I’ve just finished cleaning my apartment with Dyson’s new Gen5 Detect cordless vacuum and I’m pumped to put my thoughts onto the page. I’ve had a hit of dopamine…from a bloody vacuum cleaner.
Usually with reviews, it’s important to stay impartial. But, Dyson has me whipped. It’s ridiculous that a good vacuum cleaner can bring about the type of joy I once reserved for ice cream.
The Dyson Gen5 Detect is good, great even, but it’s so freaking expensive that to get it to clean your Sydney apartment, you wouldn’t be able to afford rent for the week (two weeks). But the cheaper knockoffs aren’t worth it, and Dyson’s mission is to keep that the case.
Dyson Gen5 Detect cordless vacuum
Dyson dropped the Gen5 Detect earlier this month. Aside from being the company’s fifth go at a handheld vac, it’s also its most powerful, by a mile. It’s got a new fifth-generation Hyperdymium motor, which delivers 262 air watts of suction. The machine also features a fully sealed, whole-machine HEPA filtration system, which Dyson reckons can capture 99.99 per cent of particles down to 0.1 microns. More on this in a sec.
Some new features include 70-minute battery life and a single button for on/off, but, the Gen5 Detect is quite heavy, at 3.5 kg. A trade-off for the powerful battery. My experience was longer than 70 minutes (I think). Put it this way: I’ve now vacuumed my entire two-bedroom apartment three times (over five days) and I still have 24 minutes left. My experience with the Gen5 Detect so far is that its ‘time left’ counter is on par with how long I’m taking to vacuum.
The 5th generation motor tech is smaller, faster and more powerful than its predecessor, spinning at up to 135,000 RPM – up to nine times faster than a Formula One engine. While the motor might be powerful, it’s actually really quiet. I could hear my podcast over the top of the vac.
@gizmodoau The suction capabilities of the new Dyson Gen5detect cordless vac. #dyson #dysonvacuum #itsucks #gen5detect #demo #BeUnbxd
The single on/off button is in a great spot, and thankfully gone are the days of having to hold the trigger down while you vacuum.
A box full of goodies
You get a lot in the box (worth noting how aesthetically appealing the organisation of the pieces within the box is). In addition to the body, pole (stick?) and charger and charging caddy, you get the Digital Motorbar cleaner head, which adapts suction power to different floors (hair removal vanes automatically de-tangle hair from the brush bar as you clean, too). You also get the smaller hair screw tool that removes dust and hair from pet beds, mattresses and stairs. The de-tangling conical brush bar spirals hair straight into the bin – I actually use this on my entire bedroom floor. It takes a little longer but holy moly does it clean up my hair (and my cat’s) real good.
With the Gen5 Detect, you’ll obviously also get the new Fluffy Optic cleaner head (this is the LED) that Dyson said can reveal twice the amount of microscopic dust.
This was in the day time AND it’s very awkward taking a photo and holding the Dyson Gen5 Detect at the same time.
But wait, there’s more
It’s kind-of like a Matryoshka Doll, the Dyson Gen5 Detect has a built-in dusting and crevice tool in the stick.
It’s super easy to pull out and start using. Genuinely never thought I’d get so excited about not having to stop the vac, swap out a head and keep vacuuming. Wild.
You can also buy more attachments from Dyson’s website.
Health benefits
In addition to the fully sealed, whole-machine HEPA filtration system, with the Gen5 Detect, Dyson has reworked its ‘dust detect LCD screen’ that shows when your floor is clean. A piezo sensor counts and sizes particles – automatically increasing power where it detects more dust.
The LCD screen shows you proof of hygienic floors, that’s the promise from Dyson anyway. My experience was that the particle count went up when I started cleaning a particular spot and as I kept going around the same area, those numbers would decrease.
The LCD screen categorises the size of captured particles and counts as you clean. Yellow is particles the size of allergens and pollen, orange is particles the size of microscopic dust and skin flakes, pink is particles the size of dust mites and fine sand and purple is particles the size of sugar and fleas. I still can’t get past the fact that each mite produces about 20 droppings a day, which continue to cause symptoms even after the mite has died. Yuck.
At the end, the Gen5 Detect gives you a summary of the status of your home/area you’ve just finished cleaning.
The “31:17” is the minutes left on the vac before it needs a recharge. The rest is just anxiety-inducing.
Final thoughts on the Dyson Gen5 Detect
The Gen5 Detect is Dyson’s best cordless vacuum cleaner yet. It has a great battery life, sucks up even the tiniest of bit of dust (as well as those hard-to-get bits of crap that get tangled into rugs), gives me anxiety over the number of bad particles consuming my apartment, allows me to still listen to music while vacuuming and as it’s a big, bad scary sucking machine, it keeps the cat out of my way while I clean.
On the flip side, it’s heavy and it’s expensive. I can’t think of anything else negative to say about it.
While it’s expensive, I can’t tell you investing in a Dyson isn’t a good idea. I simply can’t. Especially if you have a pet. This thing is a godsend.