Dyson - DC41 Animal

Same here, the Dyson DC14 is getting long in the tooth. I have tried a Shark - Worked well for 2 years then fell apart. Tried a Vax - Same thing. Tried a DC50 - Flimsy pile of shit, sucks ok but nowhere near as good as the DC14. DC41 - Same issues as DC50 and was stupidly hard to push because of the stupid ball. DC14- The king, had it for 20 years and still works like new, except it has a very strong burning smell. DC04 - Was good, but not as good as the DC14 and fell to pieces after a couple years.

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.

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!!!!

You want a bagged vacuum. I've had a Dyson, a Bissell, a Dyson knock off, the LG A9, the Miele Duoflex - all bagless and all very loud. My cats will scatter if I turn them on. My bagged Miele on the other hand... they don't even bother getting up from their naps.

I just asked about how often I’d be buying bags for a sebo with two high shedding large dogs, (similar probably too a gsd and 3 (if long hair cats) I would probably be replacing the bag every week. (Actually more than that because I didn’t tell people I also have 3 cats haha) Someone with a husky commented that they replace the bag 1.5-2 times a month. Calculating that cost for two dogs is another 210 a year in bags (probably more for me) I am taking that into account with  replacing a vacuum that died (Dyson) but it doesn’t have a bag or a Sebo that has a 10 year warranty but I will have probably bought 2-3 dysons in that time period with the amount I’d be spending on bags. I haven’t decided yet 🙃 but thought I’d share the numbers.

my Dyson filter you just rinse and swap out. I like how easy it’s to pull apart and wash

Mine is way older than 5 years. Still manages to try and eat socks with alarming accuracy. I only had to change the battery out. I give her a blast of air and a good wash every few months and she’s running great. she deals with sand on a regular basis and cat and dog fur.

you can get third part add ons that let you use big drill batteries

honestally the third party battery add ons give you so much more, even swapping the battery out for a bigger one gives more juice

I got third party battery add on. I do bottom house, charge then upstairs. got third party filters so I can change and wash each time

I'm on my second Dyson Animal upright purchased in 2018. Still works great. I also have a Dyson stick vac and use it daily for touch ups. I love Dyson.

I have a Dyson with the ball design from like 2013, it was around $300-400 and it’s still going strong. My only complaint is it’s big and we now have more hardwood floors where we used to have carpet. It is just bulky but it works really great, it’s been used to clean at least weekly or more than that for all these years.

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.

I hate to say it, but yes. The newer stick ones are amazing. Had mixed luck with the Dyson ball models but loving the new obes

Have the corded Dyson Animal with attachments....two years old. NOT worth it. It was to replace a 10 year old Dyson Animal that my spouse used like a shop-vac and ruined (dead mouse.....GRRRR!) The new one is crap...it is too light to allow the hose to extend without tipping over. I have even stretched and wrapped the hose around the closet rod between uses, but the hose doesn't stretch out like the old one. I am frequently whacked by the darn thing when using the attachments....but that is the point of the animal version!

\* A corded Dyson Animal vacuum with all attachments included. BTW

I have had a handheld motor head and the battery runs out in less than 6-7 minutes on full power, but is okay for small items. I recently bought the animal ball at Costco and really like it. Its anecdotal, but I have had terrible luck with.mutliple sharks (3 different models from handheld to fullsize) and won't buy those anymore.

Canister vacuum: Dyson cinetic big ball (no maintainance) / Dyson big ball (filter to maintain) Both have hygienic bin emptying (your finger doesnt go near the waste disposal area) It’s easy to reach around due to the extendable wand. Upright: Dyson ball upright vacuum (any) theyre easy to maintain, they have hygienic bin emptying, and they have a long wand on the back thats easy to use with the on board tools. Cordless: Dyson v12 (it’s small and uses a button power system, easy to manoeuvre) / Dyson gen5 (it’s normal size, uses a power button system and had a built in crevice and dusting brush combo). Both have hygienic bin emptying

Ok so firstly, never buy a shark. They’re some of the worst vacuums in the long run and break easily also shark bins are super small. If you want a Dyson corded, they sell the ball origin and the ball animal (discontinued on Dyson’s website) for £250-£300 so a little over budget. I personally prefer Dysons as bagless uprights as they’re super powerful and easy to use. The only downside is that they’re a little heavy compared to most vacuums. If there is anything else specific or of your not willing to get the Dysons because you don’t like the reviews or design or price just let me know in a reply.

We have the Dyson ball pet hair vacuum, we’ve had it for three years and love it. My mum had a Dyson that lasted a decade.

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.

So I had a Dyson upright Animal vac that did a pretty decent job but both my healers despised it with a vengeance and would nip at it and attack it whenever I vacuumed. I tried to scare them away by unleashing the vac brush on them and, what do you know, the lil raptors loved it. After they got used to the routine, I’d get the vac out and vacuum them first then the house. It was a win win. God, I miss those guys.

Shark, if you can get them in Ireland. I also have an upright Dyson ball, definitely not worth what it costs, suction is great and has stayed like that, but it pretty much lacks in all other areas, especially usability.

I’ve had the Dyson ball upright for years and it works great. We brush regularly and use a silicone carpet rake in between vacuuming.

Yes the original Animal is a workhorse. The newer ball I don’t like as much.

Yes the original Animal is a workhorse. The newer ball I don’t like as much.

I have a Dyson upright pet because everyone else in my family does and we all love it. No one's had a single problem, and it sucks the everliving hell out of pet hair-filled carpets. Think the first one of us to get it has had it 10 years, some almost as long. Mine's a refurb I got 5 years ago and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

I hate my Dyson animal upright. I’m going back to shark when this squeaky, hard to clean, heavy pos dies.

I have a Dyson animal upright from around the same time. Maintenance is key. My kids swept up grated Romano cheese at one point. Turn the vacuum on smell was awful. Pulled and cleaned the filters, vacuumed up a box of baking soda and smell was gone.

Most people here will tell you to stay away from Dyson. Like everything else, everyone's experience is different. I have a Dyson Animal upright that's a decade old and still works like new. We've always had a stick vacuum for the convenience, but both Shark and Samsung models we had weren't even worth the convenience. We dropped the coin for a V15 and honestly it works even better than the upright. My only problem with the V15 is the battery is not removable, and of course anything with a battery is not going to be BIFL. But in my experience Dyson makes a great product. Bagged vacuums will definitely have better longevity odds but if I'm getting even 10 years out of a vacuum, that's good to me.

I have a Miele canister and upright, they are great and I would recommend them to anyone. I also still have a Dyson Animal upright that I bought in 2003. I think keeping them going for the long term is in doing maintenance on them.

A lot of others have responded to the question you asked me but here goes.  Make sure you change bags and filters (some filters are washable) on a regular basis. Clean the roller as others have mentioned. These are easy things you should do often.  Check the belt for the roller brush, they stretch and wear more than you would expect. On the Dyson I have I have rebuilt the clutch and changed the belts twice.  Wash it! Take the hose off and spray some cleaner in it with some water. Then pick it up with an end in each and like a horseshoe. Move your arms up and down separately, right arm up means left down etc. Do this for just few minutes and drain it by holding one end high and letting the other down so all the junk will come out, trust me it can be gross looking. Next do it with water and see how it comes out, go until it drains clean. Hang it to dry as much as you can. If it is on a canister like a Miele reattach and put a towel in place of the bag then turn it on, this will help pull the water from the hose and the towel will absorb it before it gets to the motor.  Clean the area where the bag goes with a cleaner of your choice and wipe it out with a towel. Clean all hose connections and seals that you can see.  If you want to take it further then you can disassemble it and clean the area around the motor and the motor itself, don’t use water or a cleaner on the motor as this will accelerate it going bad. Most of the time you can just wipe them off as they will have a black soot on them.  If you follow the steps above then your machine will last a long time. 

The Dyson animal is the same way, really hard to find any parts. I had a piece of the plastic handle break on the dust canister and while it didn’t affect the machine in how it worked I wanted it to look right and ended up buying the part on eBay. 

I actually own six different vacuums. Yeah I heard that the Dyson is garbage for a long time but it still works and works better than most. 

I have a Dyson ball, the one where the main unit rolls on the floor and you have the handpiece connected with a hose, has served me well for 6 years no issues. Easy to clean and empty. I see a lot of people recommended Miele here, never tried them but they use bags, I don't like those types

I got a Dyson ball 5 years ago because I have a golden retriever and now a cat, it still works amazingly well. It’s shocking how much hair it picks up that we don’t notice. Bought and cordless one too

The ball version Dyson is a beast. I purchased a Dyson stick V10 and was very disappointed with both battery life and performance.

I will never buy another Dyson product again after owning a Dyson ball…

Whoever has those Dysons clearly doesn’t have multiple long-haired, double coated pets running around. I had the stick and the ball versions and both barely lasted a year

I had a dyson ball that lasted 6 years with good maintenance. Can’t be too mad about that i guess. Spent $1000 on a miele c3 so if i don’t get a decade out of it, then i blame this sub.

I regret my Dyson ball as well, but it's only 4 years old (bought it as a 1yo refurb) so I'm going to use it for the next decade or so until it dies on me.  Carrying it up and down stairs, getting it to follow me around corners... honestly, it feels like it makes just about everything more difficult, though thankfully just in a frustrating way and not a "I can't even do what I need to" way.

I had a Dyson ball and a Dyson stick for the last 8 years and made the switch to a Miele C3 last year. I will never go bagless again. Whole house feels so much more clean. I did not expect that.

I have a Bissel Pet canister for quick, everyday use. It is fairly light and effective. I've had to change the belt and roller a few times. I bought a Dyson ball that i thought would replace the Bissel that was getting old. I only use it for deeper cleans. It is *heavy* and the wand is unwieldy. Plus, the clog points are many, but it does have serious power. It also does well on hard flooring because you can turn the roller off.

I had a Dyson Ball but was always disappointed in it. Friend recommended the Shark so I got one. Of course I had to do a direct comparison so vacuumed my condo with the Dyson and got my normal results, then the Shark. I filled the canister on the first go. The 3 years of grossness that the Dyson left behind was surprising.

I own two Dysons and a Miele C3. I've had the Dyson Ball for about 12 years. I hated emptying the thing because of all the dust, etc, forcing me to always take it to the outside trashcan, which cut down on vacuuming in the winter and in the rain. Based on many, many recommendations I got the Miele and the powerhead jammed with pet hair within the first few minutes. "Not a problem, I'll just pull the roller and cut the hair off", I thought. The damn thing is not designed to be serviced except by a repairman. Seriously, even for hair wound up on the roller bar. After spending a couple of hours taking apart and putting it back together, I 3D printed an adapter to accommodate my Dyson tangle free turbine, which handles pet hair with practically no issues. That is a pretty good combination, to be honest, but that Dyson head is only about 4 inches wide, resulting in a lot of push/pull over the carpet. Plenty of suction from the Miele which, other than the servicing issue, I think is a good vacuum, but seriously over-priced--just like most Dysons. But after 5 years of the Miele-Dyson combo, I researched to see if the was anything new to tackle pet hair and found Dyson had improved things while Miele appears stuck. Enter the Dyson V15 Detect. I have not touched the Miele since I got the V15 a year ago. Good battery, good suction, handles pet hair way better than the old tangle-free turbine head and I can pull the roller bar, clear the wound up hair and be vacuuming again in less than 5 minutes. I still have the Miele and I should probably do a test with a clean bag and see how much of anything the V15 is missing (since the V15 will get all the pet hair). There are definite advantages to being corded and using bags, but those same things are also negatives in many circumstances. With the V15, I am less reluctant to vacuum and tackle patches of pet hair with vigor. With the Miele, I am pretty confident it is removing plenty of fine dust with the HEPA filtering and changing a bag is cleaner than emptying the V15 (which is far better than the old Dyson ball canister). I like my V15 for now. I'd love to see something better for pet hair from ANYBODY in the next 5 years, but especially from the robo-vacuum folks.

The ones left by the previous cleaner. A Dyson Ball and what seems to be a Dustbuster with a handle made into an upright on a 6 ft cord lol it’s torturous. For my other clients I bring my own vacuums, but this family prefers the house supplies everything.

I find it works great. I slap that bad boy on boost and go to town. I got 4 animals and hardwood floor. It also will literally change the color of carpet as it goes over. I also had a dyson ball and that thing sucked the sand out from under the subfloor. Ive been disappointed with kirbys and sharks though.

It also seems to depend on the Dyson. Our ball shaped Dyson has literally lasted for like 15 years. I have also heard good things about Dyson v15 but that seems to depend.

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.

I have a Dyson Ball and I hate it, its always clogging and the wand feature is poorly implemented and difficult to use. I'm leaning towards a canister vacuum to replace it.

No I don't think so. I have the Dyson ball vacuum and I should've stuck with the bissel you can get from a box store

Yup. My wife bought into the hype a few years back and bought a Dyson ‘Ball’. The thing is so weak. Also, I hate how there’s not a single component on it that isn’t made from plastic. It’s just a matter of time until something cracks and/or breaks. Fortunately, we still have my old Kenmore vac (from the ‘90’s) and that baby certainly does suck (in a good way). I’ve come to the conclusion that, when it comes to vacuums, the heavier it is means it’ll likely have more suction power. That, and the main vacuum tube/shaft should be made from metal.

Similar exerience with my dyson ball (not sure of the model). So much more user friendly than the felix I own that the folks (mostly salesmen) love here.

I had the old dyson ball for like 15 years before giving it away because I moved into a house without carpeting. Great vacuum and tons better to use than the ergonic mess called a felix (which I own) and every canister vac like my henrys (yes I have 2). Lot of misinformation here like needing to buy hepa filters every 6 months? Everyone talks about dyson marketing but how about all the miele/sebo shills trolling this reddit?

I had a Shark and loooooved it at first. It lost suction after about a year. I took it completely apart and cleaned every single serviceable part I could-to no avail. Major disappointment. My Dyson ball is 6 years old and going strong. That thing is one bad bitch. No idea how the cordless ones fare.

Not even close. I wouldn't recommend their modern stuff compared to a sebo or Miele, but I got to use their dyson ball for fun when I worked at best buy, and it shit on any of their cordless stuff

I got a dyson ball and that shit was ass. Returned it less than a week later and got a shark instead

Build quality felt cheap and flimsy and the suction was meh. Also the hose would try to retract as soon as the vacuum was turned on, so it was truly a workout to use it

We got a labrador many years ago and we called him Floyd. Such a beautiful dog. But we should have called him blizzard! Because so much hair would come off him when he moulted. Our vacuum cleaner, an Electrolux, was just not doing the job. So we went out and brought a Dyson ball vacuum cleaner. It did a really good job and still is about 20 years later. At the very least I'd say make sure any vacuum cleaner you buy has a rotating brush.

I’m sorry, the cordless Dyson isn’t that great for carpet/rugs so I wouldn’t rank it that high. The attachments are excellent for their specific uses like couch/mattress, the nozzle for corners but I have the old school Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner and it’s sooo much better for rugs. Vacuum’s with cords for the win!

We had the Dyson Ball vacuum (corded) and absolutely hated it. It worked terrible, was heavy and just wasn't good. We did regular maintenance on it too. It just was crap. Since then, we've replaced it with shark vacs. We keep one on each floor of the house so we don't have to continually carry them up and down stairs. They work great. I also recently got a handheld cordless shark vac and it is AWESOME. We have some awkward spaces in our home that a vacuum never really fit in so the cordless hand vac does the job. With 4 cat, I vacuum regularly. I use a Fuller hoky (manual sweeper) daily and it works great too!

I have one of the original Animals, and it still keeps up with 2 cats who shed and track litter all over the place. I thought it was dying, but I replaced the big secondary filter. It's back up to speed now. I also have a cordless V8 or v10 that I picked up a year or two ago, and it's complete crap.

I used a dyson and once I got used to it I love it tbh. My house is only 96sqm so I put it on full blast and it does the job. I do appreciate its a pain in the hole if there is something a legacy cleaner would deal with. If I had more space in gaff I migjt have went for a Henry. I am mostly commenting because my mob is shite and need to get something better myself 😅

I think it just takes a but of getting used to. Like the first few times I used it if there was a small peace of plastic.or paper on the ground my old Henry would eat it right up but the Dyson goes on strike 😅. Once you make that adjustment I find it class. Light weight, easy to use and with mod houses its so easy to store as well.

Dyson are an utter rip off. I sympathise completely with you. Used to own one and I felt I’d have to do two rounds of the house to get it clean. Go for a Miele, they are cheaper and significantly better.

Mi is gondolkodtunk a philipsen, de az eladó le beszélt róla, mert szerviz igényesek nagyon..igy maradt a dyson..abszolút nem bántuk meg

It’s simple. Dyson is made from extremely cheap plastic parts. Their customer service is some of the worst in the industry. Lastly, when you want to have ur Dyson fixed, most places won’t touch them bc Dyson wants to be dealt with directly. So everything is a lot harder than it has to be with Dyson. I had an upright and the parts were super cheap. Like some of the lowest quality plastics on any vacuum. Only had it for maybe 5-6 years before it finally died on me. I’ll be going with a Sebo next.

Nekünk Dyson van, 2 gyerek, 2 macska mellett nekünk igazán megváltoztatta az életünket. Mivel könnyű, az iskolás gyerekünk is játszva ki tudja vele takarítani a szobáját és imád is vele "játszani".

Right? I'll grant you some other brands that are underpowered. But Dyson? Dysons are great. I got one as a wedding gift like 14 years ago and it was an amazing vacuum. So much so that I bought another to replace it without even batting an eye at the price. The Dyson was still going strong but the battery was toast and I couldn't get a replacement. I'm not opposed to the idea of an EGO vacuum either. If it was good I'd probably buy it. But Dyson is legit awesome.

I think most people buying vacuums aren’t treating or looking at them as BIFL. Vacuum techs are going to crap on anything difficult to repair/maintain while your average consumer is only going to see the end result. I’ve owned a Hoover upright, shark upright, Dyson upright, and now 2 different Dyson sticks including the v15. I would never buy a canister vacuum due to what I deem as an inconvenience in pulling it around everywhere. When we owned a house with majority carpet the Dyson and Shark uprights were great. We have dogs and their brush roll was incredible at picking up pet hair. Our current house is primarily hardwoods and we still have dogs. The V15 is amazing, super light, and convenient. And despite how gimmicky the green light thing may look it really does work amazingly well for hardwoods with pet hair. It does ok on carpet and rugs but the old canisters feel like they would for sure outperform it. I don’t really expect a lifetime out of my vacuum especially if I’m buying a $150 Shark. If I get several years I’m pretty happy as the repair bill is near the cost of the Vacuum - it’s almost like the printers whose ink refills was more expensive than a new printer.

I’m scared to even say this but I use sharks for my housekeeping business and I love them. I also used OLD OLD Dyson uprights (not balls) and I will still reach for those for dirty jobs because I love how easy they are to take apart. One of my clients has a Miele and I hate it. I am much more efficient with my sharks and dysons. And yeah I just clean them regularly

Dyson, uj dimenziokat nyitott meg a porszivozasban. Meger minden forintot!

I have a Dyson upright and I was also given an older Shark Stick (not cordless). I prefer the Shark even though it has a cord. I bet I would like a cordless Shark even more. Point being, Dyson isn’t the end all be all anymore.

I use a hand held one (probably from Amazon, I can’t remember!) that isn’t a named brand or anything special. I use that to hoover poos etc up in the cage day to day. I also use the hand held one to hoover up any loose bits of hay on the carpet when my girls have had floor time. Once these have been hoovered up, I hoover the carpet as normal with my Dyson upright hoover. I accidentally got a bit of hay stuck in my new Dyson when I first got it so I make sure anything like that is gone before the main hoover comes out. Having said that, I have an older hoover from Argos - it was the cheapest they sold I think; a white one. It’s an upright electric one and doesn’t look like it would do much but it’s actually really good. Now I’ve got the Dyson, the Argos one has been relegated to hoovering piggy messes when I don’t want to use the hand held.

I’m genuinely not sure what this sub hates Dysons so much. I’ve had an upright for 15 years now and have never had an issue. And I’ve had a Dyson stick vacuum for 5 years and no issues.

I’ve had a Dyson upright for going on 15 years now and have never had an issue. I’ve also had one of their stick vacuums for about 5 years and again, no issues. 🤷🏻‍♂️

OMG I just wasted hours of my life with customer "support" trying to source parts for my upright. The wheel assembly broke. It's an easy fix but no one had the part in stock so I called Dyson direct to get it. They would not provide it and said I had to contact a service centre and send my vaccuum there - there are only 2 in all of Canada. They wanted me to book it in to mail it, but would not tell me an estimate on the part and then doing the fix. Ultimately they just said call the service centre directly. So the next day I called them between their operating hours of 11am-2pm. I left 2 messages - 2 weeks ago. Ultimately I repaired the assembly with JB Plastic Bonder (absolutely amazing stuff, turns out!).

Our old Dyson upright was absolutely useless on the Christmas Tree needles. They essentially fell out again after being hoovered up. Hence why I'm so interested in this thread!

I pull both Mieles and Dysons out of the trash. These days I only grab the cordless Dyso9ns, but in the past have done the upright models. They are usually work after cleaning up. Maybe half the cordless examples I get need a new battery.

Wow interesting. We had our Dyson Animal first generation for 15 years with two cats and two dogs. When it broke we bought the next generation one. Fingers crossed it lasts as long.

I also have Dyson vacuums (upright plug-in and cordless) and both have served me well, but I have had to replace the battery on my cordless (under warranty) as well as replace the trigger button (time-consuming but only $20).

I would have said Dyson years ago, but in the latest generations they have removed all of the washable filters. That means once the dog smell gets trapped deep inside the very expensive "pet model" vacuum, it stinks your house up like rotten corn chips each time you use it. I have a Shark Navigator now and I feel it does just as good of a job at a price point under 200 bucks. Sure, you may have to empty it more often but it does a great job and every part of it can be washed, so all pet smells can be controlled. The washable post filter is chief among the washable parts!

Miele is a premium brand for sure, but the price difference is well justified. I have C3 Complete, carpet, cats, and that thing sucks hard (the good kind of suck). Have only had it for a few years and so far so good in terms of reliability, but optimistic about it. That said, I previously had a Dyson DC-series upright - had it for 8 years with no problems. It was still alive, I just had to get rid of it because I was moving and couldn't take it with me. So I guess even on "lesser" brands you could get lucky. But through my childhood, my parents kept buying Hoovers and Dirt Devils and GEs and all kinds of "walmart specials" and I feel like we had a new vac every 2 years or so because the old one would just crap out. So I am definitely traumatized enough to consider it very frugal to be buying a more "premium" suck machine.

I think Dyson is a great vaccum that is aimed at consumers. I have the corded upright one myself. It's probably the best consumer vaccum I have used. The vaccum techs seem to prefer commercial use ones. And they seem great. I hire a cleaner sometimes that uses a Meile and it certainly cleans better than the Dyson. But I don't want to lug it around myself.

I have 3 Dysons, 1 corded upright & 2 cordless stick vacs. All operating fine with no issues as of yet. My 1st cordless from around 2006 is stir used weekly. Only I have had to replace the battery & brush accessory. But overall Ive been pleased.

Dyson corded upright, if you’re patient you can buy used and save a bundle. You’ll want to add a floorbrush for the hardwood floors. I have both older model canister and upright Dyson vacs. The canister is better built, but the upright is more versatile and cleans carpets better. It also stores better but is more finicky to use the attachments. It’s designed to be lighter weight which also means it’s is more fragile, take care of them and they’ll last! If you really prefer a canister you’ll want a motorhead, but the extra weight in the floor wand makes it more work to vacuum hardwood floors.

I have two older Dyson corded vacuums. My canister is a tank, had it for atleast 15 years now. Have torn down the canister a few times for a deep clean. Also bought an upright used, it’s a little more finicky and fragile feeling but also a good vacuum with proper maintenance.

I made the switch from a bagless upright Dyson and a stick Dyson to a Kenmore Pop N Go canister, based on the advice of this sub. I could not be happier. I have three shed monster Australian Shepherds that have killed several Dysons over the years. I am THRILLED not to have to stop and empty the Dyson every 5 minutes. Changing the bag on the Kenmore is a lot less messy than emptying the bin on the Dyson. I wish I bought a canister 20 years ago. The canister is much easier to use on the stairs. It works miracles on cleaning my blinds, which the Dyson was absolutely useless for. It actually gets my carpets clean, which the Dyson failed to do after about a year. Also, the Kenmore is a hell of a lot quieter than my Dyson.

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.

I've never had a miele, but i certainly don't buy dyson because it's convenient. They're expensive as hell. I buy dyson because they work reliably for years. I replace the filters every year or two, and otherwise i just don't even think about them. I have a handheld and a plug in dyson, and they have seriously won me over. There's lots of options that are similar on the market, but i've never found any other vacuum that works that well

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.

I have had good luck with Dyson and Shark brands. Both in “pet” models, I’m sorry I don’t know more specific models. I personally don’t notice much of a difference in the performance so I stick with Shark since it’s cheaper and in my opinion the hose and attachments are easier to use.

I had a Dyson pet also and hated it! And their cordless vacs are horrible and last like 5 minutes! I prefer Shark vacuums as well.

My Dyson pet was the biggest damn waste of money.

I have three Collies & use a Dyson pet vacuum. I do go through a lot of vacuums too - but Dyson seems to be the best.

Yeah I’ve a Powerblade for my kitchen/ hard floors downstairs. It’s cordless and light but useless on my carpets. I’ve the Dyson pet one for those and I find it not too clunky even on the stairs, especially as it has so many little attachments. I like it. As for mops, I like my Shark one. No fannying around with detergent, just throw some bleach or whatever you use on the floor and go. It separates into a handheld steamer too.

I have the Dyson specifically for pets and it's great.

I found myself purchasing a new vacuum about every 2 years. Then I purchased a Dyson pet , and it was great. Had a 5-year warranty, and promptly lost suction at the 6-year mark. It was the best vacuum for the almost 6 years I had it. Now I have a Shark, an apartment vacuum because it is mostly for bare floors, but the cord is short. Have had it for 2 years now. I would take advice of the professional cleaner - the porta-vac.

We purchased a “renewed” Dyson Animal vacuum. It’s very powerful and works amazing on our hardwood, rugs, and carpet. It has a narrower brush area so suction is increased. When vacuuming our area rugs on the lowest brush setting, the suction makes it hard to move the vacuum, it’s that strong. It’s probably the best vacuum I’ve ever used.

I love my Dyson. I got the pet version from Costco on sale. To me, the only better vacuum option would be a professional one or possibly the rainbow system but that’s too much for me.

I also hate my Dyson animal. Like you said, it stinks like dog no matter how much you clean and replace the filter and is so hard to maneuver. I also feel like the suction isn’t that strong. I definitely plan on getting something else soon!!

Dyson animal! 4 cats, 2 high shedding dogs. It’s amazing!

This subreddit had me all scared about buying a Dyson Animal vacuum. It’s fine, guys. It’s a perfectly good vacuum. I also have a stick, wanted more power, and guess what? It’s fine!

Dyson Animal , once a day.( we have two GSDs) and Roomba supplements mid day.

Dyson animal - had it for 8 years, only thing I had to do was replace the battery last year as it couldn’t hold a charge anymore. The new ones have a new hair technology that prevents clogged hair but I never had any issues.

I've always had a great experience with my Dyson. It's one of the Animal vacs, and never fails to tackle my husky hair, and cleaning it out has always been a breeze. Only one part really needs to be replaced, because of an unfortunate tumble down the stairs that broke the latch portion that pops open the bottom of the canister, but I've been opening it manually for a year now. I guess I'm fortunate based on what other reviewers have experienced, but I've certainly got my almost 10 years out of it. I'd love to get a Miele in the future, and really I'm just torture testing this Dyson. It's already survived 7 cross country moves in my truckbed without a tarp, a couple times in the rain. I wouldn't absolutely not do that to a Miele though hahah!

I have three dogs and have bought numerous vacuums trying to find the right fit. The best one for us has been a Samsung Bespoke Jet that has an all in one station. It is cordless and empties itself into a bag. Keeps all the dust and dander down. It is easy to use and I use it almost every day. I also have a Dyson animal but only pull that out about once a month - if even that. I love my Samsung. Wish it had a light on the head unit - but my Dyson doesn’t have a light either. The samsung was pricy but it is by far my favorite.

We have a Dyson Animal, works great!

Dyson Animal for the win.

Our Dyson animal is awesome, it’s easy to maintain and has crazy strong suction

#1 brush as often as possible. I'm a self admitted clean freak and I hate hair. I've had many vacuums over the years. My previous vacuum was a Dyson animal that I loved when it actually was functional (I will unfortunately not be buying another Dyson). Now I have a Shark Stratos DuoClean PowerFins HairPro. I am not disappointed! Works great on the carpet and the vinyl floors. Next investment will be a robot vac/mop

Animal Dyson every fortnight and a roborock every single day. Serves us well. I wouldn’t buy a Dyson again though. Bissell next time - half the price, twice the innovation. Though they are American…

Same here. We have the animal Dyson for about 10 years and just very recently replaced it with the new version. Haven’t had issues with it and we also have 2 cats and 2 dogs. 

I loved my animal Dyson. It did catch fire though prolly from the “hidden filters” never being changed. I bought a shark after that and it was great for carpet, it actually pulled your arm forwards and “sucked” to the carpet. Moved to a place with all hardwood floor/laminate kitchen, bathroom and the shark just pushed the dirt forwards. Now we sweep….no vacuums here lol

This is me too. I’ve had my Dyson animal since 2008 and it’s working great. It was expensive when I bought it. I have no idea if they’re built well now. But got my moneys worth out of this one.

Miele C3 for life gang! I previously had a Dyson Animal for almost a decade and the improvement was shocking to me. Of course, there had likely been enhancements to the DAs in the meantime.

Shark. I got the Shark at Costco. I also have a Dyson Animal but it is too strong on carpet so it would void warranty on the carpet.

Dyson animal is what I use at home. The battery life is short but it works wonders

We have a Dyson Animal and a Shark Canister style vacuum. We prefer the Shark. Suction is just as good as the Dyson and it’s infinitely more user friendly as far as the attachments and hose cleaning goes. Plus smaller head fits more places like under the bed. The Shark is just a better design.

Oh the hair. It’s insane and I admittedly am about keeping our home clean. We have a RoboRock on each floor that runs once or twice a day. We use have 2-3 Dyson V8 sticks on each floor for daily quick pickups/stairs, etc. Each floor also has a larger Dyson animal for 1-2 times a week of a deeper cleaning. We have all tile/wood floors, so it’s easy to keep clean with vacuuming 1-2 times a day manually, and also using the RoboRocks. We do also mop daily as well. Having multiples is a little extra, but it’s easier for us to do quick cleanings and the kids will actually grab a vacuum if it’s conveniently located vs at one of our homes where they’re all located in the mud room—it’s a struggle there. Insane? Yes, we also have 2-3 high powered and silent air purifiers on each level (with one right next to their bed area and in our master area, I have 3 to keep the dander at bay). We try to brush each pup ~4-5 times a week—we have 3. It’s a lot, but it keeps our home clean. We also have a cleaner who comes once a week and also does extras like cleaning under furniture, walls, etc to get dander and hair. I know this is a controversial take, but we do not allow the dogs on the furniture and they are also not allowed in our master area. I am actually allergic to dogs, but love my pack more than anything—so we do take a lot of extra measures to keep our house clean.

^This. We had a Dyson Animal and were continually having to take it apart and cut fur from the roller. Haven’t had to do nearly as much with the Miele.

Had my Dyson animal for 9 years and it's awesome. No issues but I do look after it.

Sebo. It’s the new Electrolux. I went from electrolux (40 years of service, inherited from my mom) which was amazing, to a Miele (20 years of service, inherited from step mom) to a Dyson Animal. The Dyson lasted 12 years before I got sick of it. I bought a Sebo! I’m 58 and I won’t need another vacuum before I die.

Like many others I have the Dyson Animal and it’s great.

I had a Dyson Animal and hated it. One, the ball makes it difficult to get under furniture. Next, the extension hose is not user friendly and hard to use in tight places. Then, I got tired of emptying the canister every time. Finally, the filters pick up the dander smell and need regular cleaning and replacing. We currently use an Orexk xl. Love it. It use an easy to change bag. I replace it about 1x per month and toss, so no lingering dander smell. Also bought the smaller should vac to use to get under furniture, nooks a cranies. Carry it on the should makes it easy to use.

I’ve had my Dyson animal for years & it’s a workhorse. Absolutely swear by it

I have cats. I've had a Dyson animal and a basic low end Dyson. They're both amazing, but the basic one works just as well as the animal on my carpet and hard floors. But to each their own... I recommend seeing if you know anyone with a Dyson and asking if you can go vacuum at their place. Use all the tools and make your own decision.

Personal opinion, I ask my clients to provide a solid, efficient working vacuum. All of my clients have one except for one and I bring my company vacuum. They are charged a nominal maintenance fee because it’s time consuming to clean a vacuum and care for it. It’s not good to have a community vacuum and definitely dicey if they aren’t the cleanest people. I’ve got one client who has a severe allergy to pet dander and others who have multiple dogs. Nobody has a shared anything and my clients appreciate that. Personal opinion aside, because I use many vacuums I’ve been fortunate enough to figure out which ones are great and which ones are terrible. A lot of it is just personal preference however, Shark is still the leader for me. They have some pretty great vacuums, equally great attachments and are really easy to maintain and care for. I don’t care for the cordless models but the Shark Rocket corded model is one that I use for clients if they need a vacuum. My own personal vacuum is a Shark Navigator. I just keep going back to it because it’s so good. Dyson is decent but heavy. The Dyson Animal works well but it’s super bulky and difficult to carry up stairs. They make a cordless model that has a great battery life on one - that version is 4 or 5 years old and is FAR better than their newest model that has the green light bar on the head of the vac. Max 45 minutes run time so you’ve got to be real careful about when and how long you use it without having to charge it again. A lot of the cordless models also have the charging stations so you’ll have to buy multiple batteries if you travel with it. If you’re going to invest in a vacuum though, Miele is a terrific brand. Not talked about enough but it’s by far the Porsche of vacuums. It is the lightest vacuum I have ever used. The suction is adjustable, it’s ridiculously quiet and they last forever! It’s a canister vac and can be difficult to get used to BUT…I’ve never used a better vacuum. There are a few cleaners in here who use the Sebo backpack vacuums and I know they ride real hard for them! I’m sure one of them will show up soon 😂 Other frontrunners are Bissell. The Clearview is lightweight, easy to use and has great attachments. Comes in a bagged version as well. Hoover has come back into the game recently and they have a pretty stellar vacuum that is comparable to the Shark Navigator. I avoid water vacuums at all costs. Just not practical. I’m sure this is far too much to now think about but now you know 😎

We tried Hoover, Dyson animal, and shark. The shark is 1/3 the price of the Dyson and does nearly as good a job. Search Google and Amazon for refurbished, same warranty and half the msrp price

For the price, it makes sense to what's usually recommended here. The other I was looking at is 4 times the cost and heavier!  I haven't decided yet, but my trusty old Dyson animal finally died and the repair failed, I really hope OP is steering me in the right direction.  My poor Dyson. New ones are awful compared, the only thing I like about my cordless $500 Dyson is that it doesn't get stuck on rugs. I need the cord back!!!!

I spent about two years dithering and then a month researching and got a Miele C3 to replace my falling-apart and LOUD Dyson Animal. It was a good choice. Quiet and no dust. I did remove all the carpeting in my house, but still need to vacuum up the cat tumbleweed under the bed and sofa, as well as the “welcome” mats inside the house where I leave my outdoor shoes.

I'm still using a 7 year old Dyson Animal-Allergy.

There’s no single vac that does it all except for maybe a super heavy super expensive traditional canister like a Miele. For an everyday hard floor vac (and light carpet vac) the best is Levoit on Amazon that's about $200. It's a Dyson-like machine that overcomes a lot of the longtime design issues with Dysons (such as, it can stand up by itself -- what a concept). But we also keep the Dyson around for a more aggressive carpet vac when we need it. We also have a Eureka boss -- powerful and dependable small canister vac. And a monster shop vac in the basement. Dysons are great but they're really expensive and their air filtering system is overly complicated and tends to lose efficiency. If you own a Dyson, watch all the available Youtubes on how to clean it with pressurized air so you can keep it running. Given the competition from newer manufacturers like Levoit, I think it's going to be harder for Dyson to justify selling floor vacs for close to $1000.

This is what shocked me when I recently acquired a pet one at Costco, on sale. Its SO rickety, and plasticky and overall it feels like it could fall apart at any moment. It legitimately made me realize even at a discount I overpaid.  Consumer are honestly always at a disadvantage with this stuff. I couldn't believe it felt so cheap for how much it cost. 

Actually I got the Dyson pet specific vacuum and I’m not so happy with it. It is cordless which is great and daily I pick up so much hair but it’s not great for picking up other stuff.

Dyson pet version. Wasn’t cheap but good quality and does great easy to clean.

Yeah battery is not the best, however it worked really well when it was new (like most things do). Our main vacuum is the Dyson animal+, that thing is a beast and has been working great for the past 7 years. Handheld gets used to clean cars or just pick up quick messes.

Numatic Henry! Wat een topding! We hebben ook zo’n trendy Dyson stofzuiger, maar dat is gewoon best irritant