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Powerhouse: Manoeuverable Machine Dyson DC24

If you want to make a clean sweep this spring, the column recommends the machines to help

SPRING is here and that means thoughts turn to dusting and cleaning. Thankfully, this year you can let technology come to your rescue and help with all that scrubbing and sweeping.

The first example of technology coming to the rescue of reluctant cleaners was the Black and Decker Dustbuster.

Introduced to the market in 1979, the small portable vacuum went on to become Black and Decker's alltime best-selling product.

The Dustbuster created a new mass-market category for cordless, rechargeable vacuum cleaners. Over one million were sold in the first year, four times as many as the traditional hand vac market.

By 1987 Black and Decker's annual sales were $1.7bn and much of the success was due to the Dustbuster. No wonder an early example now sits in the Smithsonian Institute where it is lauded as an icon of popular culture.

PIVOT NOSE DUSTBUSTER VAC
www.dixons.co.uk £59.99

Of course, the Dustbuster remains as relevant to doing household chores in the 21st Century as it was in 1979 and Black and Decker has never stopped refining the product. The latest pivoting nose example enables you to clean in hard-toreach areas such as under cupboards or on overhead shelves.

Cyclonic action filtration improves performance and ensures the dust stays where it belongs - in the machine.

VACDROID
£149.99 www.vacdroid.com

Sceptics of these robotic machines rejoice, this one is almost as cheap as the chips used to guide it around your home.

Set up is simple and you can just press go, letting it give your place a mighty fine sweep before returning to base for a recharge.

Best of all, it has a remote control unit so you can sit on the sofa and play if you wish.

DYSON DC24
£239.99 www.dyson.co.uk

It's a kind of mini-me version of the brand's larger machines. It's both lightweight and easy to use, making the chore less of a bore.

The ball wheel at the centre makes sure this machine can take tight turns.

ISSEY MIYAKE DC16
£99.99 www.dyson.co.uk

At first a seemingly bizarre coming together of a vacuum company and highfashion designer, but if Issey's happy to put his name on a machine, who are we mere mortals to argue?

The result is a rather fine looking handheld machine, possible one of the more powerful in this class, for searching out coins down the back of sofas.

HENRY NUMATIC HVR200-22
£89.99 www.amazon.co.uk

An icon across the UK, championed by professional cleaners and workmen alike, Henry is only happy when he's hard at work.

This no-frills vacuum has a powerful motor and even though its bagging system for dust collection might seem a little dated, it works an absolute wonder.

ROBOMOP
£29.95 www.paramountzone.com

Ideal for wooden and laminate floors, the Robomop manages a surprising 98 per cent accuracy by blindly bouncing around your room.

Static dust pads on the bottom attract plenty of the yucky stuff as your machine scoots around the room reaching under low-level objects where others would be stopped in their tracks.

4:16pm Thursday 10th April 2008

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