Which vacuum...

I like Henrys but they are far to bulky, we have to take ours upstairs after use, all them tubes and bits are a pain I am afraid.

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I fell for the Kirby spiel and parted with 1k of my hard earned reddies

For a *?"&!!¤# vacuum cleaner

Why not simply get rid of dust harbouring wall to wall and put wooden floors down ?

/dl

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Originally posted by Nick_S:
As someone with a serious dust mite allergy I recommend the Dyson (particularly with a HEPA filter). I have the original and the new ball version. The latter cleans better than anything I have ever used (including Henry's) but it is noisy.

We have a Dyson DC07 without HEPA filter, and I'm not happy with its dust filtration even though I don't have a dust allergy. A good thing about the filter is that it doesn't need to be replaced regularly.

Otherwise it works well but it's poorly designed : e.g. the part that is removed to gain access to the filter ceased to fit properly after a few months, which means that the air seal can break unless you're careful.

Timely topic for me. We are looking at replacing our aging cleaner. Looked at some Dyson's. From the start of the thread, it appears that Dyson is one to stay away from. True? More details please from those who have experience with them, good and bad etc. Much appreciated.

Funny topic for most blokes to talk about innit? Are we a little bit of SNAG's?

We are considering installing a Beam central vac system. Anyone here using central vac systems?

Got the Dyson. Big discount too! I guess you need to shop around, huh. DC15. Great vac. Extremely mobile with great suction. My house now feels clean, like when new but without the new construction dust! Sad to know I was only recycling dust previously. Oh by the way, the brush at the head is motorised by an electric motor, so no drain on the suction power.

Beam central vacuum? Rubish IMHO. Great long hoses, try see is the suction at source is still as strong at the point which matters. Expensive too.

dyson were rated the poorest last year for customer satisfaction.

I have a Dyson; bought mainly because the factory was in Malmesbury; now it's gone elsewhere, I'd simply shop around the best I could get, and I wouldn't buy anything from Dyson again. The cleaner is OK, it's not great and I believe more recent ones are not as good.

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Its a Sebo felix, do a search, we have the orange one. It has what would appear to be a small motor, however read carefully and you will find it uses a suction motor like most other vacs, but it has a separate motor for the brushes, which most others do not. This makes a significant difference, infact I will bet you love this machine should you purchase one.

Let's hope it's good. My Dyson died today. From Tuesday I will be Seboman.

Nigel

Cool. I got dustbags from dustbag.co.uk

No need for them with a Dyson.

I have two - even the one for the garage and car works great.

I clean my filters regularly and change them as recommended. Wash out and clean the appliance with every filter change.

No issues - I replaced my original DC02 with a DC07 when we moved house and negociated a new Dyson when we carpeted the new home.

Both still working flawlessly. I still have cream carpets after two years !!!!

I had a bagless vac before this felix. I just don't get the whole throwing out the dust and it getting everywhere and all that.

After all what was wrong with bags?

1. They lose suction the minute they are employed. A waste resevoir should never be involved in filtration - Dyson proved THAT by the numerous attempts by his counterparts in the industry to copy his idea.

2. I put my Dyson canister into a black refuse sack (approx 1p cost), tap it empty, knot it closed and place in my outside bin. Rinse out the container and dry.

Maybe you forgot how to empty an acrylic container cleanly ?

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Originally posted by long-time-dead:
1. They lose suction the minute they are employed. A waste resevoir should never be involved in filtration - Dyson proved THAT by the numerous attempts by his counterparts in the industry to copy his idea.

2. I put my Dyson canister into a black refuse sack (approx 1p cost), tap it empty, knot it closed and place in my outside bin. Rinse out the container and dry.

Maybe you forgot how to empty an acrylic container cleanly ?

Totaly in agreement with you.

No more bags! Yahoo! Not difficult to empty either, mine, just press a button and presto, the waste just falls into the bin.

I think you sceptic out there should try out the new Dyson DC15 for yourself, in store obviously, before bad mouthing the new products. I will totally understand the negative comments if it is based on recent experience. Also, it looks funky, unlike a Sebo - makes me yawn.

If funkyness is what you are after look up the sebo Felix, how you can say the orange one is not funky is beyond me.

The dysons look like what they millions of bits of plastic just waiting to go wrong

I don't personally dislike dysons, I have not bad mouthed them, just the buying pulic last year did is all I am saying.

I have not encountered suction issues with the sebo with a bag, neither with a Henry. I think the whole suction thing is great marketing on the behalf of dyson, who in my expereince do not have great suction anyway.

re Dysons -

It's the best vac we've ever had in terms of actually sucking up the dirt. Way better than the Vax we had before (which felt solid but died after 3 years, just like my brothers). After 4 years or so the Dyson still sucks really hard which after all is the whole point. I remember the first time we used it and had to empty the dust reservoir after EACH room - that's how much more dirt it was clearing up.

However - although they look cool, they're just not that well made. We're on our 2nd hose, and about 4th little brush head thing. Their customer service is in my experience actually not bad - you can order the bits on their web site, although the prices seem high. Also the motor on ours went 'iffy' after 18 months, the machine had "2 year gurantee" and the helpline tel number printed on the side, I phoned and the lady at the end got me to hold the telephone near the machine as she listened to its clonks and creaks! They collected it and delivered it back a couple of weeks later.

I guess the key thing is - when it dies - which it will, probably soon, would I buy another? Almost certainly yes, but I think I'd just get the cheapest model I could.

Phil

I noted a few posts about hoovering to reduce allergy symptoms, so here's my tuppence worth. Well actually it comes from Prof. Maunder, clinical entymologist at Cambridge. He is very brainy and an interesting man to have lunch with.

The principle allergen is dessicated dust-mite shite, and this breaks down into particles so small that static charge is the main mover of them. A hoovering session gives these particles a good beating and will put the same electrostatic charge on each of them, so they all desperately try to get away from each other and therefore hang suspended in space e.g. the air in your lounge. This is an ideal position for them to be then sucked down to the deepest depths of your lungs. Always doing the hooveing with the windows wide open, so the particles of shite can rush out to freedom, will be more beneficial than spending large sums on a new machine.

Bought a new vacuum a few months ago, and asked friends and family what they'd recommend. Opinions, in common with this thread, were polarised - to Dyson or not to Dyson.
We opted for the DC15 - 'the ball', which easily swivels with a flick of the wrist - a plus as these things aint light.
All in we've found it an excellent cleaner, both mobile and flexible, once you get used to unclipping and using the extension wand; and finally, you can't dismiss the user-friendliness of unclipping the drum and dumping all the crap straight in the bin.
It was around £320, but they've come down a little since.
Unfortunately, I've geeked out a little bit too much and named mine - oh well I'm under constant supervision...

Dave

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Originally posted by garyi:
If funkyness is what you are after look up the sebo Felix, how you can say the orange one is not funky is beyond me.

The dysons look like what they millions of bits of plastic just waiting to go wrong

I don't personally dislike dysons, I have not bad mouthed them, just the buying pulic last year did is all I am saying.

I have not encountered suction issues with the sebo with a bag, neither with a Henry. I think the whole suction thing is great marketing on the behalf of dyson, who in my expereince do not have great suction anyway.

I say we are all individuals and we do what works for us. The differing opinions only serve to enrich our lives, innit? At least we agree on one thing thought, Naim makes dam fine music reproducing kit! (I hope)

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Originally posted by Dodge:
Bought a new vacuum a few months ago, and asked friends and family what they'd recommend. Opinions, in common with this thread, were polarised - to Dyson or not to Dyson.
We opted for the DC15 - 'the ball', which easily swivels with a flick of the wrist - a plus as these things aint light.
All in we've found it an excellent cleaner, both mobile and flexible, once you get used to unclipping and using the extension wand; and finally, you can't dismiss the user-friendliness of unclipping the drum and dumping all the crap straight in the bin.
It was around £320, but they've come down a little since.
Unfortunately, I've geeked out a little bit too much and named mine - oh well I'm under constant supervision...

Dave

I too have the ball and I found it fantastic. Much more easy to move and get around furniture than other upright .

IMO the best vacuum-cleaners (and I have purchased/even used expensive ones) are cheap ones £30-£50 UK without a 'replaceable' dust-bag. I agree for people with known/unknown allergies etc purchasing something more expensive-selective might be worthwhile.

A cheap stainless steel jobby from Aldi to replace the second Vax required even better ear defenders than the damned Vax! I hate the bløødy things and immediately leave the house while my wife is using any household appliance to save what's left of my hearing. It's the same with the overhead extractor on the cooker. It has three settings: One F16 on take-off, 2 x F16s at low altitude or 3 x F16s with afterburners in a vertical climb through the kitchen ceiling!

A big thanks to all the advice posted - in the end it went down to a Sebo vs a Dyson DC15 "Animal".
I tested them both and ended up with the "Animal" - I have a slightly dodgy lower back but the ball made it so easy to use and more importantly it sucks great - what more can you ask!