Anyone have a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner? (1 Viewer)

[DonRoeber]

I got my Dyson Ball at Best Buy with one of those 20% off for Reward Zone members coupons, coupled with my Reward Zone card to give me $20 back later on in Best Buy coupons (which I used to buy a DVD )

 

[Prentice Cotham]

I got a nice test of a Dyson at the local vacuum store. He compared it to the Simplicity and Royal vacs. The Royal vac blew away the Dyson. The Royal agitated the carpet extremely well to get the dirt out. He set a nickel in front of the Dyson, Simplicity, and the Royal. In front of the Dyson, the nickel barely moved. In front of the Royal, the nickel was spinning like crazy.

The Royal is mostly metal construction and it still weighed less than the Dyson. They also had a nice selection of Dysons waiting to be repaired.

 

[Carlo_M]

Where's the cheapest place to pick one up at?

Since they're no longer on the restricted list, I would think the 20% off coupons that Bed, Bath and Beyond routinely sends out would make it a good idea to purchas a Dyson there.
I got mine at Robinson's May with a coupon (see my New Year's 2006 post about it, above). For the record, still loving it!

 

[Rob FM]

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[Dan Keefe]

I'll say this about my dyson...you want to know how well it cleans?? use your old vacuum cleaner first and when you think you are done, go back over the same area with your dyson...It really isn't funny how much dirt and fur comes up. I like to think of myself as a clean person...but I felt like a slob when I saw all the dirt come up with the dyson...
This thing is solid and works like a champ. No bags. Worth the 500 dollar price tag. Got mine at Sam's club..
Funny thing...my son brought friends home the other day. they are about 13-14. I had just gotten done vacuuming and hadn't put it away yet. They walk in and see it and one of my son's friends says "ooooh you got a dyson...sweet!" My home theater set up doesn't get that reaction :frowning:

 

[Greg_R]

I'll repeat what I stated before:
Stick a new bag in your old vacuum and perform the same test (re-vacuum and compare the dust). Wow! Look at all the dust that was picked up! This is a very common trick that it used by vacuum cleaner salesmen (dirt will keep coming up out of the carpet for each pass).

 

[Carlo_M]

Greg, we did that with the old Hoover when we got the Dyson. The bag was empty, we had just changed it. And we hadn't planned on getting the Dyson beforehand, it was just when we found out the coupon+sale would be honored that we bought it, and that amount of dirt/dust/etc couldn't have accumulated in the six hours from when we vacuumed to when we used the Dyson.
But even if one were to do the test with the bag partially full, part of the beauty of the Dyson is that it still goes strong without having to constantly change bags, whereas bag vacuums lose suction commensurate with the amount of dust in the bag. That's part of the draw, not having to think about whether the bag is so full that you have to change it or risk not sucking up all the crap in the floor. You can clearly see how full your Dyson is. It is way easier to empty than any bag vacuum I've ever owned.

 

[Shane Martin]

This thread is still alive! I see that Mike is close to becoming yet another Dyson fan too! You get what you pay for that's for sure.
We have a cleaning lady that comes by once a week(My wife's treat to herself) and she is recommending the Dyson to the other folks she cleans house for. She likes it that much. No issues here. Not one yet.
Another option if you can't spend the large dough is to buy a refurb from amazon. That will save you some but the 20% off at BB&B is the best deal.

 

[Mike Frezon]

This thread is still alive! I see that Mike is close to becoming yet another Dyson fan too! You get what you pay for that's for sure.
Another option if you can't spend the large dough is to buy a refurb from amazon. That will save you some but the 20% off at BB&B is the best deal.

Funny you should mention that, Shane! I was all set to pull the trigger on a refurbished DC-14 on amazon ($289, I think...further minus a $25 coupon code!) until I found out there was no way I could get my $$$ back on the damn Fusion.
My machine currently sits in a Hoover repair place in North Syracuse, NY awaiting evaluation!
The dog hair is piling up nicely at home. Kinda reminds me of the tumbleweeds in the old west.

 

[BrianW]

We finally got a Dyson (animal), and I'm really impressed. This thing could suck a you-know-what through a you-know-what!
Besides it's sucking power, I like the ingenious design that:
1. Allows me to change to the wand without bending over and disconnecting the hose or flipping a valve. Simply standing the vacuum upright automatically diverts power to the wand.
2. Adjusts the carpet height automatically.
3. Has several removable air passages so I can check for obstructions (not that I've ever had to use any of them).
4. Turns off the beater-bar when the vacuum is upright without requiring me to cycle power before I engage-disengage the beater-bar belt.
5. No beater-bar belt!
At first, I didn't like the fact that the brush in the hand tool was turbine-powered. We had a Dirt-Devil with a turbine-powered brush, and it worked great the first time. But the dust, dirt, and debris you suck in goes through the turbine, quickly rendering the brush useless. Cleaning it gets it working again, but 15 minutes of cleaning gives you 5 minutes of usable performance. Also, the Dirt Devil turbine-powered brush is about a loud as a jet engine!
Not so with the Dyson! The turbine gets its air from a separate intake, which means that none of the dust, dirt, and debris you suck up goes through the turbine, so the turbine stays clean. After filling and dumping the bin three times, the turbine still spins freely.
And the Dyson turbine is actually quieter when the turbine is ON! I know that with the turbine having a separate intake, turning it on reduces the sucking power at the nozzle, but the Dyson has more than enough sucking power to spare.
This is one awesome machine. I'm very impressed.

 

[mattCR]

I'm going to be the lone lunatic and ask a strange question. After going through several of the cheap bagless vaccums, I've totally given up on bagless. The idea sounds neat, but when you have to empty the container, etc. I just feel like you get that giant dustcloud and it's a b*(& at times if anything you sucked up had any mosture, creating kind of a "mud" in the container that means you're dishwashing it or scrubbing it out.
It always worked out to be more work in the end, so I switched back to a bagged vaccum this last time and have been happy. Is the dyson fairly easy to clean out/empty?

 

[Brian Perry]

I am currently deciding between buying a Dyson or installing a central vac. Has anyone here retrofitted a house for a central vac? How was your experience?

If I go with a traditional upright, I am trying to figure out if Dyson's claim that their vacuum doesn't lose suction is just a marketing ploy that covers up the possibility they have less suction to begin with. Is there any data to compare the maximum sucking power of various vacuums? I would think such information would be readily available.

The other question I have about Dyson is the automatic carpet height adjustment. I have a thick friese carpet in the basement that tends to bind up vacuums unless you set them on one of the higher settings. Even vacuums with auto height seem to get stuck. Is Dyson different?

 

[Henry Gale]

Is the dyson fairly easy to clean out/empty?

The Dyson is just one of the many cleaning tools I own that I rarely actually use.
But, yes, on the occasions that I have felt it was time to empty the thing.
One of the features I love about Dyson is how easily all the parts fit together.
After releasing the container all you have to do is pull a ring shaped switch and the bottom swings away...
OK, I'm back. Had to go find the damn thing so I made sure I got this right. It was in the library where I'm sure it's been for some time.
Anyway, it was perfectly easy to do with one hand while I held a small trash bag with the other.
Then just swing the bottom flap back up, no clamps or anything it just snaps in place on its own and set the cylinder back on the machine, where again, it just clicks in place.

 

[Shane Martin]

Is the dyson fairly easy to clean out/empty?

Can do it with one hand.

 

[BrianW]

I am currently deciding between buying a Dyson or installing a central vac. Has anyone here retrofitted a house for a central vac?

I think central vacs are great, though I've never retrofitted one. Here's the best one I've seen. It's a wet/dry central vac, and there's no emptying, EVER. It requires plumbing in addition to electricity, however, so it's a little harder to retrofit.
Oh, and if Dyson ever comes out with a wet/dry shop vac, I am SO going to be the first one to buy it.

 

[todbnla]

Fusion update: Although I originally was all out to get a dyson, some pages back in this thread we got the cheaper Hoover fusion. Since we bought it we have had only one problem which was user induced in that my teenager stopped up the suction hose which caused the unit to overheat (Doah!) As much has I wanted a dyson this thing is still working good for us, and with two teenage girls and a few pets it get the crap worked out of it too, but YMMV.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

We've had a Dyson for ~2yrs and still loving it. Had to replace the attachment cord, but all else is working great.
Remembering these vacuum-comparison threads made me perform a test a few weeks back when I was cleaning our rental condo. I was always bugged by Oreck or Dyson (or whomever) demos that ran their vacs over a rug that had just been vaccumed with a competitors model. Is that fair and accurate ? Since our condo is beachfront where renters bring in massive amounts of sand, this was the perfect torture test.... But I only have 1 vacuum.
I vacuumed a square area, using 3 patterns: Left-to-Right, Front-to-Back and Diagonal. This effectively allowed the vacuum to pass each area 3 times. It also should have allowed the Dyson, with it's superior suction, to effectively remove all lose dirt.
Emptied the bin and passed through 1 more time...... Yes, it still picked some dirt up, maybe 10% of the original amount. Just wanted to pass along these findings as this testing method clearly sucks....
Cheers !

 

[Carlo_M]

The one thing I've never gotten w/ my Dyson is this: how do you guys keep the front end of the vacuum down? I find that with a few back and forth strokes, the handle starts to angle up. After about 10-15 swipes, I have to put my foot on the front of the vacuum and push it down again (if the handle goes too vertical, it starts sucking from the top of the handle by design).
Am I just a dumb Dyson owner who hasn't figured this out yet? It's not a huge deal, I live in a small apartment so really I only have to push the front down about 4-5 times per vacuum session, a small price to pay for the upgrade over my Hoover. But if there's a better way to keep that front end down, someone please let me in on the secret!

 

[BrianW]

how do you guys keep the front end of the vacuum down?

I'm guessing you must be tall. I've never had that problem, but if I were a foot taller, I think I might. Try to keep your vacuuming strokes in front of you, limit your "backswing", and, for Pete's sake, slow down!
Yeah, I know, that's basically the same advice as "just don't do that", but it's obviously a comfort/ergonomics thing, which is important. If you have to bend over -- or make some other uncomfortable accommodation -- while you vacuum to prevent it from happening, then I think it would be better just to keep using your foot.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Never had that problem either, might be because of smaller rooms ?