Gemma and Ciaran Keenan live in a small estate in Clonakilty Cork with their two little boys, Byron (7) and Kai (4) and dog, Taffy.
Gemma works part-time as a healthcare assistant, while Ciaran is a manager in a furniture store. Both have busy lives, so managing the boys and their three-bedroom house is demanding. They were very happy to be given the opportunity to test the new Dyson V11 Absolute cord-free vacuum to see if it stood up to the daily drama created by small children and a dog.
Tell me about your lives? Is it hard to stay on top of everything, including cleaning the house?
As you can imagine, we live in a very busy house with bikes and mucky boots coming in and out and, especially as the weather gets better, the kids are coming and going a lot more.
I work 30 hours a week as a healthcare assistant, so I can keep an eye on the house and keep it clean but sometimes I work seven days in a row. After that I find the house is like a bomb, and it can be very hard catching up with stuff, especially when there is homework to be done, dinner to be cooked and the bit of cleaning to be done in between all of that.
That’s why we were thrilled to road test the Dyson.
How did you find the Dyson vacuum?
I found it amazing. I did the entire house yesterday before I mopped and it was great. It picks up dirt, including things that you don’t even see.
I find you would pick up the Dyson and it’s just so convenient. You take it off the wallmount in a flash and pop it back on again, so it’s really handy, especially if something spills – you are getting rid of the mess really quickly.
With kids there tends to be a lot of food on the floor or crumbs, and now that I have the Dyson I don’t get as agitated about those things as I would have before. I know it’ll lift it really quickly.
Is there much of a difference in the way it works on various floors?
I only have carpet on the stairs, the rest of the house is wooden floors, so it’s amazing on those. It picks up all the dust and pet hairs before you mop.
I had been away for a couple of days recently and a house always gathers dust, even more so when you’re not there. The amount I picked up when I got back was amazing.
You are able to see how much you’re collecting with the see-through bin, which gives great satisfaction, I must say. You might think your house is clean but when you go around it with the Dyson you think, my goodness, it’s surprising.
Does it fit in well with your busy life?
Yes, because you pick it up and the cleaning is done in minutes. I cleaned the entire house yesterday from top to bottom but, after dinner, the boys had dropped more food on the floor than in their mouths. I didn’t mind cleaning again as you can get in under the table with the long part of the vacuum and it’s done.
How about the technology?
The battery is really good, I charged it fully and that did the entire house in eco-mode, which includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sitting room and a big kitchen/dining room.
The cleaning power is amazing, you know what you’re getting up each time, as you can see it all at the end, so that speaks for itself.
The cordless is good. I haven’t gotten around to doing my car with the handheld part just yet but I can’t wait as it seems like it will be incredibly easy, compared to pulling out the extension leads and what not.
My husband loved all the technology. It’s very easy to figure out and the instructions give all the details of how you should use it. Changing the heads is very simple too. It’s very easy to use really.
Did you find it worked well on the pet hairs?
Yes, our little dog Taffy doesn’t shed that much hair but it worked very well on the little fine hairs on the wooden floors and I could see what it lifted from the carpet on the stairs too, which was great.
Would you go back to your old vacuum after using the Dyson?
This is attached to the kitchen wall and that’s where it’s staying. It blends in well with our lovely grey wallpaper and curtains, so it is like it was meant to be there. It’s very slick looking. Basically the answer to that is no.
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.