June 20, 2007

Product Review:
Dyson Root 6 portable vacuum

Dyson Root 6 portable vacuum. Click image to enlarge

Review and photos by Paul Williams

Finally, there's a rechargeable, hand-held, cordless vacuum cleaner that works. The Dyson Root 6 looks like a movie prop designed by George Lucas, but it's a portable vacuum cleaner that doesn't suck. Or happily, it does.

You remember those plastic 12-volt vacuum cleaners you'd plug into your car, hoping to clean the carpets without having to drag the canister vacuum from the house to the driveway? They were such a disappointment. I recall actually picking up pieces of dust and lint from the mats, and putting them into the "vacuum cleaner," such was its uselessness. Those devices made a lot of noise, and that was about it.

The Dyson Root 6 is a delight. It comes with some nifty attachments that you can extend or retract, depending on the task, and one of those long, flat attachments to get between the sill and the seat. It has powerful suction, and picks up dust, lint, gravel, dirt and other debris on your car's floor, all by itself.

It surely would be useful in the house, but I'll be keeping mine in the garage.

The high-power battery pack fits into the cleaner, and the entire cleaner fits into a wall-mounted recharger, which doubles as a storage dock. The Root 6 takes three hours to fully charge.

Dyson Root 6 portable vacuum. Click image to enlarge

There's a filter, but it's washable (every three to six months) so you don't have to buy more.

What else is there to say? It's light and simple to use. It has a two-year warranty. It's hygienic. But at $179.99, it's not cheap, although one of the following retailers must have it for less, so check around: Best Buy, Costco, Future Shop, Home Hardware, Home Outfitters, Linens-N-Things, Sam's Club, Sears, The Bay, Zellers. I got mine as an Aeroplan reward for 25,000 miles.

My only suggestion? There should be a place on the unit to store that long, thin, attachment. It's likely to get lost.

Apparently Mr. Dyson likes things that work. He must be well-pleased.

More information at Dyson Canada.

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Paul Williams is an Ottawa-based freelance automotive writer and senior writer for CanadianDriver.