obxer's Full Review: Dyson DC17 Animal Bagless Upright Cyclonic Vacuum
Well, I have had my Dyson for a week and have vacuumed twice with it now. I am glad I did not write this review after the first time I used it because it does take a bit of getting used to and can be a bit unwieldy at times. However, after the second time, I am so thankful I ignored the price tag and bought the thing anyway. I have 3 dogs so as you can imagine there is a lot of hair in my house. After last week's use, I noticed this week that there did not seem to be as much hair around as usual. I can only assume that the Dyson actually sucks up the hair rather than kicking it around like my old Hoover. My hardwood floors never seemed to feel really clean after vacuuming with the Hoover and there were dust bunnies and hair balls all over the next day. That didn't happen this week. I just finished vacuuming and my floor feels clean like it has just been mopped. Amazing! Vacuuming the stairs took half the time as it used to and they look clean. When they say quick-draw wand, they really mean it. After a little getting used to, it is so much easier to get to high and low places with the wand and it really has some power. Just as stated, it does not lose suction at all!
Now, for the cons. I read all the reviews on this page and I almost did not buy the Dyson. There are comments about the maneuverability of the vacuum, the challenges of the wand, the excessive emptying of the container, the price tag and scariest of all, the service dept.
I can say that I had no maneuverability problems. It has a high profile and does not go everywhere my Hoover did, but the Hoover didn't do a very good job in tight spots anyway. With the attachments for the Dyson, I can get into all the necessary tight spots with ease and assurance that the spots get cleaned.
The wand takes some getting used to. The hose is not very flexible and requires some strength the use. I will admit to having my toes run over a couple of times because I stretched the hose a bit and it slingshot towards me. I learned the capabilities of the hose quickly that way. I throw it over my shoulder to vacuum the stairs because the angle is better for the turbine head and it takes some of the pressure off my forearms. I also had some trouble getting it retracted, but I learned to straighten it out with my foot before inserting the wand. After one use, I had some tricks worked out to make the wand work for me, and I had no problems this time.
As for emptying the container, I don't mind emptying it more often than I used to empty the Hoover because it works and I do not have to clean any filters or clean up a mess after I empty it.
The price tag is not so bad when you factor in a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Most of all, it is well worth every penny.
The service nightmares I read about still concern me and if I have the same problems as the people on this website did, Dyson will not be happy I bought their product. I hope those are isolated cases and Dyson will honor their warranty commitments in a professional way. Honestly, once I actually read the warranty, I didn't feel it was worth the paper it was printed on. It does not cover most of things that will go wrong with the vacuum. They can call just about anything "normal wear and tear." Let's hope for the best. If you like the idea of a 5-year limited warranty, that's great, but I would not let it be a make or break requirement.
Overall, a great purchase! It took a little getting used to, but it is a phenomenal piece of equipment.
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