I could have also titled this post “Things That Suck”. I took the high road, people.
Any recommendations?
The Hoover WindTunnel Cyclonic looks pretty nice. Is that the one they’re advertising right now with the white room and the multiplying messes (little black dogs in one, something else in another)?
Apparently I am easily swayed by advertising. Sign me up and sell me a vacuum, please!
I also want the Dirt Devil Broom Vac. In pink, of course. I’m sure the broom + vacuum concept is not an entirely new one, but this seems like a genius product to me.
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 10:40 amdyson. three big dogs can’t be wrong.
Maggie Sumner
December 4, 2007 at 11:23 amI bought about three high-priced vacuums before I bought my Dyson. Each of the previous models worked well for about 6 months and then sucked because, well, they didn’t (if you get my meaning).
I have had the Dyson for about four years and continue to be amazed by it’s power. It is the BEST vacuum I’ve ever owned. The on-board tools and detachable nozzle cleaner are great and easy to use (and store right on the body of the machine). I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
It’s shocking how passionate about this cleaner!
Susan
December 4, 2007 at 11:30 amthe dyson animal ROCKS!!!
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 11:42 ami agree, the dyson is the BEST! and you can get a great deal on one at bed, bath & beyond if you use one of their 20% off coupons.
when my husband started using ours, he said “WOW, this vacuum really SUCKS!”…which is very true!
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 11:58 amI’ve heard the dyson is awesome but I’ve also heard it’s pretty heavy. I really love this one:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02027615000P?vName=For+the+Home&cName=Vacuum+Cleaners+%26+Floor+Care&sName=Canister+Vacuums
Not sure if you had your heart set on an upright but thought I’d throw in my two cents.
-ronni
Jamie Meares
December 4, 2007 at 12:09 pmhmm, i have a dyson, and while it is light, i don’t like it at all. i think it has like no suction power whatsoever. and the hose is impossible to get out because the whole thing has to detach and the cord has to be all the way undone to even get the hose out.
Making it Lovely
December 4, 2007 at 1:10 pmOoh, lots of Dyson lovers! They’re so expensive though. Most of the floors in our house are wood, so I just sweep most of the time. I don’t know if I could justify spending so much on a vacuum.
I signed up for a one month subscription to Consumer Reports so I could read up a little on the different makes and models. There are so many to choose from! I’m checking out all of your suggestions…
jjzach
December 4, 2007 at 12:18 pmI had a similar Hoover and it sucked! It didn’t work well at all and it was very discouraging to spend time cleaning and feel like it didn’t do a thorough job. It also was a total pain to carry up and down the stairs. I broke down and bought a mid priced Miele to replace it and love it. It was worth the extra money to have a reliable vacuum and that is more portable.
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 12:37 pmI got the Dirt Devil Broom Vac a year or two ago and really don’t like it. It seems like a genius idea, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work. The battery life is very short as well.
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 12:47 pmWe have a yellow canister Miele… it’s nice. It was a present. I don’t really do a lot of research on vacs, but I know I like it more than the stand-up vacs from my childhood.
erin
December 4, 2007 at 12:48 pmI have a Shark with on-board attachments and a detachable clear canister. It works pretty well, and I like the fact that the handle is also the hose. It guarantees to never lose suction, and the filters are washable. Can’t afford a Dyson, although friends who have them love them.
I got it at Kohl’s on clearance.
Jane Flanagan
December 4, 2007 at 1:12 pmDyson’s are worth the extra $. Buy one after the holidays and you might get a sale!
Lori
December 4, 2007 at 1:39 pmI have the dirt devil broom vac and I don’t like it at all. It doesn’t suck well and gets clogged very easily. I’m now using a shark dustbuster for kitty litter, it’s great. I have the Dyson Slim for a main vacuum and love it and my husband ever the critic loves it. I bought it online for $100 less than retail with no shipping or sales tax. I can try to track down where I bought it if you’d like to order one.
Cara Kipp
December 4, 2007 at 1:42 pmWe bought the Hoover Mach 5 because we wanted a Dyson but couldn’t afford putting down hundreds of dollars for a new vacuum. The Mach 5 (I heard recently there’s a Mach 6 out) is great and uses the same “technology” (technology in a vacuum? Whatever, as long as it gets all that stuff off my carpet I don’t care)as the Dyson but cost us under $200. I highly recommend it and am constantly amazed at what is hiding in our carpet that we can’t see. Oh yeah, and it works on tiles and hardwoods pretty well too.
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 2:13 pmDYSON! It hasn’t given us any problems at all in the 3 yrs that we’ve had unlike other vacums that wouldn’t last even 6 mos. in our house. We have 2 very fury dogs and I couldn’t live without it!
Lili
December 4, 2007 at 2:16 pmugh!
This is the pinnacle of excitement Nicole.
I am not any help to you. We’re swiffer peeps.
Making it Lovely
December 4, 2007 at 4:22 pmHa! I lead an exciting life. ;)
Jules
December 4, 2007 at 2:34 pmAnother Dyson Animal lover!
Stay away from the broom vac. I bought one and, pardon the pun, it blew. I ended up giving it away in a garage sale. It’s the classic “Good from afar, but far from good” product.
Kerri
December 4, 2007 at 2:41 pmI recently bought a Eureka Boss Smart Vac (model 4870GZ).I love it so much!! It got excellent reviews on Consumer Reports as well and the price is very reasonable.
Theresa
December 4, 2007 at 3:30 pmDyson & iRobot Vacuums! My husband swears on it. :)
Dott Comments
December 4, 2007 at 3:54 pmDyson. Worth every penny. Makes me WANT to vacuum.
deerseason87
December 4, 2007 at 4:19 pmWe also have mostly wood floors (well, all wood floors except for some throw rugs), and we LOVE our Dyson. It’s really well designed, and it works better than any vacuum I’ve ever owned. It has two settings: one for hardwood, and one for carpet, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We got ours at Bed Bath and Beyond, using a 20% off coupon, so the price wasn’t too bad. Also, Target now carries them in red!!
Jules
December 4, 2007 at 4:29 pmDyson. Worth every penny. Makes me WANT to vacuum.
Let’s not get crazy. ;-) <3
Seriously, though, I, too, live in an older home with all wood floors and one area rug and I love, love, love the Dyson for picking up animal hair and dust bunnies. Granted, I bought the Dyson when I was living in our first home (50% wood) but I would still recommend the Dyson. Which, at least in October, comes in pink at Target.
Oh, and the hose issue: it bugs my SIL, too, but never me. I’m more analytical and handy around the house, so I don’t know if that’s it??? She just doesn’t like to fiddle with stuff much. She wants to pull out the hose and go, and admittedly you can’t do that w/ the Dyson. There is one extra step–but like I said it doesn’t bother me. :)
Making it Lovely
December 4, 2007 at 4:46 pmOK, I think I’ll stay away from the Broom Vac.
$550 for a vacuum (the Dyson Animal) is a lot of money though…
Aubs
December 4, 2007 at 4:59 pmFor the Dyson – keep an eye out for sales. I’ve seen the Animal as low as $375 before. Do you have a BiMart in your area? That is where we found ours at that price.
Lori
December 4, 2007 at 5:03 pmI got my Dyson for $399, it’s actually down to $368 on the same site. I have 3 cats and I heard the Animal is no different as far as suction only has different attachments. The slim also weighs less and takes up less space.
Heather
December 4, 2007 at 5:24 pmI bought a Dyson at our local Costco. I personally haven’t used it much but my cleaners say they like it a lot. My Dyson has an attachment for bare floors that makes it much easier than sweeping.
Figuring out how to unhook and hook the attachment was confusing at first, but one you get it, it’s really simple.
Jules
December 4, 2007 at 5:42 pmYou don’t need to get the Dyson–I just have to shedding maniacs and needed all the attachments I could get to reach those fur balls. You can always get the regular model, which is far less expensive. :)
Roxy Apicelli
December 4, 2007 at 7:08 pmI feel your pain!! I have gone through at least 3-4 vacuums in the last 5 years. As you mentioned, my home is also mostly hardwoods except for the kitchen and baths which are tiled and the occasional area rug. This one’s great. It’s light, has a setting for carpet as well as flat flooring and it’s bagless. At $69.99 and my Bed, bath and beyond coupon….how could I go wrong??!!
Good luck with your search!!
Roxy
December 4, 2007 at 7:11 pmSorry… It’s a Shark Stick Lightweight Bagless Vac, Model: EP621
sj
December 4, 2007 at 7:11 pmI swear by my Sears canister vacuum. We have hardwood floors and its amazing. It comes with wonderful attachments for dusting tables and couches and tight crevices like behind the toilet or the baseboards. It also comes apart at the handle so I can add the attachment at hand level or leave the pole on and add the attachments — I use the long version for vacuuming ceiling fans and high shelves and light fixtures. I’ve had the vacuum for 5 years and its service has never deteriorated. It also has a hepa filter to help with allergies. I’ve never tried a dyson but we don’t have room for a stand-up. Someday we’ll have a two story house and I’ll try the dyson for the second floor…
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 8:22 pmWe have a Hoover upright that is about 6 years old. Always has been just so-so. But let me tell you, I have two iRobots and they rock. Of couurse they can’t do stairs. But at the push of a button you can leave to run errands and voila…the floors are swept. I sincerely *LOVE* the Scooba which is the wet mop. Who has time to mop!? Believe me, I’d love a cleaning gal…but who has the cash cow for that?! Happy hunting! – jkartgirl
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 8:46 pmHello!
I have the Dyson/animal and I LOVE it!!! I asked everyone in my family for gift cards for my birthday and then I put them all together and got my Dyson!! I also have the broom vac and I Hate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted it for so long and then when I got it it was such a let down!! Good Luck!
dysonfool
December 4, 2007 at 8:49 pmDyson – the only way to go! Expensive but worth it, and I got a great deal on eBay for mine. Under $350 for a Dyson Animal. I rave about it like a crazy person….but so do all of the other people I know who get one.
Using the brush attachment on my Crate & Barrel sofa makes it look brand new.
Suz
December 4, 2007 at 8:50 pmA couple of years ago, I had to buy a vaccuum cleaner and thought I’d save myself the trouble of a bad investment. And since I had a couple of large purchases to make, I decided to subscribe to Consumer Reports. At the time, one of the top rated (if not the top rated) vaccuums was the Eureka’s “The Boss” SmartVac with a HEPA filter. I searched it out — and I think it was somewhere around $100. I think it has been an excellent purchase. I recommend it.
Leo
December 4, 2007 at 9:37 pmDyson Animal rocks… believe the hype! I have 3 cats and the animal attachment is nothing short of a miracle when it comes to getting the hair off of furniture. We also have hardwoods and I use the bare floor mode for those.
Anonymous
December 4, 2007 at 9:58 pmI love my Bissel Healthy Home vacuum!
drey
December 5, 2007 at 12:16 ami took a long time choosing between the top Dyson one and the top Electrolux one… and finally walked off with the latter and have been really happy with it.
Kate
December 5, 2007 at 1:31 pmI am very seriously coveting a Dyson Slim right now. They’re about $100 less than the Animal model, great on wood floors, and much lighter than full size. Every time I go to Target I visit it. I’ll be doing that until I can bring one home and give it a proper home.
Making it Lovely
December 5, 2007 at 5:02 pmOK, we did it.
I googled for a discount, found a 20% off coupon at Linens ‘n Things, and WE BOUGHT A DYSON.
Samantha
December 5, 2007 at 5:10 pmI know this is a little lame but we have two dogs and hardwood floors and I was spending 30-45 minutes a day sweeping until we got our Roomba!
I can’t get enough of our lovable and efficient little robot/slave.
Though he can’t pick up everything I now only need to sweep a few select spots every few days. Money well spent.
Hayley and Mike
December 5, 2007 at 11:01 pmyou’ll love the dyson. i rave about mine, just like your chorus of other commentors have!
Trisha
December 12, 2007 at 5:20 ami just saw that you bought the dyson..that was my recommendation..we have looked at them for a long time..but i never wanted to shell out the money for one..but as kevin says “you get what you pay for” we have 3 animals but just got the new model yellow one and it is fabulous..no need to really get the “animal” one..it just gives you a few more attachments..but the ones the yellow one comes with are just fine..we’ve had ours only a few weeks but it was definitely a great purchase and i don’t feel guilty like i usually do after buying something expensive!!
lanielawrence
December 28, 2007 at 9:48 pmWhatever you do………S T A Y A W A Y F R O M T H E H O O V E R. I bought the model you have shown (wind tunnel), and I have to clean it every five minutes! It’s so annoying, it gets clogged pretty easy, and I actually have to pick it up and bang it against the floor to clear out the accumulting clogs. I bought the first generation Roombas – it did not clean very well.
Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Buyer’s Contentment via my Dyson
March 26, 2010 at 11:07 am[…] bought a Dyson DC17 Animal a few years ago after asking for recommendations here on the blog. Recently Dyson contacted me to ask if I was interested in attending their first ever Domestic […]
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