eskualdun's Full Review: Dyson DC14 Animal Bagless Upright Cyclonic Vacuum
I've had an Oreck for about 12 years. I was thrilled to find it at an outlet store for $75.
I was completely content with it... really.
Then my mother and father felt compelled to purchase a Dyson for me. "An early Christmas present," they said. I just needed to go over and pick it up.
Honestly, I've seen the commercials over the years. I was faintly interested at first, but after seeing the prices, I quickly lost all interest. I chalked Dyson up to good old-fashioned hype; I don't like to pay for hype.
(Oddly enough, my parents say they've never seen the commercials... They saw a display in a store and talked to another customer who owned one and saw a brief demonstration. And, they were sold.)
They chose the DC14 Animal for me. Did I tell you I have 3 hairy dogs?
Anyway, I got the Dyson home. Opened the box. Even the box and packing is high-tech. The box has indentations and such to become self-closing once opened, without any tape. Cool.
Assembly was simple: 3 minutes?
The owner's manual is pretty comprehensive, but it's still just a vacuum and the design is pretty intuitive... you will figure it out as you go.
All that's left: Plug 'er in and go.
Being used to my 8 pound Oreck, I really wasn't looking forward to maneuvering what I saw as an 18.6 pound silver and purple monster. But then I was amazed; the Dyson just kind of floats along! It must be engineered for balance; it is not dead-weight at all. I was no more tired after using it than with my Oreck.
The DC14 Animal is fairly quiet... for a vacuum, that is... it moves a lot of air, so there's gonna be noise.
And, along with that air moving: Dang!! Dog hair, dust, and dirt and more dog hair. Lots of it and quickly!
I went to empty the cannister. I had my trash can near me. I placed the cannister about 8 inches into the trash can and pushed the release button. The trap-door at the bottom of the cannister dropped down dumping out all the yuck- with very little dust rising back out.
Then, I put the trap-door back in place, replaced the cannister into the vacuum, and was back in business.
I can only say that comparing this vacuum to another solely by the junk in the cannister is unfair. I've used my Oreck for 12 years and can't honestly say how much it picks up or how quickly... but only because I can't see it happening like with the Dyson. But, I know it picks up stuff; it's there, the Oreck goes over it and then it's gone.
But, what I can say fairly is: I know the Dyson picks up more. Way more.
For the simple fact that my carpet “feels” different on my bare feet when I'm done. My carpet feels more like it does right after I shampoo my carpets.
That is impressive!
Impressive to the point that I raved about the vacuum to my parents and they went out and bought one for themselves, too. They got a DC15 All Floors.
My father then called me to tell me, “Wow. Thanks for convincing us to get the Dyson, too. I'm not sure what our Electrolux or Oreck have been doing all these years. I can't believe what this vacuum is pulling out of our carpets!” He told me the Dyson was pulling out wads of dog hair; they have not had a dog living in their house for two years, plus they vacuum at least weekly and have had the carpets professionally shampooed at least every six months. And the Dyson is still sucking up stuff... stuff that should have been gone by now!
Now, that is impressive!!
So, this leads me to believe that the “Animal” designation is only “an attachments difference.” Any of the Dyson's will pick up pet hair without any trouble at all!
The basic attachments are the hose that reaches the length of an entire staircase and a crevice tool, brush tool, and stair tool. They are typical vacuum attachments and they work.
As for extras with the DC14 Animal, I especially like the low-reach attachment for going after the stray "dust puppies" in my house. The other attachment is the mini-turbine head that has a roller in it to pick up pet hair off of upholstery. It is effective although the it seems to do best on flatter surfaces. And, there is also a carpet cleaning kit included. I haven't used it yet as I prefer my carpet steam cleaner, but I may still use it one day.
Anyway, the price is high (MSRP $550) but the product and the warranty (5 years) are second to none.
If you are interested in truly clean carpets for your vacuuming efforts, find a way to afford one... you won't be sorry.
Quite frankly, if my Dyson DC14 Animal gives up the ghost in 5 years and 1 day, I will go out an buy another one without hesitation. (Only next time, I will get the basic All Floors model as I already have the attachments!)
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