The Dyson Humdinger is a remarkably lightweight cordless handheld vacuum. It's incredibly portable and easy to use, and it comes with a few different attachments that make it easy to switch from spot cleaning to cleaning furniture on the fly. It delivers fantastic performance on bare floors, excellent performance on high-pile carpet, and decent performance on low-pile carpet. It's also easy to maintain and has virtually no recurring costs. However, it has a very small dirt compartment and limited battery life, though this depends heavily on usage habits.
Our Verdict
The Dyson Humdinger is excellent for cleaning bare floors. It does a fantastic job picking up pet hair and smaller debris like rice, and it does a great job with bulkier material like cereal. It's easy to maintain with virtually no recurring costs and feels decently well-built. However, it has a very small dirt compartment that needs frequent emptying.
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Incredible bare floor performance.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
The Dyson Humdinger is good for low-pile carpets. It struggles a bit with larger material like sand, which can get caught in the crevices of its turbo brush. That said, it does a fantastic job with pet hair and fine debris like baking soda. However, it has a very small dirt compartment and a disappointing battery life.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Picks up a decent amount of debris overall on low-pile carpet.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
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Larger debris can get stuck in the crevices of its turbo brush.
The Dyson Humdinger is great for high-pile carpets. It cleans pet hair easily and does a great job with both large and small debris, though material like sand can get caught in the crevices of its turbo brush. It's easy to maintain and has no recurring costs, but its dirt compartment is very small, so you need to empty it frequently when cleaning larger messes.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Excellent high-pile carpet performance.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
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Larger debris can get stuck in the crevices of its turbo brush.
The Dyson Humdinger is an excellent choice for pets. It sucks up pet hair without issue on bare floors and high-pile carpets and does a great job cleaning it from low-pile carpets. It has a motorized turbo brush to clean pet hair from fabrics and upholstery, and you can remove its brushroll to clear any hair wraps. It's also easy to maintain with virtually no recurring costs.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Cleans pet hair well on all surface types.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
The Dyson Humdinger is fantastic for cleaning stairs. It's incredibly light and portable, making it easy to carry up and down stairs. However, its dirt compartment is very small, and it's more suited to spot cleaning. It does a fantastic job on bare floors but struggles more with carpets.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
The Dyson Humdinger is a great option for cleaning cars. It's incredibly small and lightweight, making it easy to maneuver inside a car. It has a few tools to help, including a turbo brush to deep clean fabrics and a crevice tool for tight spots. It's also easy to maintain, but it has a very small dirt compartment and limited battery life.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
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No recurring costs.
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Easy to maintain.
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Incredibly lightweight.
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Very small dirt compartment.
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Limited battery life.
- 7.3 Bare Floor
- 7.5 Low-Pile Carpet
- 7.4 High-Pile Carpet
- 6.8 Pets
- 8.8 Stairs
- 8.2 Cars
- 5.1 Workshop
- Updated Jul 23, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3. We've overhauled our floor performance tests and added new 'Hard Floor Pick-Up,' 'High-Pile Carpet Pick-Up,' 'Low-Pile Carpet Pick-Up,' and 'Pet-Hair Pick-Up' tests. You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Dec 14, 2023: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update builds on our previous 'Suction' test with a new 'Airflow' test that more accurately measures a vacuum's ability to generate air movement. If you'd like to see an in-depth look at the reasoning and methodology behind this change, you can see our full changelog here..
- Updated Oct 11, 2022: This vacuum's suction force has been retested with a more accurate manometer. The test results for the 'Maximum Suction' and 'Normal Suction' fields have been updated. All relevant scores and text have been updated.
- Updated Jul 28, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Apr 27, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Sep 02, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Aug 27, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 20, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Aug 18, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 10, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Dyson Humdinger comes in one color variant: 'Nickel'. You can see our unit's label here.
Let us know if you come across another variant, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Vacuums
The Dyson Humdinger is a cordless handheld vacuum that stands out due to its exceptionally lightweight design. Like other handheld vacuums, it's more suited to spot cleaning and does a superb job cleaning pet hair and bulky debris. However, it has a very small dirt compartment because of its portable design, which means you have to empty it more frequently.
For other options, check out our recommendations for the best handheld vacuums, the best vacuums for pet hair, and the best vacuums.
The Dyson V15 Detect is more versatile than the Dyson Humdinger, though they're meant for different uses. The V15 is a stick vacuum you can reconfigure into a handheld vacuum, so it's better suited to cleaning larger spaces. Meanwhile, the Humdinger is a remarkably lightweight handheld vacuum that's more suited to quick spot cleaning. The V15 has more parts to maintain but has a notably larger dirt compartment. It also performs better overall on all surface types than the Humdinger.
The Dyson Humdinger and the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ are both great cordless handheld vacuums. The Shark feels better built, has a larger dirt compartment, and performs slightly better on all surface types. The Dyson has a HEPA filter to reduce allergens and has virtually no recurring costs.
The Dyson Humdinger is slightly better than the Shark WANDVAC. The Dyson has fewer parts that require regular maintenance, is equipped with a larger dustbin, has a suction power adjustment feature, and comes with a motorized turbo brush. It also performs better on bare floors and high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the Shark is a little lighter, feels better built, and does a better job clearing pet hair and fine debris like baking soda from low-pile carpet.
The Dyson Humdinger and the Eureka Mighty Mite are different vacuums, each better suited to different uses. The Dyson is a cordless handheld vacuum that's great for spot-cleaning small messes or cleaning hard-to-reach areas. Meanwhile, the Eureka is a corded canister vacuum, so it's not limited by battery life and has a much larger dirt compartment, making it better for cleaning larger spaces. The Eureka has more recurring costs than the Dyson since it uses disposable dirtbags.
The HoLife HM036E and the Dyson Humdinger perform quite similarly overall. The HoLife performs a bit better on bare floors and low-pile carpets and has longer battery life. Its dirt compartment is slightly larger, too. On the other hand, the Dyson performs better on high-pile carpets and has fewer recurring costs.
Test Results
The Dyson Humdinger feels decently put together. It's made of plastic, with parts that clip together easily and well-placed controls on the top of the vacuum. That said, it doesn't feel the most sturdy, particularly the clear plastic dirt compartment, which looks as if it could crack if dropped and has a flimsy lid.
This vacuum has a few parts that need regular maintenance, but they're easy to access.
- Dirt compartment: To empty the dirt compartment, you need to remove the attached brush or tool, which is a bit inconvenient. You can also unclip it from the body for cleaning, as needed.
- Motorized head: You can unlock the motorized brush head by using a coin to remove the side cover and access its brushroll, which you can slide out to clean any debris or hair wraps.
- HEPA filter: You can remove the HEPA filter by unlocking it from the top of the vacuum. You can gently tap it against the side of a dustbin to remove light buildup, but you should wash it with cold water about once a month.
All parts you clean with water should be left to dry completely for at least 24 hours before putting them back in the vacuum.
This vacuum has virtually no recurring costs as long as its parts are well-maintained. You can buy a replacement filter from Dyson's website if needed.
The Dyson Humdinger has good storing capability. It comes with a rack station that can be mounted on a wall. There's no onboard tool storage on the vacuum itself, but you can store the tools on the rack station. When mounted on the station, the vacuum's total dimensions are:
- Height: 49.5 cm
- Width: 14.5 cm
- Depth: 24.0 cm
The Dyson Humdinger has a very small dirt compartment, which requires frequent emptying. On the upside, it's made of clear plastic and has a max fill line, so you know when to empty it.
- Dyson Humdinger vacuum body
- Dirt compartment
- HEPA filter
- Mini motorized brush
- Crevice tool with soft bristle brush
- 'Worktop' tool
- Wall rack mount (2 pieces)
- Screws for wall rack mount
- Charging cable
- User guide
The Dyson Humdinger's range is limited only by its remaining battery life and the room left in its dirt compartment.
The Dyson Humdinger is exceptionally portable. While it's advertised to weigh 2.1 lbs, it only weighs about that much (2.06 lbs) without any tools or attachments. With its turbo brush, it weighs 2.7 lbs, which is still remarkably lightweight and easy to carry around for extended periods.
Battery life is disappointing. On its 'MAX' suction power mode with the turbo brush attached, it lasts approximately nine minutes. On 'Eco' mode without tools, its battery lasts about 28 minutes, longer than the advertised 20 minutes. That said, battery life can vary drastically depending on power mode, attachments, and overall usage habits. Thankfully, it has a battery life indicator to let you know when to charge it.
The Dyson Humdinger has a couple of quality-of-life features. There's an On/Off switch and 'MAX' suction switch, and both are within easy reach near the handle.
This vacuum comes with a few tools and brushes. There's a turbo brush to help clean fabric-lined surfaces, a combination crevice tool and soft bristle brush for tight spots and dusting, and a 'worktop' tool for hard surfaces and tabletops.
You can extend this vacuum's reach by reconfiguring it with the crevice tool.
The Dyson Humdinger has decent maneuverability. It's very lightweight and easy to use, with conveniently located controls and an ergonomic handle. It's also very easy to switch out tools on the fly, and you can easily clean furniture or around various obstacles. However, it's not well-suited to cleaning large areas or floors.
