I love to "Dyson"... but don't throw out your old vac
Written: Feb 21 '04 (Updated Dec 06 '04)
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Pros: Works miraculously on carpet.
Cons: Not so impressive on hardwoods.
The Bottom Line: An amazing product that any pet owner with carpet should buy.
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| barbx's Full Review: Dyson DC07 steel / yellow Upright Vacuum |
I've had my Dyson for about 6 months now. I bought it because my neighbor has the purple Animal and raved about it. We both have 2 cats, except mine are long hair. I am also long haired and used to go over my bedroom carpet with a lint brush because my Hoover was not picking up the hair!!!
I borrowed my neighbor's Dyson twice: once to do a full house review and then again a month later to see if the Dyson really was that good, or if all the dust and hair it got the first time was just build up. Nope, the second time was just as gross as the first.
After doing some research and finding out the only thing "animal" about the Animal is the attachment, I settled on the regular, no frills Dyson. Very simple to put together, and since my neighbor had given me a demonstration, I had no problems with the hose. In fact, I've had no problems whatsoever with my Dyson in the time I've had it.
The Dyson works wonders on pet hair. Every time I use it (at least once a week), the dust cup is filled with an insane amount of pet hair, human hair, and dust. It's truly disgusting to see all the things residing in your carpet! And I have short pile carpet that appears to be clean, but once you run the Dyson over it, you see the truth! I don't know how my pets aren't bald, since all their hair seems to be in my Dyson! I haven't found a need for the Animal attachment, since the upholstery attachment works great on my stairs in getting pet hair.
My only reservation keeping me from giving the Dyson the highest rating is, the Dyson is amazing on carpet, but it doesn't do great on hardwood floors. It doesn't pick up small bits, like cereal, rice, or other hard pieces as well as my Hoover. Since our house is 2/3rds wall-to-wall carpet, I use the Dyson only in the carpeted areas and keep the Hoover on the main level with the hardwoods. However, I'm still enthusiastic about the Dyson to the point of calling it "dysoning" vs. "vacuuming." And I'm still amazed every time I empty the dust cup.
Since the Dyson never seems to go on sale, I bought mine online at Linens and Things, since they had a 20% off coupon in the newspaper and offer free shipping! NOTE: Linens and Things seems to have caught on and have now put Dyson in the "no coupon" fine print!! I can wholeheartedly say that I would buy the Dyson again without the coupon -- it's that good.
My recommendation is to buy the Dyson if you have a lot of carpet, and especially if you have pets.
UPDATE: thanks to a helpful suggestion from a reader, here's some more info on the Dyson, which I've now had for over a year and still LOVE:
The cord is VERY long -- I can plug the Dyson in at the bottom of the stairs and haul it up to the top of the stairs. Also, the hose for attachments stretches very long, so you get another few feet from that.
The Dyson is HEAVY in comparison to my regular vacuum. You can't the traditional "stair cleaning" maneuver by lifting the Dyson onto each step.
However, the Dyson comes with 3 standard attachments -- a crevice device (narrow), upholstery attachment (with a little lint strip) and an upholstery brush. I use the upholstery attachment with the lint strip the most. It's great on stairs and on sofas. You can buy the hard floor attachment at Best Buy for $49.99. I haven't sprung for it just because I don't have a lot of hard floors, and I just use my plain old Hoover for those.
The Dyson is NOT self-propelled. It is a bit heavy, but I don't find it any more strenuous than a regular non-self-propelled vacuum. Also, I think the cleaning power of the Dyson makes up this one shortfall.
There is a "lifetime" filter on the Dyson. Again, I've had mine for over a year but I've never cleaned it -- and I haven't noticed any decrease in suction. I believe the filter can be washed with water and does not need to be replaced (hence the "lifetime")
The Dyson is relatively quiet compared to my Hoover. You still probably wouldn't want to use it while your spouse is sleeping, though!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 240
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Epinions.com ID:
barbx
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Location: South Riding, VA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I'm a new mom that finds parent-written baby equipment reviews helpful.
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