Dyson Vacuum Accessories

Brand: Dyson
Model: DC28 Animal
Country where made: Malaysia
Date of Purchase: July 24Th 2009 Sears Canada, St-Bruno Qc, Canada
Return: July, 24th 2009
Reason: Aspiration Table stay in upright position
Rating: Quality 1 on 5 Service after sale 0 on 5

First, I take many our to learn and read about different Vacuum. I do place phone call to Dyson to inquirer about the major difference between DC25 and DC28 Animal. One Vacuum (DC25) is different by the ball technology and the second one by the air muscle Technology which that mean that the table adjust itself to the different floor. According to Dyson, both machine have the same suction power but DC28 has no ball , but wheel and 4 pound hevier.

There is now the dark side of Dyson. When you receive it, there is no difference in packaging than any other less expensive brand, it virtually the same, don’t expect Macintosh Style packaging and don’t try to put back in the box if you don’t take any step by step picture.

I know that many people own a Dyson and they are very proud of it until they broke. In that case, if you’re vacuum is under warranty, it’s not a problem, simply return it to the manufacturer and forget you local vacuum professional because he will not touch it unless he is a rocket scientist. Just turn all upside down the machine and you will see by yourself how complicated is that machine if you compare with other consumer brand and even with commercial one like Kratcher. You can look the transformer video of DC28 on youtube to convince yourself

First think that I notice, and you will say to me I should see that in the store, is the bad quality of plastic. I read something in a review but I did not want to believe it since Dyson people reinsure me about that fact. When you purchase a 699$ Canadian dollars Vacuum, you should expect the best since, you can by a pretty decent vacuum for less than 250$ with hepa filter like Dyson and bagless too!!!

In my case, the experience was not so great. I put out the vacuum out of the box and start to use it for not more than 20 minutes. I can tell you, the suction power is great when you use it upright way. The weight of the machine is not an issue for me like I look to be for other. When it time to use the attachments, that’s another think. The flexible pipe is very rigid and the conception is pour but visually very nice. Look all the cheap brand, as Dyson owner call them, they all have a pipe more flexible and very easy to use plus, in most off all case, all tool are on board wich is not the case of Dyson.

More of that, Bissell have the engine that can be remove from the Upright assembly which is a great feature. They only advantage of dyson is that you don’t have, according to their say, to buy a filter. On Bissell for example, you have one filter that you have to replace. You can keep is life longer if you have a compressor to clean it or ask your local mecanic to do it, it take 5 second. Another way to clean it is the air in a can for computer.

Finally, the one I buy broke after 20 minutes of use. The suction table stay in upright position, I could not put it down. When I call Dyson Canada, they have no clue about problem. They suggest me to return it to Sears but the 200Km back and forth was not a good solution since I have the machine for less than 2 hours, I expect more service. They offer me to send it back to Dyson by express mail without any charge. I’ did not like that solution either since they take more than a week to receive the Vacuum back. They finally, after discussion, ask me to send it back for exchange by a new one. I accept that offer. I receive a e-mail with confirmation number for pick-up by Purolator but no confirmation of the agreement. There is the e-mail:

E-mail copy:

instructions de retour pour Dyson-Return instruction for Dyson
De : C. R. [. . ])for Privacy I hide the name
Envoyé : 24 juillet 2009 22:12:53
À : Andre Lafrance [. . ]) For privacy purpose I hide the e-mail adress

Expeditors/Dyson Canada Workshop

Attn: Return for Testing

5 Paget Rd. , Brampton, ON, L6T 5G3
Purolator Numero de compte – Account number hide for obvious reason
Purolator Tele: – 888-744-7123

Sign by attendant on phone
Dyson Canada Ltd.
200 Adelaide Street West, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1W7
Toll Free: 1 (877) 397-6622

[. ]

Plus, since it stay in upright position, you need to find a bigger box to send it back.

After discussion with my wife, we decide to retun it to Sears and made the 200Km. She was right, because it take a lot of argument to obtain an e-mail that confirm the exchange for new one but it was to late, since I already return it. As you see in the e-mail, the return was for testing and not for replacement. Even they told me so on the phone, what happen if that person no longer work their, alway ask for writen confirmation of the agreement that you take over the phone.

Don’t expect the same service like Apple when they send you a new one and give you 30 days to return it or Nespresso that replace your unit while they fix yours (see their advertise). It is a new company that grow to fast and learn from their mistake. My advise stay with more conservative company that deliver good product for reasonable price.

I never tell you not to by a DYSON but, don’t say after that you didn’t know. I hope Dyson People will learn from their mistake and will, in the future treat other customer better.
Rating: 1 / 5

I’ve cleaned both my home and garage to perform a proper test.

Summary:
- The volume of air pulled into this vacuum is comparable to other top-quality models.
- Dyson’s centrifuge air cleaning works well. Dirt collected on the first filter was barely noticeable after a couple hours of use. The two filters are rated for 30 washes so I expect operating costs to be lower than a bagged cleaner. I could not find any dust/dirt traces past the second filter.
- The dirt canister has barely enough storage for one use but emptying it is extremely easy.
- The design is complex and possibly a bit weak. What other vacuum cleaners get done with gravity and a lever requires air tubes, a clutch, electronics, and pistons for the Dyson. The air hose between the brush and motor seems fragile. If it wasn’t for the 5 year warranty, I would have returned it unused.
- This is an EXTREMELY difficult vacuum to use.

On my carpeting, the brush worked exceptionally well and it tracked smoothly. There was no skipping on worn areas where the nap was compressed to one side. Effort to move the cleaner was the highest I’ve ever experienced – comparable pushing a gasoline lawn mower. Cleaning was much better than average. Pet hair was not a problem.

On a room-sized rug over a hardwood floor, the front of the Dyson frequently locked downwards when pushing. Jamming the brush into the floor with the “Deep pile” setting prevented this but I worry about accelerated wear. Even so, the effort was like a non-powered push mower now – two hands and leaning into it. I wonder if adhesive glide pads would fix this.

Using the “Flat Out” tool in small rooms with hard floors was awkward comedy. The hose contains a giant exercise spring and the “Flat Out” tool has a floppy self-adjustment mechanism that defies all sensibility. I was alternating between the tool being sucked hard to the floor and it flying up in the air as I struggled against the spring hose. The vacuum cleaner slid across the floor and hit me a couple of times. The Flat Out tool can easily clean dirt from under the edge of a rug. There’s no storage clip for this tool.

Dusting was a chore with the very tiny dusting tool provided. It’s essentially a crevice tool with bristles that slide up or down. Washing a car with a Q-Tip comes to mind. I’m angry that a $600 vacuum needs another $30 to buy the non-lame Dyson dusting tool. Removing the hose also removes the Dyson’s main handle. The pictorial manual shows the Dyson being carried by its canister handle so what I’m doing should be covered under warranty if the canister’s latch breaks like I think it will.

The “Mini turbine head” loses some power to the air turbine but works well enough. It’s an acceptable trade-off for not having a loud electric motor driving it. There’s no storage clip for this tool.

There’s a carpeted stair cleaning tool that I didn’t use. I don’t have stairs and it seems like the turbine head would work better anyway. Several warnings remind you to never clean stairs with the Dyson above you. You have to experience the spring hose to realize that such an arrangement would result in the Dyson leaping through the air and killing you.

In the garage, the tiny air slots in the Flat Out tool constantly clogged with small dried leaves that had blown in. Without the leaves, the suction was strong enough to quickly pick up tiny pebbles. The tiny dusting tool actually worked very well in the garage. It easily sucked shavings out of crevices in tools. The spring hose and extension tube reached high cobwebs but required major arm endurance.

Overall, carpet cleaning and air purification is excellent but serious flaws don’t fully justify a whopping $600. 2 stars as a vacuum cleaner or 3 stars as a combo vacuum cleaner and exercise equipment.
Rating: 2 / 5

First of all, it has lots of suction and in that respect works tremendously well. It actually will lift the carpeting from the floor! I sucked four bins of cat hair from the 8′ X 10′ wool area rug in the living room. Yuck! Also, it is the first vacuum I have used where the fabric brush never ever bogged down on the furniture (the “animal” fabric brush is very high quality). Awesome power! However, that it’s only good attribute. It takes so much upper body strength to push and pull the machine that my arm is actually fatigued from using it and I am 31 and of average build! I had to almost lean my body weight on it to move it!

It is extremely heavy. More importantly to compensate for this, it lacks grab handles in the correct place – at the center of gravity – which makes it very difficult to move around and carry.

NO headlight either. . . something I never thought I would have missed.

All of the suction also makes using the on-board tools with the hose very difficult – it sucks the hose onto itself making it impossible to fully extend it to its full length without tipping it over. The accessory tools (except for the fabric brush) are of very poor quality. The accessory dusting brush is cheap and there aren’t enough bristles so the plastic part is sucked onto the cleaning surface. Also, the aluminum quick handle thing is an awful design! It in combination with the hose makes for some of the most awkward cleaning I have ever experienced with a vacuum. It ended-up taking me almost twice as long to clean my house.

Also, I have oak hard wood floors through my home. On the bare floor setting, it actually did not pick up everything and its tall design won’t allow it to get to the toe-kick of my kitchen cabinets. Passing as close as I could it would not suck up cat hair or bits or crumb that were 3 inches to its side.

It’s design is over done and fussy. Like why in the word does it need to click in the accessory brush? As if it does not have enough suction to keep the tools on the hose. You have to press the release to change anything! It has tons of little bits and parts and honestly feel like it is going to come apart because of all the assemble parts. In trying to redesign the vacuum it seems their designers don’t know when to stop – like a chef at a restaurant that over does the plate with too many garnishes. In the field of physics, there is the concept of an “elegant” theory – one in which the minimal amount of words or mathematical equation is necessary to prove a theory. The design of this vacuum is nothing approaching that definition of “elegant”.

At $599 and how it actually works and not just sucks – it is NOT worth it. I am just glad that Target took it back after I used it and I am not stuck with it! In conclusion, it is just plain extremely awkward to use and I would not recommend it – especially if you are older and do not have upper body strength to push & pull it. That is just poor design. As another reviewer put it, maybe we are weak. One does not put a two-ton vault door as the front door of their house for obvious reasons. It sucks and sucks at the same time.
Rating: 2 / 5

I purchased the Dyson DC28 animal with some hesitation because it is a little expensive and I read reviews mostly of other Dyson models which were mostly good but the negative reviews are the ones I like to read first. Some reviews say Dyson vacuums are hard to set up. This one took me only 1 minute to set up. Some people say that their belt broke almost immediately on first use. The belt on this model is covered and is impossible for hair to get to. Some people say that Dyson feels cheaply made. Compared to a Mercadez maybe but for vacuums this is top of the line. I did look at a DC14 and it is a lot cheaper looking than the DC28 or some of the ball models. This is a very high quality top of the line vacuum at any price.

Cons: Heavy if you have a two story house, cost is up there but I would buy it again.

Pros: Self propelled so weight is not an issue, newest air muscle technology, great handtools, only Dyson with height adjustment with the touch of a botton, telescoping wand is easy to use, easy to empty dirt container, very easy to clean components, lifetime filters, access to clean brush with three screws that you turn with a quarter or a nickel which allows you to remove the hair with ease (do not use a screw driver or you will damage the plastic screws) & all the problems from past Dyson models seem to have been remedied in this model.

I would Highly recommend this model.
Rating: 5 / 5

Anyone who has been in the market recently for a new vacuum can attest that most are made so poorly these days. The plastic parts are too thin, the suction is mediocre and the engineering lacks thought in the way it is used around the house. This Dyson however, tackles most of these problems.

The Pros:

Well built.
Powerful suction. The Airmuscle technology is no gimmick.
Easy to assemble and use the extension wand.
Handy attachments.
Bagless.
Lifetime washable filters.
Ample warranty compared to others.

The Cons:

The extension hose fights against the powerful suction. There should be a way to adjust the suction power to compensate for this or redesign the hose so it doesn’t shrink up when the vacuum is in operation. Also, when using the extension wand, there is no place substantial to grab the vacuum when you need to wheel to another location.

It is a bit heavy to carry up and down steps. BUT, it does seem like all bagless vacuums are heavier than the bagged ones.

Awkward way of releasing it from the upright position. There is no button, you basically have to step on the front and then pull the handle back.

Overall, it is a great machine. Much better than the others out there. You won’t be disappointed. Look around for bargains. I got mine for $[. . . ] plus a offer for three additional attachments via a mail in rebate.

I recently tried the Electrolux Versatilty and the Hoover Platinum Windtunnel but sent both of those vacuums back where they came from. This Dyson is a keeper.

Rating: 4 / 5