several years ago (2001), we had a huge discussion on vacuums....cause i was looking for one. at that time, i ended up with a simplicity. now, it seems the simplicity has worn itself out (i have two big hairy dogs...a belgian terv and a bernese mountain dog) two kids, one husband, and everyone tracking in mud, dirt and horsehair . in other words, i vacuum once, sometimes three times a day!
so....is everyone still loving their dysons? what's the consensus? how should we spend vacuum money???
They don't work on some carpets. When I recently had my Miele in for a check (somehow I had gotten one of the filters in wrong), I thought about getting an additional vacuum (we have several floors) and tried out one of the newer Dysons. I have a very low loft, non-sculptured wool berber and it literally filled the canister with my carpet in under ten seconds before I realized what was happening and turned it off. I hate to think what it might have done to a sculptured carpet or a high loft. Neither my Oreck nor my Miele ever did that. So back to the store it went. Subsequently, I did a web search and discovered that many people have had the same problem.
The Dyson looks like a great idea what with the lose-no-suction engineering but, IMO, it needs refinement so it does not tear up some types of carpet. I can, however, recommend a Miele though, like other non-Dysons, they will lose some suction as the bag fills. I purchased mine because of allergy. Another thing to consider is whole-house vacuum. They don't lose suction either. I had that in a previous home and it was fabulous. Had I known the installation was so reasonable, I'd have had it installed here too. Good luck!
We have cats and a Dyson. Love it. We don't have wall-to-wall carpet, but we do have some rugs on our oak floors, and tile in the bathroom and kitchen. It works great, and since DH is the vacuum operator, the canister gets emptied, instead of like before when I had to dig out impacted dirt from bag and hose.
My Dyson DC04 is at least 10 years old and still going strong. If they get manky, all the bits that you are supposed to get off for cleaning and unblocking can be washed, and you wash the filter every so often to clean and clear it.
I have two cats and the lawnmower comes through the house as well as the hubby and the son! It copes with it all really well.
I still absolutely love my dyson. We have cream colored plush carpet, a long haired yellow dog, a short haired black/gray cat, 2 kids of our own and whichever kids they drag home with them. I use my dyson All the Time! It also works well on the throw rugs and door mats. I hate shaking those out b/c I end up covered in the dust. So instead, I stand on one corner of the rug, and vacuum away. Works great! It also does a very good job on the ceramic tile floors in the kitchen, laundry room and my sewing room.
As far as the money goes, I would have, like you, already worn out a less well made vacuum possibly two. I'd rather spend bigger money way less often and have something that works really well for a long time.
i'm just getting ready to go look. I used to have a miele..hated it, i thought it did not do the job....and so i have had the gamut of cheap to expensive (sigh).
my dad called with the march 2007 issue of consumer reports...specifically vacuums and pet hair. dyson did not rate well at all, said it only did a marginal job. the kenmore progressive upright was the top choice. so, i'll go look at both. and report back!
Phae - I'm not Betsey but I've got a Miele Silver Moon that I've had for about 3 or 4 years - paid a lot for it and really wish I hadn't bought it... I think the worst thing about it is that it doesn't roll on carpet - its like dragging an anchor around the house! It frequently turns over on its back but since it is just as easy to drag that way, I don't bother turning it back over - eventually it will turn itself over again... It also has small bags so it fills up really fast. I've got an OLD Hoover upright that I use if there is anything on the carpet (like dog hair - always!) and I only use the Miele when I need to do the whole house (can't use the upright on the kitchen floor or the stairs) and need the exercise of wrestling with it every step of the way!
This morning I was looking at Dyson's on the web. My young Hoover won't pick up dog hair for more than 5 min before clogging. And I mean back to the repair shop clogged. Guess who gets blamed everytime.
I can't pick up the dog hair more frequently if I only have it for 5 min and the shop has is for 3-7 days.
I'm about ready to borrow a gun and put it out of my misery.
Your wheels must be jammed with either dirt or dog hair. Perhaps you should clean them. Also, you do have a warranty. I've had a Silver Moon for 4-5 years and mine has never done that, nor has it ever flipped over on its back. We have several different types of carpet in our home too--- deep plush, low-loft berber, commercial, and some very thick wool Persians. The wheels on mine have always operated well on all the carpet as well as my wood, stone and vinyl flooring. The bag may seem small but it really isn't. The entire bag fills up until it seems like it will burst, unlike most vacuum bags that are only supposed to fill half way or less. The bags on my Silver Moon hold more than the bags on my Oreck XL. One reason they fill up fast is because the vacuum is fairly effective.
Sounds like you prefer an upright over a canister.
The roller brush on my Oreck used to clog up with fur from my Newfie. What a pain that was to clean!
Honestly, I don't think there is a great vacuum that works well in all circumstances. I like my Miele but it does lose a little suction as the bag fills and it's way too expensive. The Dyson I tried tore up my berber and the wand is a PITA to use; the machine has potential but needs a lot of refinement. My Oreck is light and easy but not so great if you have allergies, and the roller brush always gets hair-bound. My Hoovers (I had two) were really terrible--- hardly ever had to change the bags on those...LOL... and could not be used on hard wood floors. My stepmother had a Rainbow (this goes back a long way) that had this big tank that held water and the water acted as the dirt filter. It was a horrible thing to pull around and empty. Talk about inconvenient and hare-brained! My kingdom for a great vacuum!
I like the bagless Hoover Wind Tunnel we bought three or four years ago. Cleaning it is rather disagreeable but I guess it's better than the scent of a stale bag, which seems unavoidable when you have dogs in the house.
When DD was getting her old house ready to sell and had already sent her vacuum on ahead with the furniture, she borrowed my Hoover and was amazed at the job it did.
If my vacuum tore fibre out of my rugs, I would be looking at the rugs, I think. My cats pull thread out of the toilet lid cover, but that's because it's cheaply made, and not secured on the back with either a knot or other finishing. I'm wondering if the rugs are made like punchneedle embroidery, just poked through the backing without knotting or sewing, or any other method to secure it.
phae-i can't remember what model, it was a canister, and it was maroon, and i even bought the motorized head. i finally traded it it in and bougth the simplicity in 2001...which held up well for a long time...
anyway, i bought the kenmore progressive upright bagless. it was between that and the dyson animal...i kept going back and forth, and in the end, decided to try the kenmore. it was on sale from 349.99 to
279.99. with the 50- extended warrentee, it was still considerably cheaper than the dyson.
i tried it out yesterday...and, so far, i think i like it! i vacuumed almost the entire house (did not get the braided rug in the living room, or my bedroom) and emptied the cannister 8 times...and it's a big cannister! all of the rugs look much cleaner and cheerier than they have in a lonnnnnng time. i like the onboard storage of tools-- it means that i'll use them more (and i did!). my DD (age 13) likes that it is purple
i have 30 days to return it...so, if at the end of the 30 days, i can return it. i would have loved to have had both side by side in my house (and i almost did that!) to see the difference.
It would definitely be a mistake not to consider the vacuum. Dysons are well known to damage berber carpeting and warn about it in their "fine print". That's why mine went right back to the store. Too bad I didn't do a web search first! Too bad the store didn't warn me about the several carpet types that Dysons are known to damage. Any vacuum that can't handle a low-loft wool berber is a pretty lousy vacuum. The Dyson didn't pull threads from the backing btw; it pulled wool fiber.... you know... fluff like carding a sheep--- from the top of the carpet. It filled the canister in less than ten seconds--- IOW, the time it took me to notice and turn it off. There is nothing wrong with the carpet or the backing. It was the horribly harsh (non-adjustable) brush on the Dyson.
And just because a carpet is well knotted on the bottom or expensive (as opposed to "cheap") does not mean it is safe for any vacuum. My hand-made Persians are well knotted, for instance, and have easily withstood many hose-down type washings despite their large size. But a Dyson would surely ruin them straight away. You won't find a Dyson in any store that sells quality area rugs.
I like the bagless idea too. One of my GFs has a Wind Tunnel and really likes it.
For bags, you can put one drop of an essential oil on a tissue, put it in the bag, and it will smell very nice until the bag is full. By essential oil I mean the type of pure oils you'd use in potpourri or hand-made soaps like lemon or vanilla or coconut for instance. Kirby sells an oil for this purpose but essential oils work just as well.
You obviously know a lot more about carpeting than I do. I don't have it in my house, and have not shopped for it. I have a few wool area rugs, but that's all.
I have a Miele Cat and Dog although I don't have animals I thought it would pick up threads from sewing, well sorry it doesn't. After a short while when the bag begins to fill us it looses all its suction, I now have new carpets and it doesn't even clean them, so I would want something better. Liz
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