A Dyson vacuum is one of those gadgets that elicits an "ohhhhh" and an "awwwww" from everyone that walks by it. Or at least everyone that's walked by geeksugar central in the last week. I attribute the giddy Dyson adulation to the British company's hoity-toity reputation (they make a jaw-dropping $2,000 model), the assertion that Dyson is the "first vacuum cleaner that doesn't lose suction" and the fact that for a vacuum, it's ridiculously good looking.
It frankly isn't fair to compare the Dyson Slim, which is only 15.8 pounds, to my clunky vacuum at home because the Dyson is designed with art and innovation in mind. So, in the spirit of cleaning fun, I decided I should pit the lady killer against an even more unlikely candidate, the iRobot Roomba. For those of you that don't know, I describe the Roomba as a "geeky guy magnet gadget that's cleverly disguised as a vacuum." Seriously, girls may swoon to the Dyson, but guys seem to be pulled by gravity to the Roomba. So how did the sexy, feminine Dyson compare to the more masculine robotic Roomba? Be prepared to be impressed all around.
For my full review, read more
Like I said, it's not fair to compare the Dyson to the Roomba based solely on the fact that they are completely different models and machines, but it was a fun challenge and they each presented their own perks.
Suction
Most of all, I wanted to compare how much each sucked up because at the end of the day, you buy a vacuum to suck. In that respect the Dyson was a clear winner. I can admit, much to the pleasure of my male colleague, the Roomba did perform a lot better than I expected and does have the ability to clean a room. It just needs to do it on its own time and can't be pushed with the same force of the Dyson.
Coverage and Strength
I was also curious to see how long it would take the Roomba to clean a room by itself versus how long it takes to clean a room with the Dyson. I passed the Dyson over the room and covered every spot in about 2 minutes. I then set the Roomba to clean the space - I had to put up a funky barrier wall to keep it within the same space - and it took about 15 minutes to tread the same ground. Of course, the plus of the Roomba in this case is that it can vacuum by itself, so if you don't have guests coming over in 10 minutes, you can program the Roomba to clean, leave the room and make yourself a spot of tea.
Grace and Beauty
Apparently, air expelled from a Dyson has up to 150 times less mold and bacteria than the air you breathe. That alone sold me on the model. Of course, it helped that the machine is sleek, light and powerful. I happen to be one of those geeks that gets a real pleasure out of vacuuming - it's the only chore that gives me a real sense of accomplishment - so I love that you can give the Dyson a good push and get the job done.
As for the Roomba, watching that little thing hum along the floor is a delight. There's the thrill you get when you realize it's actually cleaning your floor sans cords or human help, followed by an even greater thrill when you realize it can clean the floor when you're not home.
Need To Call A Draw?
Buy them both. Use the Dyson for the heavy duty cleaning and the Roomba to do your dirty work when you're not home. Or scare little dogs.
xo
Thanks for the review! The roomba sort of freaks me out for some reason though. How does it know how big the room is? Does it actually get the middle of the room? I hate to vacuum so maybe the Roomba would be good for me.