Whyowhy don't they include central vacs? Ours does a great job of picking up dog hair.

Because only richy rich folks have those.

I couldn't be more pleased with the hoover windtunnel. If you use those 20% off coupons that bb&b and lnt send in the mail, their price comes down to about $130.

It has an attachment I call "the parasite" ;-) It's a mini vacuum with its own spinning roller. great for carpeted stairs and under the bed.

Because only richy rich folks have those.

QQ, I'm sure you did not intend that remark to come accross as snide as it did. We aren't "rich". I'm retired and DH has a blue collar job. We did build a new home last year and the cost of including a central vac system was $1350 (complete). Since we've gone through three vacumns in the last 15 years (the last one was a Hoover Windtunnel that was in for repairs three times in three years), we've probably spent that much in vacumns (including the cost of repairs and bags). Central vacs are expensive to add to an existing house, but quite reasonable if building new. I think there'd be a lot more around if more people building realized that they aren't all that expensive.

Great information!

Did it give any other details/product information on the Hoover Windtunnel? There are several models, some of which seem to rate lower than others.

I have a Fantom twister and I hate it. Thank goodness it is dying a fast death. I plan on just getting through my kitchen remodel before I take it to the dump. It never picked up anything within an inch and a half of the wall. I have been considering the Dyson Animal glad I read your post.

Zone8 what central vac do you have? I have thought about saving my pennies to get one of them. I have lived here for 8 yrs now and Im on my 4th sweeper. However one of them I gave away after using a handful of times because it clogged up every time I used it. *dirt devil cannister*
Lorie

Quirky's just being funny.. he does that.. a lot! lol

I have a Dyson Animal and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I can't say enough good things about it. We have 5 dogs and 4 cats and many varieties of pet hair and it does a great job on all of it. I have no idea why Consumer Reports would rate it below average. I wish they would come to my house and test all their vacuums!

I also have a Hoover bagless - forget which one it is. When I bought the Dyson I first vacuumed with the Hoover and then went over the same area with the Dyson and it picked up even more dirt.

You can't beat the Dyson for emptying the container as far as I'm concerned. My Hoover empties from the top and what a mess. Usually I took it outside so the flying debris wouldn't land back on the floor. The Dyson you just hold over the trash can and drop the bottom out of it. Easy, neat and clean!

The Animal attachment also is a small rotating beater brush which is great on steps and the hose reaches from the bottom step to the top without lugging the vacuum up any stairs.

I was just at a party over the weekend where someone else was also raving over their Dyson. In fact, I'd be interested to hear from someone that has one and doesn't love it.

Haha, I just looked up my upright vacuum and it got horrible reviews, and they no longer make it...but Im fine with it. I much prefer it over our centre vac. (I too am not rich, but the people who built the place sure were, lol) Maybe its because my centre vac is old and just doesn't work great anymore, but even with an empty canister it seemed to spit out more than it picked up. I vacuumed my whole house with it, then went over it with my new vacuum and got a full canister from almost every room. YUCK! I also much prefer hauling a 20lb vacuum room to room than 50 feet of hose that likes to bend and kink and knot. And its much easier trying to wrap up a cord than get the hose to properly wrap up on its hanger.

Not to mention the way it was installed in my house was rediculous, you have to move it and plug it in in two different locations in some places, just to do one room. Retarded. So if Im impressed with my vac that everyone else who has it seems to hate, Im going to be absolutely amazed with my next vacuum, I bet. Mine also has a small turbo brush attatchment, and a rotating duster with suction you can use to dust things with.

lostnca,
Ours is a Vacuflo HP (http://www.vacuflo.com/). The motor and cannister are in the basement where it is vented to the outside. I empty the cannister about once every two weeks. When the guy came out to spec it, he said we needed to be sure to get one with a powerful enough motor. Our motor is rated for a 5000 sq ft house, but our house is actually 3200 sq ft, so there's plenty of suction.
There are systems with in-wall hoses, but they are much more expensive. I keep the hose (30') coiled up in the box in the coat closet. I plan to get a second hose for the basement area once we get it carpeted (just finished the drywall). The hose is light and is covered with a sock (imagine a 30' condom LOL). It has all the attachements that a standard vacumn comes with.

We hadn't even considered a central vac (just assumed that they were waaaaay out of our price range), but one day (during the time we were planning to build our house) we were touring a home our builder had under construction. The home owner was there and told us what the central vac system had cost - we were amazed that they were that inexpensive and decided that was a priority because of our two dogs. The other thing is that I hated vacumning the stairs in our old house because the upright was a hassle. It's much easier now.

share o, I only know 3 pet owners that have the Dyson DC14 Animal. When I was shopping for a vac a few months ago, I asked them because I believed the commercials. One says it's ok the other 2 say they don't especially like it. If you love yours, that's what counts.
ligirlatheart, the Windtunnel 2 they rated #2 is U8311-900. The more expensive U8361-900 was rated #5 and the U6630-900 and U6439-900 were #11 and #12.

In the canisters Kenmore Progressives 25614 and Electrolux Oxygen Ultras did the best.

zone 8 granny- I can understand someone getting offended if they are called "poor" but "richy rich"?
We have a motto in our family, buy cheap vacuums then when they stop working, toss them and buy a new one. Or better yet return it and exchange it for a new one. Those big box retailers take anything back.

qq, I been poor and I been comfortable. Don't consider myself "rich", certainly not "richy rich". That term I'd use for trust fund kids. DH and I have worked and saved all our lives always living below our means.

In 1970 we bought a Kirby - it was a freakin fortune, but I had it for over 30 years. It did a great job cleaning, but was heavy and awkward. I do think that for the most part you get what you pay for. (I would not consider buying something and planning to return it after I'd use it. Seems dishonest, frankly.) After the Kirby, we bought something else - can't even remember what it was, but it was a piece of $heeite. Then we bought the Windtunnel about 5 years ago. Our decision was partly on the CU rating (forgot to look at their repair rating - it sucks). Both DH and I hated it and could not wait to get rid of it when we moved. By the time we got rid of it, we had spent more on repairs than on the original price.
I am astounded by how much dog hair gets picked up when I vacumn now. The carpet hides a lot of it, but when I empty the cannister I am amazed.

I have to agree with the poster who said "if it works for you, then that is what counts".
peace.

bean_counter, thanks for the info! It is good to see that manufacturers are working to do as well or better than Dyson.

We have several dogs and mostly hard floors. We have a Dyson. It works very well on our few area rugs but not so great on the hard floors. We got a small cannister vac from the dump, er, take it or leave it and it works nicely on hard floors.

Yep, it is good to try a few for yourself before you buy. Not every place allows you to plug them in and run them around.

central vacs are nice and they are not too expensive to retrofit if you can do it yourself. I estimated a self-installed system for my small ranch house at about 700 - 800 $US Beaucoup more than a single upright, but pretty nifty if we can swing it in a few years.

I've got a Dyson Animal and also 3 Shiba Inu's. If anyone is familiar with a Shiba you know about the shedding and in my home it's 3X the amount. The Dyson does an excellent job at keeping up with dog fur... especially so in the Spring and Fall when they blow their coat. I haven't read the Consumer Report article so I don't know what facts they are basing the report on but for a hands on application for a breed that sheds heavily this cleaner is quite adequate. My previous cleaner was the Hoover Windtunnel and the beater bar couldn't keep up with the fur... some of it was left stretched out on the carpet. I will say though if it wasn't for Shiba fur it did do a good job otherwise.

Bob

I have two hound dogs in a 1200+ square foot house with wood floors and area rugs. They both shed like there is no tomorrow.

I have had a Dyson for 3 years now, it cleans very well and it gets up pet hair just splendidly, including off of upholstery (yeah, I let the dooglers on the sofa).

My only Dyson complaint is the weight. It is very heavy and can be hard to maneuver around table legs, etc.

I have a central vac because there were allergies in the family and our central channeled everything outside in the garage, where the big canister is. The health benefit of owning this is tremendous. We are now allergy free. We even got to the point where we now have a dog. A Golden Retriever that sheds. Now, I'd like to find out how to get rid of all the dead hair on him, besides brushing him so often. Any suggestions?

Someone used to sell an attachment for your vacuum that has little rubber fingers that was good for vacuuming the dog. Your advantage with the whole house vac is that since the motor is not right there scaring the dog, he may tolerate it just fine. Even with the noise, my Megan used to let me vacuum her. Wish I could remember where I got that....

I have the Eureka Boss. I bought a Dyson and returned it to the store after 4 days. It did the same job as my Eureka Boss, for much less money! So, for anyone who cannot afford alot for a vacuum, the Eureka Boss does a good job!

z8 grammy, I actually did some thinking about my comment and it really isn't the way I look at things. I generally seek out tools and equipment and household appliances that are known to last a really long time. For some reason I look at vacuum cleaners differently but probably because I don't enjoy vacuuming. And probably because they just get kind of nasty after a while. Before the hoover, I had two dirt devils and they lasted quite a while but eventually bit the dust...er should I say bit the dirt hehehe.

I looked at the dysons and thought, I don't like vacuuming enough to pay this kind of money and it looks like the same cheap plastic so I asked around my breed's group and they said to get a $2000 miele or an electrolux . OK, I'm sure those are fine units but cmon. So someone emailed me privately and said they got a hoover windtunnel and they were pleased with it. They have the same ''use it until it breaks then toss it'' policy that runs in my family. So I went to amazon and had great reviews. So that was the extent of my decision making process.
The day I got it, I had vacuumed earlier in the day and tested out the hoover and it collected so much in the canister that the dirt devil missed I couldn't believe it.
My main thing was being able to vacuum the stairs easily and that mini vacuum attachment that I've nicknamed the parasite does the stairs with such ease.

Would I much rather have a central vacuum, you betcha. But maybe when I get older and wiser and save up some money I will get one. Until then, Hoover is going to have to suffice. Sorry for my big mouth and any remarks deemed rude and/or inappropriate.

qq,
I don't enjoy vacuuming You and me both. No apology nec.

nancy in venice - I was looking for that attachment you mentioned - that hooks to the vacumn and you rake your dog. I actually did find one online, but when it arrived it was cheap plastic that broke the first time I used it, so I sent it back. The idea, however, is a great one and I'm still looking. When I rake one of my Goldens the hair just drifts out in clouds. I try to do it outside or in the utility room on wet days. A raking attachment would be perfect.

Another Dyson Animal lover here! With 3 Maine Coon cats and a pair of birds that poor thing gets a workout! I love it, tho I have to admit that I am often aghast after I run it and look in the canister!

Well everyone, my vacuum did not make it through the kitchen remodel and I did not have time to go look for a CVS. I ended up buying a Dyson, just the basic one since it was what they were offering for sale at the local small town store. OMG,OMG,Omg! I can NOT believe what this thing pulled out of my carpet. I knew the old sweeper was doing a really poor job but.... Anyways, I would give the "cheap" version of the Dyson a thumbs up... even two thumbs up. lol
Lorie
P.S. I have 3 dogs and 3 cats in addition to the drywall dust. lol

Well, we loved our old Hoover Windtunnel. Had it for quite a while before it needed repairs. DH thought he could repair it himself but couldn't figure it out. Went out an bought a Windtunnel 2. It is awful. After the first use the pet hair attachment stopped working. There is some loss of suction in the hose so I don't think it has enough power to make the brush go around. Doesn't have nearly the suction as the old Windtunnel. And the automatic cord rewind makes such an awful noise that I expect it to break soon. All the cheap plastic parts. I would NOT recommend these.

I purchased a regular "yellow" Dyson about a year ago and really loved it. So much so that when Lowe's was running a $299 special on the animal I purchased it.

Both are great and now I keep one upstairs and one downstairs.

(2 bassets, 1 Pekingnese, 1 chow/lab/basset, 1 huskey mix and 1 long haired cat)