Is there a vacuum cleaner that actually works?!

[dogmom]

OK, So we got 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 acres of woods with all that brings in, and a toddler. I swear the carpet never actually gets clean. OK, I take that back, when we have the financial resources to pay people to clean the house the carpet actually gets clean every other week. It's not like my vacuum cleaner doesn't pick up dirt, it does. But I have to run over the same spot several times, and it doesn't get everything. Also there is a constant cleaner/unclogging procedure that needs to be done just to keep it at this moderate level of cleaning.

This is the first new vacumm cleaner I've had (5 years old). It was a model recommended by consumer reports and it wasn't the cheapest one out there. Did I just get a bad model? Are there models that work? I feel like it is 30% better than the used ones I used to have, but still not great. I walk into other peoples houses and their carpets are clean. Do they just vacuum every day? Do they not have all the stuff brought into their house like mine is? Are there carpet's easier to clean? Will I never have clean carpets? I don't want to spend $200-300 on a new vacuum cleaner if this one works and the other one isn't going to do any better. I'm willing sign up for central vac if that would work. (OK, maybe it would take me a year to pay for it.) Does anyone else feel like they flunked home economics because they can't get their house clean?

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[Radosti]

We have three dogs and three cats, as well as an infant :)

When we had carpets in our old house, I bought a Dyson and it was amazing how much crud it sucked out. When we built this house, I made a point of having only hardwood floors with area rugs. The Dyson is still amazing. Hubby has taken to bringing it into the basement when he does cat litter duty. he vacuums the stairs to the basement and all around the litter pans. It's bagless and amazingly easy to empty.

We have a cleaning lady coming once a week now and at first she would sweep the hardwood floors, but then she tried the Dyson and now that's all she'll use. That vacuum is amazing.

It's expensive, but you can use one of those 20% off coupons from Linens and Things for it. That's how I got mine a while back. It doesn't clog either. Picks up every bit of cat and dog hair. Love it!!!

[Radosti]

There is one place that the Dyson doesn't get hair off of. The stairs to the second floor. I picked out a very pretty carpet for the carpet runner, but it's commercial grade and it's like a whisker brush for the cats. They love it and roll all over it. I've tried the Oreck on it too and that doesn't get it either. We finally got this thing, it's called the Pet Hair Magnet and it gets the fur off the stairs:
http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/June05/54721_48005.jpg

[tarabenet]

I'm interested to read what other suggestions come up here. I'm definitely interested to know the Dyson is living up to it hype for the PP. I just wanted to say: Do not get a Hoover Savvy. That was the one most highly recommended by the Good Housekeeping editor on a GMA segment. They neglected to say it is absolutely worthless for hair -- pet hair, people hair, whatever. Instead of one beater bar or brush bar, it has two that spin opposite each other, in a twisted-tegether pattern. Impossible to get the hair out of there, much easier with just one roller. And it doesn't pull carpet nap up, so it doesn't have that just-cleaned look, either. It is so bad that it has made me suspicious of anything that get the Good Housekeeping Seal.

[almostamom]

We have a Dyson. I'm AMAZED at the stuff this vacuum picks up. We do have a dog who sheds a lot, so I try to vacuum the rooms that he's in daily (but that doesn't always happen). I have noticed a huge difference with the Dyson over my old Eletrolux.

~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[new_mommy25]

We have a chow that sheds a disgusting amount of hair. We finally got the Animal Dyson because we were literally burning out other vacuums. THey would start smoking! It's an amazing vacuum.

[kboyle]

We have a cat, a 2 yr old and a rolling 5 mo old and the Dyson works wonders. We don't have the animal, we've got the yellow dc07 and i don't notice a difference in the two other than the animal dc14 is $100 more. We did a test between the two, mil has the animal and they seemed to pivk up the same and have the same suction.

We used to have an old Royal (serious heavy metal!) and it worked awesome, but it was old and entirely way too heavy!

go for a dyson!

[Marisa6826]

Dysons! They're amazing. Worth every penny, IMO!

If you get it at Costco (Dyson makes one specifically marketed to Costco), you can return it at any time, for any reason.

We have both hardwood floors and a variety of wool and/or synthetic Oriental rugs. We also have wool runners on our staircase. We're simultaneously thrilled/horrified at what the Dyson picks up.

And it's a SNAP to clean the canister. You just pull the trigger while holding the canister over the garbage can. A trap door opens and all the ick falls in the garbage.

LOVE it!

-m

[Toba]

Another rave for the Dyson. I got the Animal for my birthday in November (and got a free Dyson Animal toy vacuum for my clean-obssessed little man) and we LOVE it!

I think of it like this ... we had to replace our previous vacuum that was only two years old. I'd rather spend a little more money and have a vacuum that is *supposed* to never lose suction, than have to buy a new cheaper vacuum every two years!


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*

[murpheyblue]

We have two dogs and a large rugged yard and I would not trade my Dyson for anything. It rocks!

[mum1day]

The Dyson is the best thing since sliced bread. I have two labs who shed like crazy and I could not live without it.

We also have no carpet in our home, only area rugs, which has been a lifesaver. But, I know that the Dyson has saved my sanity!

Good Luck!

[TonFirst]

We have all hardwoods, a dog, a baby, and a few area rugs, and I swear that if I wasn't already married to my husband, I'd marry my Miele.

BUY A MIELE. That thing is so powerful it can suck Cheerios out if the floor vents.

[Oct. 04 mom]

Here's another vote for the Dyson.

We got it when we had a German Shepard and a new crawler. That thing sucked up so much gunk, my husband was thrilled to whip it out and vaccuum the house. He still loves to use it!

I've even taken it into my office to clean up there. It's amazing -- and worth every dollar.


Best regards,
Carey

[brittone2]

We needed a 2nd vacuum a while ago (we have an old old Oreck that still works well) because we needed an upright that had a hose to do around the baseboards, etc. The Oreck we have doesn't get hair from around the baseboards and there isn't a hose for furniture. We couldn't find a single hand-held vac that worked (including MIL's Oreck hand held) so we decided to get a 2nd vac.

We tried out a few vacs (brought them home and ended up returning them) since we have a large dog and two cats. I actually was not that impressed with the Dyson. I know I'm in the minority ;)

I liked it, and it cleaned hair along the baseboards well. But...it didn't do much better than my old Oreck. If I was comparing the Dyson to a really bad vac, maybe I would have been able to justify the price. I personally found that if I vac'd with the Dyson followed by the Oreck, the Oreck could pick up all sorts of stuff the Dyson didn't (I just couldn't *see* it as easily as I could in the Dyson's clear bin). If I vac'd with the Oreck, the Dyson would still pick up extra stuff if I went over it a second time with the different vac. I found it worked both ways.

I did like the long hose on the Dyson and I miss that our current vac doesn't have a hose that long. I ended up going w/ a Eureka rated well in CR. It doesn't clog for us, but our pet hair hasn't clogged up too many vacs (other than when we also owned a husky, and that always clogged the Oreck). As a 2nd vac, it works well for us, but then, that's because we also have the Oreck. The dyson is supposed to not have too much trouble w/ clogging up so if you are having that problem it might be worth it.

The Dyson is a great vac, but in our situation we couldn't justify the price since we already had a good vacuum. One tip is that the lowest end version (the basic one) is the same actual vac as the more expensive ones (like the animal) but just the attachments are different. When we originally bought, we found it was less expensive to buy the lowest end dc-14 model and add the pet hair attachment (Sears had them sold separately) than it was to buy the whole "animal" version. Also the dc-7 isn't that great at picking up cheerios, etc. so with kids, the dc-14 is supposed to be better :)