Hector Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 This post is a follow-up to a recent thread dealing with vacuum cleaners in a household with pets. In that thread some posters said they owned the Dyson brand and really liked them. That prompted me to re-visit the vacuum question. My current Bissell bagless does a reasonable cleaning job, however it requires cleaning the primary filter after every use. From my investigation of various bagless vacuum models, it appears that all bagless vacuums except the Dyson have the same filter cleaning problem. The filter is in direct contact with the dirt that is vacuumed in, and that dirt soon clogs the filter which impairs the air flow and that reduces suction power. If you don't mind the routine cleaning of the filter (about a ninety second job the way I do it) then that is no issue. But if you get tired of having to clean the filter every time you use the vacuum then that becomes an important consideration. From reading vacuum reviews by Dyson owners on the Internet, it seems like about 90% of owners really like their Dyson. They rave about the suction power and what a great job of vacuuming it does. A few owners criticize the construction quality and say that they have had problems with plastic parts breaking. Based in the positive reviews by Dyson owners I decided to look at Dyson vacuums. I made two different trips to Sears and talked to a different vacuum sales person each time. I was specifically looking at the Dyson DC14 Animal model. Both the sales people said they own the Dyson and really like it. Sears sells four models of the DC14, and the base unit for each model is identical, except for color. The difference between the models is the included accessories. The "Animal" model is purple and it has accessories specifically designed to get pet fur out from under low furniture and off upholstery (chairs, sofa, etc.). The Animal also has a carpet cleaning kit that has a sprinkle-in carpet cleaner, a spray-can of spot remover, and a hose-end attachment for use with the sprinkle product. This carpet cleaning kit is for use in heavy traffic areas where the carpet is really dirty. I was impressed enough with the Dyson Animal to buy one at Sears. I also purchased a five-year extended maintenance plan. The design and layout of the Dyson is really intelligent. It is very easy to empty the container where the dirt is collected. And best of all, there is no filter in the dirt area that requires frequent cleaning. There is one filter that is not in contact with the dirt and the recommended cleaning interval for that filter is once per six months. I can live with that! There are two easily removable small sections of pipe that can be removed and cleaned out in the event of a clog. Access to the main rotating brush bar is easy and that will require cleaning if animal fur gets stuck in the brushes. I can see having to do that cleaning about once a month, but that will depend on the type of animal fur that the vacuum encounters. My Dyson is quiet, easy to push, and the suction really is powerful. I vacuumed the entire main floor yesterday and I am happy with the vacuum. It wasn?t cheap ($550 + the maintenance agreement), but I think I am going to enjoy using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 We have wood floors now, so we just use like one of those little dirt devil things, but I'd LOVE to get a Dyson, especially after all the good things I've heard about them. I have to vacuuum every day because Riven sheds so bad. I brush and brush her and no hair comes off, but my floor is covered constantly with her black hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 My current housemate has the Dyson Animal too; back at home I have a regular bagless vacuum (blanking on the model right now lol). Other than the filter issue, I can't tell a difference between the cleaning abilities of the two - my vac was $150 and the Dyson as you said is about $500 - $550. For that cost difference I'm willing to clean filters lol. One other thing I noticed, the Dyson seems a bit more of a hassle to empty (the canister opens at the bottom, my vac's opening is at the top so nothing spills), and the hose extension is not really easy to figure out how to use either, tho I will admit I don't have the manual so I am flying blind to some extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bskeeter Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Hector, in your extensive research, did you come across anything that indicates how the Dyson does on hardwood floors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I too heard all the raving reviews about the syson, so when a store here had a one weekend demo and sale pitch thing, I went..ndf came home with the floor modal as it was the only one left, they had brought in what they tjought was 3 weeks worth of Dysons, they were handing out rainchecks on day 2. as I came at the end of day 2 I took the floor model. I LOVE my Dyson lol the main room in my basement has dogs trampling through, and people trampling through carrring hay and shavings, needless to say it gets kinda messy, and because not one of the 4 vaccums we bought and 2 cordless sweepers we bought made a dent..more like the amount of hay dust and hair and shavings broke them all lol I brought the Dyson home, and went over that room..it came out looking like it had been profesionly cleaned and shampooed, my moms reactions about the whole thing had been like "ya whatever" when she saw that it cleaned the main room in the basement spotless without getting clogged or broken she was sold lol I cannot count the number of people who since I bought the Dyson have walked into my house after I vaccumed and said "did you shampoo your carpet?" as for wood flooring? I have found it works quite well on my wood floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Originally posted by Hector:From reading vacuum reviews by Dyson owners on the Internet, it seems like about 90% of owners really like their Dyson. They rave about the suction power and what a great job of vacuuming it does. Mazel tov on your new addition! I think you will be very happy with your purchase. We Dysonites often refer to Dysoning rather than vacuuming But I really do love my Dyson, find it very easy to use the various attachments, easy to push and easy to maintain (rinse the filter out every 6 months as you noted). I know another poster said the canister was difficult to empty but at least on the Animal model, I've found that probably the most user-friendly feature. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted July 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Debbie, RE: the Dyson on hardwood floors -- the vacuum has an on-off switch for the brush roller bar that is located near the lower front of the vacuum. The switch is designed to be activated with your foot so you don't have to bend over to get to it. You turn off the brush roller bar when you are vacuuming bare floors. I haven't actually tried that yet, as we have very limited bare floors. The sales person at Sears said that turning off the brush is necessary on bare floors because if left on it scatters the dirt before the suction can pick it up. That sounds like a good design although, as I mentioned, I haven't yet tried it. With the powerful suction I expect that the vacuum will pick up stuff off bare floors quite well. Hector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 Congrats!! I got a Dyson about 2 months ago and my carpets have never looked better!! I got the yellow Dyson ball model. I can't even say how much I love it! I had a cheapo Eureka bagless before and I can't believe I got by with that for so long!! Mine works very well on bare floors - it has a bare floor setting - but carpets is really where it works its magic. Enjoy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan's Mom Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 One thing we learned about our dyson animal is that it will lose suctioning power...however, we learned that there is a sponge like filter that was clogged. YOu are supposed to wash it out and let it dry. The suction power came right back. We love our and it was well worth the money spent on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie+Tess&Kipp Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 We also want something that will work on hardwood floors. Thanks everyone for all this info. The thing that drives me absolutely CRAZY about my current vacuum is that it has a setting for "bare floors" but the spinning thing does not stop spinning... it keeps spinning, and the setting just lowers the whole thing closer to the floor. So as described by someone above, the thing just spits the dirt everywhere instead of sucking it up. It also has the filter thing that gets clogged up in like 3 minutes. I go outside and bang it on the cement and it clears out fine, but then it is clogged up again in another 3 minutes. Very aggravating. No idea what model it is. Definitely not a Dyson. Allie + Tess & Kipp http://weebordercollie.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I just use dirt devil bagless. But I comb my dogs out every to every other day so not alot of fur around the house to vaccuum up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrpwr52 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I have had my Dyson for about 3 years now and I have found that I need to wash out the sponge filter each week or I start to lose suction. I vac every day and also use it to clean my nieces house, she has 3 cats. I couldn't go 6 months without rinsing the sponge so if you do start to lose suction check there first. You'll be glad you got a Dyson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 The thing that drives me absolutely CRAZY about my current vacuum is that it has a setting for "bare floors" but the spinning thing does not stop spinning...It definitely stops spinning on my Dyson. When I use the bare floor setting in my kitchen, clumps of dog fur fly out from under the table from about a foot away from the machine!! I've never seen anything like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelliwic Border Collies Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Well thank goodness I'm not the only one who agonized over the vacuum choices! I thought I was crazy when I was comparing the vacuums a while back. I bought a "pet" Dyson a bit less than two years ago. I don't love it as much as the others who have posted so far. I have three rough-coated Border Collies, and a very small apartment, so the hair does tend to build up a lot in specific areas of the rug (rather than kind of "sharing the wealth" through all the rooms of a larger place). I need to empty the canister at least twice when vacuuming the only carpeted room in the house, and this room is small! I find that a bit irritating that the canister is so small. I groom them well at least once a week, but even so, the thing fills up quick. And unlike Liz, I abhore using the attachments, which means I pretty much wasted my money on the "pet" model, since the biggest difference between the pet and regular models was that small rotating brush thingie. I've also found that the dog hair wraps around and gets stuck on the rotating brush MUCH much more than it did on my old vacuum, so I have to cut that hair out regularly (yech) to make sure the bristles can actually lift the hair off the floor. Maybe if I vacuumed every day I wouldn't have these "complaints," but I'm just not that disciplined. I have to admit the rotating brush attachment thing is great for getting their hair off the sides of the couches that they lay against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy in AZ Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Originally posted by Kelliwic Border Collies:I've also found that the dog hair wraps around and gets stuck on the rotating brush MUCH much more than it did on my old vacuum, so I have to cut that hair out regularly (yech) to make sure the bristles can actually lift the hair off the floor. I find this to be true as well, but in spite of it, my Dyson cleans more thoroughly than anything else I've used so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie+Tess&Kipp Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I do comb my dogs out pretty much every day, all year. I do this to get crud (burrs and stuff) out of their hair mostly, but I do get TONS of hair off them. We have two cats, too, that shed like mad no matter how often they are brushed! That rotating brush thingie sounds great for the stuff the cats sleep on... Allie + Tess & Kipp http://weebordercollie.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie+Tess&Kipp Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Hmm.. I wonder if the rotating brush thingie would get the hair directly off the cats... Allie + Tess & Kipp http://weebordercollie.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Originally posted by Kelliwic Border Collies:I've also found that the dog hair wraps around and gets stuck on the rotating brush MUCH much more than it did on my old vacuum, so I have to cut that hair out regularly (yech) to make sure the bristles can actually lift the hair off the floor. That's the one downside of my Dyson. On top of the three dogs to brush out, I also need to groom the vacuum. However, it really is the best vacuum I've ever owned, so I can't complain too much. I bought it its own little pair of snub-nosed scissors, and it gets groomed every couple of outings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerrigan Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 My Dyson Animal came with a bare floor attachment. I've used that as well as switching the vacuum to bare floor. I think the bare floor attachment works better as it's easier to get around and under things. We haven't had any parts break on ours, but there was a spot where the hose separated from the wand - however, I believe that was due to abuse on my oldest son's part and not a defect of the vacuum. Sears replaced quickly and no hassles. When we took it in for that, they told us that the filter was fine and probably wouldn't need to be replaced for at least a year. Cutting the hair off of the roller brush occasionally is somewhat of a pain, but I've had to do that with every vacuum we've had. We've had ours for three years with 5-6 dogs, two teenage boys, plus DH and it is still working great. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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