Vacuums/Dyson and others

[momofjandl]

So we are in search of a new vacuum under $500. I've read all the past reviews...and those on amazon and epinions. Here are my questions...

What is your vacuum, how long have you had it, do you still like it now as much as or less than when you first got it?

I'm looking at the Dyson....great reviews. But I am noticing a lot of the reviews are "just got it" "had it two weeks" etc. How has the Dyson held up for you folks over time? Are you still just as happy with it as before?

I have two boys and a cat, mostly hard woods with area carpets.

Also...anyone see any post holiday deals on the Dyson? Anyone get a great deal on theirs?

Thanks in advance!
Ruth

There are models that cost less then $500.00. You can find some unadvertised online deals.

Dyson vacuums are test to last 10 years by the way.

[ohiomom]

WE've had ours since March and continue to love it each time I use it. We use the animal model and the turbo attachment is fabulous to sweep up cat hair off our bedroom loveseat and drapes where they hang out to sleep and to look out the window.I'd buy it again in a hearbeat.

We have 1/2 tile and 1/2 carpet and area rugs. Sometimes going from hard floor to plush area rugs it makes a ferocious sound as the autoleveler may be too low going from one surface to the other. I've learned to tip it to the side to sit it down on the rug to avoid that problem. I don't like it any less because of it.
Nicole's Mom 7/03

[brittone2]

Since you asked...

We too have been thinking about a new vacuum. We have an older Oreck, which still works quite well, but Orecks don't have the hose for attachments, etc. so that has been a bit problematic, and I haven't found a handheld vacuum able to keep up with the pet hair on the sofas, steps, etc.

We got a dyson, tried it out for a few days, and ended up returning it. I think it is a very good vacuum, but the suction wasn't much different than our Oreck. It did do a better job of cleaning hair from the edges of the baseboards on the carpeted areas upstairs (the oreck tends to leave pet hair along the baseboards...ewwww), but overall I wasn't that impressed for the price. The mini turbine did well at removing hair from the sofa, but it did take me quite a while. I'm not sure it was that much faster than w/ a vacuum w/ attachments.

We are still deciding what to do. We don't *need* a new vacuum since we are happy w/ the oreck, but I need attachments that are handy. We may go out and buy a $200 kenmore progressive w/ the attachments and just end up using that.

I was bummed that I didn't love the Dyson like everyone else does. I think that the fact we are comparing it to a pretty good vacuum (the oreck) makes a difference though...if we had a crappy vacuum to start with, I'm sure we would have been more impressed. I think part of the effect is psychological..."seeing" all that stuff in the canister LOL. We opened the oreck's bag and there was just as much stuff, we just couldn't see it as easily. We ran the oreck, and then vacuumed over the area w/ the dyson, and it got a little more out of the carpet, but not that much....so the oreck apparently didn't do a bad job.

When reading reviews, I did see several mentions that the dyson does have some reliability issues over the long term. There was some review about them from Great Britain (where apparently they are very very popular), and it said they had problems at a rate higher than "average." Not sure how true that is, but it is something to look into.

Good luck! I was bummed...I think I was hoping for a miracle, but the Dyson wasn't it for us unfortunately. I'd consider a Miele but the one I want is 1200 bucks. I don't think DH would go for that ;)

[chlobo]

Goodness. I hope they've improved it. I just got a dyson for Christmas. I went for the refurbished Dyson from Amazon. I also had a discount coupon so when all was said and done it was $240. I'll report back once I've used it.

I've had my Dyson (the Animal) for about 5 months and still love it! I vacuum more now cause I love to use it :) I especially love the ease of emptying. I go from carpet to tile and back with no problems. I would recommend it!

[new_mommy25]

We have the purple animal Dyson and I love it! We live with a long haired chow (plus all the hair I seem to shed!) and the thing is amazing. We've had many other vacuums and the tube always clogged really easily.

[murpheyblue]

We've had the base model Dyson for almost a year and still absolutely love it! We've got 2 dogs and all hardwoods with area rugs.

I've had mine since july and still love it. My cleaning lady is gonna get one for herself since she had a windtunnel that has lost compression 2x and required servicing in 2 yrs.
GMA had a report from good housekeeping a few months back and they said there was a hoover that actually preformed better, but seeing what the dyson picks up i had a hard time beliving that
heres a link to the episode
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/s...=184889&page=1

HTH

I've had mine since july and still love it. My cleaning lady is gonna get one for herself since she had a windtunnel that has lost compression 2x and required servicing in 2 yrs.
GMA had a report from good housekeeping a few months back and they said there was a hoover that actually preformed better, but seeing what the dyson picks up i had a hard time beliving that
heres a link to the episode
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/s...=184889&page=1

HTH