Dyson vacuums: really all that good?

[R D S]

"Colin Wilson" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

Simple mate, tell the missus to do the hoovering twice.

[The Medway Handyman]

The technique used by the dodgy Kirby salesmen was to get you to vac your carpet with your machine. They would then fit a transparent tube type thing to the Kirby and show that it had removed 'the dirt left behind by your machine'.

Simple. One pass with a vaccum never removes all of the soiling present in a carpet. No vacuum is 100% efficient.

So, the second pass will always remove a little more soiling - even with the same vaccum. A third pass will remove a little more.

If you vacuumed with the Kirby first & the fitted the transparent thingy to your machine it would show that your machine had removed the dirt left behind by the Kirby.

[gymratz]

:¬) Spread between 2 houses, a shop/flat and a garage I should add.

Pete

--

(just for a change)

[Andrew Gabriel]

I originally got a DC04 (two generations behind the DC14) and found it fantastic on carpets. I was doing a lot of building work, and although not at all designed for this, it ended up be redeployed for building work which is what it's been used for for the last 7 years. It works vastly better than a Henry at picking up and trapping dust. It's not as robust obviously, but I've managed not to do any serious damage by being careful and aware of its fragility.

For housework, I got a DC07, which was the next generation. This worked even better, and just about any slight niggle on the DC04 had been designed out. As various family members saw the DC07 in use over time, every one of them got one for themselves.

The DC14 is the next generation after the DC07. I haven't used one, but based on the improvements I saw between the DC04 and DC07, I would suspect it's even better still.

I've never had any of the blockage problems others talk of, but I don't expect a vacuum cleaner to work forever without emptying it and occasionally washing the filter. I've never paid more than about half price for a new Dyson. By keeping an eye out for special offers if you aren't in a hurry, you can find them, particularly when the next generation model appears.

Apparently one of our offices has just installed the Dyson hand dryers in all the toilets. I haven't seen one in action yet, but those who've used them have said they are very impressive.

[John Rumm]

We had a Vax to start with, but never found that very good for carpets, it is also like carrying a large octopus up and down stairs. That got augmented with a DC01, which like the DC04 was very good on carpets. As others have said it does have various design niggles, and you must keep its filters clean, and remove the accumulated SWMBO hair from the brush bar from time to time. It also has done sterling service as a dust collector on the end of a router. After 14 years it is still going strong, but does require ongoing care to get the best form it.

We got a DC14 Animal, and came to much the same conclusion - the design is significantly more refined. All of the main parts of the air passage between brush bar and the bin can be unclipped to remove half bricks and

4" nails that you may have attempted to vacuum, so there is no need to go poking bits of wire into it should it ever block. Suction on it is very strong (unlike the DC01 - which works more by good brush bar action), its also lighter, and quieter.

We bought the DC14 after trying a friends DC07... (did not actually realise his was not a DC14 until afterwards - they look similar and both have an "Animal" version)

Been very pleased with ours. It copes with dalmatian hair in carpets which is notoriously difficult to remove since it is short, stiff, slightly abrasive and barbed, and once it has worked its way into fibres it hangs on tight.

I have used friends Henry machines, and found them ok, well built and quiet, but the normal ones don't get anything like as good results on carpets at the DC14 (not tried a powered head version - they may well be better). However I am personally not a fan of cylinder cleaners and find them harder to use.

[Dave Baker]

A couple of years ago I acquired an old Dyson DC01, rescued from a local corporation tip and repaired by a friend of a friend who works at said tip and rescues whatever he can find that is salvageable, fixes it and sells it on. I paid the princely sum of £25 for mine. I gather that most of the early Dysons fail because of a simple fault in the wiring rather than the mechanicals and then get chucked out by those too wealthy to bother fixing anything. With many Dysons to hand said F of F usually has enough spare parts to put together a complete unit with all the tools.

Yes they're a bit plasticky and fragile but they suck like a sucky thing and it pulled more debris out of my carpets than I could have believed possible. The old bag hoovers it replaced were crap in comparison. If you try to pick up anything longer than about half an inch it blocks up because the passageways are so tortuous but this isn't an issue in normal use. A paperclip or wood screw will stop it in its tracks though. No biggy to find the offending article and pull it out and then normal service is restored. It was the best £25 I ever spent that's for sure although whether there are now even better bagless cleaners I couldn't say.

I also used to get an asthma attack every time I vacuumed and that doesn't happen with the Dyson and its built in filters. Can't rate them highly enough.

[Steve Firth]

They're s**te.

[Brian Reay]

Probably the worst domestic appliance we ever owned was a Dyson. Flimsy and grossly overrated.

Go for a Henry.

Brian

[The Natural Philosopher]

The only advantage a Dyson has, is that SHE can see when the bag needs emptying.

My cheap cylinder is just as good at picking up cat hair, but you can't tell when its full.

[:Jerry:]

So what you are saying is that the same results could have been achieved by vacuuming twice, the facts are, they tried that previously and it didn't work. The facts are the Dyson removed what the other cleaner simple refused to suck up. Brown dog hair and light coloured carpets do not mix well, the shade of colour changed as the Dyson removed the trampled in dog hair - we are not simply talking about house dust here.

[:Jerry:]

Or not maintained correctly by those who think they know better than those who make the thing - a bit like the old Triumph Stag engine, nothing wrong with it until the ignorant owner and back street garage go hold of them....

[Huge]

I took our Electrolux vacuum out in the garden and burned it, then vowed never to buy another Electrolux product, ever. (*)

Then we bought a Sebo, which is a marvellous piece of kit.

(* Then I discovered that McCulloch belong to Electrolux, but not until I got the chainsaw home.)

[Huge]

Hear, hear.

I saw some cleaners in an American hotel using Sebos. If the Yanks will buy a non-American product, it's got to be good.

[Lurch]

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:09:22 +0100, "The Medway Handyman" mused:

Still an element of truth in it in some circumstances, i.e. not all vacuums are created equal, but still not an actual scientific test by any means.

[Lurch]

On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 02:11:40 +0100, [e-mail] (Steve Firth) mused:

Why's that then? Do you not know how to look after them either?

[Lurch]

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:14:37 +0100, "The Medway Handyman" mused:

No they aren't. They are known as a 'Die Soon' by clueless fuckwits who think they know what they are doing but actually don't and just like to sell people new machines and jump on the bandwagon to condemn anything a customer already owns.

[Steve Firth]

Why should I have to learn to look after some fashion-victim accessory when the vacuum cleaner I have works better, is quieter and cost less?

[Steve Firth]

I made the same vow after having a Flymo, no more Elctrolux, ever.

Errm then I discovered that they also own Husqvarna, Partner, Zanussi and Baumatic. So that's my chain saw, one of the brushcutters, washing machine, fridge, freezer and cooker that are all Electrolux products.

[Steve Firth]

And those who claim that Dysons are reliable are the same zombies who claimed that Ladas were reliable, as long as you anticipated all the faults and replaced the s**te just before it actually broke.

I knwo someone who is a Dyson fan. They have four broken Dysons outside their back door and seem to ahve developed a blind spot when it comes to noticing them.

[NoSpam]

Our DC04 has been going strong for many many years, through 2 house extensions and an awful lot of heavy-weight DIY. In that time I've had to repair one crack and two cable breaks - annoying at the time but OK considering the treatment it's had. I just picked-up a couple of dead ones from the dump to make a cyclone for the workshop - but they both only had very many problems.

Dave