I guess I wouldn't buy any Dyson. It's not that they don't function well, it's that they are so darn HEAVY. Even if they were the best functioning vacuum on the market, I couldn't handle the weight. Vacuuming is enough of a chore as it is without having to haul a Dyson around. Have you lifted one? Do you have stairs?

I have a Miele canister, which I love. I have two narrow flights of stairs to vacuum, and haul up and down, and the canister is easier to lift and get into tight spaces. While I know that uprights have attachments for various functions, I just find the canister easier to deal with. I rarely even use the attachments that my Miele canister came with, cause it functions well without them. My Miele canister functions well on stairs, in corners, going from wood to carpet and back to wood, etc. I have 3 cats and I am very pleased with how my vacuum handles the cat hair.

I LOVE my dyson. I've had it for about a year now. I got the upright light weight version (we don't have animals). It's awesome and I have no problem carrying it up and down the stairs. I would definitely buy it again. I'm amazed at what it sucks up. I have sucked up my kids small toys many times due to the powerful suction (I thought I got them all picked up).

If you have a dog that sheds then I would defintely buy one of the pet versions. They are better at getting all the hair.

We've had the Animal version of the upright and now have the Animal version of the Ball style. They are the only vacuums we've ever had that we've been happy with. They do an amazing job. They aren't light, but aren't heavy to push and use, just to carry if you have to take it up and down stairs. Still not terrible.

The little brush is really good for furniture and the car, so it depends on your needs in those areas whether it's worth the $200 or not. We now have leather furniture, so hardly use ours any more.

I am not a fan of Dysons.

The video linked below may be of interest to you. I was especially taken by how much, or how little, dirt the Dyson dirt container held.

I have several years of experience selling vacuums, including Dysons. I am not affiliated with this man or his business.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dyson & Miele Demo

Debs3 linked video reminded me of an advantage to my Miele canister that I take so for granted, I didn't mention it in my earlier post. The Miele's dust bag is a HEPA bag which prevents dust/hair from flying around, and it also has a special closing so that when you pull the bag out of the machine when it is full, it seals shut. So, there is nothing flying around when you change the bag. My previous vacuum, which also was a bag-type, but not a Miele, still had tons of dust flying around when you pulled the bag out to change it, and was kinda gross.

The Dyson vacuum cleaner models are going to be the same within a series like the DC07, but they will have a different color and have extra attachments. The "animal" will have a mini turbo brush attachment. This attachment is good at picking up animal hair from furniture. It is also good for small carpeted areas like stairs.

A basic Dyson model, within a series, will have the same motor and brushroll as the other models within that series.

I don't know if there is an "attraction" to canisters. Most people tend to go with what they grew up with or are accustomed to. Since you are asking the question, it looks like you are accustom to uprights.

Uprights tend to be easier to work with if you have mainly carpeting you want to clean or a large area of carpeting you want to vacuum. Canisters are comfortable to work with if you also have floors to vacuum and other areas besides carpeting. Pushing the floor brush of a canister will be easier and more thorough than pushing the upright around the floor, because the floor brush will get in those hard to reach areas. Switching the attachments can be easier to change over compared to getting out a separate canister when you are using an upright(with no onboard tools) or using the onboard tools of the upright.

Many upright vacuum cleaners like Riccar, Simplicity, Dyson, Kirby, etc. have attachments to do a complete vacuuming in your home. This makes it easier to stick with what you are accustom to.

I do not find a big issue with dust and the disposable bag and I have used them for many years. I just remove the bag by the color and throw away. If there is any issue about any dust escaping, just tear off some packing tape and place over the bag opening. It will create an inexpensive seal. Or, stick some Kleenex in the opening before removing the bag. No dust issue! Many bag makers have made this a non-issue by creating bag closures. Miele is not the only one to use these bag closures.

I should have said, "I remove the bag by the COLLAR..." and not COLOR.

I just bought the yellow DC14 three days ago. It was out of the box assembled and running in about 15 minutes!

I had used this model at a house that I clean so I knew what I was getting. My previous vacuum is a Hoover Windtunnel Self-Propelled. I had numerous problems with the belt stretching out and the vacuum becoming very hard to push. Anyhow, I called my DH and said, "can I please buy the Dyson???"

I'll tell you what I like and the minuses that I know of:

-- extremely easy to push and maneuver on MY carpet (medium plush) -- SIL reports it is harder to push on her frieze.
-- sucks up pet hair VERY well
-- EASY EASY to empty the cannister (you'll never want a bag again)
-- hose attachment has STRONG suction (almost too strong!)
-- not at all overly-noisy (quiet compared to my Hoover)
-- "normal" as far as heavy (it is not as heavy as my Hoover, but that was self-propelled and they are known for being heavy)

Minuses:
-- because of their design they do not fit well under the edge of beds and toe-kicks -- you'll have to pull out the hose to get under there
-- some people find the using the attachments to be unwieldy -- using the hose takes getting used to

Overall, I think it is a great vacuum. I personally am not a fan of cannister vacs. I hate dragging them behind me and they are always bumping into to walls and things.

Hi there,
Thanks everyone for the helpful posts!

Well after investigating so much I ended up getting the DC 14 Animal upright.

This was not one I was really looking into - if I were to get an upright I was going to buy the upright ball version but last night at Best Buy I found the DC 14 it was regular $649 and I got it for $299 ! Although not my model of choice (a little bulky) but I would have been nuts to pass up that price. So I am excited to give it a try today.

Thanks everyone for taking your time to answer my post.
Haley

I got this Dyson last year from Amazon and I'm quite pleased with it. It has the mini-turbo head which is really good at cleaning the cat hair off furniture and cleaning the carpet on the stairs. I think the Dyson does a great job of cleaning, and I'm pretty cynical about claims like theirs. My son got one and I tried it out when my old vacuum died, and that convinced me to get one.

Enjoy

WOW...$299! Good for you! That's quite a find and I'd deal with the bulkier model, too, for that savings.

Thanks I am pretty happy too. I just vacuumed and was horrified at the amount of dirt it picked up from my carpet. I have never seen anything like it. I don't know where it is finding all this dirt! My Mom came over and said my carpet looks brand new.

I had to call Dyson and it was so nice the phone rang and I actually talked to a real live person - no recordings just a super nice guy with EXCELLENT customer service.
So far I am extermly pleased with my Dyson.
I am off to do more vacuuming!

My DH also commented on how good the carpet looked after we used our Dyson for the first time. Carpet is 11 years old -- the Dyson really "puffs it up" again.

A friend of mine just bought the DC17 and loves it. She said that the only con she has is that it doesn't fit under the chairs/sofa/tables because of the base height. So, I am thinking that the DC25 Animal might be the best way to go.
Does anyone have this model that can offer their review?

ggg, I have the DC25 Animal, and I bought it because I needed something that would fit under my cabinet toekicks. It's much lighter than the DC14 which I also own, and the ball really does make it very maneuverable. I'm very happy with it so far.

erikanh~Thanks. I just bought the DC25 Animal yesterday (Target for $439.) and I love it!!!
Just one question~~is it normal for the ball to get warm while in use? I can feel the warmth on the carpet as I'm walking behind it. I figure that this is probably normal since the motor is inside the ball but just wanted to see if you notice this also. I haven't tried the mini turbo on the stairs yet and I'm looking forward to finally getting them as clean as they should be.
BTW~~ I was stunned at how much c##p it pulled up, and it wasn't carpet fibers either. I'm actually looking forward to a complete Spring cleaning of mattresses and all the nooks and crannies of the house.