Yesterday we bought a new vacuum cleaner. We stepped up and paid the big bucks for the model getting all the buzz. We bought a yellow Dyson. We tested it out in our bedroom to see exactly how much we were missing with our old vacuum cleaner. Suffice to say that the old one now has new residence in the garage. The Dyson vacuum cleaner really sucks!
The first thing I noticed is that it is extremely easy to handle. It turns easily and pushes like it's self-propelled. (It isn’t self-propelled.) It does seem to use the same amount of electricity, the lights always dim with the vacuum, but it was twice as quiet as the old Dirt Devil we were using. The quietness and mobility alone are ample reasons to switch from your old vacuum.
So we went around the room and got about halfway though when my wife stopped me with an astonished look on her face. She told me to look at the dirt cup. In half of a room this light sucker had accumulated as much dirt and crap as the other vacuum picks up in the whole house combined. All right, we're sold.
Now it's time to empty this dirt cup. We needed to consult the manual. It told us how to easily remove the entire chassis, not just the dirt cup. There's a reason for this. The way it's designed you never really have to deal with dust. When you pull the main chassis the dirt cup comes with, still sealed, no dust.
Now for the messy part, right? Wrong. You simply put a bag on the bottom of the chassis and pull the little lever on the top, still no mess. The bottom falls out and releases all of the dust, and since the filter is separate you don't need to clean it too. The internal design dumps everything out without individual hand cleaning. Once everything has been dumped out (Make note that there was so much dirt in the bag that it actually had weight!) all you have to do is give a quick pull on the chassis and the bottom part flips back into place without you ever touching the dirt. This is yet another selling feature.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Bennett
Hey, thanks for this review Jeremy! I had seen some of the buzz on this unit, went to their web site, and it really looked good.
We bought a $300 upright three years ago, so I wasn't ready to toss it and invest in a Dyson right away. Figured that when my Panasinic "Performance Plus" started to fade I'd look at the Dyson again. This will be sooner than I thought as the Panasonic is already doing a mediocre job, and the smell of burning rubber belts is getting old. It's a poorly engineered vaccuum.
Your review has convinced me that I was on the right track.
Thanks!
2 - Eric Olsen
killer review Jeremy, thanks and welcome!
3 - Taloran
My wife is the vacuum cleaner expert in our household, and says she expects a machine to last one year for every $100 she spends on it, so Bennett's vacuum seems to be nearing the end of its expected life, if my wife is correct. Our Hoover is nearing the $100/year limit - maybe I'll surprise her with a new Dyson. If I do, it's a result of this review! Thanks for taking the time to give us your opinion.
4 - Connie
Wonderful review, and it's so nice to hear about a product that actually meets or exceeds it expectations. Next time I'm in the market, I'll be looking for a Dyson.
5 - Dave Nalle
I vacuum our house with a giant Rigid shop-vac and it does a better job than any of the household units we've owned for about 1/4 the price.
Dave
6 - Mark Saleski
gees dave, i hope ya wear earplugs!
7 - Dave Nalle
Actually, I leave the body of the shop vac out on the deck and run a really long hose inside. Reminds me of the old days when my grandparents had a central vacuum system in their house.
Dave
8 - Mark Saleski
good move. when i use my shop vac (usually out in the shop/garage) i have to hunt for the ear protectors first. them things is loud!
9 - Dave Nalle
Being loud means its doing its job.
Dave
10 - Richard
same as no pain no gain, so lame. Can you make my amplifier go to 11?
11 - blaine
good review. i've seen it at Target, and some of the details are pretty nice, definetly different. i've heard it doesn't "suck" the most though.
12 - Keefer
My parents bought a Dyson one year ago and they love it. I was impressed when I saw my Dad running it. Yes, my Dad... He actually enjoyed doing the vaccuuming. I saw the results firsthand of the dirt and loose carpet fibers it picked up (they had brand new carpet at the time).
13 - Jeremy
If you could tolerate the noise you might even go with a Wet/Dry vac so you can clean up the errant spill as well. For me there's just something wrong with that level of noise.
..and yes, I have used a shop vac many many moons ago and it doesn't get through to the dirt as well as the top of the line models like the Dyson or the Rainbow.
Good luck to everyone that this article has influenced. may you all have great vacuuming experiences. (Man, that just sounds strange. Vacuuming and great experience in the same sentence...)
14 - Dave Nalle
Yes, Jeremy, the shop vac I use is a wet/dry vac. Pretty much sucks up everything put infront of it.
Dave
15 - Baz
Dyson vacuum cleaners have come bottom for reliability in a new Which? consumer survey but Dyson owners are still likely to recommend the products to a friend... Read more and add your comments at
www.handyspares.com/dysonblog.html
16 - Jake
It's wonderful there are still thinking inventors making life better! I bought the top of the line Dyson and love it the more I use it; he has thought of everything. No more crappy Walmart vacuum purchases again! This one is destined to last a long time!
17 - Silas Kain
Jeremy! I am with you on the Dyson. We owned a Rainbow vaccuum for years at twice the price of a Dyson. The thing that I loved about the Rainbow was the fact that everything got trapped in water. Once we tried the Dyson, however, we found a machine that was quieter, more efficient and much easier to empty. Our Dyson is well worth the money and will save us money in the long run.
18 - Patrick Rogers
While I am sure the Dyson is a decent enough vacuum cleaner (although Consumer Reports rated it pretty low, especially when you consider the price), I am dumbfounded by the ads for these machines. Mr. Dyson appears and describes the lengths he went to in inventing the "first vacuum that doesn't lose suction." Interesting. My first reaction to the ads was to question whether "losing suction" was really a big problem. I mean, ads can be terrifically successful if they can convince consumers that there is a problem that the product has a solution for, even if the problem is more an invention of the product manufacturer or ad agency. I thought about my own situation. I own a Dirt Devil $129 upright bagless vacuum, which I have had for three years. It works great and it doesn't "lose suction," or at least it keeps working until I am finished with my vacuuming, at which time I clean out the dirt and wash the filter.
Over the past year or so I have informally surveyed many friends and acquaintances, including sometimes spontaneously asking people on the elevator or wherever else I run into them. It seems most people don't really have much problem with their vacuums "losing suction." Several persons I have asked who said that their vacuums "lose suction" said that either: (a) they have or had an old-fashioned bagged vacuum cleaner; (b) they do not clean the filter/empty the vacuum after every use; or (c) admit that they didn't really quantify the problem that way until after they had seen ads for the Dyson. I know all this is rather unscientific, but still it's an open question whether the problem as stated by Dyson is a real problem, or more one that he invented so that he could solve.
Again, I am sure the Dyson vacuum is a decent enough product, but is the problem of losing suction more his invention than a genuine problem experienced by vacuum users?
Patrick Rogers
19 - John
I just got Dyson and the only way you will really know how well it works is to use it after you vacume with your old vacume, you will see the Dyson pick up stuff that will amaze you, We have 1 year old carpet and My wife vacumes all the time (we have 2 cats) and our carpet looked clean, We were amazed by what we saw it picking up, and I have been a mechanic for years and the way its built and the ease of operation of every aspect is great! So much though was put into how it works and ease of use. If you are not mechanicly inclined you may not understand the cyclone part of it, but if you do you will see NOTHING on the market compairs.
20 - GBB
Well - I have to differ in my opinion. I suspected from the title that the author had the same low opinion about this piece of &*%$ that I read further.
We just purchased one of the "Purple Pet" versions of the Dyson, with the attendant $120 additional cost and am amazed no one has sued this company.
First, the thing weighs more than my boat anchor, and seems to have about as much suction. (Yes, I did empty the cannister, even though it is supposedly not a factor.)
Second, my 15 year old Riccar seems to pick up scraps of paper and the like (I have a 3 year old) better than the purple monster.
Third, the vacuum is so thick it cannot get under the front lip of a couch without changing over to one of the attachments, and it only gets within about an inch of a wall!
For a product that costs more than 1/2 a Grand, I am sadly underimpressed.
21 - dlynn
I was planning on buying a Dyson DC14 complete but now I'm confused. I've read that Dysons are very low on reliability, i.e., break down, need repairs, etc. Any more recent opinions?
22 - gls
Can't comment on the newer products - Dyson, various bagless machines, but I can comment on Riccar.
I've had my Riccar 2150 for ten years. It works as well today -- and that is VERY well -- as it ever has, has never had to go in for repair. In ten years I've had to replace the belt a grand total of twice. The metal brushroll still has its original (replaceable) brushes and they still look almost like new.
The Riccar replaced a Eureka that constantly required expensive trips to the shop when inadvertently picking up something like a penny that one of my kids left lurking in the carpet. The bypass motor in the Riccar is immune to that damage.
For my money, I'd shop for a used Riccar before spending a dime on a new department-store vac. Just my experience, but these things do the job.
23 - Hoggle
I've had a Dyson for about 8 years now (they have been around for longer in the UK). It has never broken down, never failed to clean a carpet thoroughly, and never been a chore to use. It is easy to clean and maintain, easy to clear blockages and easy to manipulate.
It is heavy - my parents have one and my mother insists that my father does all the vacuuming as a result. But thanks to the well-designed concertina hose you never have to balance it halfway up the stairs like most other brands.
It isn't all that quiet, but it is much quieter than older designs/makes. And noise is more than just a nuisance - it's wasted energy.
From the maintenance point of view, if you take it apart - every removable bit for a non-technician uses fingertip clips (and one coin-turned catch) and foolproof locators.
Possibly of most importance, the revolutionary design elements have shaken other manufacturers out of their complacency. If you've bought a modern design of another make, you can expect a significantly better machine than five or ten years ago. Dyson made that happen.
24 - Eric
I am the owner of a vacuum store and I am currently an authorized Dyson service and warranty center, but I will not sell them in my store. These vacuums are a joke. We have the ability to see how vacuums perform after the first few months of use by having an authorized service center that works on all makes and models of vacuums. The Dyson at this point has an average life of three years. The belt will break or the bearings in the brushroll will seize (due to hair being caught in the roller) after about two years of use. The repair bill on either part is over $100. Another thing that is mentioned in earlier posts is the amount of dirt that these vacuums catch in the dust cup. A bagless vacuum is a gimmick. It fluffs the dust, similar to a cotton candy machine, to make a small amount of dust, dirt, and carpet fuzz look like a larger amount. A bagged vacuum with the new style hepa bags will hold about 30 times more dirt than a bagless vacuum's dust cup. This is because it compresses the dirt, rather than filling it with air. People who purchase bagless vacuums, most notably the Dyson, are impressed with the amount of dirt they are seeming to get out of their carpet the first time they use it, when in actuality it can be less than their old vacuum got up, but it looks more impressive. A company representative from Hoover once told me that their company knows that bagless vacuums blow out dust and don't deep clean, but it is "what the consumer wants". It looks nice on the shelf." Bagless vacuums also blow out dust. Once a Dyson is used for a few months, the seals that hold the dust in start to break, and dust leaks from the cracks and crevices in the vacuum. Bagless vacuums are very bad for people with allergies, asthma, and respiratory problems because it puts fine dust particles into the indoor environment which can cause pulmonary irritation.
Another claim that Dyson makes, their vacuums do not lose suction. Well that is great, but suction is not what moves dirt. It is AIR FLOW. Dyson's claim about suction is true, but it doesn't matter how much sealed suction a vacuum has, it is the amount of air flow that determines how well a vacuum can deep clean. Dysons DO lose air flow. A new Dyson will pull a 5 on an air flow meter, but a used Dyson (less than 3 months old), will only pull a 2 1/2 on an air flow meter.
What is the point of vacuuming if you are not deep cleaning, holding in the small particles of dust (down to 0.3 microns), last a long period of time, and be convenient to use??
Dyson will never be sold in ANY reputable independent vacuum dealer, and we are the experts in the business.
25 - Eric
Update - If you want a good deep cleaning machine, look for Riccar, Miele, and Sebo.