To Animal or Not to Animal that is the ?

[Droolyyrs]

:banghead:...Ok people!!!...I'm really tired of buying vacuum cleaners!!!...I've had Newfs for over 10 years and ya think by now I could have found a vacuum that is really good for newfie fur!...I have heard that Kirby's are good, but in looking at consumer reports...looks like they have some company problems (ie repair, billing, etc)...soooooooooo Dyson Animal, Miele or????????????????????????????????? Helllllllllllllpppppppppppppp!!!??? before I look like a newfie myself!!!!(which is not a bad thing!!)

 

[sokkia]

Dyson. I have no regrets! good luck!

 

[Pam G]

I've been happy with my "animal" but don't use the attachments much so if I got another..would go with the cheaper yellow one. I think it's about $100 less. I've heard the Meile is a great vac, but after having a dyson, I would never own another vac that had bags. Mine has great suction and there is no "doggie" odor that you sometimes get after vacumming when you have a bag full of dust and fur.

 

[anya]

I've had my Electrolux for 18 years...no breakdowns, no maintenance problems in all that time. Now, whether they are still made to last this long, I can't say. But it does a fantastic job of picking up dog hair.

 

[Faye]

I just use my cheapie sears one and it works fine.

 

[Blacknewfs]

I've had my Electrolux for 18 years...no breakdowns, no maintenance problems in all that time

My parents bought an Electrolux a million years ago (I was very young, but remember the salesman giving my brother and I little banks in the shape of Electrolux vacuums. Weird, the things you remember. ) I vacuumed many a floor with that vacuum and it was very good - it held up to the mess of 3 kids and 3 dogs. That Electrolux was still around and running like new when I left home for university. I have no idea how much longer it lasted after that, but it was a very good vacuum! I wonder if they still make them to the same standards as they did in the dark ages when I was a kid?

Now, I go through vacuums like crazy between the house with all the newf hair, and my store with all the sand and salt and junk that gets on the carpets. I can't tell you haw many vacuums have just gone up in smoke and died. I finally broke down and stopped being cheap and invested in the yellow Dyson for home and LOVE it. When my vacuum at work dies (which I expect will happen soon) I will replace that one with a Dyson also.

 

[ina/puusty]

Have no clue on this thread..but..has anyone checked to see ..in each brand..how much is american made/or american made with various-sourced-parts/or..totally imported? Do choices from Italy/etc., compete well vs an item from Sweden or Australia? Does any other country make..vacuums? ina n HB

 

[Murphy]

Check this baby out. Dyson 17 Animal .. Ordered mine from ths States. Jane (Roger and Merlins Mom) shipped it to me.

 

[Newfniece]

To be honest, I am no longer that crazy about my Dyson. Don't get me wrong, the suction is great...so great that it has pulled fibers out of my carpet in several places (I have a cheap berber, so I don't blame the vac too much...though my friend has a dyson and it has made her expensive berber get fuzzy in places). Also, I have to clean the hair off the beater bar every other time I use it. The bar on my old vac only needed cleaned a couple times a year, but on this Dyson, every two times I use it I need to pull hair off that gets wrapped around. It is a pain.

I don't use attachments much, so if that is the case for you, save the $100 and get the all floors model, not the animal. The vacs are exactly the same, the only difference is the Animal has extra attachments.

I have been hearing really good things about the Sears Kenmore vacs. I think they are in the same general price range. Also, check out consumer reports to see which rate the best.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

My sears Kenmore gets clogged (a lot) the vacuum repair guy is getting to know me too well ... he says it is the motor design that they use. Not to mention, I go through bags at a breakneck pace. I will be getting a dyson the next time the Kenmore gets clogged. I saw the good reviews for the Kenmore when I first moved out, so thats why I got it ... but its a big dud IMHO.

 

[Blacknewfs]

I have been hearing really good things about the Sears Kenmore vacs.

I have had 3 Kenmore vacs go up in smoke.

 

[Bojie]

If youre going to get a dyson, get the animal. I got the "yellow" one, and it's already lost some of it's suction, due to the mass amounts of hair...Im about to go out to get an Animal, wish I just got it the first time around.

 

[wrknnwf]

I think my next vac should be a superextraheavydutydieselpoweredcommercial model or a whole house central vac. My ancient Electrolux is still going strong but I would sure like to have a new one. The bags are hard to find and expensive.

It's interesting that the Dysons all rated very low for picking up pet hair on the Consumer Reports site. Kenmore was the best but I'll bet none of them have been tested in a multi-Newf house. They think that "pet hair" means a strand here and there, not tumbleweeds and bear's nests mixed with leaves and sticks and hunks of mud.

I would love to be a tester for those companies or have them test their vacs at my house, but they would run if they saw what we have to deal with. LOL

 

[jane]

I've had my Electrolux for 18 years...no breakdowns, no maintenance problems in all that time.

My monther-in-law swears by electrolux. The one she had was from the 70's. She just bought a new one....They are expensive....I just bought the Dyson Animal and I love it...I had a kenmore and it just was'nt powerful enough for the dog hair.

 

[Windancer]

I LOVE my central vac....The guy who installed it said I had to empty it about every 4-6 weeks...I grinned.....I empty it EVERY time I use it...but it sure gets the hair up !
Julie

 

[wrknnwf]

Julie, what is the business end of it like. Is it a power head with brushes that are belt driven or is it suction driven?

 

[2newffamily]

We're thinking of installing central vac at some point in time. This house is an ongoing project. Will be years before it's finished - if ever. In the meantime, I'm still using my old Sears PowerMate that I bought back in the early 70's. Yeah, it goes through bags, but it is still going strong even after all this time. It has only ever gotten clogged on me once, but it wasn't the dog hair that caused it. More like trying to vacuum up that wasn't meant to be vacuumed in the first place - my girls like to shred cardboard boxes which means I sometimes have to sweep before I can vacuum.

 

[MMtnmom]

I have a Kenmore Progressive and a Dyson. The Kenmore is about 10 years old, I just take it into the shop every year for servicing. The Dyson is about three years and was so useless that I finally gave up. It was fine for a couple of months, then the suction went to almost zero, cleaned it out, took it to the shop, and it has had hardly any suction since. Maybe I just got a lemon, but the Progressive just keeps aticking.

 

[tonkatruck]

I have had 4 upright vacuums that stunk!!! All the good name brands. (hoover, dyson, eureka, etc)The vacuum that picks up everything is my Sears shopvac. Even though the vac is abit unconventional for vacuuming carpets. This has the most suction and you can clean up water spills.

 

[ardeagold]

I have a Kirby.....and a Dyson (the one Murphy has, the DC17 Absolute). The Kirby is probably the best vacuum I've ever owned, including Electrolux. But, it's HEAVY (made of metal), and uses bags.

I wanted something lighter weight and easy to handle. We did have a Hoover that I despised and when that bit the dust (although it did last a long time), I got the Dyson.

I love it! Hate the hair that gets caught in the brushes, but I don't use it on carpet (I use the Kirby on that one room), so it's not too bad. The hair doesn't get caught as much if you're not using it on carpeting.

It really does have great suction, even when it fills up. That's the main difference.

Oh and the DC17 has a "drop bottom" emptying container. You don't have to take off any tops or take anything apart to empty the canister. Just click a button, remove from the body of the vac, put over a trash can, click a red button.....and the bottom opens up putting all the contents in the trash can. SOOOOO nice.

Central vac is a serious PITA IMO. All those hoses and attachments....and heaven forbid if it gets clogged in the wall (which ours did). We got rid of it.