Collection by Diana Budds

Gadget of the Week: Dyson's Digital Slim DC 59

British manufacturer Dyson recently launched the DC 59, a cordless vacuum that's one-and-half times more powerful than its predecessor. We took it for a test run and found that its compact size, light weight, and hassle-free cordless configuration made it a dream cleaning tool for apartments.

The DC 59 comes with a blade and brush attachment (what you'd get with any vacuum) plus a cleaning head, which features a motorized spinning brush with two types of bristles: carbon fiber anti-static bristles that help capture fine particles of dust from hard floors and stiffer nylon for carpet.
The DC 59 comes with a blade and brush attachment (what you'd get with any vacuum) plus a cleaning head, which features a motorized spinning brush with two types of bristles: carbon fiber anti-static bristles that help capture fine particles of dust from hard floors and stiffer nylon for carpet.
Here's a detail of the cleaning head.
Here's a detail of the cleaning head.
Representatives from the company came to the Dwell offices to demo the device and began by sprinkling powder on a glass square and invited us to vacuum it up using the DC 59 and a generic upright vacuum. While the DC59 cleaned it up in one fell swoop, the other actually vacuum spread the powder around more since air was blowing out around the machine.
Representatives from the company came to the Dwell offices to demo the device and began by sprinkling powder on a glass square and invited us to vacuum it up using the DC 59 and a generic upright vacuum. While the DC59 cleaned it up in one fell swoop, the other actually vacuum spread the powder around more since air was blowing out around the machine.
The cordless set up makes the DC 59 great for apartments or houses with stairs and its portability is helpful if you have a car.
The cordless set up makes the DC 59 great for apartments or houses with stairs and its portability is helpful if you have a car.
With the push of a button, the canister pops open to empty out dirt collected from cleaning. Dyson recommends washing the air filter once a month. We like that there are no bags to fuss with and nothing disposable. Upon opening the canister, fine dust can spew out and we recommend holding it over a deep trash can when emptying.
With the push of a button, the canister pops open to empty out dirt collected from cleaning. Dyson recommends washing the air filter once a month. We like that there are no bags to fuss with and nothing disposable. Upon opening the canister, fine dust can spew out and we recommend holding it over a deep trash can when emptying.
While we recommend the device for apartment dwellers, there are a couple features we wish it had: namely a power button that stays "on." With its current design, you must continually press the trigger-like power button for the vacuum to run. The 26 minutes of cleaning time is not the same as run time and we would have liked more minutes. If you have a large house, then this probably wouldn't stand in for a plug-in set up. We suggest considering the DC 65 Upright, another new introduction into the Dyson family, which was specifically engineered for the American market.
While we recommend the device for apartment dwellers, there are a couple features we wish it had: namely a power button that stays "on." With its current design, you must continually press the trigger-like power button for the vacuum to run. The 26 minutes of cleaning time is not the same as run time and we would have liked more minutes. If you have a large house, then this probably wouldn't stand in for a plug-in set up. We suggest considering the DC 65 Upright, another new introduction into the Dyson family, which was specifically engineered for the American market.