Dyson DC35

I originally thought that buying this DC35 was a bit indulgent -after all there are other ultra lightweight vacuums on the market which are cheaper. I had also been told that Dyson's break more often than others -having gone through several cheaper vacuum cleaners in 15 years, (but I'm not particularly house-proud) and reading several excellent reviews I decided to give it a try.

I am astonished at the power and ease-of-use of this little item. It comes with a charging point/wall rack and fittings which take up little space in a cupboard. It cleans the wood and carpet floors with ease.

For really heavy duty cleaning (after I've done some building work for instance) I use my Henry, but that weighs so much it's hard to lug it upstairs. With the cordless Dyson this is easy and you can clean the stairs on the way! Henry isn't retired, but he gets dragged around less often.

The 15 minute charge is fine for a quick and frequent whizz 'round. The only time the battery went flat is on the 'Max power' which doesn't last long, but I haven't found necessary to use it that often. It doesn't store much dirt -but that's part of it's small/lightweight feature, and it's easy to empty. Ok -it doesn't 'beat as it sweeps as it cleans', but use it often enough (which I don't mind doing!)that's no problem. A pleasure to use, and that's from someone very casual about the amount of housework she does.