Dyson Dc14 or Dc 25 "Ball"?

dc25 ball all the way. It's worth the extra money! With the ball, you can get into corners and along edges that you never could before. And, I think that Dyson already has a 5 year warranty on it, so you don't even have to buy the extended warranty from the store. It is well worth it!

Hi,
I heard the dyson ball is not recommended. A vacuum with a bag is the most hypo allergenic. I would go to Woody Mann vacuum on Campbell and Coit intersection. Near Sprouts in Far North Dallas Richardson area. I bought a Riccar. We absolutely love it.

I have an Oreck that I have had for more than 10 years it still runs great and performs well. I have it cleaned up and replaced belts twice. I was going to buy a Dyson a couple of years ago and the place where I take my vacum for service said they cannot repair a dyson and it was the # 1 worst for durability and realibility.

I have had a Dyson ball for about 3 years and I love it. I was like you - going through 1 vacuum after another, so when we figured the price and durability, it was cheaper to get the Dyson with a good warranty.

J.,
We recently purchased the DC17 Animal. I have one child with asthma and one child with allergies. This is the best vacuum we've ever owned. I just looked on their website and saw their latest model, the DC28. I would consider purchasing the DC28 if I were buying one now!
Take care,
A.

It amazes me how this company's products have people so entranced. I admit, they're cool to look at, but if you wanted art, you should purchase art, not an overpriced, heavy, plastic POS that is sold to you by a company that flat out blatantly lies to you.

I am a vacuum aficionado. I've owned various models of the following vacuum manufacturers. Bissell, Hoover, Rainbow, Miele, Kirby, Oreck, Sebo, Halo, Shark, and finally Dyson (DC14 Animal).

Biggest Loser: DC14 Animal $499.99
Biggest Winner: Oreck Graphite $349.99 (was on sale for $250)

Here is my reasoning on why after performing years of my own comparison tests.

1. Performance: The reason most people buy vacuums is to do floors. The Dyson was great @ the hose, but due to airflow restrictions from the design, the suction at the floor was less than desirable. The brush is flimsy and RPM's are weak. Although it drew way more power (amps) than the Oreck, the simple direct airflow design of the Oreck enabled it to outperform in this most important category.

2. Warranty: The difference, Oreck probably has a local service center, Dyson probably does not. Even if your vacuum is under warranty you have to pay the service center charges with a Dyson, Oreck is free. If you have to ship your vacuum back to Dyson (you pay shipping), they will ship you a refurbished one in place of your new one. Ridiculous and gross practice although I can see how it is very profitable for them to basically just recycle their old vacuums. My Oreck model 6 years (varies by model) Dyson 5 years.

3. Weight. I admit it. I'm lazy. Getting out the Dyson means working out as it's 20+ pounds. The Oreck Graphite is 9 pounds. I can vacuum my house (3000+ square feet) in about 15-20 minutes tops.

4. Dyson flat out lies in their claims.
Untrue claim #1. Vacuum never loses suction. Scientifically impossible, as the filters get clogged airflow is restricted and suction is sacrificed.
Untrue claim #2. The vacuum has a non-removable, non-washable, lifetime HEPA filter. Come on. Either it does nothing, or it needs to be replaced, you cannot have both.
Untrue claim #3. Canister vacuums are cleaner to dispose of then bags. Allergy doctors will disagree with this and so will I. The hoover vacuum I used to have possessed a cleaner method of disposing from it's dust cup.

I'm obviously too late in helping you to make an educated decision, but I hope that after your experience with your vacuum, that you might be looking for a cheaper, better solution. Or maybe you actually like it. Hey, we can all agree that it looks really cool sitting in the corner at least.

I don't have an opinion on the two vacuum cleaners you're considering but I would like to make a comment on lifespan.

Vacuum cleaners get clogged up easily, especially if you have pets. I'm no fix-it pro, but I regularly clean and "service" my own v c. I make sure to unplug the machine and take it outside or onto a hard surface floor to clean it because it's a dirty job! Your owner's manual might have directions that will help you clean yours. If you clean/service it regularly, then it will keep good suction and the motor won't burn out.

First, I check whether the v c has suction. If there is no suction, it usually means the hose or intake is blocked. Unhook the hose and try to look through it. You can shake it or use a straightened out hanger to knock loose any blockage - don't damage the hose! Clearing the hose and intake area is very important.
I also take the (face?) plate off the bottom where the agitator brush is and release the belt and take the brush out and use a pair of small sharp-pointed scissors to cut away the hair and string, etc. Clean all sand, debris and crud off and make sure the areas that attach to the v c are clean and clear. Pay attention to how things look when you take it apart, so you can put it back together again. If you have a digital camera, you could take pictures of how it looks before you take it apart and take pictures while disassembling the machine. I think that your owner's manual will tell you how to do all this.
Another important thing is to change the bag soon enough. Your owner's manual will help with this also. Think of your vacuum cleaner like a dishwasher. You have to take stuff out before you can fit more in!

I've cleaned our vacuum cleaners for years and also cleaned/showed how to clean vacuum cleaners for friends who didn't know how to do it.

Someone just gave us a Eureka Altima (12 amps) because it had "stopped" working. It had a blocked hose and the sponge filter needed cleaning (we used the air compressor to clean the sponge thing) and it works great. I LOVE IT! It's light and easy to use. Since I have 5 animals I have to empty the bagless debris cup often, but it is worth it! I'm going to get rid of my other upright vacuum cleaner!

I hope you let us know which machine you buy and whether you like it or not.

A.

Hi J.,

I am not sure which one I have but I have the yellow Dyson ball. I got it for my bday from my husband (my only request!) and it's been the GREATEST purchase. We went back and forth on the yellow vs. purple (pet one) and after speaking to the Dyson people and the Best Buy guy, my husband found out the suck is the same on all Dysons - the difference is the size of the canister. We got the yellow b/c it's cheaper and I don't mind dumping the canister more often (which still isn't a ton) to save $100!

Good luck.

T.
SAHM to a daughter turning 7 this month and triplet boys who just turned 2!

My mother works for a company that manufacturs vacumm cleaners and cleaning equipment- she got me a ricar about 4 or 5 years ago (one of the best and most expensive vacs on the market- $1000 or more). It is now falling apart- plastic pieces on the hose broken, so the connections don't work, the sensors are out to tell me when the bag needs replacing and a few other things. I wanted another ricar and my mom told me to check out the dysons- she's heard nothing but good from them- and she does the marketing!

I like that the wands remove to make the upright a hard floor cleaner or stair cleaner. As for going through vacs- there isn't a household vac out there that is suppose to last more than 1 year- so the fact that dyson has a 3-5 year warranty is a good thing! And as for the price vs. marketing- dyson is the level of a private company like ricar, kirby, and others, but instead of costing $1000 + b/c they don't advertise- Dyson advertises and can charge less.

Hi J.!

This may sound silly, but I thought I would mention this because I only just found this out myself :). Do you have your vacuum serviced at least once a year? It may be possible that your vacuum's are dying on you so frequently if you don't have them serviced. If you have extremely high usage, then you may need to have your vacuum serviced twice a year. They go through and clean out all hoses (for any plugs) and replace them if needed. They remove and clean the agitator brush as well as all filters. I just want to mention this in case it helps you keep your next vacuum longer. I was about to replace our vacuum (which I thought wasn't working properly) until someone mentioned trying to have it cleaned first. It actually worked! I felt silly, but I just didn't know!

Hope this helps you!

Lisa Crane :)

We just bought DC25 last week. And we love it. Because of the ball design, it makes the cleaning so much easy. I can push the vacuum easily with one hand. Even my boy of 3-year old is able to push it, although he might not be tall enough. Besides, DC24 has strong suction power, it does a great job.
For your reference, we bought it at Sears. It was $429.99+tax, about $75 cheaper than the standard price. Best buy sells it at $429.99 + tax too.

Hi J.,

I have the dc14, but wished I had the dc25. At the time I bought mine I don't think the ball was an option. I have had mine for six years and have had no problems with it. I have two golden retrievers that shead alot! I vacuum just about everyday. One thing I started doing that has helped improve its performance is use my husband's air compressor to blow out all of the parts. I have only started doing this in the past two months and I have only done it twice. Before I had a Dyson, I had a Fantom Cyclone.

Good luck!

I don't know about Dyson, but we have a Kirby, and it is fantastic! They come with a lifetime warranty, and if you are firm with the dealer, you can get it new for $1300. I used to be a Kirby dealer, so trust me, they'll let you pay that. And they finance too. If you're interested, look on the Kirby website for a local dealer. It seems to me like Dyson advertises too much, and then that enormous cost is what makes their vacuums so expensive.

I love my Dyson and will never go back. I got mine on ebay for $100 less than at the store with no tax or shipping. It was brand new, in the original box, never been opened. I registered it on Dyson's website for the warranty, not that I've had any problems with it.

We have the dc14 "animal" and love it. I would suggest looking into the animal model of either one you listed if you have pets, because it does an amazing job picking up pet hair (we have 2 cats). It's a little more expensive than the regular models, but well worth it to us. We've had ours almost 2 years and haven't had any problems so far. Good luck on your search!

I've had my Dyson ball for almost a year now and LOVE IT! One suggestion before you spend too much though: check the Dyson site, and ebay for a 'refurbished' one or 'new in box'. They are cheaper, most come with the same warranties, and work just as well! Good luck and happy vacuuming!

We've got the Ball. It's great and super light. I love it and my 4 year old can help with it too. It get's lots out of the carpet. We haven't had it for six months yet, but it comes with all the great guarantees of the other models. My parents have the animal and it's still going strong after years...

Order from Amazon and you get no tax and free shipping. It should come in less than a week. When we ordered they were selling it matching the Thanksgiving sale prices.

We have a Dyson Animal DC14 that we got 4 years ago and we LOVE it! Best vacuum we EVER had!