Carpets can look pretty clean, but once Dyson-ized it's hard to believe what's in that bin. It makes you vacuum even more often, because you start thinking, "I know that rug looks clean, but my daughter sleeps in here..." Carpets require a ton of upkeep, or they are unhealthy. Don't wear your shoes inside. Feel like a jerk telling people to take them off? Me too, so some places in the house we allow it. But mostly I ask right inside the front door. We have 2 Dysons, a DC17 Absolute ("All Floors") and a lightweight. The DC17 has 7 royal blue cyclones and 2 wheels. My DC17 is an amazing piece of equipment and I love it. So don't take these comments as bashing. I highly recommend the product. Some things to know about Dyson - **They have different models in USA and UK, with the US models sporting stiffer bristles that were developed especially for carpeting sold here. **Count the "cyclones" on your Dyson. These are the molded, hemispheric cones encircling the top of the waste bin. The best Dysons have 7. (Unless they make even more now.) The cheaper ones have 5. It makes a difference, not only with how well it cleans, but also on WHAT you can clean. Fewer cyclones are not good with very fine powdery dirt, except in small amounts. **I'm not a big fan of the ball. The lightweight upright has a mini-ball. It doesn't stand on its own so well for storage anymore, and the ball, when you are maneuvering, is not always best, I find. **If your Dyson doesn't have the telescoping wand, you are missing one of the coolest features ever. It puts anything within easy reach. Stinkbugs, bees - not just walls and drapes. I use my DC17 as a "canister" at least as much, maybe more, than a traditional vacuum. The "low reach floor tool", another must have, combined with the wand, makes this vacuum a true convertible, and it follows you around as you clean non-fixed items like area rugs that are too much of a hassle to try to vacuum with the tornado-like suction of the main powerhead. A very fast and convenient method to have as an alternative to regular upright use, especially in the kitchen, under the table, etc. **You may notice an annoying trait of the Dyson - sometimes it pushes dirt along the floor instead of picking it up. I imagine the latest "air muscle" models are even worse, as this new feature ensures an even greater seal between the vacuum and the floor. And this relates to your "so much dust in the bin" comment - Dyson's are great for picking up dust, allergens, dander. They don't do so well with bigger stuff that doesn't easily squish under the powerhead. You're better off making a quick sweep (or pickup) of big debris first, then vacuuming. **Emptying them. Ha! Don't fall for the images of the nicely dressed woman or man sticking the bin well inside the garbage can, pulling the trigger, and walking away clean. Yes, you can do this, but if that's all you ever do, you will soon notice that more and more nastiness remains stuck up inside. To really maintain the suction and capacity of the bin, you have to release the clear bin from the top cyclones, and brush the top clean. Do this OUTSIDE. It's GROSS. Dust flies EVERYWHERE. I wear an N95 mask religiously, but If I'm caught without one, I hold my breath. If it's a windy day, GOOD. At least you can choose a direction and get the dirt to blow away from you. This is such a dirty, dusty, nasty job that you wouldn't want to do it in a really nice outfit. A vacuum with a bag (which I would never go back to) is so much more convenient to empty. Once in a great while I either use compressed air to clean it (horrible!) or I run water thru it. Either way, it's like I'm Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs. I have a woodstove that dries anything near it, so I don't worry about getting the water out. **The HEPA. Dysons have a washable lifetime high efficiency particulate airfilter in their final stage. You are supposed to wash it out once every 6 months. God forbid you decide to do this when the weather is overcast and damp. Since you are specifically warned to NOT use a direct heat source to dry it, most of us would place it in the sun or a warm, dry area. It takes days and days to dry without nice, radiant gentle heat! I can dry it in 3 or 4 hours on the mantle above the wood heater. 12 hours outside, in the summer. **Eee gadz, the PRICE!! I almost forgot. I got mine from a floor display at Bed Bath & Beyond for almost $200 less than what they were selling for in other stores, and I used a 30% off coupon too. It cost something like $330 tax incl., and I was elated because the thing sold for $500 or more everywhere else before tax. Yikes! Not for the faint of heart!! I'm sure there's more. Sometimes you have to take apart the powerhead and clean the brush roller. (You don't have to. The Dyson UK Bobbies won't come to fine you. I'm just fastidious this way.) Disassembly and re-assembly is a breeze. Wonderful. Cutting the stubborn strands of extra-thick USA carpet out of it is tough, though.

I would really take a look at Sebo. Their uprights are rated as some of the best in the world. I bought a Sebo C 3.1 canister a few weeks ago and have been thrilled with it. I got it for 750...has all the features and build quality of a Miele without the 1200 price tag. Their uprights are very nice too...tried them out at the vacuum store. They go right down to the floor for 5 inch clearance, one model has adjustable suction on the handle. Removeable brushroll...gosh I can't remember ALL the features. The bags and filters are cheap compared to Miele. Very quiet too. Most of the uprights are about 500, a couple are about 700. I chose a canister because I have little stairs all over the place and didn't want to push an upright around those. For what its worth, I tried out my neighbors Dyson which weighed uggghhh over twenty pounds. So I quickly ruled it out on the weight factor. It was also very loud, no suction adjustment. I tried using the hard floor attachment with the hose...it stuck to the floor instead of gliding. The reason I was using it was because the Dysons giant nose wouldn't fit under my normal sized kitchen toekick...what a kicker. I couldn't get the last four inches of my kitchen floor without a flat floor attachment. That went in the NO pile. Here's a link to Sebo Here is a link that might be useful: Sebo Vacs

LOL toni_ne... I had the same reaction when we brought home the Animal Dyson. We live in the sticks, with sandy/gravel roads, near a sandy beach, with firewood being brought in all winter, snow, and all the hair a dog, two cats, and long haired me. The dyson gets it all! In fact,it gets more! It sucked the broken edge of a linoleum tile right off the floor (still have to replace the 1940's flooring, but at least I know that I don't have a beach on my floor every day with the new vacuum). I do find though, that with the Dyson, it takes a while for the cord, and the vacuum hose to stretch out a bit, so they aren't so stiff to use. I felt like I'd made a mistake at first with getting the Dyson, because the hose wouldn't stretch as far as I needed it to. A few weeks later, it started to relax, and now it's wonderful. The attachments are nice to have (especially the one for the floors that you can use under tables, couches, and the smaller areas that the "big" part of the main vac can't reach. We also got the box of cleaning products that are included here, and find the products to be AMAZING. The spray on spot remover has removed several set in stains on a couch arm, and the granular carpet product worked like a charm on a carpet that had gotten musty smelling from a leaky roof. All in all, I would highly recommend the Dysons, even though they are VERY pricey. At Sears, we tried all of the Dysons, and found the purplepeopleeater to be the best for us. Kym.. who now has go vacuum Lake Simcoe off her floors! Yayy!

I love my Dyson, too, so I wrote to Karastan and just asked if using a Dyson would void their warranty. This is their reply: Thank you for contacting Karastan with your inquiry. For the Silk carpets only, Karastan does not recommend Dyson vacuums. For the Silk products, Karastan also does not recommend using a self-propelled vacuum, although we do recommend adjusting the vacuum to a setting that will allow good airflow (if an adjustable vacuum is chosen) and turning the beater bar on to help propel the vacuum forward. If you are inquiring about a carpet other than Karastan SmartStrand Silk, please view the most up-to-date list of suggested vacuums on the Carpet & Rug Institute's website at www.carpet-rug.org as we recommend CRI-certified vacuums and cleaning professionals. For more clarification on warranty information, please discuss in detail with your retailer of purchase. Also you may view Karastan's warranty brochure at the following link: http://www.karastan.com/pdf/Karastan_Warranty_Guide_2018.pdf. Should you have other questions after speaking with your retailer, please call our Technical Services line at 888-387-9881 for further assistance. Thank you again for contacting Karastan with your inquiry. Gerrie Karastan Customer Service