Dyson DC40 Animal

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Overall

#595 in

Vacuum Cleaners

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Sentiment score55% positive
6
1
4

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Last updated: Jun 9, 2026

Reddit Reviews

Reddit IconConiferous_Needle
about 2 months ago

I had a dc40. It was a great vacuum for almost ten years! Then things started wearing down. Not too hard to replace but I am very handy. Time to replace, Vacuum redditors had a lot of complaints about newer Dyson’s being made of cheaper plastic. That and the noise (even with ear protection is was grating), I decided to go with a Miele and wow, the sound is amazingly quiet. I am still in the learning curve with the attachments but it cleans like nothing else

Reddit IconSimpleVegetable5715
8 months ago

Well you’re going to have the same sort of problems with Shark, they’re worse. Mine wasn’t even meant to have the brushroll removed and cleaned, found that out the hard way. That’s basic maintenance for a vacuum, especially when you have pets and humans with long hair. Shark wanted me to buy a whole new powerhead, lol. Good thing my dad and I are handy and jerry-rigged the Shark back together. My mom bought two Dysons. A (I think) DC40 then one of the pet ones with a ball. They were both crap too. The switched kept going out, luckily our vacuum shop doesn’t gouge people on repairs. I took my commercial Sanitaire (not suggesting this beast to average consumers), but the amount of sand it pulled out of her carpet was fascinating. So the Dysons were just sweeping the surface of her carpet. I’m sure the people here will recommend either a Miele or a Sebo. Other good vacuums exist too. I mainly collect and repair older vacuums as a hobby. So I’m not the one to ask. I do know bagged is better and cleaner than bagless, and direct air cleans deeper than a bypass machine. Air flow is what cleans, not suction.

8 months ago

Well you’re going to have the same sort of problems with Shark, they’re worse. Mine wasn’t even meant to have the brushroll removed and cleaned, found that out the hard way. That’s basic maintenance for a vacuum, especially when you have pets and humans with long hair. Shark wanted me to buy a whole new powerhead, lol. Good thing my dad and I are handy and jerry-rigged the Shark back together. My mom bought two Dysons. A (I think) DC40 then one of the pet ones with a ball. They were both crap too. The switched kept going out, luckily our vacuum shop doesn’t gouge people on repairs. I took my commercial Sanitaire (not suggesting this beast to average consumers), but the amount of sand it pulled out of her carpet was fascinating. So the Dysons were just sweeping the surface of her carpet. I’m sure the people here will recommend either a Miele or a Sebo. Other good vacuums exist too. I mainly collect and repair older vacuums as a hobby. So I’m not the one to ask. I do know bagged is better and cleaner than bagless, and direct air cleans deeper than a bypass machine. Air flow is what cleans, not suction.

Reddit IcondanTHAman152000
about 2 months ago

My Dyson Ball that I bought in 2013 for like $600 still works well. I do have to cut my wife’s hair out from the roller. But other than that still working good. I probably won’t buy another one though. I think I’ll just buy cheaper Sharks and replace them sooner. My mother’s new shark cleaned better than the old Dyson.

Reddit Iconvoidchungus
about 2 months ago

Nice! I have the D4. It does self-propel in carpet mode, but not so much that it pulls *me*. I should double check I have it set to the right suction strength

Reddit Iconilovecostcohotdog
8 months ago

I have a very old corded Dyson Animal, probably from 2010ish. It still works pretty well. I love the ball, it just made things so much easier to maneuver. Of course I am sure all of the new vacuums have something similar now so that probably isn’t a deciding factor.

Reddit Icontheyarnllama
8 months ago

I’ve got a Dyson that I bought in like 2012. Maybe earlier. I do virtually no maintenance because I’m lazy. It’s still trucking along, no problem. Edited to add: it’s lived through my long hair, my sister’s long hair, and a Great Pyrenees.

Reddit Icontemp4adhd
8 months ago

I treated myself to one 15 years ago and it's still going strong; have never even needed it serviced. Mine is one up from the basic cheapest model. I forget but yeah I think I paid $500-600. We'd recently gone through many lower cost vacs and we were ready for a more BIFL product. I bought it for myself for my 45th bday. We stayed at a rustic AirBNB camp that had a Miele from the 70s. The cord no longer retracted, but it still worked great. Even with sucking up dried leaves twigs dirt and gravel on the daily. I'll mention we also have some robots and a stick vacuum; those were found on the curb and my husband refurbished them. I vastly prefer the Miele, but it's nice to have options. The stick is good for quick cleanups, the robots are good for extending the time between deep vacuuming.

8 months ago

We have Dyson animal 4 and 6, both found on the curb, and refurbished by my husband. I like it for doing the stairs and furniture and area rugs. I also like that my husband will more often vacuum with one of these, rather than me having to vacuum. And we have a Brava (purchased), and a Eufy (found on the curb). I do like the Eufy. We had Roombas from the earliest models onward, because my husband likes robots. But the Eufy is better. The Brava is nice and quiet but I think it's just a glorified swiffer and just pushes all the dirt into the corners making more work for me when I get out the Miele. It'll work okay as a wet mop in a small space like our tiled bathrooms. We use the Miele once a week and the other stuff more sporadically. The lesson here is if you are on a budget, you can find vacs for free on the curb, pay to refurbish or learn to do it yourself (also disinfect, ack!!). But we've never ever seen a Miele being thrown out!!!!

Reddit IconTexaura
5 months ago

I did this, they’re anywhere from $40-$100 and is an insanely good deal for the price but you’ll need to clean the cyclone which takes a decent bit of time and patience so be aware.

5 months ago

If your budget is $500+ then a Dyson V15 is what matches your requirements, it's not very reliable and is fairly weak compared to corded counterparts in that price range. If you want a compromise I would go for a Dyson Animal Ball, its reliable and just needs its cyclone disassembled and cleaned every few years (takes a few hours DIY). No point in buying a weak cordless when you already have robot vacs pulling off surface debris. People on this sub love to hate on Dyson but their corded vacs honestly makes me understand the hype.

5 months ago

Like someone else mentioned my recommendation would be a Kenmore Intuition, your wife probably hates the idea of a bag from how they were back in the 90's/2000's - its not like that anymore lol. If you must get a bagless the Dyson Ball Animal is good, just be aware itll take a bit more maintenance than a bagged vac.

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