Pros: Powerful, versatile, durable. Easy to empty. Vented edger attachment. Truly does not lose suction.
Cons: Heavy and bulky. Not self propelled. A little expensive, but worth it.
The Bottom Line: Dyson is as Dyson does. It does not lose suction. It's a great working vaccuum that cleans almost anything almost anywhere. It's interesting looking, and is a very clever design.
mommyauri's Full Review: Dyson DC07 Allergy Blue/Turquoise Bagless Upright ...
I live in a big house which holds two families (mine and my grandparents) so it needs to be vacuumed, a lot! The portion of the house I live in is almost 100% carpeted, even the kitchen (blah!) and therefore that's about the only way we can clean our floors. The upstairs isn't much better.
Since we've lived here we've had a cheapo Eureka Featherlite vacuum which is just a piece of JUNK! It's dusty, noisy, and has terrible suction (going over the same spots again and again...) A couple of years ago my grandparents bought themselves a Rainbow E series. Those are NICE vacuums. I used that for awhile. So much so for a time I was the ONLY one who vacuumed in this house (yeah I liked it that much). The novelty wore off eventually, as usual, but it was still a good vacuum. The one thing I will always love about the Rainbow is the fact you can use it to clean up wet stuff. No other vacuum except a shop-vac can do that.
We got tired of hauling the heavy Rainbow up and down stairs. We also got tired of playing vacuum tug of war. We always seemed to want to use it at the same time. So my husband and I decided to buy a nice vacuum for our part of the house that we wouldn't have to haul up and down stairs. At first I had my sites set on a Hoover.
I wanted bagless, and I wanted upright. Hoover was the best name that came to mind but the more I read about Hoover on Epinions, the less I wanted one. When you're spending $200-$300 on a vacuum, you want it to last and have good suction. I read many reviews of various Hoovers falling apart within months, and losing suction nearly instantly. That's what most vacuums are notorious for. Just by accident I happened across a funny looking purple vacuum called Dyson that was getting RAVE reviews. At first the price tag scared me, but the more I read about it- the more I wanted it!
If you haven't noticed, Dyson has an awesome record. It's a new company, new vacuum (relatively, compared to Hoover) but so far so good! With most reviews I read it got great ratings on durability, suction, and power. I was sold.
On a chance trip to Costco Wholesale I saw they had a Dyson (similar to the animal, different color, same attachments) for $420.00 I convinced my husband and we bought it.
I've been using this since April '04 now and I'm quite pleased. I'll give a run down about what I do and don't like about this vacuum (nothing is totally perfect)
APPEARANCE: It's rather unusual to look at the first time you see it, but it grows on you. It doesn't have the same ordinary look that the other companies seem to be striving for. It has a bit of a "space age" and very colorful appearance. At first I didn't know what to think of this look, but I like it now. The animal is purple and gray, but the one I have (pretty much the same as the animal, but exclusive to Costco I THINK) is teal and purple.
NOISE: Vacuums aren't very quiet, and I think that's the nature of the beast. The Dyson seems to have a more "mellow" sound than some vacuums unless you push it upright. It gets louder then, but normally you're moving it around it's not upright so that's not an issue generally. I have no animals to see how they react to the sound, but I have a 1 year old and she's not afraid of it (does that count as an animal? LOL) I think the noise level is a little lower than the Rainbow we have, certainly lower than the Eureka, but I can't compare it to Hoover (especially with their new Whisper mode).
SUCTION: It is as it says it is. It doesn't loose suction. From using a Rainbow which also truly does not lose suction, to using a Eureka that most certainly did, I can tell the difference immediately. You don't have to go over loose dirt more than once to pick it up. The suction is always good, and it's always picking up tons of stuff. You need only look at the collection "box" to see what it picks up to know that it's getting more than just the visible stuff. Again, I don't have animals to clog up the brushes, but my own hair (I have long hair and tend to shed a lot) tends to clog up our other vacuums and hasn't been an issue yet. Sometimes the suction is a little TOO good, so don't try running over your power cord, or other things like you might with a different vacuum. It'll pick it up and make an AWFUL noise!
EASE OF USE:
This might be where I'd fault the Dyson most heavily. It's a heavy vacuum, and is NOT self propelled. It would not do well with someone who is weak. My grandmother won't be using this baby very often, but she has before. If they made it self propelled, the weight would be much less an issue.
It comes with attachments. One is a brush that has it's own spinning parts and you can do upholstery or stairs with it. I rarely use it, but it works and is easy to use. It also has an edger which is vented at the top so when you cram it down the corners it won't lose suction. (Did you know that when you use an edger and you wedge it in somewhere if it can't breath, it won't suck either!? That's what this prevents) It also has one of those smaller brushes (no motorized parts) that you can dust surfaces with. I never use this so not much to say about it.
You wouldn't know it to look at it, but everything you need, except the spinning brush, is already on that vacuum. I think this was a clever design, but it took me a bit to figure it out (I never read directions). The handle has a button just over the power button which releases it and it can be pulled out to reveal a very stretchy hose. This hose doesn't look very big but it stretches a LONG ways. Pull this all the way down to the end of the bar, release and hook to the end of the handle (it has a little piece that slides open to allow for attachment). Then you attach your edger or brush or what have you. It's got a long reach (I was able to do a whole flight of stairs without moving the vacuum) and it won't break your back. To put it away flip the bar around again, and slide the hose back up the pole and click it back into place. It's easier than it sounds.
You couldn't ask emptying to be easier. I fumbled and played with the Hoovers in the store to figure it all out, and truthfully the Dyson took longer than they did to "decipher" but once I had it done it was SOOO easy (Okay, I had to read the directions here) There is a smaller handle just under the power button with a button on top and a trigger below. You push the button on top and lift and the collection tube or box lifts out. Take it to a trash can and pull the trigger. The bottom flips open, the dirt falls out, and to close it just press the bottom back up (I do this without having to touch it- nice not having to get dirty). Then click it back into place, bottom first. Snip and snap, it's done. No dust in the face, either! If needed you can pull the actual clear plastic collection container out to clean, but it shouldn't be necessary under most circumstances. This is a little tricky.
It'll take a little while to fill the collection container up, but I dump (and recommend that you do so as well) the container after each session of vacuuming. Storing it in the container can result in a lot of bacteria growth.
There is a filter, but I have not had to clean it yet. This is a NO REPLACE filter. You just wash it if it gets dirty, which must take awhile because mine looks pretty clean still. They also enclose a replacement filter (I should say SPARE) so you have one to use while the other is drying out. That way you won't ever have a vacuum out of commission.
It has a nice long power cord so you don't have to plug and replug to do a large room. This power cord is still wrapped up by hand, which isn't much fun, but I'm not sure where they'd have room to put a retracting cord on it.
DURABILITY:
The Dyson is made mostly of plastic, but it feels like a very heavy duty plastic. They claim it's the stuff that helmets are made of, if I recall correction. Anyhow, it has been dropped and never cracked or broke. So that's a good sign. So far, no problems with it holding up to use. There is a warranty (2 years I think) if there are any problems. I have not needed that either.
RECOMMENDED?
Heck, yeah! I love this vacuum and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to spend the $1800 on a Rainbow, since that's the only other vacuum I've found worth while. (I have used a few others in the past like Kenmore, Boss, and other Eureka's).
If you have a Costco membership buy it there. The price is great, and the vacuum (far as I can tell) is the same as the Animal for a great price.
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
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