I bought a cheap Bissell for 50 bucks on sale at Target. I looked at all the evaluations, but despite the recommendations of a lot of people, I just don’t see that the Dyson is worth 500 bucks. It is plastic, for christ sakes.
And man, my blogging is sucking this week. Sorry.
*** Update ***
I should probably note this is a disposable purchase, in my mind. I just needed SOMETHING until I figure out what to get.
Jake
May your new vacuum cleaner suck as much as your blogging.
(Old Irish blessing)
Mary
I still love the phrase “sucks like a Hoover”. It’s just not the same with any other brand name.
DFH
I bought the Dyson Ball.
I have 8 cats, a small dog and 2 ferrets.
Every other vacuum I’ve bought has died an ignominious death.
My assessment of Dyson Vacuums?
Best. Fucking. Vacuum. Ever. Fucking. Made.
Plastic or not.
ThymeZone
Heh. Funny. Comparing a cheap Bissell to a Dyson is like comparing a Dodge Neon to a BMW 5 Series. They’re both just metal and glass and plastic, for crissakes.
Luckily, you don’t have to part with $50k to drive the BMW 5 Series of vacuums. It’s just around $400 ($300 refurbished, Amazon) for a good Dyson, or $500 for the top of the line.
Worth.Every.Frigging.Penny.
srv
Get wood floors and broom. If you think your Dyson is making a dent against that pet hair, invite an allergic friend over.
Keith
I’ve got the Dyson Animal, and it pulls in a TON of pet hair. But the best part is its ease of use…everything is just intuitive (kinda like Apple stuff without the baggage of joining a cult). The canister comes off quickly with a single button press. Same button press once it’s free empties said cannister. Red button on the side separates it even further.
However, for the money, if I didn’t have berber carpet with rugs, I’d rather have gotten 3 Roombas. Speaking of which, you think $500 is bad, robotic vacuums not made by iRobot (although their Scooba, which is pretty nice minus the battery is pricey) are out of control. $1600 for the Trilobyte (the Rolls Royce of robotic vacuums) and $1500 for the self-emptying/recharging Karcher.
wasabi gasp
Alls I know is bagless sucks.
ThymeZone
srv continues to plumb the farthest depths of irrlevance.
Allergies are about dander, not hair. You can’t get rid of all the dander in the house with any vacuum, it’s in everything, including the air, the upholstery, the clothes.
And “bagless sucks?” True, if it’s a cheap vacuum. But the Dyson empties in seconds without touching any dirt, and its baglessness is its greatest feature: It never loses suction. Pulls just as hard when almost full as it does when empty.
And what Keith said: Ease of use. These guys spent a ton of time and money making every little detail of use as easy and intuitive as possible. And it shows.
KCinDC
Mary, I think the rhyme is essential to the slogan “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.” Hoover doesn’t work.
John, $500 might be a bit much, but I wouldn’t buy a $50 vacuum cleaner, since I don’t consider appliances to be disposable. How long do you really think it will last?
mark
We have a Dyson Animal refurbished from Amazon, and word to everything Keith and ThymeZone say. It has a HEPA filter, so there’s no penalty for baglessness.
caustics
The Dyson is mostly about hype. It’s pretty and it works well enough, but no way is it worth $570. James Dyson is the Steve Jobs of vacuums – good for him.
And it’s no coincidence that you hear a lot of British accents on infomercials these days.
Frank Wilhoit
DFH gets it. We got our Dyson factory-rehabbed for $320. We wasted at least twice that amount on lesser machines over the preceding five years. We have one dog whose fur is bitextural: there are thick, springy hairs and very fine soft ones, both about an inch and a half long. Anyone who can’t extrapolate from that description and predict the consequences on a typical vacuum is, in my view, unqualified to assess the relative merits of a Dyson. WE CLOGGED IT ONCE (which is supposedly impossible, nyah nyah nyah), but it is vastly easier to disassemble and clean than mainstream machines. Clog removed in about ten seconds with no tools, versus probably twenty or thirty minutes fiddling with screws and belts and bearings.
Brachiator
For some stuff, you just don’t want to go cheap, but should go for best value. Some folks I knew who bought the Bissell ultimately ending up throwing it away.
On the bright side, you will now have a something to spend your rebate on.
ThymeZone
Oh Jesus, I forgot, it’s blogville.
See, Dyson spent years inventing and perfecting the vacuum cleaner he sells. It’s his baby from the get-go. And that’s the way he talks.
Look, folks, save yourself a lot of trouble. Find a neighbor or friend willing to loan you their Dyson for a weekend test drive. Decide for yourself whether the thing is worth the price.
Use it, clean with it, empty it, and then see if you really want to go back to your $50 piece of crap. If you do, then at least you are making your choice on the basis of the facts.
Davebo
Oreck..
Nuff said…
Bey
5 cats – 2 longhairs.
My Dyson Animal cost me $500 in 2002. Best vaccum I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned all of them. Worth every single penny I paid and then some. I use it for everything – even as a shop vac.
It’s not hype. It’s the real deal.
ThymeZone
caustics
Umm….I guess TZ really likes his vacuum cleaner.
Emma Anne
I don’t know. It’s starting to feel like a Dyson cult in here to *me*.
Davebo
Exactly. I want to get minimum 8 years out of any appliance I buy.
So, here’s my recommendation for various appliances.
Dishwasher? Fisher & Paykel Double DishDrawer
Seriously, it’s a bit expensive but until you have one…. I’m 7 years into this one and I have no doubt I’ll get 20 years out of it with less than 2 service calls, most likely caused by drunken dish washing.
I like the Kenmore Elite Refrigerator but my wife is already whining about replacing after 7 years. But it still works great.
Washer and Dryer: Again Kenmore Elite HE3T, front loaders both and on a storage drawer so they are easy to load without bending over and lots of storage for soap, etc. underneath. Seven years on these two as well with zero problems. Newer models now available but the “escape pod” looking washer and dryer work like a charm.
As you might imagine all were purchased at the same time during a remodel. So it was a bit of a wallet cruncher.
But well worth the money.
ThymeZone
But, I like you more. Can you send me a picture?
Actually, I just like to bust John. The guy had a chance to get something really good and he goes out and buys the worst piece of crap he could find. Like, why did he even bother asking us for our opinions recently?
The Grand Panjandrum
Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy indeed.
Jake
To contribute to the nerd fury, not unless they’ve started shielding their motor or you don’t have pets. I had one and it did work like a charm (even if the bags were expensive as hell and difficult to find). But after a year, it croaked. I took it to the Oreck Doctor who said the motor had choked to death on cat hair, a common hazard with Orecks.
Davebo
Jake,
I’ve got a lab/golden retriever mix which basically means a lab with longer hair.
No problems so far, but you do have to take it in for it’s free annual service.
Bags are easily bought at Oreck store or online.
caustics
How about if I just promise to stay off your lawn?
ThymeZone
Okay.
Keith
A note I forgot about the Dyson: it does clog, but it’s a factor of it filling quickly (again, it pulls up a LOT of pet hair…they’ll need bigger cannisters when they move to the Dyson digital motor. BTW: can anyone tell me how it’s different from a regular brushless motor?). At one point, I neglected emptying it (5 cats, 2 longhairs like Bey, but with a pitbull thrown into the mix for even more hair), and the main dust line clogged so bad it backed up into the roller and tore up the drive belt. I called up Dyson, and with almost no effort, their response was “OK, we’ll send you a brand new belt. If you have *any* difficulties with it, all us and we’ll walk you thru it or direct you to a servicer”. They sent me 2 belts free of charge, and while installing it was more difficult than everything else on the vacuum, it took 5 minutes.
BTW: Bed, Bath, and Beyond had (has?) what looks like a ripoff of the Dyson cyclones for much less. It’s got something like 16 mini-cyclones (Dyson patent expire?) and is a namebrand (Shark), but I already had the Animal at that point so didn’t buy it.
mk
8 dogs with dual coats. Yep, 8. Down from 10. Yes, they’re all in the house with us. Ripped out the carpets, put down linoleum, and bought a Dyson.
libarbarian
I dont know. This vacuum thread is riveting :).
cbear
May I suggest getting out more?
Start off slow, maybe a 5-minute walk each day.
cbear
Aw, what the hell…since everybody else is doing it.
I’ve got a Royal Classic and it sucks up pet hair quicker than Limbaugh pouncing on a Costa Rican ladyboy.
Jimmm
Davebo: F&P dishwashers are notoriously energy inefficient. Only John, with the money I pay him for bandwidth, can afford such a beast. You shoulda gotten the Bosch.
John: Please don’t get more landfill just so you can postpone your decision about a vacuum.
Studly Pantload
My wife and I, besides having four cats, each have long hair, which is anethema to the spinning brushes on uprights, so I’m set on a canister. As such, I just checked out the Dyson canister. On the minus side, even this little guy is 500 smackers. On the plus side, for your doughs, you gets a household appliance that appears to have been designed by H.R. Giger.(But then, the Mrs. couldn’t keep her eyes open through Aliens, so maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to get a vac that could give her nightmares.)
Sharon
Can’t really top the Royal Classic line, but I have a Dyson Animal, and 9 (count’em) cats and 4 dogs. My Dyson was a refurb from Overstock.com and is the only vacuum that’s survived more than a year in my house.
And it’s a big house.
Cain
Boy, I only have two cats and my Dyson (which I bought specifically to clean up cat and wife hair) and I’m amazed at how many pets the lot of you have. Just the two of em keeps me busy I can’t imagine having 9 cats and 4 dogs!!
cain
Punchy
Once a Republican, always a Republican.
Is a vacuum the only thing that sucks when it doesnt suck? (besides girlfriends, natch)
Delia
It’s a slow, rainy Saturday afternoon . . . .
Jake
OT: The spy is falling! The spy is falling!
Silver Owl
The Dyson Animal is the best vacuum cleaner evah. It’s great on stairs, carpet, rugs, wood floors, ceramic tiles, great for cleaning out return air vents, awesome on furniture and a dream getting fur out of cars, trucks and mini-vans seats and carpet.
I’ve got two Alaskan Malamutes that blow coat twice a year and not on the same schedule, plus a cat. The Dyson is worth every penny I paid for it, hands down. I’ve had it for 6 years now.
My parents loved my Dyson so much they purchased one for themselves too. Just about every Malamute owner on the Malamute board I belong to has purchased a Dyson as well.
Dyson is an excellent product.
srv
Yes, it appears we even have a resident vacuum salesman here. Must not have been able to cut it in the used car lot.
Weak-kneed Democrats always know what to hate, but can never make up their mind on the right thing to do. Not sure what all those organics are doing for you if you think of a vacuum as something to throw in the landfill once you finally make up your mind.
mark
Now wiping soda off the screen …
srv
Since we saved so much money not having a website redesign, perhaps we can have a “Buy a Dyson for John” fundraiser. Who will contribute to the PayPal?
mr.ed
What should you get? Get thee to a library to look at Consumer Reports. The truth will set you broke.
reid
I, too, am in the Dyson crowd. We bought an Animal DC07 about five years ago, and it’s been great overall. Just to show I’m not a blind fanboy, though:
1. It’s a pretty annoying design flaw that you can’t pull out the hose with the cord wrapped around at all. Not a big deal, but it seems like something they could have done differently. Maybe it’s better in newer models.
2. The hose seems like it’s starting to separate or tear a little where it meets the main handle. It still works pretty well, and it has been five years….
3. The dust canister sometimes doesn’t lock in place properly, and since that’s also the carrying handle, I’m afraid I’m going to pick it up one day and do something clever like pull it off and nut myself.
4. There’s a lot of cat hair in this house, and the beater bar eventually gets clogged with hair and gunk. I don’t know that any vacuum in existence is immune to this; I’d probably buy it if it did!
Very good vacuum, but if I was in the market today, I’d consider something around $250….
Bob In Pacifica
Ah, we now know where John’s recession rebate check is going!
Cain
No thread on SC democratic caucus? Maybe not since 30 minutes into it they’ve already called it for Obama. All I can say is that all this jet setting all over the place attending caucuses seems really tiring. It’s worse than a rock band tour I think.
cain
Ivan Renko
Only three cats, two of whom are longhairs and the other simply sheds.
3-story condominimum with a buttload of stairs.
One DC07 Animal, with the turbine head.
No cat hair.
I paid 400 bucks four years ago; and have never ever ever regretted it a moment.
Oh, and it may be plastic, but I *defy* you to break it short of using a 9 pound sledgehammer.
AkaDad
This thread is like the Republican Presidential candidates. Full of suck.
Doug H.
Can we get a SC primary thread? I’m actually laughing silly at Joe Scarborough.
4tehlulz
HAHA OH WOW:
I think we can officially rule out a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket.
Mike
I’ve never seen a Dyson. Is it spherical?
amylew
Dyson cultist here. I’ve only had mine about a year, but it makes vacuuming a pleasure, and I HATE to vacuum.
Take the Bissell back and get a Dyson. Seriously. It’s worth the money.
CaseyL
Another Dyson fan here. I, too, was skeptical about the cost. My neighbors have a Dyson, and when my old Hoover went to the Appliance Store in the Sky, I borrowed their Dyson.
It was quieter than any vacuum I’d ever used.
It was easier to push.
It cleaned like a sonovabitch.
My neighbors told me to check out eBay. I got an Animal for less than $300 there. It works great, and I love it.
stickler
Hah!
To hear some folks on this thread talk, it’s more dodecahedronal.
With all the love for Dyson, where’s the respect for the Miele vacuums? Nobody sucks like vacuum manufacturers from the Fatherland, plus they look like the BMWs of the vacuum world.
Me, I bought a Eureka upright on sale in 1992. It has no attachments, burns up its drive belt every year like clockwork, and still works fine (as long as I keep spare drive belts laying around). Bags are like $3 for a twelve-pack at Fred Meyer. The cord is fraying and the red paint job is pretty sad. But I think I got my $85 worth.
J Bean
I have a Miele which while a fine vacuum cleaner, is overkill in my all standard poodle household. They don’t shed. In fact stuff sticks to them and the youngest guy even likes to start the Roomba himself. Many of you have pets that shed, but how many of you can say that you have a dog who vacuums?
Gemina13
I bought a Bissell five years ago. At the time I had one cat. It died after 18 months.
I bought a Eureka after that. It lasted two years, clogged every time I used it, and finally died. I’d gotten a second cat (a freeway foundling), and it never got all the cat hair up.
My third purchase was a Shark. The fucking piece of shit died after four months.
My final vacuum was a Dirt Devil. It clogs every second use, and misses a lot of cat hair. (My older cat died last year, so I’m down to one feline again.)
A good friend (an Army wife) bought her Dyson from the base PX. I can’t get to Nebraska, so I’ll settle for paying full price elsewhere–but I intend to get a Dyson this year.
Jason C.
We got the $500 Dyson for Christmas. It’s pretty damn good, but I’m not sure I would have paid that much for it. It kind of depends on how much you care about vacuuming.
They’ve been subject to so much hype, that when you get one, it’s a little disappointing, only because it doesn’t actually have a heavenly glow about it, and it doesn’t like vacuum your sins away.
It’s basically just a damn good vacuum cleaner. It’s a lot of money, but at least it’s actually worth money. For years we bought those $50 pieces of shit and they were basically worthless.
anon, at once
Bissel? Dyson? Dyson too spendy? Here’s a solution.
No cats. No dogs. Hardwood floors. I vacuum with a 30 year old bag-style canister vac, and damp mop with a bit of Murphy’s. And when I’m done there is no dirt, no sand, no hair, no dust, no dust mites, no pollen and the Murphy’s on wood smells wonderful.
You Dyson acolytes can just peel back a bit of your carpet and padding and you’ll see just what you’re really living with. You’ve just been fooling yourselves with all this “Cyclone” crap.
If you want your living space clean, get rid of your indoor animal menagerie. People used to keep the 8 dogs and 4 cats outside in the barn, not in the house. That’s what barns and stables and kennels and other outbuildings were for.
And if you want to really get it clean, get rid of your carpets. Use area rugs if you want carpet. You can take them outside whenever you want and hang them up and either whomp them a dozen times with a bat or just wash them. Either way, it will be cleaner and more hair-and-dust free than anything a Dyson could ever do.
Silver Owl
CaseyL,
My dad has Tinnitus and the sound of the Dyson is at a pitch and frequency that does not cause him pain. So for him the Dyson was definitely a relief. LOL
Most other vacuums annoyed the crap out of me sound wise as well, so I hated vacuuming. Totally irritating. The Dyson does not have that annoying irritating sound and pitch that grates on my nerves.
Silver Owl
J Bean,
I have the biggest fastest dogs that haul freaking ass out of the house when the see the vacuum come out. That’s saying a lot when by build they are freight hauling dogs and not racers. LOL They’d catch those damn squirrels if a vacuum was on their ass.
Chuck Butcher
My wife has had an Eureka “The Boss” for about 1 year, bagless & Hepta filter. We have a dog and a cat. Cat is medium haired. Dog is a different deal, 150# Pyrennes, a triple coat, long coarse guard hair, fine medium coat, extremely dense ultra fine insulating undercoat, sheds hard two times a year. You might guess this is a test of a vacume.
YellowJournalism
Hubby and I wanted to buy a Dyson, but with a new baby on the way at the time, it just wasn’t possible. We ended up buying a Dirt Devil Reaction for 175 Canadian (long before parity with the US). We did a lot of research on many brands and figured the Reaction was the closest we’d get to Dyson’s consistently strong sucking power, and we haven’t been sorry. You should have seen all the stuff the Reaction picked out of our carpets that our old cheap-o Dirt Devil didn’t get. It’s still going strong, too. It picks up dog hair from the carpet that we can’t see with our eyes, and we have a dark-haired dog and light beige carpets.
I’d still jump on the Dyson Love Train if we could afford it, though. So, if you can’t afford a Dyson or just don’t want to pay that much for a vacuum, I’d go with the Reaction.
Michael D.
My friend has a Dyson and swears by it. I borrower it one day just to try it, and I have to agree that it’s an awesome vacuum – especially if you have pets that shed. I don’t have much carpet in my house, so my Bissell is fine. But if I had more, I would shell out the $500.
BrianM
We have a Miele. It’s not as manly as the Dyson. Its canister just glides along politely after you while the hose quietly sucks up the dirt. We like it but we’ve had it less than a year and we don’t have shedding animals.
burgermeister
call the vacman at allbrands.com Tell them what kind of rugs, floors, pets, allergies etc. you have. They will probably have more questions. They beat any local prices and know about the sales garbage that goes on. It is as bad as trying to buy a mattress. Call 1-866-255-2726 They are in Baton Rouge I believe.
Jared
“It is plastic, for christ sakes.”
A morning belly laugh is always good.
Angry Engineer
Dyson vacuums are a good example of the difference between “price” and “cost”. Hey, I don’t begrudge the company – I really wish I could find some way to build a product for
Angry Engineer
Hmm, looks like my comment above got cut off due to my ill-advised use of the “less than” sign, so let me continue…
I really wish I could find some way to build a product for less than $50 and sell it to happy customers for $500. That’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Keith,
Dyson’s “digital motor” is what’s more commonly referred to as a switched reluctance (SR) motor, which is an externally-commutated multi-phase AC motor like a brushless DC (BLDC) motor. The difference is that a SR motor uses a rotor constructed of soft magnetics (usually laminations of silicon iron for high-speed applications) with several salient (protruding) poles, where as a BLDC uses permanent magnetic materials. SR motors are somewhat less efficient and require a rotary position sensor which increases the cost of the control electronics, but the cost savings of the rotor more than makes up for this.
Jen
Well, I told you the Kirby was carved out of a solid block of steel and weighed half a metric tonne, and that didn’t convince you???
Rocinante
My suggestion: find a used Kirby. It very well may be the last vacuum you ever buy. Darn heavy but by far the best vacuum on the market. I just replaced a thirty year old Kirby with a newer model to add HEPA filtration. After thirty years, the old one still performed like new.
Punchy
THere’s something about this that just made me laugh.
Libby Spencer
I’d had my bagless Bissel for four or five years now and it still works fine. You just have to clean the filters once in a while. I didn’t get as good a deal, I think I paid $70 for mine but I wouldn’t spend $500 on a vacuum unless I had six kids and a few pets.
Shaolin
Just another member of the Dyson Cult here.
I could not believe that a vacuum could be worth that amount of money. I laughed at my neighbor when she got one, thinking that she was throwing money away. Then I borrowed it.
And I became a convert.
It cleans well, its easy to clean itself, and I never knew just how LOUD other vacuums were until I used the Dyson. Instead of the jet engine roar of other, lesser machines, the Dyson doesn’t annoy you with excessive noise pollution.
Consider this my unpaid testimonial to a product, and know that such a thing is rare.
Go get that Dyson. At the least, borrow the machine from someone else and test it out for yourself.
Dr. Squid
I spent $400ish on a Dyson, and the only obstructions we get are from pens or paper clips that get sucked up, and those are pretty easy to get out.
Only ‘problem’ is that the rug thing has to get a haircut every 3 uses or so because it pulls up so dang much pet hair. And every other vac we’ve owned tends to crap out after about a year.
There’s a reason that the high end makers charge so much. It’s the same reason that Snapper doesn’t distribute its mowers through Wal-mart.
Frank
Electrolux.
My parents were married for 55 years.
They went through three vacuums.
Two of them are still working. I have one; my brother has the other.
Electrolux.
Worth every penny. Takes a plucking and keeps on sucking.
JoeTX
Consumer Reports rated the Eureka Boss Smart Vac Ultra 4870 higher than the Dyson. Heck with a name THAT long, it has to be one kick ass vacuum!
stickler
JoeTX:
I have to admit, Eureka’s product-naming strategy seems almost like a deliberate prank. Four or five names, often a random number in there somewhere, and until recently one of the names had to have an exclamation mark after it. Never the last name, of course.
It’s like they don’t want you to know what you bought or how to describe it to customer service. Hmmm.
Lynne
When my sister (6 kids and 2 goldens) bought a Dyson, I laughed at her and told her she was out of her mind to spend that much money on a vacuum. After going through a Eureka Boss and 2 different bagless Hoovers in less than 4 years (2 messy kids and a golden and a lab at my house), I bit the bullet and purchased a Dyson Pet. Absolutely the best money I ever spent. The amount of pet hair it pulls up is amazing. I knew the dogs shed a lot, but had no idea how much until I got the Dyson. The Dyson is also so easy to use, and I love that there isn’t a filter in the cannister that I have to spend time getting the dirt out of every time I empty the cannister. Dyson’s ROCK!
pseudonymous in nc
I’m really late to this, but my mother’s Dyson has been worth the investment: about $300 ten years ago, with one motor replacement since. At the US price, and with the manufacture moved out of the UK, I’m less convinced, but if money was no object…
Instead, we got the Eureka Boss. It’s fracking solid. About $120 with the ubiq discount coupon from Bed, Bath and Buggery.
Mr Furious
Lo and behold, there is a Dyson ad on your blog this morning…that should count for something.
Grumpy Code Monkey
$500 is ridiculously expensive for a rug-sucker, even one that cleans as well as the Dyson. However, compared to every other vacuum cleaner I’ve ever owned or used, it outranks all but the Rainbow in cleaning power. Despite the plastic construction, it’s pretty solid and well-built. As long as you don’t knock it down a flight of stairs or something, it should last for years.
I mean, which brings more value — a cheap $50 vacuum that sort of cleans okay and needs to be replaced after a year or so, or a $500 vacuum that cleans very well and doesn’t need to replaced for 10 years?
CR’s always been down on the Dyson because of the price. They don’t see it as a good bang for the buck (and they’re probably right).
Pinko Punko
We have a normal Dyson and two very sheddy dogs. It is amazing. You can get them on sale plus a 20% off Bed,Beth, Beyond coupon and you’re not paying 500 bucks. Also, there are Dyson knockoffs from Hoover, etc. that may be a little cheaper. I’m sorry, but the Dyson just works. Don’t love the hose like someone else mentioned. But GC loves to vacuum and considers the Dyson her boyfriend. CR (as mentioned above) doesn’t like the Dyson (for the price, and maybe some other stuff), but they aren’t quite right about it.
AS for Grumpy Code Monkey’s question, the Dyson is clearly the better value because it works better, and will last long enough to make the price a wash. We had a little cheapy vac, and the day we got our Dyson it vacuumed up several sweaters worth of pet hair AFTER we had vacuumed with the cheapy the same day.