Dyson - DC23 Turbinehead Canister Vacuum Cleaner

Maybe a battery powered canister style vacuum. I still have a Dyson canister vacuum that is great but I never use it because I hate having to plug and unplug it.

I actually think I used the wrong term. I just meant the regular style vacuum. But I think after a quick Google that's called an upright style. The canister seems to be like the old rainbow my grandmother had. I agree I wouldn't want that. But like a regular old standing vacuum that worked on an ego battery so you didn't need to plug and unplug it to move around the house would be great.

Nothing wrong with using a shop vac as a regular vaccuum cleaner. it gets the job done. I think they are just designed to work in dirty messy shops, so they are bigger, and maybe don't have as good dust filters on them. When indoors, you want to avoid blowing dust and allergens all over the place by using a vaccuum with a hepatitis filter. You can use a regular vaccuum with hos attachments to suck up cobwebs and clean fan blades and stuff. Yes, we have two vaccuums. actually 3, but who's counting? A Dyson cordless handheld. and a Dyson canister vaccuum. We like having one on each level. I HATE dragging that thing up the stairs.

Dyson canisters are designed to sit on stairs. https://www.vacuumwizard.com/vw-content/uploads/2015/10/dyson-dc23-stairs.jpg With an upright for stairs I would just be using it normally not trying to use the hose with an attachment of any kind.

My Dyson DC23 was purchased in 2009 and shows no sign of stopping. Sucks just as hard in 2025 as it did in 2009. I think I paid $450 for it which seemed a lot at the time but 15 years later I don't see a need to buy another vacuum for the foreseeable future.

Buy a Ryobi with an extra battery. Mine works better than my $600+ Samsung cordless. I have a 6000+ sq ft house and it does half on one battery. With both batteries I can finish and vacuum several sofas. I still use a plug in Dyson for deep cleaning but the a daily vacuum, it rocks.

Shark! I’ve had Bissell, Dyson, and Shark. The Bissell I had was an early bagless model, and it was an absolute pain to empty out. I replaced it with a Dyson canister that the sales guy at Bed Bath and Beyond sold me on. I discovered those were a PITA when you have stairs, so I replaced it with a Shark this year. The Shark is easy to empty out and has crazy suction. I’m moving out of the townhome I rented for the past year before buying my house, and even though I haven’t lived in the townhouse in over a month, the Shark keeps pulling up dust and cat hair.

I hate my cordless vacuum. I always had a mains power Dyson. I could pick up a brick with it! I loved it. Carpets looked and felt clean. Now I live somewhere where I have to use cordless to keep my power draw low. I have a good make, I bought it new but it’s useless. It won’t clean the cabin on a single charge. It lasts about 5 minutes on full power, 20 minutes on medium and on low power Id be better off laying on the floor and sucking through a straw. It seems to spit as much debris out the back of it as it picks up even though the filter is clean which means I have to wait hours to repeat the process to have the place look clean. I have dogs and they walk it lots of grit. It won’t even contemplate sucking up grit. It just shoots right out the back. So frustrating.

Wow our Dyson Dc23 just died....14 yrs....not really great? I did all the vacuuming...not so delicate with any machine. I can only hope to find the same longevity with whatever we buy next.

Very long answer: Every vacuum has their pros and cons, it’s really about your personal preference and needs. These are my opinions- please don’t come at me with pitchforks. Miele- I have never owned one but I have used them at clients homes. Pros- they last an incredibly long time. If you like bagged vacuums they have some pretty hefty bags that really trap fine dust. Very long cord, some models even have a retractable cord that winds up with a button, which is insanely helpful. Cons- they are expensive but if you’re having to replace vacuums often then it can pay for itself after a few years. It’s a bagged vacuum, the canister size and bag capacity couldn’t hold up to some of the houses I do. I have one client that I have to empty my canister vacuum twice in every room. You have to either manually empty the bags or replace them- which is an added expense. Look at the style, it’s not an upright vacuum, it’s a separate canister vacuum. I personally despise this style of vacuum, yes they have uprights but they are battery powered with a run time of about 60-90 minutes. Canister vacs like these are very difficult to maneuver, you have to pull it around like a resistant dog on a leash or if you are vacuuming out of a room you have to kick it behind you. It’s very difficult to do large sections of carpet, especially if you are trying to leave nice carpet tracks, because you have to deal with the vacuum head and the canister separately. Rainbow- they are very similar to the Miele. Pros- no bags. Its uses a canister of water for filtration which in principle I love. I think it has the absolute best filtration method of any vacuum. Cons- all of the cons I listed with Miele. However you don’t have to replace the bags, but you do have to empty, clean and refill the water reservoir constantly, usually after every room. I really don’t recommend using them for a house with stairs- huge pain. Kirby- Pros- ? Um great warranty? Good if you skip the gym and need to do some strength training? Really good sales people/ pitch. I was almost tempted to get one even though I can’t stand them. Cons- expensive, heavy, loud. No attached hose. You have to use it like a transformer toy every time you want to use the attachments. Belt driven, and the belts are a pain to change. Dyson- Pros- They last a decent amount of time, not too heavy or bulky. No bags. Pretty good filtration. Have all of the attachments on the vacuum. Most vacuum repair shops will work on them and they have a decent warranty. Personally I really like the older dc models without the ball, but they are hard to find. Cons- expensive. The newer models have a very wide vac head track. It can be a good thing if you are doing a large open area, but it’s way too wide to get into tight spaces. The suction. It has very strong suction which should be a good thing but on the newer models you can’t adjust it. You need 2 people to move it across high pile carpet. I consider myself to be decently strong and it really hurts to use it because of the suction, unless I’m only using it on hard surfaces. Sharks- Pros- large variety of styles. Good suction, but it can lose suction if you don’t change the filters often. Prices range from $150-400. The lift away models are great for stairs and getting to very high up areas. Lightweight. Not very loud until they start to get older. Ok warranty 2-5 years. Overall not a bad vacuum if you take care of it. Cons- I’ve never used a warranty on them because they usually die at the end of it. However I am using them on 2-3+ houses a day, 5-6 days a week. I really run them into the ground. Like everything they are being built with cheaper and cheaper materials. I really wish they would stop trying to come out with new features and just stick with a good solid design. Over the years there have models that I loved but then they discontinued them. Nobody will work on them, and if you find someone who will, it’s usually cheaper to just buy a new one. Oreck- Pros- variety of styles including canister style like Miele. Super suction- the commercial that showed it picking up a bowling ball is no joke. But because of the suction they can be very difficult on high pile carpet. Decent price. The uprights are pretty light. Good warranty and every vacuum repair shop will fix them. Because they are very light they are actually ok on stairs. Cons- I’m not a fan of bagged vacuums. The uprights don’t have a hose. It’s belt driven and the belts break often. Hoovers and Bissell- Pros- inexpensive. Been around for a long time, so people must like them? Cons- they are just kind of meh. Poor suction. I’ve cleaned clients carpet with them and then vacuumed again with my shark and can pick up a whole canister of dirt and hair. Hair wrap. Every vacuum has the problem no matter what they try to do but Hoovers and Bissels are the worst. Loud, bulky and clunky. Difficult to get into tight spaces, forget trying to use them on stairs. Sorry for the long response and hopefully this helps.

I confess my first pet Dyson was awesome (pre ball) #1 with suction and ease of attachments. After 9 strong years of use I decided to "upgrade". The second pet Dyson wasn't amazing, I didn't like the ball or how I had to remove items to get to the hose attachments etc, BUT it did great on carpets and tiled floors. After 4 years of use, it was destroyed by diatomaceous earth (lessons learned, it goes through the filter and builds up in the motor). I decided to go a different route with 2 different branded vacuums, stick style and push. Over the past two years with pet hair everywhere, they were ok but even cleaning filters they started to smell. This past Dec we decided to go again with Dyson and it's amazing how much it pulls up and gets all the hair and tracked dirts (we are in dusty NM). Still don't like some of the ball features but I am really glad to have one back in the house. My 2 cents.