Two cats, two students, three storeys

Paul and Paula Deery live in Co Monaghan with their two cats, Poppy and Pumpkin. The couple’s two children have flown the nest and now live in Dublin. Paula is retired but looks after international students throughout the year, which means lots of extra cooking and cleaning.

While she vacuums on a daily basis, she says it is a struggle to do so as there is a lot of ground to cover in the couple’s three-storey town house. They agreed to test the new Dyson V11 Absolute cord-free vacuum to see if it made a significant change to their life and their cleaning routine.

What’s your daily cleaning routine like?

We live in a three-storey town house, which the cats have the run of. At night I tend to keep them downstairs as they have their own cat flap to allow them come and go. When I get up in the morning I shake off the covers on the sofas, as they are usually covered in hair, and then I vacuum. I spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning throughout the day with two live-in students to cater for. Paul goes to work early in the morning and doesn’t return until late so I  tend to spend a lot of time in the house.

Is it hard to keep the house clean with cats?

It’s very hard to keep it clean, as they have the run of the house and they go everywhere. Both students love them and the cats tend to hang out in their bedrooms a lot of the time so I have to clean their bedrooms every day, too.

My old vacuum is hard to use – lugging it up and down three flights of stairs – so it’s tricky.

How did you find the Dyson compared to your old cleaner?

It is like night and day: the lightness, the ease of use and the strength of suction from the Dyson is incredible. I was never getting the cat hairs up before, but with this I had to empty it several times while vacuuming the entire house.

My carpet actually looks clean now, which it wouldn’t have before. There is a lot of carpet in the house and I never knew that I wasn’t getting all of the hairs. You can see it in the wooden floors that the hair is gone because you usually mop the floor straight after, but it’s harder with carpet. The Dyson is so easy to click open and empty and it’s a pleasure to see the amount of dirt you have lifted. I’m not a technical person, I  don’t really like technology and would find it hard to use sometimes. The Dyson technology seems very advanced but in actual fact, it’s very simple.

Can you explain that a little more, the ease of use?

I was so impressed when I took it out of the box, I had it assembled in seconds. All the parts fit on very easily. I charged it for three hours the first time. It also tells you how many minutes you have left on the battery, which is great. For me, the best part about it is that it’s cordless. With my old vacuum, I was always tripping over the lead, and the long nozzle.

There is neither of those with the Dyson, so for me that is amazing.

What other features wowed you?

I loved the fact that you can get into so many difficult spots with it and also the fact that I could do my Venetian blinds. They are always tricky to clean. I also liked the fact that it turns into a handheld – the suction power means you can get your car clean. We had a small car vacuum before but there was zero power in it. The Dyson cleaned the car better than I have ever seen it before.

Would you go back to an old vacuum after using the Dyson V11 Absolute?

Never, for two reasons: the fact that it’s cordless has changed my life for me. I can run up and down stairs with it and not be out of breath. Previously, I had to lug the old vacuum up three flights of stairs and it was a ton weight. The power is great too but the fact that I know I am not going to trip or hurt my back lifting it is amazing. I’ve never had technology like this in my life but I love its efficiency.

Plus it looks snazzy and that encourages people to pick it up. Guys love their gadgets so Paul loves it too. There is a two-year warranty on parts but it’s my feeling that this has been built to last. I can’t see it being easily damaged, it seems very durable and I hope to have it for many years to come.

Tech specs: the new Dyson V11 Absolute cord-free vacuum

The technology powering the Dyson V11 Absolute represents some of the most sophisticated developed for the home.

Cleaning power

A dynamic load sensor constantly monitors the environment it’s working in and intuitively detect brush bar resistance up to 360 times a second, automatically communicating with the motor and battery’s microprocessors to change the cleaning power between carpets and hard floors. This allows carpets to be deep cleaned and runtime to be extended on hard floors.

Deep clean

The High Torque cleaner head is Dyson’s most powerful cord-free cleaner head yet.

It features stiff nylon bristles that drive deep into the carpet to remove ground-in dirt, and anti-static carbon fibre filaments that capture dust from hard floors.

User feedback

The on-board screen shows current performance, including selected power mode and remaining run time, giving the user more control of their cleaning jobs.

The screen also reminds the user when to clean filters, and informs them of any blockages and how to clear them.

Battery life

Dyson’s most powerful battery pack has seven high-capacity cells with nickel-cobalt-aluminium cathodes and allows up to 60 minutes of floor cleaning in eco-mode.

A trio of home technology

The Dyson V11 Absolute is one of a trio of Dyson products designed with you and your well-being in mind. It partners with the Dyson Lightcycle task light which is engineered to provide the right light for the right time of day, while the Dyson Pure Cool Me personal purifying fan is built with air filtration and projection technologies to make it a perfect fit for your personal space.