Earlier today, I blogged about how a certain innocuous household object, the humble toilet paper roll, has finally received an eco-friendly design facelift in the form of Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper. And while I’m on the green innovation tip, I thought I’d check in with another household staple that, despite numerous upgrades over the years, still falls under the “mundane” banner for most folks: the vacuum cleaner. 

 

As part of a special two-part series, I'll be taking a look at a couple of exceptional, eco-friendly vacs on my radar with designs that are anything but mundane.

 

First up, is the DC26 Multi Floor City Vacuum from Dyson, a company known for producing top-of-the-line, super-efficient bag-less vacuum cleaners that harness the dust-busting power of cyclonic separation. While boasting innovative design features and low-energy consumption, Dyson’s line of non-handheld vacuums have traditional erred on the clunky, non-apartment friendly side of things. Until now.

 

The DC26 City Vacuum — released in the UK earlier this year and now available stateside starting November at Best Buy stores and through Dyson.com with a sticker price of $399.99 — is petite enough to fit comfortably in the homes of space-strapped urbanites. Yet thanks to Root Cyclone technology, this "Baby Dyson" packs the punch of the company's full-sized vacuums. And with a power allergen-capturing HEPA filter, the DC26 is also certified as being asthma & allergy friendly™ by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Like with Dyson’s other big recent release, a blade-less miracle fan called the Dyson Air Multiplier, I’m pretty much in love. I don’t actually own a vacuum cleaner — I’m a bit short on closet space here in cramped Brooklyn – but from the looks of it, I could easily stash a DC26 somewhere in my apartment and clean to my heart's content without worrying about running up my electric bills or having to spend money on additional parts, filters, etc. And nope, the image up top is not Photoshopped ... the DC26 is indeed compact and lightweight enough to fit into the palm of your hand as one blogger found out. 

 

Stay tuned for my next vac-centric post where I'll be featuring a vacuum cleaner that may not be downsized but boats the innovative use of recycled plastics: Electrolux's Vac from the Sea series. 

 

Via [Design Milk]