Dyson V8 Animal Cord Free Vacuum, Iron/Titanium, 229602-01

Product Information

Suction power isn’t something the V8 Animal is short of. Even in standard mode the suction is impressive for a cordless cleaner and, when combined with the motorised tools, makes for very effective floor cleaning. The V8 Animal isn’t too noisy either, running at around 75dB or about the same as a quiet mains-powered vacuum cleaner. In standard power mode the lower suction is well countered by the powered brush bar, and the two work well to achieve decent cleaning results and long run-time. There’s no denying the extra cleaning power in MAX mode, however. We cleaned the same carpet for a second time on MAX mode and removed a further 20% volume of dirt.

The V8 is an evolution of the brilliant V6 cordless vacuum cleaner, which saw cordless cleaners rival mains-powered models for the first time. The V8 built on that with more power, better filtration and a longer run-time, which is now up to 40 minutes on standard power. Along with easier emptying and updated tools, what’s not to like? As mentioned before, the V8 comes with a bunch of accessories, including a telescopic tube that’s perfect for general use. Every tool clips easily on and off the main handheld unit, even with one hand. The standard direct-drive head is great on pretty much any surface, but if you happen to buy the V8 Absolute, you’ll get a Soft Roller cleaning head that’s the best option for hard floors.On the plus side, the trigger style on/off switch does save power and increase actual cleaning time. This is because you’re inclined to let the trigger go as soon as you pull away from the area you’re cleaning. A standard switch might even get left on as you walk between rooms. That 7-8 minutes is all proper cleaning time. Dyson V8 Animal – How does it clean? This product is one of the best cleaners that you can find in the market. The Dyson V8 is a game-changer. It is lightweight, easy to change the various attachments, is simple to empty, has great suction and (the best part) is cordless! The Dyson V8 is a great companion when cleaning your house especially hard floors and carpets. This also got a 5-star review from the consumers that only shows how great this product is. It also wasn't as easy to do the car as I had expected it would be, maybe needs the extra hose attachment. Read full review On hard floors, we did miss the Soft Roller head for its amazing cleaning and floor-polishing effect. Yet we also agreed that, had we never used the Soft Roller, the Direct Drive head still produced excellent results over parquet, laminate and riven tiles.

Arguably, this isn’t a major issue since the V8 is easy to empty – but we found that a 25-minute (standard power) cleaning session around the ground floor resulted in us having to empty the bin twice and again at the end. From a noise perspective though, it’s among the noisier cordless home vacuums we have tested, at 80dB on max setting and 75dB on standard. However, it does depend on what market you’re comparing it in, as those levels actually make it one of the quieter handheld car vacs. Overall, it’s unlikely to annoy you - particularly on the standard setting.

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Every single Dyson product has a design aesthetic that’s very appealing, and the same philosophy applies to the V8 as well. You get a transparent 0.54L dustbin that makes up the bulk of the handheld unit, with 15 small cyclone cones arranged in a two-tier flower shape in front of it. It weighs 3.5lbs/1.6kg with no attachments, and at its heaviest, it weighs 5.6lbs/2.6kg (with the wand and main cleaning head attached). For a household vac, that’s pretty lightweight, but it’s a little on the heavier side when considering comparable handheld vacs for car cleaning. You get only one built-in battery with the V8, and fresh out of the box our sample took a little over four hours to declare it was fully charged; the manual airs on the cautious side and says 5 hours. That’s going to be quite some time waiting if you run out of power mid-clean.

There are some problems with the V8 Animal. The mechanism for emptying the bin is just as irritating as it is on the V8 Absolute. That is to say, it’s simple – just pull the release handle all the way up then yank it at the top of its travel to release – it just doesn’t feel particularly robust, and it doesn’t disable the motor when the bin is open either. I kept turning it on by accident while emptying it.

In standard mode the area was cleaned in 8-10 seconds, and on MAX power mode it was closer to 6-7 seconds. That’s a spectacularly good result, and up there with some of the very best mains-powered pet-specific vacuum cleaners. No need to touch the dirt – just pull the lever to release it into your bin. 2 Tier Radial cyclones Direct drive cleaner head: drives bristles deeper into the carpet to remove even more dirt. 150 percent more brush bar power than the Dyson V6 Animal vacuum. Clearly, clearing up pet hairs on carpets and fabrics is more about tool and floor head design that sheer suction power. Both motorised heads are truly outstanding at pet-hair cleaning over carpets and fabrics, and the easy to remove bars make for the simplest cleaning out afterwards too.