A cordless vacuum? I had my doubts about whether I’d really like a stick-style vacuum like the Dyson V12. Growing up, we had one of those houses with a central vacuum system — so if a vacuum doesn’t come with a long hose system attached to it and make a deafening roar as it cleans, I’m bound to be skeptical.
Read on about why the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Cordless Vacuum impresses me, and why the Floor Docking Station — currently sold together as a package deal on HSN — is one of my favorite parts.
A box full of cleaner heads and tools
Unboxing the Dyson V12, I was initially overwhelmed by all of the detachable cleaning heads that come with it. I could already feel a complaint bubble up within me: I’m going to have to store these, aren’t I?
Spoiler alert: Dyson has already thought of that. The Floor Docking Station, which comes included with the V12 when you buy it from HSN, is a slim, functional, and discreet solution to organizing all of the vacuum’s cleaner heads. It took me about two minutes to assemble the docking station, and all of the cleaner heads snapped on easily and securely. Since the Dyson V12 is a cordless stick vacuum, it has to charge, and the best part of the docking station is that you run the charger right through it so charging is automatic when you store your vacuum.
Dyson even thought of hiding the charging cord. There’s a very functional slit on the back on the docking station that you secure the charging cord in, resulting in an overall sleek look I appreciated.
Good for small and big spaces
A serious lifestyle upgrade for me with this vacuum: I can finally clean my car.
One of my favorite features of the Dyson V12 is that you can remove the long stick part of the vacuum and quickly transform it into a small dustbuster-style handheld. Aka: You don’t need to purchase separate vacuums to clean both your floors and small, hard-to-reach spaces.
I detached the stick head and took the vacuum to my car’s front passenger seat to see what it could do. I used the small hair screw head to suck up dirt and debris from the floor mat, followed by the crevice tool to clean that awkward area around the floor mat’s edge. After about a minute and a half of cleaning, I saw a significant difference and had a much cleaner car floor. It wasn’t perfect, but a deep clean is probably a job for a car shampoo.
Flashy features with functionality
Using the Dyson V12 to clean the hardwood floors in my living room allowed some of the vacuum’s flashier features to come into play. First up: the vacuum’s digital screen. As you clean, the vacuum will diagnose exactly what’s been hanging around on your floors, calculating allergens, microscopic dust, dust mites, and sugar. This feature felt more fun than functional — the most useful part of the screen is that it shows you how long your vacuum will run for until you need to charge it again. One of my worries about a cordless vacuum was that I wouldn’t know how much battery it would have left, and that it would presumably lose power at the most inconvenient time — like right before company comes over. I was once again impressed that Dyson had solved for this and thought of everything.
Next up: the Fluffy OpticTM cleaner head. This particular vacuum head casts a bright green light while it cleans, illuminating dust and small particles on your floor you may have otherwise lived in peace not knowing about. Yes, it’s horrifying — but in a good way. The illumination even made me realize the best clean happened when I moved the vacuum along my floor’s wood grain, rather than against it.
Who this vacuum’s good for
I’d recommend this vacuum and floor dock for anyone looking for:
- An all-in-one tool that can be ported anywhere
- The benefits of multiple cleaner heads with a built-in, elegant storing solution
- Cleaning that pays attention to microscopic allergens + dust other vacuums could miss
Shop the vacuum online at HSN. Bonus: Through September 30, new customers can use coupon codes HSN2025 for $10 off $20+ purchases, or WELCOME2025 for $15 off $35+ purchases.
This review was produced in partnership with HSN.
