Dyson V6 Absolute Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Review
Dyson V6 at a glance:
- A cordless, lightweight vacuum cleaner with a bagless design.
- You get a creditable 20 minutes of vacuuming time on each charge.
- The Dyson V6 Absolute comes with various accessories including a hard floor attachment, direct-drive carpet brush head, standard crevice tool, 2-in-1 combination tool, and a wall charging dock.
Dyson has long been at the forefront of vacuum cleaner technology and the V6 Absolute is certainly lightweight and powerful. When you’re buying any vacuum, you ideally want something that is going to cover everything you need without having to change appliances.
The great news is that the Dyson V6 transforms quickly into a handheld unit. So it’s great for those tricky jobs like the stairs and getting under furniture to give the carpet a really good clean. The vacuum is ergonomically designed and has excellent manoeuvrability.
This is the ideal vacuum for small to medium size homes where space can be an issue. The slim design and wall docking with inbuilt charger makes sure that your vacuum is ready to go at all times.
About Dyson
Founded in 1978, Dyson has perhaps become more synonymous with the vacuum than any other brand on the planet. It’s innovation and design have transformed the market over the last four decades.
Dyson is also a British owned company that believes in investing in the skills force of the UK. With design and development facilities in Wiltshire, it continues to lead innovation in the world of vacuum cleaners.
Its cordless stick vacuum cleaners are designed to deliver the power that you expect for a corded cleaner. Without the worry of trailing a cable around with you. With a mix of attachments, they’re excellent value for those who want a flexible and fully functioning cleaning solution.
Dyson V6 Absolute Cordless Vacuum: Features and Benefits
Dyson has produced a whole host of different cordless cleaners over the last few years. As the market leaders, you should expect both quality and durability. This model comes with a 2-year warranty and all the attachments you might ever need.
The V6 Absolute comes with the now-standard pre- and post-motor filters which make sure that you don’t get dust coming back into the room. This makes it a pretty good choice if you suffer from allergies. The filters can be easily removed and washed to keep them in top condition.
As with most cordless cleaners on the market, the big issue is the power of the motor and the capacity. If you’re doing a big clean of a fairly large house, you’ll probably need to empty the bin a couple of times as it’s relatively small.
Fortunately, this is very easy and involves simply sliding open the mechanism and dropping the dust into the trash. Once you get the hang of your new Dyson, you should be able to open and empty the bin in just a few seconds. The bagless design means that you also have a machine that is highly eco-friendly as well as being easy to use.
The good news with the V6 Absolute is that it comes with most of the accessories that you need to clean any home properly. The vacuum can quickly be turned into a handheld device with no drop in power. That’s ideal for areas like the stairs or your car upholstery.
You get different brushes for hard floors and carpets. There’s the usual crevice tool. As well as a brush tool that can handle most functions such as clearing away dust and cobwebs. One thing you will need to be aware of is that each of these tools causes a different drain on power. Once you get used to that concept, however, operation and use are extremely easy.
Lightweight Design
The great thing about the Dyson V6 is the lightweight design. That means it’s easy to lift if you want to get into those ceiling corners or give the curtains or blinds the once over. If you’re searching for a flexible stick cleaner with enough power, this certainly fits the bill.
At 2.3 kg, the design with the long handle means that it’s manoeuvrable and ergonomically fitted for the modern home. The slim design also means it’s easy to store away, especially if you are using the docking station. This needs to be attached to the wall close to an electricity supply.
The larger brushes have fully articulating ball joints. This means the vacuum is easy to move around the floor, whether you’re on hardwood, tile or carpet. Unlike other models on the market, it’s also easy to get into corners where the vacuum does a great job of picking up all the dirt.
Customers regularly point out the ability of the Dyson V6 to pick up dust and dirt at the edges, something other cleaners can fail to do adequately.
The charging station is also well-designed. You can mount it on the wall and it takes all your attachments, keeping them neatly in one place. The Dyson sticks out about 22.5cm when it’s attached to the wall and is about 14 cm wide. That means it’s suitable for smaller properties where space can be an issue.
Dyson V6 Absolute: Performance
The challenge that many cordless vacuums have to deal with is the amount of power they are able to produce. Charging is also a challenge. The good news is that the Dyson V6 Absolute performs exceptionally well compared to other models on the market.
The digital motor gives you 110,000 spins a minute which is excellent for a cordless. The Absolute will deliver a regular 100 air watts of suction which means it’s able to deal with most conditions. It can capture even small particles of dust and customers have noted how clean it gets carpets with just one sweep. That’s particularly true when you are dealing with hardwood or tile flooring.
All this makes it one of the better quality cordless cleaners on the market, thanks in part to the way it spins the brush bars, getting deep into areas like carpet. The Dyson V6 also handles hard floors from wood to tile very well. If you have a spill in the kitchen, one sweep of the Absolute should clear everything up for you.
There are a number of different settings including turbo boost mode which can be used for more difficult areas. You won’t always need this, however, and the standard mode works well in most circumstances.
Noise level is good compared to other makes on the market. The V6 gives out around 86dB which means, while not totally silent, it’s one of the quieter models around.
Battery Power and the Dyson V6
Of course, another issue with cordless vacuums is the battery life. On a full charge with the Dyson V6 Absolute, you can expect 20 minutes of powered performance. This may not sound a great deal. However, it compares well to other models and is enough power-up time for most moderate size houses.
You also need to take into account the more powerful suction with this model which means you get the job done in less time. Charging time from zero is about three and a half hours which probably doesn’t make it ideal for much bigger properties.
The power does depend on the tools you are using. Some of the attachments supplied can drain the battery quicker because they are motorised.
On the whole, this is the kind of cordless vacuum that you would use to do regular quick bursts of cleaning rather than a deep clean for the whole home. You can, of course, get additional battery units which you can have on charge to overcome this slight problem. If you vacuum regularly, however, you shouldn’t have any problem with the V6.
The other point to make regarding battery life is that you only use the motor (and the power) when you are physically vacuuming. That’s slightly different when compared to other makes where the motor is running all the time and draining the power constantly.
The most important part of the whole set up is the docking station which can be mounted on the wall. Once you fit the vacuum to this it begins charging. That means you can always be sure it is ready to go when you need it. You can either attach the whole cleaner or just the battery power pack.
One slight issue is that there is no gauge to tell you how much battery power you have left. You can sometimes be left with the surprise of the vacuum powering down at an inopportune moment. Once you start using the Dyson V6 Absolute, you’ll soon get used to it and it shouldn’t be much of an issue.
The Dyson V6 Absolute and Pet Hair
One question that gets asked about any vacuum cleaner is its ability to pick up pet hair. We’re a nation of animal lovers but our favourite pets do tend to leave their mark around the home. The Dyson V6 Absolute is powerful for a cordless and with the specialist brush heads seems to have no problem with any kind of pet hair.
The ability to get a pretty deep clean on carpet and it’s lightweight nature means that you can tackle all those hard to reach places without too much trouble.
A Cordless Vacuum That Delivers Convenience
If you are searching for a replacement vacuum cleaner, the Dyson V6 Absolute has practically everything you need. While it costs about the same as many mid-range corded vacuums, it delivers a lot more flexibility.
Positives:
- This is a lightweight and flexible vacuum that you can use in practically any part of the home.
- Its 20-minute battery charge makes it suitable for most medium to small size properties.
- The vacuum can be detached for handheld cleaning which is ideal for stairs, cupboards and areas like car upholstery.
- The cordless design means you don’t have to worry about plugging and unplugging as you move around the home.
- The vacuum has a turbo-boosting mode which allows you to tackle ingrained dirt and difficult areas.
- At around 5lbs in weight, this is one of the lighter cordless vacuums on the market and is easy to lift and use to clean high places like windows and ceilings.
- The Dyson V6 Absolute has double joints in the brush heads which means that it is highly manoeuvrable.
Negatives:
- There’s no power gauge which means you can’t tell how low the battery is getting. The good news is that while the charge is running, you still get full power with no drop off in suction.
- It’s slightly more expensive than similar models on the market but comes with the full range of attachments and enough power to suck up the most ingrained floor dirt, including pet hair.
- Battery charge time drops considerably once you use the max suction but you only need this for difficult areas. Most of the time the standard suction works to get all surfaces clean.
Dyson V6 Absolute: Final Verdict
If you are looking for a vacuum cleaner that is lightweight and is always fully charged, the Dyson V6 Absolute has just about everything that you could want.
It’s better suited to smaller and medium-size homes where the economic operation means you should be able to get a full clean in before the battery needs recharging. If you have a 5 bedroom mansion, on the other hand, you may be better off with a corded vacuum.
The max mode is also quite useful if you have an area of ingrained dirt or something like a problem carpet that you want to lift all the dirt and dust out of. It’s able to cope with both carpet and hard floor with the detachable brush heads.
To get the most out of your cleaner, doing regular cleans rather than one big one will make sure that you make the most of the battery life.
Overall, the Dyson V6 Absolute is great value for money and comes with the company’s 2-year warranty.
Before you go, you may want to check out this great alternative from Shark.