Dyson DC55 Total Clean - Review and impressions

[marcusprit]

The bristles on the Kirby brushroll don't get close to the edge but because it produces so much airflow and has suction channels i think it does edge clean.

Maybe someone could do a video demonstrating this?

 

[sebo_fan]

Ty Sensotronic.

I know what baseboards equivalent are in the UK already, but I just wondered if the member meant something else. The Vax Mach Air does okay for cleaning skirting boards - better infact than the Cordless Air in my experience. May have something to do with the silly row of stubby round brushes that don't do very much on the soleplate edges of the Cordless Air.

 

[sptyks]

This excellent video explains the term Baseboard and also demonstrates very well the difference in cleaning effectiveness between a bypass air and direct air vacuums when it comes down to cleaning next to baseboards. start watching at minute 2:30:


 


 

 

[marcusprit]

Thanks Stan does the Kirby clean as well up to the edge of baseboards?

 

[sptyks]

YES! Didn't you read my last post and watch the video?

 

[marcusprit]

Haha yes i did and left a comment

 

[steph]

Grrrr F for Fail on Hard floors!

@matt8808

Are your cats indoor or outdoor ones??
I ask because I recently bought the DC55 Total Clean and I'm extremely disappointed.. what a total waste of money!!!
I have 3 indoor cats.. and that means cat litter! now the machine is supposed to be C rated at picking up on carpets and A rated at picking up on hard floors but I would rate it an F for fail on that score.. being that it chases half the cat litter around the floor and you end up having to pick the machine up and reposition it to suck up the said cat litter.. once the cleaner head is OVER the cat litter it picks up fine.. but there doesn't seem to be enough clearance to allow it to just run over and small particles and then suck them up!! and by small we are talking cat litter that is 2 or 3 mm.. yet it picks it up find from carpets such an expensive mistake.. and dont get me started on the brush bar.. if you turn that off its very difficult to maneuver on hard floors then!.. and that max button to adjust the retractable plastic flap at the front thats supposed to stop carpet dirt from being kicked forward.. then on hard floors will just put any dirt forward instead of allowing it to be sucked up.. dont see the point of that I mean who hoovers backwards as a general rule anyway????????? any dirt kicked forward you would ge immediately after as the majority of people for FORWARDs (and backwards but in addition to not instead of!) when hoovering!

 

[parwaz786]

You can use the articulating floor tool for hard floors, but I'm sure that if the red slider thing is set on the min setting it should work fine on hard floors :/

 

[turbo500]

Steph, I think that's a problem you'd face with any upright on a hard floor being completely honest.


I've never found an upright that will clean a hard floor as well as a cylinder will with the brushes down. It gives enough clearance for much larger particles to be picked up.

 

[sebo_fan]

Steph - sadly the EU ratings are not to be trusted. Even Which consumer magazine have doubts over the ratings, particularly on the vacuums they have pasted a "Best Buy" on only to find the EU ratings for carpets, or hard floors are left to question.

I agree here with Chris to a degree. If you have cat litter in particular on hard floors, a cylinder vacuum with a much lighter floor tool will cope better. You can literally just lift the tubes and floor head off the floor if any excess cat litter gets scattered.

However, that's not to suggest that all uprights can't pick up cat litter on hard floors, it is just that the brush roll keeps pinging the litter bits off the moving brush roll. If a machine has a brush roll on/off function, the sole plate still has to allow for enough space for the cat litter to get picked up without it getting stuck.

Awhile back I made a few videos online with cat litter pick up on hard floors. The tests were interesting. Only a few uprights were successful, and not even Miele's Twister suction only floor tool (a floor tool that is equipped with some Miele cylinder vacs) was successful in picking cat litter up from hard floors.

 

[blakaeg]

Glad you like the DC50. I don't like them myself I'm afraid. They are noisy and feel like cheap plastic toys. Especially when the wand is removed. Despite the number of times my DC24 has broken, it feels a little more substantial.

The pics of the full bin reminds me of when I moved into my new apartment and picked up a mixture of wool and debris.

 

[spiraclean]

Depends on the type of cat litter also. I use premium clumping (or rather my cat does, before anyone gets an image in their head that can't be erased) which has a very small particle size and goes straight up the vacuum without any issue. Some non-clumping litters in particular are much coarser in texture, and will get snowploughed by the vacuum.

With the Dyson, it may be worth experimenting a little with the Min-Max slider. Set it however you prefer on carpet, but on hard floors, I'd be inclined to try opening it fully in order to raise the front seal. Hopefully this will provide enough clearance to allow larger dirt to be drawn in through the front of the head. What you don't want is for the cleaner to seal itself down onto the floor; if it's hard to push with the brush roll turned off, this is likely what's happening.

Bear in mind that a lot of uprights claim to be OK on hard floors, but this doesn't necessarily mean they're the best tool for the job in practice. I've yet to use one I'm 100% happy with for this task, and I'm not even sure if it really exists. Nine times out of ten, a combi head or dedicated hard floor tool will be easier to work with and do a far better job.

 

[Mike81]

Even the canister nozzles struggle with the large debris. I don't like nozzles where the brush strips are in the front. Those just push even the smaller particles without lifting the nozzle. Another I have used is the Miele SEB 217 powerhead. It has low clearance from the floor. It is designed to have seal with the carpet and that causes it to just push the particles ahead. Surprisingly it's still better than straight suction combination nozzle. Parquet nozzle is quite good because you can tilt the angle of it and allow the large particles to fit in.
Best so far is universal Twinner nozzle which has large suction channels in front and side. However it has glide pads underneath it and those wear down eventually. Fortunately, they are replaceable. It's very light and easy to handle.

Video in the link.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTI3xNdELDE

 

[sebo_fan]

Of course the next best thing is to return to old traditional ways with a twist. I'd have this if I had a lot of activity in my kitchen. More so suited for those with central vacs.

 

[hvrvaclvr]

I guess it depends on the litter. I use scoop away multi cat. It's small and sand like. My DC65 has no problem picking it up off of my laundry room floor.

 

[parwaz786]

Dyson fluffy is designed to be excellent on hard floors with no snowplowing