Which Dyson?

[Anonymous]

I've read glowing reviews on the Dyson cordless vacuum here on DCUM. However, I didn't realize how many variants existed. I've seen that there's a V8, V10, V11, V12, V15 and an Outsize? The price ranges are all over the place. What would be a good fit for a 4,000 sq. ft house with two shedding dogs, three kids, wood floors, area rugs and wall to wall carpeting in the bedrooms? I know that there are some limitations with cordless but I'd like to be able to clean at least one full level of my house without needing to recharge.

Also, do you have to set the machine to maximum suction to clean rugs/carpeting or does their normal mode work fine for dog hair?

[Anonymous]

I have the V11 Animal+, two kids and two very hairy dogs and it is seriously one of my favorite possessions.

Regular suction is fine, but I use it for a quick run every day. We have thick carpets in a couple rooms, and I still use the real Dyson once a week on those, though.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine for quick pick ups but in my experience V10 it does not replace a real vacuum. I can use the Dyson and then go over my carpets with my Shark Navigator and get a ton more dirt up.

[Anonymous]

The Dyson is over rated. My stick Dyson won’t pick up big pieces like a whole Cheerio. If the Cheerio is crushed it will pick that up. You have to run back and forth over any pieces and try to pick up the vacuum and run backwards over the Cheerio, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Dyson is over rated. My stick Dyson won’t pick up big pieces like a whole Cheerio. If the Cheerio is crushed it will pick that up. You have to run back and forth over any pieces and try to pick up the vacuum and run backwards over the Cheerio, etc.

If you want to pick up a Cheerio on hardwood with the beater head, you have to put the head down on top of the Cheerio. The beater bar will crush it and suck it up. The reason it’s hard is that head is designed for carpet. You can use the wand or the “fluffy” head, which is for hard surfaces, with no problem.

In my experience the beater head will suck up a cheerio on carpet no problem, but you may have to pull the vacuum backwards over it.

OP I have three, one on each floor. I’ve never seen a reason to upgrade past a v8. I don’t think the features are worth the cost upgrade. The laser is the stupidest thing I can think of. I do recommend buying a fluffy head if you’re going to use it on hard floors a lot (like for pet hair on wood). In practice, I just use a broom in the kitchen because I rarely have a perfectly dry mess, and you don’t want to suck up anything wet.

[Anonymous]

We have a Dyson stick (don’t know what version) and it was great… while it lasted. The battery went out, as in, wouldn’t recharge, in less than two years. I went on the Dyson website to look for a replacement and they were out of stock. It’s been about a year and they still don’t have battery replacements. My sister has one and had the same issue with the battery dying quickly.

If any PPs have had luck with battery replacements, I’d love to hear about it:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a Dyson stick (don’t know what version) and it was great… while it lasted. The battery went out, as in, wouldn’t recharge, in less than two years. I went on the Dyson website to look for a replacement and they were out of stock. It’s been about a year and they still don’t have battery replacements. My sister has one and had the same issue with the battery dying quickly.

If any PPs have had luck with battery replacements, I’d love to hear about it:

I’ve had 5 and I’ve only had this happen once. I demoted that one to the basement and got a fake replacement battery from Amazon. I’m not sure it gets to full power anymore, but it certainly works fine and would do as a stopgap at a minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a Dyson stick (don’t know what version) and it was great… while it lasted. The battery went out, as in, wouldn’t recharge, in less than two years. I went on the Dyson website to look for a replacement and they were out of stock. It’s been about a year and they still don’t have battery replacements. My sister has one and had the same issue with the battery dying quickly.

If any PPs have had luck with battery replacements, I’d love to hear about it:

I had the same issue with my V8. I just bought a generic replacement off of Amazon for half the prize Dyson wanted. It's been two years and still working so generic isn't always a bad choice.

[Anonymous]

I got the V11 when it was on sale at Costco last year and it’s working well so far. We have hardwoods with rugs everywhere and 2 Alaskan Malamutes, and it does a great job clearing up dog hair. The charge lasts 30 min on the regular setting, and that’s plenty of time to clean. I don’t like having to keep my finger on the trigger the whole time though.
My sister has a much bigger house and has one Dyson stick per level.

[Anonymous]

I don't like the sticks the old school dysons are much better, get an animal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't like the sticks the old school dysons are much better, get an animal.

I love my Dyson V11 but I also believe you need to keep a corded vacuum for regular, deep cleaning. Since our rugs have a medium pile to them I still use our corded upright once a week. The container still manages to fill with fine dirt that the stick vac misses. I still wouldn't want to be without the stick vac though. It keeps the floors dust and dog hair free in between weekly cleaning.

[Anonymous]

None, hate ours. Got a hoover stick and love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a Dyson stick (don’t know what version) and it was great… while it lasted. The battery went out, as in, wouldn’t recharge, in less than two years. I went on the Dyson website to look for a replacement and they were out of stock. It’s been about a year and they still don’t have battery replacements. My sister has one and had the same issue with the battery dying quickly.

If any PPs have had luck with battery replacements, I’d love to hear about it:

It was still under warranty if it was less than 2 years. Did you try filing a warranty claim? Mine is almost 4 years old and still going strong. A few are, unfortunately, lemons, but Dyson is good about replacing them.

[Anonymous]

I was so disappointed in both my Dysons (two Animals) - I bought a second bc I thought something *had* to be wrong with the first. Now own a Shark Navigator and could not be happier with it on hardwood and rugs/carpet. Wouldn't do a Dyson again.

[Anonymous]

None. Get a Miele or a Sebo, both are better for real cleaning. The dyson are really only good for quick touch ups.