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reno_fan

Finally bit the bullet and bought a Dyson....it SUCKS!!!!!!

reno_fan
18 years ago

I mean it really sucks. And keeps on sucking! And I mean that in a good way.

We have enough dog hair daily to create a small litter of Pomeranians, and our floors NEVER looked clean. I'd taken to vacuuming the dark "wood" floors, because the broom always created static that basically just made the dog hair stick to the broom and smear all over the floor. (Swiffers were *powerless* against the amount of dirt we generate....)

But my stomach would always be in a knot when I went to vacuum because I KNEW that it would only work if the filter was clean, and it would only work well in the first 2 rooms or so. Then it would just push the doghair into piles, and wouldn't pick it up at all.

DH and were waiting on a movie to start when we wandered into Sears and found a customer-return Dyson DC14 for just a little over $300. I was SO expecting to be disappointed. I was really ready to replace our flooring because it NEVER looked clean.

Till we bought this machine. The Dyson rocks. It picks up everything, and sucks every bit as hard after cleaning the entire room! Those cheesy commercials really were telling the truth....

Comments (20)

  • cupofkindness
    18 years ago

    I'm so glad you're pleased with your Dyson! We purchased ours about two years ago, during the remodel and were constantly taken aback at it's capacity to vacuum up everything even the small chuncks of concrete it picked up after we tore down our stone fireplace and the filth that was embedded in our old carpeting. Now we even vacuum our chinchilla cage with the Dyson, something most people would use a shop vac for. I vacuum my Amtico kitchen floor with the Dyson as well. It is amazing, isn't it? I paid $400 for mine on eBay.

  • maggie2094
    18 years ago

    This post could not be more timely for me. I just started researching what vacuum to buy (my current one is spitting dirt back at me and weighs a ton) - and am finding it is impossible to really research.

    I am so tempted by the Dyson's claims (lowest price I saw $399) but keep thinking it will probably suck (the bad way!) and won't be worth the extra money.

    Haa Haa - I love the visual of a litter of pomeranians!!! Too funny Reno-fan. We joke about "naming" our dust bunnies so you know that is not a good sign - who said wood floors are easy to care for??

    I would love to know how it is for stairs if you have them?
    Cup - good to know about the shop vac - I have taken to using a shop vac for my stairs because my vacuum is so bad.

    Okay - so you are enabling me right?

  • meskauskas
    18 years ago

    We have been using the yellow Dyson upright for about 2 years now and just love it. It picks up our pet hair like nobody's business. On our stairs, it does a great job too, with a standard kind of attachment.

    Two things I don't like about the model...(they may have addressed these issues in the last couple of years)..
    - I don't care for the way you have to release the handle, disconnect it from the hose, flip it around to the other end and reconnect it to use it as a cleaning wand. It's a pain in the hiney.
    - Also don't like that the handle part that connects into the hose is so long and rigid. It makes it awkward to get into small places and clean with the wand. I wish they had a shorter option to attach the hose to, so that you could vacuum lampshades for instance, witout having to wield a long metal pipe.
    Other than that I love it - and it's performed very well ever since we bought it.

  • paulines
    18 years ago

    LOVE my Dyson - great score, Reno!

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I don't have stairs, so I can't help there. I'm not fond of how entirely huge the base is. It's too bulky to fit under my toekicks and chairs like my other vacuums were able to.

    But really, it so totally outperforms all the vacuums I've ever had. (The one we're replacing is only a year old!) It could be the size of a Zamboni, and I probably wouldn't mind....

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Egad. I ended my sentence with a preposition! That'll teach me to post before coffee!

    (I need a life, huh? I excitedly post on a *Friday night* about buying a vacuum....then excitedly repost first thing on a *Saturday morning*, then repost again to clear up my grammatical errors! I have offically turned to the dorkside.)

  • starpooh
    18 years ago

    We bought the purple pet model 2 years ago. Love it!
    The best feature? My kids love to use it because they can see how much dog hair it picks up.

  • minikit
    18 years ago

    "Egad. I ended my sentence with a preposition! That'll teach me to post before coffee!"

    Reno-fan, don't give it another thought! I too am a grammar dork, but sometimes it's best to remember the words of Winston Churchill, who was no slouch in the eloquence department. When a pedant pontificated about dangling prepositions, Churchill responded: "That is something up with which I will not put!"

  • pecanpie
    18 years ago

    Reno, did you score your Dyson at the Sears outlet store or the one at the mall?

    I've never seen a customer return/markdown at Quail- do they have a separate department for 'great deals'?

    We, too, are awash in dog hair. The animals have started their spring shedding and the fur's a'flyin.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Pecan, it was at Quail. It had been returned the night before. Apparently the previous owners didn't want to pay the money for it, or they never used it, because it was like brand new. It wasn't in a separate section; just next to the other vacuums. (Every now and again I'll find a deal like that at Sears; yellow tagged, customer return or factory refurbished or something.)

    Since we were SERIOUSLY contemplating buying one at full price anyway, we went ahead with it. Best dang money I've EVER spent.

  • sigh
    18 years ago

    Dyson is a freind to pet owners everywhere. I had never considered spending that kind of money on a vacuum until the members of the rottweiler forum started singing the praises of it. Now rotties may be short haired but they have a thick, felt like undercoat which they shed all year long. Except for spring & fall when they BLOW their entire coat! No lie, it's like the fur explodes off of their body, you pet them & come away with a tumbleweed of fur stuck to your palm.

    We managed to kill 3 vacuums in 10 years of marriage but have had the Dyson for nearly 2 years (the bare bones yellow one) and LOVE it! No clogged filters, no stench of burning dust. The beater brush needs an occasional hair removal but I'm amazed at how well this vacuum cleans.

    Meskauskas, I believe that they've addressed the takei it apart & flip it part but I agree with you about those two things, they annoy me. Other than that I find the vacuum very user friendly, I was able to figure out how to get it apart to empty the dust catcher without having to resort to the owner's manual.

    I love my dyson to the point that I'm seriously considering getting a second one to keep upstairs for when there's a second storey on the house.

    Nina

  • cupofkindness
    18 years ago

    Has anyone tried the Dyson "Zorb" (which I believe are granules that you spread on your wall-to-wall carpet, let sit and absorb the grime, then vacuum up) or stain removal spray? I saw those products at Home Depot the other day and wonder if they're really any good. I'm now using an "Oxy" type stain removal spray and it is great. Thanks!

  • blsdgal
    18 years ago

    My mom has a dog that sheds like crazy and needs a new vacuum.

    She has Pergo in most of her rooms. Will it work or will it damage her Pergo?

    This vacuum sounds like just the ticket for her.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Oh yes!! The Dyson will absolutely work on the Pergo. You can change the setting from carpet to bare floor. On the bare floor setting, the beater bar stops to keep from scratching woods, etc.

    I'm still amazed and in love with this machine!

  • parhelia
    18 years ago

    hi! peeking in from the kt....

    it sounds like the dysons are good with pet hair, but does anyone have any experience with a dyson and long *people* hair? i shed almost as much as the cat!

    my current vacuum is fine except that i'm constantly cleaning hair out of the bristles so it won't get caught in the belt and i won't have to endure the odor of burning rubber!

    has anyone had that problem with a dyson?

  • sigh
    18 years ago

    parhelia,

    My earlier post mentioned the beater brush needing an occasional hair removal. This is due to the people hair in my house, not the dog hair. I guess you would avoid that if you used the wood floor option which deactivates the beater brush but honestly doing the periodic hair removal isn't so bad and I would think that it's unavoidable regardless of the type of vacuum.

    It still does a great job cleaning up the long, luxuriant people hair (and yes, I too shed as much as the cat...it's a wonder I have any hair left on my head). And I've yet to get any caught in the belt or have any of that hideous stench. I continue to love this vacuum.

    And with coat blowing season right around the corner, too!

    Nina

  • chispa
    18 years ago

    FYI - I noticed recently that the coupons I get for 20% off at Linens & Things no longer exclude Dyson in the small print at the bottom. I was at L&T this am and they confirmed that Dyson gets the 20% discount now. This is the first time I have seen a discount offered on Dyson products anywhere.

  • ashleysf
    18 years ago

    Can anyone let me know if this vacuum is good for construction dust? We will be doing a lot of repairs/remodel including scraping popcorn ceiling, some demo, drywall, wood floor refinishing etc and my DH has developed an intense dust allergy from our kitchen remodel. There alwasy seems to be fine dust no matter how often I clean. I think that a really good vacuum would help a lot. Could this be the one?

  • cupofkindness
    18 years ago

    We used the Dyson consistently through our remodel, it even picked up small bits on concrete debris. I don't know about drywall dust however. But it did keep all the dust down during our remodel, so I guess it got the drywall dust too.

  • hamptonmeadow
    18 years ago

    Reno fan when on the dorkside at least you will be very very funny!!! LMAO>

    Frankly, I wouldn't use it for construction dust. It is so fine and abrasive ,it could possibly cause the vac to wear out faster.

    Also buy the yellow one and then buy the attachments for the animal (purple). They fit on the yellow one and much cheaper!!!

    I love ours, but it is tricky on long fibered carpets.
    If you have a really long frieze (sp?)it doesn't work very well. Not sure why but it can't handle oriental rug fringe or long long carpets.