thinking about dyson’s new compact vac
Last week, the New York Times House & Home “currents” section wrote about the newest Dyson vacuum cleaner (above) coming out soon. The DC24 is a third the size of the normal Dyson, weighs 5 lbs less, and best of all, costs a hundred bucks less. Do any of you have a Dyson? Do you recommend them? We made the lazy and fatal mistake of buying a cheap Dirt Devil for our country place. It’s stopped working after just three months — of weekend use! It’s sucks — but not in the way it is suppose to! I know we must invest in a quality machine and am thinking this little guy will do the trick. But, I am a Miele devotee at heart. Thoughts? — Angela M.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:26 am
Hi angela- I hate this vacuum. I have a visceral reaction to it. My best buddy has the yellow one, that looks like a heap of crap in her closet. I remember the ads too, they were really self righteous from what I vaguely recall, do they have a genius bar for when you need to fix it? Yuck. I like miele’s too. I inherited one I never use. I am truly a electrolux gal at heart.
I love that vacuum means a space entirely devoid of matter.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:42 am
We’ve got the Dyson handheld, and it beats the heck out of the Dustbuster. The thing gets up every last bit of cat hair off the couch. Can’t speak for the large-size Dysons, but if they’re anywhere near as good, I’m sold.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 am
I have the large size Dyson and love, love, love it. Best vac I have ever used and worth every penny. I am constantly showing my husband all the stuff off our floors, its like a science experiment everytime I clean! We have hardwood, ceramic tile, and carpet and it does well on all three. The attachments are great as well, with excellent pick up. Can’t recommend it enough. We have an inside dog and a three year old, so it gets a workout and so far not a glitch. Got ours from Amazon 2+ years ago.
A work friend has 7 inside Aussie dogs (long hair) and loves hers as well.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:15 am
LOVE love love my Dyson. I used to be an electrolux girl too, but after the first time I vacuumed a floor with the Dyson I was an instant convert. The ads are right, it never clogs. We have three cats and a penchant for being lazy when it comes to cleaning, but after a quick trip around the room with the big D, you’d never know. I swear part of why I fell in love with my husband was because of the Dyson.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Dirt Devils are crap, I’m afraid. I’ve never had good experiences with them. It’s not trendy, but we have a Hoover “windtunnel.” It isn’t exactly lightweight, but it vaccumed the hell out of our previous house, which had wall-to-wall carpet. Something along those lines might be a good middle-of-the-road solution.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:42 am
I also have a dyson, and love it. I have the purple one which I *think* was developed for animals (the four legged kind) and it works like a dream. We bought it prior to selling the house located in the city and it got up that fine black stuff like nobody’s business. Now located in the burbs, with sheltie mutt and black cat it sucks the fur up like nobody’s business. I have title, wood and rugs and works well on that as well as the furniture. Husband loves it and considers it a power tool and is willing the do the vaccuming!
Buy it.
Patty
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
i longed for a dyson to get up cat hair (thinking it would alleviate my bf’s allergies) but couldn’t pay $500. i ended up getting a factory-refurbished one on ebay that supposedly came with a one year warranty from dyson itself. biggest mistake ever. the brush doesn’t quite connect with the carpet unless i push down on the head with my hand (and then hold it, bent over like that) rendering it one of the worst vacuums ever. if you’re going to get it, get it new with as many extended warranties as you can afford.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:55 am
We have a large, purple Dyson that we bought in a fit of insanity during shedding season and that my husband now worships as a household god. I swear, he is always whipping that thing out and vacuuming something up. And with two cats and two Labradors, there’s always something to vacuum up.
The thing about Dyson vacs is that you have to give up on the machine ever looking nice. They all look horrible, not even industrial-chic but just… horrible. But they work like magic.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
I love our Dyson. I think we have the Animal? It’s the purple one. It’s shocking, what that thing will suck out of a carpet that you thought was clean. Ew. I highly recommend them, though I have also heard amazing things about the Kirby. I have a good friend who loves her Kirby so much that she’s ready to leave her husband for it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
We love the Dyson vacuum at our home. Ours is The Ball, it picks up a lot including our Golden Retriever’s hair (all of it). I’ve owned it for 3 years without mechanical problems. It is on the heavy side although. My neighbor has the Dyson Slim and loves it. Dyson’s do indeed have a filter that will clog over time, so check it occasionally. I would recommend the Dyson vacuum to anyone.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
I can’t speak to the Meile vacuums because I’ve never tried one, and before we got our Dyson, I would have said you were crazy to suggest we’d ever spend that much on a vacuum. However, a confluence of events resulted in our sudden ability to get a Dyson, and we got the purple one made for homes with pets, etc. — and I have to say that our love for the Dyson borders on the inappropriate.
I find that the small engineering bits of the thing combine to make it such a joy to use (as much as cleaning the house can ever be a joy). I go after dust bunnies on the ceiling just because I CAN, let’s put it that way. Also, I have very long hair and am a crafter, so clogged rollers due to my hair and miscellaneous bits of thread and fabric were the cause of many a Dirt Devil’s demise — it just got to where you couldn’t clean the rollers without several hours and a jungle machete. The dyson is engineered in such a way that the entire roller assembly comes out of the foot of the vacuum, thus making clearing of the rollers the easiest job ever. I admit sometimes I still have to make an initial cut with a sharp knife to get the more stubborn snarls open enough to remove, but because the whole assembly comes out of the machine, one cut is all you need to simply unwind what’s stuck off the roller and you’re back on track in a minute, rather than several hours.
I can’t recommend the Dyson machines highly enough. If you can swing the cost, I’d say go for it.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Ask if the parts are made of plastic or metal before you buy. Then ask where the parts are made because it’s not unlike the situation with microwave ovens. There are two or three factories producing all the parts for the brand name companies and repair shops could not get the parts. I spent a lot of time researching what I hoped would be my last sucker purchase last year while, dust collected. But I was not going to be rushed into buying something because it was the “it” vacuum. I bought a Riccar. Not a brand many people are familiar with but an old company. They are made in the US, all the parts are metal, the wheels won’t scratch wood floors, it’s sturdy but agile and requires a bag.
I’ll pass it down to my daughter one day. It’s that good!
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I too have a Riccar and am very happy. I live in an apartment and I got a small model and it tucks in a closet so very nicely. It doesn’t have name recognition like Miele or Dyson but it gets the job done, and well. I’ve had mine for several months, I’ve not changed any filters, and it still hasn’t lost any suction. I really recommend looking into purchasing a Riccar.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I love the Dyson. It is not just hype. We went out and bought it immediately after my old vacuum broke down in the middle of cleaning and spewed dirt all over my living room. It was definitely an impulse buy and I was worried that I would regret it but no, I have to say that it picked up dirt we never knew was there! We have the purple one, the animal. Its one of my favorite things.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I have to second Allison on this one–Electrolux can’t be beat. They’re a definite investment, and maybe not quite as fashion-forward, but they do exactly what they’re supposed to do and last forever. There was just a cutesy story about a British innkeeper who finally retired her Electrolux after 70 years (!), and the used model I have was manufactured in the same year I was (1982; thing’s over 25 years old). Also, they have great customer service and will loan you a replacement if yours needs service (at least, that was my experience). They also have a very nice hardwood attachment, so I can safely suck from all surfaces. Five stars.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:50 am
[...] 1. When it comes to investing in a vacuum, consider a classic. As Ivy says: The Electrolux can’t be beat. They’re a definite investment, and maybe not quite as fashion-forward [as the Dyson], but they do exactly what they’re supposed to do and last forever. See the vacuum here. [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Hi. I definitely recommend the Felix SEBO, so compact and wonderful quality. It is the best vacuum I’ve ever had, and I’ve gone through lots having to vacuum nearly everyday due to my son’s allergies. This particular one has hospital grade filtration and in-expensive bags that snap shut to just toss away without releasing any dust. I do not recommend Dyson as from experience from my friends and family, they always break down, sure Dyson fixes them for free most of the time, but should they be breaking down at all? Seriously though, check out the SEBO website.
ps
had the Electrolux, got really annoyed with the Hepa filters and I wish I bought the SEBO first! I have saved the Electrolux however for vacuuming out the car.