So we caved and bought a Dyson D23 Animal.
We went to look at Dysons, but I guess I’m too entrenched in software version numbers. I assumed the Dyson model with the highest number would be the newest/latest/coolest/funnest/most pimped out machine.
I was wrong.
Luckily Futureshop had a Dyson trained salesman who set us straight. The D23 Animal has the power head for carpet. The one we thought we were going to get had an air driven beater bar only, not the powered one – a CRITICAL difference when you have a golden retriever living in your house.
We’ve had it for a few weeks. This machine cleans like no other vacuum. It has such power, it sucks the downstairs out of the upstairs carpet.
Seriously, it was disgusting the dirt and filth that came out of the carpets upstairs, and the area rugs here on the main floor.
It wheels around really nicely. The hose is plenty long, but the power cord is a little too short. As a bonus though, it does have a nice button that sucks in the cord and winds it up when you’re done vacuuming.
The joint on the power head turns really nice and is easy to get in corners and around furniture legs. And it self-adjusts the height when you are vacuuming carpet so you don’t have to fiddle with any height settings.
It has a nice separate head for non-carpeted floors with just a simple brush on it, but I don’t think there is a way to attach the other head to the machine for storage that would make it handy and available for switching back and forth. Futureshop threw in a bonus kit with a bunch of additional attachments. I can’t figure out when/why to use most of them, or where/how to store them.
This vacuum is not for amateurs, nor the weak. It is heavy. It’s a little awkward. I’m still not used to the fact the wand detaches above the floor power head, so if that is too long to suck things up with, you can compress it into a shorter wand. Still awkward for dusting.
And as hard as it is to believe, I have already found a way to hurt myself on a new vacuum. I’ve banged and scraped my calf 3 times, in the same spot, on the little arm where the beater bar hang when not in use (see photo below). Note to self: don’t vacuum in shorts.
It is a canister vacuum, so when I need to empty it (like after vacuuming half of our living room area rug), I take the big canister outside to the trash bin, and I hit the eject button that pops open the bottom and releases the dirt and hair and pennies into the garbage.
It does have a lot of plastic components, but they seem very strong and durable. It doesn’t feel like it is going to fall apart like the last vacuum we had (that did fall apart).
Golden Retriever hair still wraps around the beater bar, but it is easy to disassemble and cut the hair off.
It sits really well on the stairs so I can easily vacuum the staircase now. Well it didn’t sit well the first time, until Jeff showed me I had it upside down. Now it works better.
It compacts really easily to look like this for storage:
It was a ridiculous amount of money, but at least it has a 5 year warranty, does a good cleaning job, and is a new toy to play with 