We tested the vac against a variety of common household messes:
- Spilled sugar, flour and cornflakes on a hard floor.
- Potting mix and sand on carpet.
- Sand/gravel mix, and pet hair, in a car interior.
- We didn’t test wet spills as the Radix 6 isn’t intended for those.
We also checked how easy it is to empty the dust bin, clean around edges, and put the vac in and out of its wall bracket.
Pros
- The Radix 6 performed excellently in almost every task we threw at it. The only exception was cleaning up pet hair, and even then it was pretty effective, just fairly slow. It’s a far better performer than any other handheld vac we’ve tested.
- It didn’t lose suction power while cleaning.
- Very easy to use.
- Comes with a crevice tool, upholstery tool and dusting brush.
Cons
- Expensive.
- No fall-out flap, so the cleaner can’t be held vertically with the nozzle downwards, otherwise dirt can fall back out of the nozzle.
Other points
- At 1.5 kg, it’s heavier than other models, but is still fairly comfortable, and you’d only use it for a few minutes at a time.
- Dyson claims a six minute running time on a full charge (it takes three hours to fully charge the battery). In fact we found the Radix 6 runs longer than that without loss of suction - six minutes 45 seconds – then it shuts off automatically.
At the time of testing, we recommended the Dyson Radix 6 handheld vac for anyone who could afford the price and often had small spillages to clean up.
You may also be interested in our article on mid priced vacuum cleaners.