!

My house has very high ceilings with mock black beams that were obviously designed by an arachnophile!
I find brushes tend to mark the white ceiling and cloths leave threads on the black beams!
I would adore a lightweight vacuum device that would extend to reach the ceiling!

What have you found it good for around the house?
Downstairs I have oak, pine, carpeted and tiled floors; I can vacuum through from front to back without making any adjustments to the cleaner or having to plug it in in seven different places. So that makes vacuuming quicker and easier.

What about the features such as: weight of the vac, recharging time, charge time, accessories etc
The vacuum is light and maneuverable, but the grip leads to the major weight of the machine being on my hand; I've had to learn to hold it in a certain position so that it doesn't cause a pressure sore at the base of my thumb. Recharging time hasn't been a problem at all. The accessories are all useful and I especially like the motorised heads.

Do you think you'd recommend to other people (if asked)? Yes, I have already recommended it.

Please tell us your overall opinion of the DC44 I really do think it's the ideal vacuum cleaner for me. My house is large and the Dyson is light, cordless and powerful, it's changed the way I use a vacuum cleaner; I now vacuum much more often than I used to and for shorter periods. Vacuuming used to be much more of a chore than it is now.

Just had another go with it this morning and finally got round to dispossessing the spiders up in the ceiling corners. We have a high ceiling with fancy coving in one room and I managed to dust it off really easily using the long pole and the small brush. I could use it one handed easily with my right arm, but like petallus said, it's easier if you use two to get it up there. I did think it would be a good workout for upper arms but I have a dodgy left shoulder so I kept changing from right hand only to both hands. I'll work up to using my left hand only.
So apart from the 'bingo wing' workout I know now which are cobwebs and which are cracks in the ceiling & wall...

- overall opinion of the DC44
Brilliant, really handy, would be even better if it charged up quicker. Def recommend though you couldn't clean a whole big house in 20 minutes you could get a lot done. Stronger than a lot of full size vacuum cleaner I have had in the past!

- What have you found it good for around the house?
Teenagers use it!
It's perfect for picking up crumbs, dusting in strange places - like lampshades of uplighters.
It dealt with pine needles - the only thing it got stuck on was a lump of rice cake. It managed fine with large bits of bread that the twins had shed in the doorway as they left the house.
It just seems so much easier to pick up and use that you don't put off cleaning things up like spilt crumbs, as you don't have to lug out a big machine and find an empty and accessible plug socket.
No tripping over wires!! No lead pulling across a surface and knocking things down when someone has moved into the next room or up the stairs and is not aware that they are causing mayhem.

It's not too heavy, tho of course the lighter the better. You can definitely use it one handed so the other is free to pick up the junk that you don't want going up there.
One of my arms is stronger than the other but I do try and change arms to exercise the weak one!
Holding the button down was hardest for my trigger finger when using the big head and trying to do the stairs and landing carpet, but I just changed hands regularly.

If the recharging time was quicker that would be good and allow for unexpected need - presumably you could use it while plugged in if you were desperate not to haul out the big vacuum? At the moment you can't clean one room thoroughly then pass it on to the next teenager needing to do their room and then the next - mind you, our dyson stairhugger used to overheat if we tried to clean nonstop for too long.

Re accessories - I was rather thinking that a small bendy hose accessory to fit a brush on might be useful e.g. one you can flick over the top of a high up drawer or shelf. I think that thought came when I was dusting out a standard floor lamp uplighter and had to tilt it to get into it with the brush.

Also, an even longer thin nozzle to get into and behind the radiator - we have ancient double panel ones which trap dust and I can only get at the ends not the middle.

Would def recommend, especially to those like me who prefer to do tiny bursts of housework. We had a conversation at Xmas with some visiting young in laws who actually bought themselves the extension pipe for xmas, but were coveting 'my' bluey-purple tube compared to their silver one (I bet you could market different coloured tubes). Cue an interesting conversation between Him Indoors and visiting Young Husband over the ease of use and emptying. Did suggest they could both pose with it for me to add here to go into a gransnet calendar but they declined.

I'm really impressed by everyones comments and I've decided that I'm going to buy one.
I have a Little Henry which I love, but it's a faff getting it out and bringing it downstairs just for a few crumbs. I have arthritis in my hand and this Dyson sounds ideal.

Overall impression is very positive, it's light, easy to use - very easy to switch tools. I can understand the need to hold the on button as you only have a max of 20mins power so you don't want to waste any of that.
It's briliant for those small jobs you really don't want to drag the larger vacuum out for. Especially useful if you have grandchildren or pets; crumbs and hairs are whisked away with no effort at all. Curtains are a doddle as are high up cobwebs & stairs - and my sons even cleaned their cars!
I like the fact that the dust collector is clear so you can see what's in there and it's very easy to empty.
I haven't found a downside and am already telling everyone about it - I just wonder how many people would pay this amount for a '2nd' cleaner. Me though - I love it.

I clean and tidy my sitting room and toilet in 20 minutes to receive guests. Shut all the doors of the other rooms and cean them later.

I've been to John Lewis to have a look and found it was £50 cheaper than I thought, and cheaper than the model below (15 mins charge).
SoI bought it and collect it on Thursday! Can't wait.

There are various models. Have you got the DC44?

I can't go to bed until the video has finished uploading and it's taking ages; but many thanks to youngest son for vacuuming and for editing his mother's first (possibly feeble) attempts at filming.
I must say too that today I used the Dyson on my back (indoor) doormat and it was BRILLIANT. Usually I beat the mat outside then vacuum it - and still find there's grit in it, but today as an experiment I just used the Dyson on it and there wasn't a bit of grit left in it when I'd done.
(Okay, simple things please simple minds......I know!)

I admit to not understanding a lot of 'techie' stuff, but how can a film that lasts less than ten minutes take an hour to transfer?

At last - it's just finished. I've got matchsticks keeping my eyes open!

petallus Yes, it is the DC44, it was cheaper because of their price comparison thingy that they do. . All attachments included, no catch as far as I can see.

Wow! Go for it, I'm sure you won't regret it. [ smile]

Having had a Dyson for years one of the best parts is the servicing. A friendly chap arrives on the doorstep, magics the machine better than ever, and leaves you with something that works like new again. DD has just had her first baby, and will be trying to work from home with him in tow - I am going to be there on Granny duty to help. I told her that the only way to cope with keeping the house in order, as well as everything else, was to have a vacuum that you could count on and gave her a Dyson as a pre-baby present.
Despite the sleepless nights, two shaggy cats, her husband wishing he was at home rather than having to go back to work, and all the other distractions of a new baby, she's doing brilliantly. And I can whizz the Dyson round for her when I visit, relieving her of another task.
Fantastic on cat hair, which does it's best to float out of reach and can be quickly sucked in with the hosepipe.

Should you perhaps call yourself 'Dysonthedog', Hoover?

Love the name Hooverthedog

I decided that I should have called our latest rescue dog Dyson as he goes round hoovering the kitchen floor, too late now to change his name though!

Well done to all those people lucky enough to test the Dyson!
My top tip is to use lemon and bicarb. These two along with salt works for most cleaning jobs and is cheap too!
1/2 lemon in a bowl of water in the microwave for 4 minutes creates enough steam to be able to wipe down the insides nicely and the released oil cuts through any grease on the surfaces.
A paste of bicarb with a little vinegar or lemon helps to remove limescale on taps.

I find the worst area to clean are the blinds. They just never look clean enough.

Only just got round to trying my new purchase, and I'm delighted!
The stairs were a doddle, so quick and easy, and I whizzed round the kitchen and sitting room picking up all the bits of leaves that always migrate off my shoes.
Fantastic, I'm really pleased.

I should be on commission

John Lewis has the DC34 version for only £169. Is there much difference? It might suit anyone who thinks the DC44 is a bit pricey.
Must admit from all these tried and tested reviews, I quite fancy one.
I do have a powerful Dyson but its very heavy for me to lug around these days...

Just looked again- it's down to £149 now...