Dyson V6 Total Clean review

[matt8808]

On the 29th November I bought something I said I'd never have - A cordless Dyson.

I've never bought into the hype for them and wasn't very impressed with the last stick Dyson I'd had encounters with - A DC35.

Anyway, given I'd got such a bargain on my mispriced DC55 Total Clean the week before, I was feeling flush and decided I'd take a gamble on the V6 Total Clean.

Currys had them on offer for £279 and I also bought the additional hand held tool kit for £30.

And the verdict. OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT!!!!!

I mean I use it pretty much every day. The full size DC55 gets used once a week now if it's lucky!

So to start off here are a few pics of what came with the machine -

We have the direct drive motor head - said to give 75% more grooming power than the standard V6 power head - a claim I can believe.

The Fluffy head - superb idea however I tend to just use the direct drive head for everything as it offers superb all round cleaning. I'd only really think to use the Fluffy head if there was visible large debris on the kitchen floor.

Mini motorised head - great for stairs and furniture.

Crevice tool and combi suction / brush tool.

In the extra tool kit I bought I got the mini soft dusting brush, stubborn dirt brush, mattress nozzle and a stretch hose. I bought this kit mostly for the stretch hose to make car cleaning easier.

 

[matt8808]

The machine itself is just effortless to use. It goes without saying that it glides into places I'd never get the full sized DC55. Under my bed for example - this would be a hands and knees job using the hose of the DC55. And I can nip out to the car whenever I want. It really does give the clean of a full sized machine with the ease of a cordless.

Heres a pic of what I got from a quick poke about under the bed..... I've got to point out that it is a pure wool carpet so most of it is just where the carpet sheds fluff like there is no tomorrow - I'm not that filthy lol

 

[matt8808]

In terms of performance - I vacuumed the house from top to bottom with the full sized DC55 one day, and the next had a quick wizz through with the V6 - This is what it got. I was quite impressed

 

[sebo_fan]

Looks good, as well as familiar... owner also of wool carpet...Vax Cordless Air.

 

[matt8808]

I really like the option of being able to have the charger cable by itself instead of it being fixed into the dock. This makes it slightly less obtrusive. Similar principle to a mobile phone charger really.

My previous cordless machine was a Black&Decker flexi and the charging dock on that was quite large and bulky.

I do have one minor criticisms with the V6.....
It can fill quite unevenly (pictured) - meaning when it comes to emptying it I have to poke about with my finger to get it all out. Thats all from once around the house by the way... It really does clean exeptionally well!

The battery run time is superb - about 16-17 minutes with a powered head on, or 20 minutes suction only. 6 minutes on the MAX setting - however I've never found the need to use this setting.

I can get right the way around our average sized 3 bed house at normal pace quite comfortably and still have charge left to faff about vacuuming the cats beds and things. I've never yet had it run out of charge on me.

 

[matt8808]

All in all I'm over the moon with it.

It is by far the most effortless and versatile machine I've ever had.

Would I have another? Without a doubt.

And it matches my DC55 colours too as they're both Total Clean models.

The DC55 came with extra tools (pictured) so between the two of them I've got a Dyson tool for every job imaginable!

These are both now in firm place as my daily drivers. More so the V6. I only use the DC55 when I'm doing a once a week big clean because the V6 won't run for long enough.

Day to day vacuuming I reach for the V6 every time

 

[sebo4me]

Glad you like it. Dyson finally seem to be getting it right.

 

[dys0nb0y]

I'm glad you like your new Dyson,how are you liking your dc55?????

 

[parwaz786]

Nice Dyson. The V6 Total clean is on my list. Such a fantastic looking machine.

PS, slightly off topic, but speaking of DC55, could you rate the performance of the DC55 out of 100 through both the cleaner head and the suction of the hose vs the old model 1300W DC41 out of 100?

I have the DC41 Animal (mine is the early model, one of the first to be made, actually) and am looking to upgrade to either the DC41 MK2/55 or a Cinetic big ball which should be slightly more powerful. I would like to know how much of a difference there is in the performance between the 2015 model and the pre EU ban model.

Kindest Regards,

-Tayyab Parwaz.

 

[henrydreyfuss]

Love my V6!

I have the same model, except the equivalent model in the US has a HEPA exhaust filter (V6 Absolute). It's be the best cordless vacuum I've ever used, and a vast improvement in performance over the DC35. I love all the tools, and it's a wonderful machine for cleaning out the car (that extra stretch hose is must for the cordless dysons). Both cleaner heads are awesome. The fluffy head is a little wobbly in operation, but also very fun to use, and the results on bare floors when using it are incredible. The cyclonic filtration is excellent, and unlike the last-gen model, I've yet to wash the pre-filter (even with regular use it hasn't needed it). The machine is just so handy and versatile. Although I like the different charger options, I think the wall mount is awesome. I love that I can just grab it and go!

My gripes with the machine after about 8 months of ownership are minor. The bin is messy to empty, and the shroud in the bin requires frequent cleaning (worse than the last-gen hand vacs, it clogs quickly). I have an early model, and I've noticed that on new models it has been fixed, but both filters fall off/out very easily, to the point of annoyance (I've accidentally lost the pre-filter outdoors before because it fell out and I hadn't noticed). The odd thing is that I owned a DC59 Animal before upgrading, and had no issues with the filter falling out at all.

Parwaz - If I were to compare the cleaning performance of the American DC41, and the US equivalent to the MK2 (Their best upright, I like it SO much more than the Cinetic), I would put carpet cleaning of the DC41 at a 65, and the new Ball Multi-floor model at an 80. The cleaner head on the new model is a vast improvement, and leaves much prettier carpet lines. Bare floors I would give the new ball multi-floor a 100, and the original DC41 a 90 (Dysons uprights do a shockingly-good job on hard floors). I hope this helps!

 

[parwaz786]

HenryDreyFuss

Thank you, I really appreciate your opinion. I agree, Dyson uprights are pretty good on hard floor. My DC41 and DC14 both do really well, even with tile grouting, large debris and finer particles such as flour is picked up in one pass.

I am deciding between the DC75 Cinetic and the DC41 MK2. The Cinetic should be better though, shouldn't it? I mean, more airflow, two HEPA filters on each side of the ball, more sturdy chassis, more suction and no maintenance.

Kind regards

-Tayyab Parwaz

 

[dys0nb0y]

Tayyab don't forget are UK models are different to the USA

 

[parwaz786]

True, I guess the UK Cinetic DC75 is the best

 

[henrydreyfuss]

I sold my Cinetic but kept the Ball Multi Floor

In the US, the cleaner heads on the two are identical, so performance was identical (just like the UK model equivalents). I didn't care for how huge the big ball was. It's a huge vacuum cleaner. The Cinetic's filtration system is the best multi-cyclonic setup on the market, but the lack of a pre-filter on the machine is downright arrogant design. The Dyson Cinetic uprights are all going to let a ton of dirt through the motor during their lifetime. The two Hepa exhaust filters is welcome, but without a pre-filter to catch dander, those dual hepa filters are going to start to stink in homes with pet owners. The bin on the Cinetic was also messy to empty, because the filtration system takes up so much space inside the bin, so the bin actually holds fairly little.

I can't recommend the Cinetic, because even though it has the best bagless filtration system, it's not so good that it shouldn't have a pre-motor filter. The DC41 MK2 is a better machine that will probably run longer, and it's lighter and more nimble.

 

[purpledefector]

The Dyson cinetics are actually less good at pickup than Dyson's other corded products. The cinetic cyclones are more restrictive than 'normal' cyclones to achieve the efficiency to allow removal of the pre-motor filter.

If you are looking UK machines, the EU label is actually fairly accurate indicator of the cleaning performance you can expect. Sir Dyson's insistence that this label is mis-representative does have some basis, but as anyone would expect of him, he is overstating it.

Cordless products don't yet have this kind of labelling, however for context, DC55 motor is rated at 350W (on full power), and most mains vacs are 600W plus. I know motor wattage isn't everything, but there is only so much you can do with a 'small' motor.

Whilst a cordless product is now in the realms of being pretty decent at picking-up, they are still outperformed by (good) mains machines.

That said, of the cordless machines, the Dyson is the most powerful, and unsurprisingly, picks up the best too.

 

[turbo500]

Wow, we've got a few UK members coming out of the woodwork recently - welcome aboard, Purpledefector!

 

[dysonman1]

Matt

Congratulations on your new Dyson V6. They are really awesome. As I was looking at your great pics of the machine, I couldn't help but notice the BEAUTIFUL ink on your forearm. Is it a complete sleeve? Very nice. Being a lover of ink myself, I couldn't help but notice.

 

[dys0nb0y]

The Dyson cinetics are actually less good at pickup than

Hey purpledefector welcome,the dc55 is no rated a 350w is 700w, my I asked if you have the kinetic upright and how do you know it doesn't perform as well as Dyson other models.and on all Dyson upright the Motors are not small they are actually big and they are even bigger than the older models. dyson change them to better Panasonic Motors.

 

[purpledefector]

Thanks Turbo500 and dys0nb0y.

Apologies dys0nboy- I thought DC55 was the name Dyson gave the cordless V6 (DC55 looks to be a rehash of the older DC41 Mk2 with a red spray can for currys). Yes you are right it is 700w on the DC55. The 'V6' motor on the cordless product is 350W.

Both cinetic and D44mk2 have same grades on energy label for pickup- however Dyson is making the claim of 'best upright performance across all floors' for D44mk2. The cinetic also has to use a more powerful motor to overcome the cyclone resistance, and it gives no pickup improvement and makes it heavier.

http://www.dyson.co.uk/vacuum-cleaners/upright/dc41mk2.aspx

If Dyson could make that claim about the cinetic, I expect they would.

My other comments on motors were with ref to Dyson's own 'digital' motors...which only appear on their cordless vacs (and hand-dryers) in the UK.