Dyson
Posted April 29th, 2005 @ 10:19am by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm considering purchasing a Dyson DC-14 Animal (the purple one, and not the DC-07). It retails for $550 but is on sale somewhere for $450. I have a 15% off coupon and I would save another 10% if I put the purchase on a new store credit card.
($550-$100) * 0.85 * 0.90 = $344.25 (or, if I can be smooth about it, $450 * 0.75 = $337.50).
I've heard both good and bad things about the Dyson. The good is what you've heard: it works really well. The bad: that it's just a marketing ploy, and that even Consumer Reports rated Hoover WindTunnels and some other vacuums higher than the renowned Dyson.
For $350, one of the negatives is removed - high cost. What do you think?
P.S. I have a Weimaraner, of course, and the new house is wall-to-wall carpet except the kitchen, bathrooms, and entryway.
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 at 10:38am #
It's funny you should ask.
My sister called me last night to gush about the new Dyson DC-14 Animal she'd used. She was absolutely amazed at the stuff cat hair and other stuff that it pulled out of the carpet. She had used a regular vacuum the day before. She said that it is lightweight and easy to push. She certainly talked me into purchasing one (if I had carpet anywhere in my home).
She'd be very annoyed to hear that you'd be purchasing one at $350, however, since the one she's using was upwards of $500. Heh.
Posted 29 Apr 2005 at 12:42pm #
Some of us who are not familiar with that particular brand name and model name had to Google to figure out just what this "Dyson DC-14 Animal" is, exactly. I could have figured out it was a vacuum cleaner by reading your entire post, but there was no context until the third paragraph! 😛
Posted 29 Apr 2005 at 2:06pm #
I take Consumer Reports recommendations with a grain of salt. They once determined Pizza Hut was the healthiest of fast foods by feeding it to rats and then weighing them.
What would be interesting about the price gouging Dyson is some first hand reports about how easy it might be to use.
Posted 29 Apr 2005 at 2:52pm #
I, too, was recently faced with purchasing a new vacuum. I went for the Hoover WindTunnel, which I bought from Vacdepot for around $200. Consumer Reports gave it fairly mediocre marks, but I think it's great. It's bagless, has a HEPA filter, and comes with a few different attachments. The power cord retracts into the body. I really dig the canister form, and having the power controls on the hose handle is a big plus. As for actual sucking power, I don't know how it compares to a Dyson, but I've used it on carpet and hardwood floors with no problems. I also have a cat and a dog-- a dalmation that sheds profusely. The only possible complaint I might have is the relative small size of the dust bin.
I just couldn't imagine spending more than $200 on a vacuum, so I went with the best I could afford.
Posted 29 Apr 2005 at 5:05pm #
I can use our Animal after our housekeepers have left (with their Oreck) and still pick up insane quantities of cat hair. (Siamese and Bengal)
It's much, much quieter than our conventional vacuum it replaced.
Posted 30 Apr 2005 at 4:44pm #
I bought a Dyson for the wife. It's awesome piece of engineering. The initial pain of the purchase is quickly forgotten when you see what a great vacuum it is. It works amazingly well, and it's pretty tough.
Buy and forget it. You get what you pay for.
Posted 01 May 2005 at 12:24pm #
My Mother-In-Law has the Dyson DC-14 Animal because of her 2 dogs. We have 2 cats, so I borrowed it one day after I had vacuumed with the Oreck that we have and it picked up insane amounts of cat hair from our carpets.
I highly recommend it
Posted 23 Jun 2005 at 12:54am #
Don't know what a URL is so can't put in.
This goes back to the Dyson 07 Animal in 2003 and the "Consumers Report" #1 choice Hoover self-propelled Wind Tunnel. We had the latter, but ordered the Dyson.
On a long runner -about 12' - Karastan berber carpet: we put new bag in Hoover and ran unit slowly 5 times on the runner. Green light on Hoover on all the time after first pass. Then ran the new Dyson and were amazed at what came out of carpeting.
I wrote this to "Consumer Reports" and they thanked for info. Note in later issue they still have Dyson way down and Hoover way up. Wonder what type carpet they use for tests. Our test proved conclusively the Dyson did a better job than the Hoover self-propelled Wind Tunnel on our Karastan berber carpeting (technically called Loomcraft, but looks like berber).
In meantime, have decided to get the Dyson 14 animal as read it does even better at suctioning dirt. Will take the the Dyson 07 to rental property where it will serve far more than just adequately.