Dyson vacuums: really all that good?

[:Jerry:]

That's not a reason not to do something, it's a reason to learn and be careful, something that the HSE is slowly allowing people to forget! :~(

[Owain]

You don't really need to do the stairs as nobody stays there long enough to see whether they're dusty or not.

People have been attacked by Dysons leaping off the ground when the hose is at maximum stretch on stairs.

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think the total sum I have spent on my cylinder vacuum is zero.

The previous one got re motored after 9 years..£35.

Frankly that is an *appalling* machine if it needs £55 spending on it every so often.

[Brian Sharrock]

"All the Dyson uprights I've seen have a (flexible) hose" with a 'thingam'jig' at the end into which the rigid extension _may_ be plugged ! The 'thingam'jig' aaccepts the rigid tube and/ or the tools, such as the crevice tool etc. I've used it to 'vac' the car out for example. Why is my experience different from yours? Are there variants sold only in the Medway area?

[Brian Sharrock]

Oh! sorry; you need instructions;-

Grasp the hose in your (left?) hand and pull the rigid wand outwards with your other (right?) hand - pull until you feel a slight resistance - then pull a bit more and you'll discover that the wand is in one hand and the hose in the other ! If you can't manage this ; ask a passing child. HTH

[John Rumm]

Yup, they fixed that bit of kludgyness on later models.

[Andy Hall]

You may well ask. I think it's gullibility.

Yesterday I purchased a new washing machine to be delivered to my parents. We had settled on a Miele W3740 because it has the right set of features, price range and dimensions - fractionally smaller than others. Moreover it comes with Miele's 10 year parts and labour guarantee.

So I set about looking for the best price and delivery and also arrangements to collect the old machine. For approximately the same price (around £20), I can get the supplier to do this rather than titting around with the nitwits at the local authority.

The comparison engines indicated that Dixons has the best price of £716

- next nearest about £730.

However, the entry on their web site is interesting. There is no mention of any warranty, but they are offering a 5 year cover for £289. Hmm.... Did this mean that their low price was because they had done a deal with Miele excluding the manufacturer warranty? A call to Miele to check. They confirmed that there are no special sourcing deals and that the warranty applies regardless of the supplier and is registered directly with them and executed by them as well. That would be the only basis that I would entertain the idea of buying something from DSG group. I asked Miele why it was that Dixons were offering a warranty in addition and of course they were non-plussed.

I called Dixons and asked them how long the warranty was on the machine. I was told that Dixons standard warranty is a year, extendable to 5 years for £289. So I asked whether the machine was sold with Miele's 10 year warranty. Yes it was but that was only for parts - Dixons warranty included labour. I pointed out that Miele's warranty was 10 years parts and labour. Silence. So why would I want to buy the Dixons warranty as well? More silence and then the reply was that it included accidental damage. Pretty weak and I think we can live without it.

The thing is, I am sure that there will be a percentage of people gullible enough to shell out the extra £289. They probably buy Lottery tickets as well.

On the subject of vacuum cleaners, Miele offer a similarly priced deal on their except that it is done as a collect and deliver arrangement. Yet there are still people who will take them to a repairer.

[The Medway Handyman]

Hoover Constellation? Was that the one that hovvered?

Henry hose is 2.4 metres BTW

I promise not too :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

Aha!

[The Medway Handyman]

Well pardon me for not having a Dyson instruction book with me at all times.

[Andy Hall]

It was also the legendary model in ambulance crew folklore. Ask your daughter.

[Chris J Dixon]

Are you sure that wasn't the Dustette? Perhaps a different legend (Lancet IIRC)

Chris

[John Rumm]

yup, that and the dustbuster according to a mate who was running a slide show for some bods at a NHS conference on A&E care a few years back. (Still the No.1 cause of penile shaft injury in the uk apparently!)

[Andrew Gabriel]

It still does.

[Andy Hall]

Even on carpets?

[Andrew Gabriel]

It does on my carpets. It probably wouldn't on a long haired shagpile.

The only problem with it is that if very fine dust goes through the bag, the carpet under the vacuum cleaner acts as a secondary filter and you get a dark ring. I managed to do that once when vacuuming soot out of a fireplace.

The air outlet underneath also allows you to connect the hose up to blow blockages out. I have a second hose and for something like soot, I now connect that up and dangle it out of the window. I don't think I've seen any other vacuum cleaner which allows you to do this.

I recall playing with the constellation when I was about age 7 or thereabouts. With no hose coupled up, I could push it up and down the hallway completely frictionless. First lesson in hovercraft operation...

[Huge]

That's about the one thing it never did. Mind you, given that the MTBF was about 70 seconds, it never ran long enough to burst into flames. *Every* time we used it, I had to fix the damn thing. *What* a piece of junk.

[Andy Hall]

I wonder why the French have it as the generic name for a cleaner like we have "Hoover"

[:Jerry:]

[ re Electrolux ]

Because they don't hang on to all thing American!

[Andy Hall]

Well OK, but I haven't seen any particular Swedish affinity either.