Dyson / Gtech / other (portable cleaner)?

Hi all,

As there seem to be a few appliance questions around, it prompted me to get the panels thoughts / opinions / advice on a portable cleaner for my 87 year old Mum for use on the stairs (specifically potentially). Whilst she is actually pretty strong and reasonably agile, something lighter and easier to hold / use than a corded cleaner would be appreciated.

I think she already has cleaners upstairs and down but nothing that is easy (for her) to use on the stairs (Inc the Henry etc).

The stairs are fully carpeted and the treads fairly big / broad, in case that makes any difference. [1]

We have a Dyson V6 Animal but only really use that on the floor in the kitchen or for the car(s). FWIW that can be both hand held or upright use whereas I believe there are two different tools in the Gtech range and similar re 'others'.

The inlaws have a Vax cordless upright and they seem to consider it ok.

A couple of mates have had the Dysons but now swear by the Gtechs (but generally the full 'Air Ram' rather than the 'Power floor' models?

So, this is really just for the stairs but something that could also be used as an upright could also be good.

Cheers, T i m

[1] Are the Gtech Air Ram models suitable for stair use as she would then probably use that as an 'all-rounder' (assuming it would be better than say a Dyson V6 etc).

p.s. Can you get stairs for the Gtechs (when it is out of warranty) as easily as you generally can for the Dysons?

Reply to
T i m
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Parents have the Gtech Air Ram and Multi, seem to get on OK with them as lighter than their old vacuums ...

Reply to
Andy Burns

Would you know if they use the Air Ram on the stairs Andy, or just the Multi?

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

I haven't tried it, but thinking of getting a Bosch one. Not cheap, mins, although there are a number of models.

ITYM spares? Bosch are good for that - the occasional spare has a prohibitive price but I've successfully got spares (quickly) from Bosch for washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, food mixer...

Reply to
Bob Eager

We have the Dyson portable, and it works very well although we have mainly hard floors.

When we bought it we had a try of one at John Lewis and asked about the GTech. The sales person said that they didn't stock it any more due to reliability problems. That was a few years back so things may well have changed.

A battery powered portable like the Dyson is ideal for doing stairs. Lighter than an electric drill and very easy to handle.

It does have a limited battery life so it might not do a whole house in one go, but we are very pleased with it for our purposes.

Ours is a DC59 and it has a long powered extension with a carpet beater brush and a couple of short nozzles for doing stairs, furniture etc.

I thing the Dyson or the GTech would do for whole house use including the stairs; the best test would be if she stopped using the bigger machines after having the battery powered one for a bit.

Either way, the battery powered one is ideal for stairs and is highly recommended in your Mum's case.

For a good price on Dyson machines, ring them direct and negotiate. They seem to offer discounts without much effort.

HTH

Dave R

Reply to
David

We have the older (I assume) DC35 which is working well. The short charge life (15 mins on normal power) is fine with me as I go on to do something useful while it recharges.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Why not loan it to your Mum to see how she gets on with it? We have a V6 and stairs is one of the places that it does make easier than either man handling the DC04 or using the tool extension hose from the DC04,

It does OK as an upright but doesn't clean anywhere near as deeply as the DC04, not surprising with the DC04 having over a 1kW motor to drive the beater bar and suck. My bug bear with the V6 in upright mode is that it's too short and I have to stoop to use it. If the tube extension was around 9" longer that wouldn't be an issue. The cannister is also small and fills quickly.

The V6 could never replace the DC04 as the main cleaner, at least not if you want cleanish carpets. You can clean an area with the V6 and immediatly again with the DC04 and the DC04 will collect at least as much dust as the v6 if not more. We are rural so more dirt probably comes in on shoes etc than an urban dwelling where the only outside ground a pair of shoes has contact with is a few yards of relatively clean drive from car to front door...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

We may well but daughter was hoping to get her something 'known' as a surprise. ;-)

Ok.

Understood. She has a DC04 as well.

Agreed, being 6' 2" doesn't help either. ;-(

Agreed. However, she doesn't have kids or muddy boots going up and down all the time so it's really something she might use 'little and often'. (Which also suits a battery device of course).

Not tried that but you could be right. Again, we have washed a carpet after giving it a good going over with the DC04 and the water goes black very quickly! ;-(

;-)

Unfortunately Mum lives pretty close to a main road and so she does get quite a bit of dirt in from there. Also, we tend to walk round there and she walks to the shops so it's not quite as straightforward as you might think. ;-)

We might take our V6 round there and give it a go when she's at my sisters and take it from there.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Not the answer you wanted, but DW suggests spending the money on a cleaner, thus creating employment here rather than China.

An extension hose for the downstairs cleaner would provide "proper" cleaning power whilst being lightweight.

Reply to
GB

And a trip hazard, For an 87 year old a trip and fall can cause injuries that a younger person will find uncomfortable and a nuisance, for the elderly it can often remove any vestige of independent mobility they may have and the final miserable end arrives quite quickly after. For someone of that age if they or a relative have the finance a homehelp for a couple of hours each week can be a good investment to keeping them in their own home as long as possible, £25-40 a week is a lot cheaper than what sitting vegetating in a care home costs.

G.Harman

Reply to
damduck-egg

Yup, something I've just said elsewhere. It's interesting to see that whilst Mum is still fully compo mentis (and can only appear otherwise because her poor hearing tends to isolate her from some of the incidental stuff), she can be quite unstable at times, stumbling over the smallest of things (possibly linked to the poor hearing)?

And nasty tears to the ever thinning skin, especially on her hands.

Quite, something we are keen to avoid at any cost.

Luckily, Mum seems way off that stage atm and is really enjoying going out and about with friends and family. The problem we have it stopping her over-extending because of the very points you raise (a small fall or cut could be very bad at her age). An elderly family friend missed the step whilst getting off a coach, fell, banged his head and died right there. ;-(

So, we know the Dyson models and believe one might be useable by Mum, initially just for use on the stairs but may also be ok for her to 'have a quick run round' between us doing a more thorough job with a corded cleaner. Depending on what our daughter thinks, she may be happy to let her Gran try ours before getting her one as a gift (which I think is her plan).

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Maybe TNP would like to be my Mums cleaner then? ;-)

There is often a big difference between a moderately strong 87 year old lady who happens also to be fairly hard of hearing and can be a bit unstable on her feet having to do something she must do and her doing the same but easier and with less chance of falling down the stairs whilst she's doing it and even a similarly aged person who happens to be stronger and may not have any balance issues.

Basically, we are looking into anything that allows her the freedom to look after herself as much as possible whilst minimising the chance of finding her cold at the bottom of the stairs with a (her) Henry on her head. ;-(

The question was 'what would the panel recommend for such a role', not who can personally (still) use a Henry on their stairs. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

She says just the Multi.

Reply to
Andy Burns

Thanks for that Andy. Noted.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

They saw you coming. Of course they'd rather use a customer's vac than their own.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

They wanted to use the vac that was best for the job they wanted to do, the y didnlt want to go back into the basement drag their henry up for a few mi ns cleaning job it just wasnlt efficient way of cleaning the wondow ceils a s they found when they previously used their henry it was combersome and sl ow to use.

Reply to
whisky-dave

You believed them, then? ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I believe it because it's a fact. The dyson we have is ligher than the Henry.

Reply to
whisky-dave

Absolutely anything is 'lighter' when it's the customer's and to hand, not left back at the van.

Would you lend your own tools to a contractor at home?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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