Review: Dyson DC59

Remember the days when cordless cleaners were only good enough for a quick whizz around the sofa cushions to gather up crumbs, or to sort out minor food spillages that weren’t worthy of dragging out the full size vacuum cleaner?

That time has gone. These days, your cordless cleaner would put up a serious challenge to your standard vacuum cleaner. This is where Dyson has been doing some serious work in the past few years.

The latest addition, the Dyson DC59, could replace your bulky vacuum cleaner, if you have half a mind to make the change. It weighs in at just over 2kg, which makes it ideal for cleaning almost anywhere in the house (I’m a particular fan of this for tackling the stairs). And because it’s well balanced, you can easily switch to cleaning higher places - lampshades, cobweb-ridden corners, the top of cupboards, for example.

The DC59 is powered by a Dyson digital motor V6, and has the two tier radial cyclones, so you get as good suction from the mini version as some of Dyson’s larger vacuum cleaners. That little motor is the key to all of this; it spins at up to 110,000 times a minute, which is faster than conventional motors Dyson says. The details probably aren’t important; the main thing is that the DC59’s suction is great for tackling everything from wooden floors to deeper pile carpets.

If you need a bit of a power boost, hitting the “max” button will ramp up the suction even further - but will drain the battery more quickly. More on that later.

The DC59, like any good cleaner, needs a range of tools to help it cover all eventualities. These are all included in the box - an edge tool, a stair tools and a full-size carbon fibre filament head, which works with the removable wand t make cleaning regular carpets a snap.

As previously mentioned, the DC59 is cordless, which means a battery that you’ll have to remember to charge. If you use the wall dock included in the box, you can just pop it back in every time you’re finished with it, otherwise you’ll just have to remember to plug it in occasionally.

A full charge will give you about 20 minutes of cleaning time. That may not sound like much but it’s plenty of time to get a couple of rooms done, thanks to the trigger mechanism that means the power isn’t constantly on. Plus it motivates you to get through the cleaning that bit quicker.

However, using different tools will drain the power at a different rate. The motorised heads will require a bit more power, putting a bit of strain on the battery, and the max boost button will drastically cut the battery life, although it also speeds up your cleaning session.

It will take a couple of hours to charge the battery back to full again, so use these power draining devices wisely.

Although one of the DC59’s selling points is that it’s compact, this also leads to one of the downsides - a small bin. You’ll have to empty it regularly, though it’s a single button push so you can do it in a matter of seconds and get back to cleaning.

The filter has also been changed, and it’s now much easier to get to and clean than in previous models. Located at the top of the cleaner, you simply pop it out, so no more taking the device apart to get to it.

Verdict: At almost €400, the DC459 is probably a little pricey for most people, especially if you already have a full-size vacuum at your disposal. But if you have a small house or want something compact to replace your tired old appliance, it’s worth considering.