Dyson DC58 Animal: Ferocious, attractive but a difficult animal to live with

by Dan Cartwright
Caravan cleaning isn’t fun, but it is a small price to pay for the joy of caravanning. Anything that makes it easier and quicker is a bonus and allows you more time to spend enjoying your holiday.
Vacuuming a caravan with a traditional upright vacuum is cumbersome and difficult with lots of wires and attachments, not to mention limited space to manoeuvre.
So the invention of handheld vacuum cleaners is very helpful when cleaning your caravan and their small size means you can easily take them with you on holiday, unlike your upright home vacuum.
With this in mind, CaravanTimes was very excited to get a chance to test out a new premium handheld vacuum from Dyson, called the DC 58 Animal.
This vacuum boast 20 times the suction power of any other handheld vacuum, 20 minutes of vacuuming per charge and a host of useful attachments.
Retailing at around £230 it is very much at the premium end of the market, and much more powerful than the previous version, the Dyson DC34 Animal.
Good points

1. Suction power: As you would expect from Dyson, the inventor of bag-less vacuums that don’t lose suction, the DC58 has incredible suction, it really does suck! For those of you have tried other hand held vacuums and given up realising that a dustpan and brush are better, you will not be disappointed.
2. The attachments: Most vacuums come with a multitude of attachments that push on and fall off as soon as you use them. All the attachments on the DC58 lock into place and don’t come off even if you are pushing them down the side of the sofa. It also has a motorised brush attachment, which is excellent for deep-cleaning upholstery and carpets.
3. Emptying the bag: It is easy to see when the transparent dirt container is full, and it is very quick and easy to empty. Not only is it easy to empty, but it does not get dust everywhere when you detach the attachment.

Down sides

1. Unlike many handheld vacuums in this price range (including some from Dyson), it does not have a telescopic nozzle attachment. This means if you want to clean the carpet you have to get down on your hands and knees (or get a bad back). Likewise if you are short and want to clean high up it can be difficult. You can buy additional attachment kits but these are expensive and most of them you already get, so it seems like a waste of money.
2. Whilst it is light for its suction power, it is still 1.57kg meaning older people may struggle to use this for prolonged periods.
3. If you have large hands the confined handle area makes it difficult and even painful to fit my hand in, hold and apply the trigger (to see what we mean, take a look at the photo below). When I first tried this I thought it was broken because it kept stopping whilst I was holding the trigger in. It wasn’t broken but because I had to squash my hand in to the confined space I couldn’t press the trigger properly meaning it would cut out.

The verdict
To take a vacuum with you on your holiday in the caravan to clean toast crumbs from the bed, clean the seating area and occasional bits of mud or spills on the carpet, the DC58 is just the tool for the job and more than capable.
That said, for cleaning your van fully after using I would still struggle with the DC58 and still use an upright vacuum with flex attachments.
This is because having to be on your hands and knees to clean the carpets (even if you take them out of the van) is too painful and £230 seems like a lot for a vacuum that can’t do everything you want it to do.
If you got the Dyson DC59 with the extending attachment this would provide you the best of both worlds and would be a much better buy.