SWMBO management?

[Andrew Gabriel]

This is not my experience. I bought a DC04 which, although not bought for this purpose, has been used entirely for cleaning up building work, often plastering, for 4 years, and has worked fine. With this sort of dust, some very fine dust which the cyclone can't extract ends up in the foam filter. It takes about a day, perhaps 4-5 canisters of plaster dust, before the thickness of plaster trapped in the foam filter works its way through to the other side of the foam. Even then, I've never had the Dyson clog/overheat/tripout.

[John Rumm]

Our DC01 Absolute has worked fine for six years or more. On the plus side it seems reliable and does a very good job on carpets (and we have a short haired dog that sheds enough hair in a week to make a puppy!) On the down side its suction is only moderate, and the hose / lance / handle affair I find a bit cumbersome even though it is good on stairs.

Each to his own though - I would not buy a Henry etc for ordinary cleaning, simply because SWMBO & I hate using cylinder cleaners for carpets.

[Lurch]

My usual advice to anyone coming in to buy a complete home solution is to have a Dyson for general vacuuming uses and a Henry for more arduous tasks. All for £250, bargain.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[usenet]

On the other hand many people might regard non-Dyson cleaners as simpler and quicker to use. Our cloth (i.e. re-usable) bag Miele needs no regular maintenance at all except that of emptying its bag when it's full. In its 20 year plus life I think I've cleaned its insides out and replaced the filters maybe four or five times. That's much less work than our Dysons have required.

[Lurch]

Dysons are a 'vacuumers' vacuum, in the way that an MGB is a 'drivers' car. You need to be committed to using a Dyson, they're not for everyone and they're not indestructable. A bit of TLC and fine fettling is sometimes required to get either to work properly at times.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Dave Plowman]

You mean based on a 20 year old design?

[Huge]

50, more like.

MGBs are Morris Minors in drag.

[Lurch]

Er, not quite. More comparing the experience than the technology and design involvedin each product.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Dave Plowman]

No - the MGB owed its heritage to the '47 Austin A40 Devon - the first car to use the B Series engine and running gear.

More Austin Cambridge. The Midget was closer to a Morris Minor - but even closer to an Austin A35.

[Dave Plowman]

Still puts me off, then. The MGB is fairly tough and cheap, but hardly a prime example of a 'driver's car'.

[Lurch]

I never said it was a "prime" example, and anyway, they're before my time so I wouldn't really know! I meant more along the lines of needs looking after, not just expected to work whenever you want.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[BillR]

I got one of those, same reason. I don't like it ( the vacuuming has been delegated to me) its too heavy and fiddly when you have to use the hose attachments. Was interested in a Dyson but noticed there are always at least a couple being discarded at my local waste collection place which I visit a least once a week.... so I conclude they must be unreliable.

[BillR]

The newer Mieles, which both my kids have, have disposable bags and fill up in no time at all. Totally unsuitable for DIY use but good for normal domestic puposes.

[BillR]

I find it sad you have such detailed knowledge of these cars which were all British rubbish. I know as I have driven most of them..

[Lurch]

They're not unreliable, people can't be arsed to clean the filters or the tubes, innards or any other part of a Dyson properly, consequently they stop working.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Witchy]

There's also the bit in The Fine Manual that says the machine shouldn't be used for sucking up fine plaster dust.....

Mine's clogged once or twice, but it wasn't designed to do that so that's OK.

-- cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

[Dave Plowman]

You say.

Perhaps you'd care to say what contemporary vehicles you'd compared them to?

[usenet]

.. but it's because they're such a pain in the same nether region to clean out that people don't do it.

[Lurch]

Debatable, people manage to clean cookers and other household appliances that are a pain in the arse. What's so difficult, in comparison, about a filter on a Dyson that unclips and gets a rinse under the tap?

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Dave Plowman]

I'd not thought it heavy, and I'm hardly Mr Universe. And it's well balanced if you use the carrying slot. Nor are the attachments particularly fiddly, although the hose is too short. But I've got a cylinder one anyway so rarely use them. My main complaint is the noise.

Doesn't surprise me - my next door neighbour has had three in the time I've had the Panasonic, but still thinks they're wonderful. Brilliant bit of marketing - making someone enthusiastic about a 'Hoover'. ;-)