Review: Dyson DC31 Handheld Vacuum

When we first moved into this house, one thing that we knew immediately was that the brand-new white carpeting in the living room and hallway definitely wouldn’t stay white. And it certainly hasn’t – between three kids, three cats and a husband who works outside most of the time, I’d call it more of a gray tone by now. At some point we’ll replace it, but for now it’s easier just to ignore the stains and just try to vacuum on a regular basis. Because our upright vacuum doesn’t work very well, and is heavy and bulky, I try to use other options whenever I can, especially to pick up those small messes that are a regular occurrence with kids in the house. A handheld vacuum is easy to grab and go with, and for the past week I’ve been trying out the newest option from Dyson – the DC31.

What it is:

Dyson is the vacuum cleaner that we’re told doesn’t ever lose suction, because it uses “patented cyclone technology to spin the dirt out of the air”. The DC31 is a handheld version which has a dual power mode to let you either have a longer run-time on a single batter charge or gives you extra suction for a bigger cleaning job. The DC31 is powered by the new Dyson digital motor that is the most power efficient and three times faster than the original motors. This handheld only weighs 2.9 pounds for a lightweight option to clean messes wherever they occur inside or outside your home. The 0.09 gallon bin is clear so that you can see exactly what and how much you’re picking up – and when the bin needs to be emptied. The DC31 comes with a dual purpose tool as well as a crevice tool that you can swap out when necessary to reach tight spaces or corners. And the power charging system for the DC31 is Energy Star qualified, to help protect the environment.

Courtesy of Dyson and Ketchum PR, I received a Dyson DC31 handheld to try out and review.

Here’s my take on it:

I loved how easy the Dyson DC31 was to put together – out of the box there was hardly anything to do except to snap a tool on the front. The instructions are very clear and use almost no words, just pictures, to show you how everything works. There was enough of a charge on it initially for me to try it out, and I shot a quick video with my initial thoughts. After the video, I charged it up and have been using it for over a week now on that same charge. Here’s the video:

Since that first day, I’ve used the Dyson for everything from other messes in the living room, to picking up crumbs and such in the kitchen, as well as dirt tracked in by our back door. I haven’t had any problems with it at all – in fact, I think I love using it more every time. Unlike the more traditional handhelds I’ve used, you continually hold the trigger in order to keep the DC31 running, which lets you simply let go if you need to stop vacuuming for a few seconds or moments. That helps conserve the power charge so you’re only running the motor when you’re actually picking something up with it. The two tools are easy to snap on and off when you need to, but I haven’t really even needed to use the crevice tool very much since the way that the dual-purpose tool is angled makes it easy to get into the edges where the floor meets the wall, and up against baseboards or furniture. In fact, I use the DC31 to vacuum along all of my walls now before I pull out my upright vacuum – instead of using the hose and tools on that, since they’re very awkward and difficult to get to. Emptying the DC31 is also easy – you just hold it over the garbage and hit a quick button. The bottom drops off and the chamber empties very easily – with maybe just a quick shake or two to make sure everything falls out, then you just snap the bottom back on.

Unlike more traditional handhelds, there isn’t a way to mount this on the wall, but I like the fact that I can keep it where it’s most needed and not tied to a specific location of the house. A few days after I took the first video, I took a second one, while cleaning up some crumbs in my kitchen. In this video, you can see where I keep the DC31 on my kitchen counter where it’s handy for just about anything I need to use it for.

The bottom line:

I can now understand why everyone that I know who has a Dyson vacuum cleaner raves about it, if the handheld version is any indication. The Dyson DC31 is powerful, compact, lightweight and easy to use, even in tight spaces or corners. It’s held a charge for well over a week with normal usage, and I haven’t needed to use the higher-power, greater suction setting more than once or twice. It’s good to know that the options there though. So far I haven’t come up against a mess that I can’t pick up with this handheld, and with both kids and pets in the house, we’re a pretty good indicator of normal household usage, I would think.

Where can you find it?:

You can purchase the DC31 and other Dyson vacuums directly from their website at http://www.dyson.com, or wherever vacuum cleaners are generally sold, including online at Amazon (affiliate link). The retail price for the DC31 is $219.99.

This post courtesy of: Dyson and Ketchum PR, who provided the product for review. No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post. All opinions given here are solely my own or those of my family.