Our third vacuum in as many years has croaked. Last week I was absentmindedly vacuuming under Avelyn’s crib when it sucked up one of her socks and then the fragrant aroma of burnt rubber filled the room. The belt flew right off of the power head and now all I have is suction but no whirring action to actually pick up the pounds of Rolo fur and goldfish crumbs ground into my carpet. I whined to Steve, “Steeeeeve, I am tired of crappy vacuums. They do a lousy job and then just die. And surely not from overuse. It’s time for something decent.”
“We can’t afford it right now,” he coughed, clearing his lungs from the dog hair and goldfish crumbs he had just inhaled since the floors were in such rough shape.
“Well, if you add up the money we’ve spent on the past three vacuums, it would equal more than enough to buy a really good model. C’mon, a girl needs the right tool for the job!” I rallied.
“No,” he answered.
I paused for a moment, thinking how best to make my scheme a reality. Then it hit me: Air Miles! We have never redeemed our Air Miles and were up to a reasonable amount. I checked the balance and yes, we had enough to buy a pretty good vacuum.
I ran and told Steve my perfect plan. And then he complied. This is how our marriage works.
I didn’t actually like any of the vacuums that Air Miles offered but they had gift cards for HBC (The Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters) so I just ordered a really big gift card and plan to cash it on the vacuum of my dreams. That sounds so strange to say. I freaking HATE vacuuming. Cleaning floors is the worst. It’s the ultimate act of futility and makes me all angsty and I bellow, over the hum of the vacuum motor, “Why even bother doing this? Why even bother doing ANYTHING? Meaningless! Meaningless! A chasing after the wind!” But it’s life. It needs to be done. And I’d like to think that with a decent machine I might be more motivated to tend to the floors and keep them less gritty.
Here is where I need your help. I am leaning towards a Dyson because…because…they look cool, OK? And they don’t lose suction, apparently. But does anyone out there have anything bad to say about Dysons? I refuse to get an upright since I am a weakling and hate pushing them around, so a canister it shall be. I’m thinking this one:
It’s the Dyson DC21.
Any advice would be duly noted.
45 Comments
Oh I hate upright ones too. And vacuuming all together.
I have one that looks exactly like that picture, I’m not sure what it is though. If it’s bagless and has a self-cleaning filter, then it’s AWESOME in my books.
I have the Dyson upright. I ‘like’ it. I don’t love it because I find it is quite heavy and impossible to vacuum up the carpet on the staircase.
But it hasn’t lost any of it’s suction power. Is great on the hardwood and area rugs.
I have the Dyson Root, which is the handvac and it’s nothing short of *awesome*. I was anti-Dyson for a long time and dude, it rules.
I am in love with my (upright) Dyson. We’ve had it for a couple years and it hasn’t given us any grief at all. It’s disgusting how much our old vacuum didn’t pick up (we vacuumed with it right before vacuuming with the Dyson.)
Definitely go for the Dyson. Much like you, I killed three vacuums in two years (living in a bachelor apartment and then a tiny two bedroom condo), before finally figuring that it might just be worth it to spend the money and invest in a good one. I have had the Dyson upright for the past two years, and I absolutely love it. It does a fantastic job, and is super easy to empty and clean. My sister loved my Dyson so much that she “splurged” on the Dyson Animal (they have a large dog), and it is even more fabulous then the basic Dyson upright. It is worth every bit of the money it costs.
We’ve had about 8 vacuums over the last 10 years, and finally caved to buy a Dyson canister-style in January. It is awesome, and I hate vacuuming with a passion so that’s really hard for me to admit. We have 2 cats and a dog, and it does a good job with the pet hair (we may invest in the “pet” attachment, though, because I hear it is incredibly good!) So far, it has definitely been worth the investment.
DYSON all the way! It was one of my big purchase items when we moved into our house last year. I figured we were spending so much money we might as well spend a bit more. And you know what… its been a life saver what with a messy toddler and a husband! We got the DC19 and let me tell you, in our previous lives my husband always did the hoovering because I HATE it. Now with the Dyson, its a breeze. I hoover the kitchen (cork tiles) the living room (carpet) and the rest of the house (hardwood) at least once a week which is a 100 times more than I ever would have and the Dyson is excellent. I highly recommend it for your hoovering pleasure.
Oh, I love this post because I too am about to purchase a new vacuum. Currently, I’m PARALYZED with indecision. Halp.
I hope it sucks…. and that it sucks well and for a long time. (hee hee)
New vacuums are always fun to use, for the first week or so…Hahaha…Good luck with your decision!
I love my Dyson Animal upright. We got it about a year ago and honestly use it almost every day (not on the whole house, mind you, but on the two rooms we use the most). We have hardwoods and lots of area rugs and even with the everyday use tumbleweeds of crumb-crusted dog hair gather in the corners.
A am amazed at the crap it picks up. Again, even with the nearly everyday use that canister is full after each use. When you get it you might find yourself vacuuming the same room several times as it keeps picking up nasty stuff!
Ours did just have the belt break (hubby ran it over the fringe on a rug) and the replacement belts are VERY hard to find. I ended up having to buy it online and wait for it to ship. In the meantime everything in the house became fuzzy with dog hair.
Finally, we had such a hard time with the Dyson on the stairs, we bought an inexpensive Dirt Devil hand-vac with a beater brush for the stairs.
I was against the dyson at first because of the cost but it is amazing how much crap it picks up. My husband actually asks if he can vacuum! I’d say it is worth it. We did need to get it repaired. I sucked up too many legos and it was fully covered under the warranty.
Oh, something you mentioned on a previous post. I agree about how posts that bare your soul generate few, if any comments but the “silly” ones generate the most.
Love your blog.
I have the Dyson upright (from Costco – the pet hair attachment was included). It is awesome! It is a bit cumbersome on the stairs, but other then that, it is truly worth every penny.
I have the Dyson Animal and i L-O-V-E. Nothing gets by that baby!.
Definitely, definitely get a Dyson – well worth the money – you will not be disapointed
I used to date a guy that was a regional manager for Dyson…their vacuums are awesome! It’s just too bad that he sucked as much as the Dyson.
I know I am going against the grain here, and I have no firsthand experience Dysons, but Consumer Reports did not rate them highly in their vacuum tests. I have shied from getting one for this reason, but everyone else seems to like them.
I have a Miele and it’s heavenly – three years in and still working absolutely perfectly. Not sure if you can get that at HBC – but regardless, I’d definitely throw my vote in for spending money on a decent one!
So, I am poor and single, so I do not have a Dyson. HOWEVER. My sister is a pharmacist (and thusly, NOT poor) and she has the purple Dyson upright (whatever model that is) and is in. love. I think she may love it more than her children. And, she let me borrow it once (she lets me borrow her children, too, so that says nothing for how much she loves it.) My roommate had just moved out and taken her white, long-haired cat with her, and I was itching (literally) to get rid of the cat hair. So I vacuumed with my cheap Dirt Devil, and then used the Dyson immediately after. Oh my goodness, that thing was amazing. The crap it lifted from my carpet and furniture after my vacuum was AMAZING! I was literally in awe of the dirt. It was like a train wreck – so gross and wrong that there was that much dirt in, but equally as intriguing to know that the vacuum could pick it up. So – I say go for the Dyson! And I think that the canister is a good idea, since most people seem to only have problems with the uprights on stairs. Yay! (It’s sad that I’m excited for you about a new vacuum. But that’s just the kind of girl I am.)
Funny, I pick a post about VACUUMING to delurk on. But, I have a Dyson and I’m MADLY, MADLY in love with it. You won’t be disappointed.
Also, it’s pink :)
I too, have a Dyson and I LURVE it.
I’m probably going to come across as an old harpie, but you can replace the belt on a vacuum fairly easily and pretty cheaply. It will save the old vacuum from going to the landfill and you could spend the air miles on something more fun than a vacuum.
we have an older eluxtrolux (did I spell that right?) And it sucks perfectly. The bonus with this brand of vacuums is that they can be fixed and refurbished when needed… and they have BAGS which I love. I hate hate hate the canisters becasue when you dump them the contents tend to PUFF out in my face. YUCK. The standard design of the eluxtrolux is easy to use on stairs… plus the shape makes it easy for my toddler to ride on it.
I bought my Dyson last year (after multiple crappy ones as well), and couldn’t be happier with it. I have two dogs, a Golden Retriever and German Shepherd, who shed like crazy and I am constantly amazed at how well my Dyson handles the tufts of hair that are EVERYWHERE. If Rolo’s fur is an issue, you can’t go wrong with the animal vacuum (purple color).
i have heard only good things about dysons.
but, sadly, i still use the vacuum i got at my engagement party 11 years ago ;)
I’ve been thinking about getting one of those Roomba robot vaccuums. The less effort involved, the better:)
I have the Dyson Animal and I use the animal hair attachment on my stairs. The 17 foot hose is plenty long enough to leave the vacuum at the bottom and stretch the hose. I highly recommend it. I have two dogs and I could not live without it. I love it almost as much as my daughter. And she loves to use it, so bonus!!
Going against the grain here, but I don’t like heavy vacuums. For the past 14 years I have had [and loved] my Oreck. A small, over the shoulder ghostbusterie type cannister comes free with every Oreck purchase and is great for hardwood floors/furniture/drapes, etc. And you really can pick it up with one finger.
I have an upright Dyson. The “Ball” I think it was called. It’s excellent! I love it. And I think it would be safe to say that I probably hate vaccuming even more than you do. I have a bazillion stairs which makes it even worse. But using my Dyson makes it somewhat tolerable. At least you can see a difference, unlike my old vaccum that wouldn’t even pick up fuzz that WASN’T stuck to the carpet.
I love that you did this post, and I could read the comments (Amanda helping man kind again, first with the stinky feet post, now this, so helpful! Haha!). We will have to buy a new vacuum when we move, and I wanted to read the comments, seems like everyone who has a Dyson loves it! Cool!
We have an upright, cordless Sharky vacuum right now, which I am in love with for our small place, I use it ALL the time. I don’t think it has the very best suction, but it’s pretty awesome for here.
Good luck, and you should do a follow up post once you get your new sucky friend!
Electrolux has a 25 year IN HOME warranty..meaning the nice salesman comes to your place to a) demonstrate its power 2) deliver it to you 3) service it/replace parts/bring (sell) extra bags when needed.
GO ELECTROLUX!
I LOVE my Dyson upright vacuum. It’s the easiest thing to move around, even up & down the stairs & it does an amazing job. I actually like vacumming now :)
I guess Dyson is the new Mac
Just wanted to add my 2 cents…I also love my Dyson upright! I got it at Sears where they let you try out their vacuums in the store. I couldn’t believe the price but I’ve had it for a few years with no problems whatsoever. I think it was worth the money.
Apparently I missed the boat on a Dyson. I do however have the Miele Aquarius and LOVE it. We have mostly wood floors with carpet only in bedrooms and it works great on both surfaces. Happy shopping!
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If you really want to lose the “hate” for vacuuming that most of us have you should really get a built in. It also has the added convenience of opening up the suction outlet enabling the clumps of dog hair that accumulate in the corners to disappear at the flick of the wrist.
nope nothing bad, i love my dyson. well my only complaint is they came out with a pink one after i bought a yellow one
YOU KILLED THE HOOVER WINDTUNNEL ALREADY????????
SOMEONE GAVE IT TO YOU IN SEPTEMBER AND YOU KILLED IT ALREADY?
LOL
YOU’RE AMAZING
I dream dreams of Dyson.
Seconding bec – the vacuum is not dead! The belt just broke. You can pick up replacement belts for about 4.00 at Canadian Tire and all you need is a screwdriver to open up the casing and replace it. Whenever I smell that gross burnt rubber from my own Hoover I just replace the belt and it’s good as new. I’ve had it for five years now.
I don’t want to burst your Dyson bubble – I want one too and I’d get one in a heartbeat if I had that many airmiles! But I imagined you seeing a great bag or something at The Bay and I wanted to give you options!
I want a Dyson SO BAD!
If you buy a Dyson, Kevin will be SO JEALOUS! That’s what he’s always wanted. So if we come to visit and it just “happens” to dissapear–don’t say i didn’t warn you!
Thanks again for the warm hosptality, great meals and the truly entertaining Earl song–you rock sis in law!
One of my dreams in life is to own a Dyson. I think I would cuddle with it for a while. Husband would tell you it’s in the “spending plan” and that it’ll happen soon..but really, I think he knows he’s gonna get laid extra extra hard when I do indeed get one. Mmmmm..Dysonnnnn.
how ’bout a roomba! we (through a series of strange events) received a free one and absolutely love it. expensive, but fun and cool to watch. and it does all the cleaning for you. feel free to email me if you have more questions about it.
here’s the one we have
http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2804959&cp=2174940.2501652&parentPage=family
Thank God I’m not the only girl who has been dreaming of a new vacuum lately. Ours died on Tuesday. I’m for sure going with something bag less, that’s all I know at this point.
Good luck with your purchase.
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