snowbunny

I need a new vacuum, and Consumer Reports rates the Kenmores significantly better than the Dyson.

I have mainly hardwood floors but do have some carpet and of course the carpet is what needs vacuuming most.

Anyone have one of the US models and think it's really worth 2x the most expensive Kenmore? There's the DC15 model with a ball instead of traditional rollers and it looks like it would be terribly easy to manouevre or else terribly difficult.

Any opinions wanted to get me off the fence!

Duncan Roberts

I have the DC14 Animal and it's great. Every carpet looks like new when it's been vacuumed and it's amazing what comes up. I've heard the DC15 is good and easy to move, but it's slightly less powerful than the DC14. The DC14 has the option of turning off the brush bar for wood or tile floor which is nice and it does a good job of our tile. I also like the gizmos you get with the animal, I use them all and find them useful. I've never used a kenmore so can't compare but in terms of a household utility, it's the best money I've ever spent.

dbj1000

We've had Dysons since forever, and we love them. Great for hardwood and carpet. Only real complaint is that they're very heavy.

Right now, around here at least, you can get a $100 gift card from Target if you buy any Dyson vacuum cleaner too.

snowbunny

Never been much on gizmos but which ones do you find useful?

Jerseygirl

I had a Dyson in the UK about 15 yrs ago...I was very pleased with it but it was heavy compared to other cleaners. When we came to live here I bought a Fantom cleaner as it was the only bagless cleaner I could find. It was good but not as good as the Dyson...although it was a lot cheaper. The Fantom always gave me problems after the 12 mth warranty expired. I've had 3 Fantom's. For the last 6 mths I have been using the Roomba which I love....in fact I have one whizzing around upstairs at the moment. I bought mine from HSN 'coz they were doing a special deal but you can get them from Sharper Image. I think S.I. allow you a 28 or 30 day trial period...if you don't like it you can get a full refund.

One thing to look out for is the cost of replacement filters and how often you need to replace them.

PS The Dyson is excellent at picking up dog hair....you won't believe the amount of dirt it will pick up from the carpets you thought were clean.

Duncan Roberts

The two best are the mini turbine and the low reach tools. The mini turbine is like a mini bottom of the vacuum with a brush bar and suction, its great for the stairs, sofas, chairs etc. The low reach tool essentially turns the upright into a canister vacuum so you can get underneath things. You get the standard 3 things as well, the brush, crevice and flat thing which are good for dusting, the car, skirting boars, etc. Plus the whole telescopic pole jobbie is pretty sweet! I also find it lighter than other vacuums I've used.

Partystar

I love my Dyson, it's the standard, cheapest model, but it works wonders, my carpets is all fluffy after I vacuum. It's amazing how much it picks up. I did our bedroom the other day, thinking oh it's not bad but I'll give it the once over anyway, we don't wear shoes in the house, but we do have a dog (boxer). The whole canister was full by the time I was done, unbelievable.

snowbunny

Hmmm... Duncan are you a body builder? Heavy or light? I can probably find the weight somewhere but of course the way you have to move the vac and the weight distribution make more difference than total weight. I have a single storey house so no problems with stairs.

Duncan Roberts

No weight lifting for me!
I always heard that they are heavy but neither me or my wife have found that. Pushing them along is not a problem and lifting it up is fine as well, even up and down stairs. It's true that they are heavier than some, but I wouldn't call them heavy. I know from a friend that the DC15 feels very light when pushing it.

snowbunny

I want suction power.... so would look more to the DC14 I suppose. Whoosh!

ladyofthelake

I have a Dyson and love it. I can't believe how much it picks up each time. The canister fills up everytime, but it's so well designed that it's piece of piss to empty, so I don't mind doing it.

Kate2112

A lot less expensive than a Dyson but very good. An Allergist friend recommended it as I have Rhinitis. It might be a little heavier than a Dyson not sure it weighs about 20lbs.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=43523

Bob

Get a refurb, there usually $250, but we got ours for just over $100 a couple years ago now, and it's still great....could do with a larger canistor because it does suck up so much shite, but it's a great vac, easy to use, tough stuff too...and the hose wand thingy is good for doing the ceiling webs etc.

Does a great job on wood and lino floors as well as carpet, fairly light, so not bad going up stairs, and also fairly quiet, well compared to the other one's we've used.

angelman

If you have mainly hardwood floors I highly recommend getting a Roomba robot vaccum cleaner. It may sound like a gimmick but it really works very well. I have it on a schedule so it goes around the room each day when I am at work cleaning. In the evening when I get home I spend 5 minutes emptying the dust out of it and giving the rollers a little clean to remove any hairs and that's it.
It works very well indeed and given a modicum of TLC it seems to be lasting very well. It automatically finds its charger and charges itself back up already for the next day.
Usually I do one room each day closing the doors. Sometimes I just let it wander around the house though until it gets tired. It works very well picking up dust as well as any other vaccum if not better. There is also the scooba which mops the floor too. I think this works well but probably needs a bit more care with it thus I dont have one yet.
You can look online for bargains on this. They arent super cheap but pay for themselves veyr quickly I think.
it works fine on carpet too but wood is idal.

Ray

We have a umm!! a blue vacuum cleaner ...