I love my Dyson Animal...it's probably no better then others...but the fact that I can dump that dirt every room and see how much I'm picking up...

On the drawback...lots of hair gets caught in the beater bar so I'm having to take the cover off and cut that hair outta the brushes..

I also have two Eurekas and they do a great job too...

Bought me a Swivel Sweeper, yesterday. Haven't used it yet.
I disposed of my large vacuum, as my back could not handle it.
Don't have much company, and have cleaning gals come every 3 months, and every 6 months carpet cleaned.

Soooooooooo I'm hoping the Swivel Sweeper will work for me.

I hate my last three vacuums, a Hoover bagless (should be called "Hoover useless"), a Bissel, a Eureka. I looked at Dyson for $400, but couldn't bring myself to pay that much. I loved loved loved my old canister Electrolux, but it kept jamming in the hose so I threw it away. I didn't realize I could have bought a new hose for it.

We have 8 indoor cats, so for us a good vaccum is an investment.

We have the Dyson animal and a Rainbow. The Rainbow is absolutely the best vacuum we've ever had. All the dust and hair collects in a water basin so it can't be blown back out.

But it's very heavy although it rolls around on the hardwood pretty well. It wouldn't be good for people with a second story to clean.

I use the Dyson for in between vacuuming and touch ups. It's easier to manuever and I really like the Turbo attachment for getting fur up out of the cat trees and furniture.

Both pricey, but in my opinion so worth it.

I've owned a Kirby. Thought about the Dyson, but not willing to pay that much. I have a cr@ppy bagless Bissel that is awful.

I'd love to have a Oreck. Anyone got one of those?

Gayle

We bought an Oreck. I got sucked in by all their advertising.

What a piece of junk. I got more blow back from the Oreck than I've ever had with any other vacuum cleaner.

Ours ended up at Goodwill.

I have a Sharp and love it..But I think they have stopped making them and I'll probably have a hard time getting the bags....Bummer

I have 2 Dysons and a Rainbow and a central vac system. I love the Dysons, only ones I use. I like the rainbow but too much trouble to manuver, HATE the central vac.

I have an Oreck, and I love mine because it is so light.
The Kirby I had eons (40 yrs ago) ago, didn't use a bag. The only reason I had a Kirby is my EX sold them for a short while. I've been thinking about getting a Dyson. Even if it is a little pricey. It may have to wait a couple months. Then I'll give the Oreck to DD who needs a vacuum.
Leslie

I have an old Oreck and a newer Hoover Fusion I got at Walmart. It's kind of like the Dyson but cheaper. I've had it about 4 years now and I think it works fine. Our peke sheds a lot and it picks it up. The Oreck is okay but the bags are expensive and I wanted to try a bagless. My mom got a Sanitaire, looks a lot like the Oreck and costs about half as much. I'd buy the Fusion again but I don't think they sell them anymore, something newer has replaced it.

We have an Electrolux central vacuum, and love it. Although ours was installed while the house was being built, you can have an existing house retrofitted with a central vac.

I have 2 Kenmore Progressive canisters and I love them. They vacuum well and are always rated high by Consumer Reports.

The money I wasted, over a period of five years, on so-so vacuums (hoovers, bissels, etc.) would have paid for three dysons.

Like Liz, I have to cut the hair off the roller regularly. Other than that my animal dyson cleans like a top and it gets close to the walls and furniture. I'm waiting for a sale so I can buy another for my basement.

Lori

I have the Dyson Animal vacuum too and I love it. We have three dogs. I've had it 5 years that I know of, maybe 6 and it is still good as new as far as suction goes. I had to replace the hose on it a couple of weeks ago, but that's the only problem I've had.
I am still amazed at how much dirt there is in the house every day.

I once had an Oreck, but didn't like it. I had to take it to a shop one time and didn't like the service there either.

Linda

We have a Kirby that is 23 years old and still runs like a champ, but I hate it for all the same reasons. Doesn't get next to the wall, weighs a ton and is a pain to put the attachments together. So I got an Oreck....it was okay but I hat that I have to have a canister to use attachments. So we got the Dyson Animal. It rocks.....is it illegal to love an inanimate object? Three huge Maine Coon cats and 2 birds.....I need the animal.

My Mom has an old Hoover upright vacuum that is 60 years old. That must be a record!

Dyson all the way. I love it. I like it that when I suck up something I shouldn't (like a pencil) I can EASILY take the WHOLE THING apart if I need to and get the pencil out. I also like to see the dirt gathering in the clear holder and it's extremely easy (and fun!) to hold the clear holder over my trash can and pull the trigger and watch the dirt all fall out.

I had an Oreck before. What a piece of crap that was!

Another vote for Kenmore Progressive canisters. I'm on my second one because I loved the first one. We have 2 cats and a dog (they all shed a lot!). Not too heavy, easy to maneuver, great suction, HEPA cloth bags and 2 types of filters. I vacuum at least 5 times a week, owned a cleaning business for 10+ years, so I know vacuums and I know clean ;o) Trust me, you could eat off our floors. Had Electrolux but they're too pricey and the quality has gone down. I'd get another Progressive in a heartbeat.

Animal Dyson here too. Works like a charm, and makes me blush every time I empty the darn thing! How did I live without it? How filthy were my floors and upholstery? Took me a while to get used to the attachments, and pulling the tube out to attach things, but I wouldn't change it for anything, except maybe a smaller "roller ball" one for use every day (2 cats, dog, and a man live here with me LOL)

I LOVE my Bissell Healthy Home bagless vacuum. I've had it almost a year. With 3 cats and 1 dog in the house, it picks up lots of hair and dirt. I am always so surprised that just vacuuming the living room fills it up.

I don't post often but do keep up with all that is going on with everyone, including prayers and special thoughts for those that need them.

This was one post I had to chime in on. We have a Dyson Animal and even tho I knew it was doing a good job keeping the surface clean, I found out for sure what a deep down good job it was doing. Last week we yanked all our carpet out. There was hardly any grit or dirt under the carpet or under the pad. I was totally surprised and very happy.

This was five year old carpet with a lot of foot traffic and a big hairy golden that tracks in lots of dirt.

You gals with the Dyson...every few weeks I take the part that comes off and take it outside...take the plastic dirt holder thing off..THEN I take the air compressor to that motor type thingy...you should see the dust that blows outta that thing...it's like a dust bowl and I blow on it with the air compressor for 5 or 10 minutes until the dust is gone...

I too would love to have another...every so often I'll bring the one I have from the top floor to clean other parts of the house...My other two vacumns do a good job...but just seeing the dirt makes me know I'm getting stuff clean!

I love my Dyson. I am buying a used one from a friend who is moving overseas. I don't really need another one but she is selling it for $100 and I can't pass up a deal like that. I will probably sell it for a profit.

Linda

I love my old Oreck. It's lightweight and does a good job. I also have a Bissel bagless which is "okay" for a quick pickup and does get under the counter toe space.

I have the Oreck 21 and the Oreck hand held vac. I love them both. They are light weight, and has terrific suction. I hope to never be without my Oreck's. I even have the Oreck steam iron, the best iron I have ever had.

My mom bought an Electrolux ca 1947 and used until she died in 2001.

I have had several vacuum cleaners: 2 canisters from Sears and a Kirby. We've got the Kirby model Generation 3. It replaced the canisters. It was too pricey in my book so the salesman sold us a demonstration model for half price. Yes, it is heavy but I have no problem vacuuming next to walls. My complaints are: 1) its a bit of kluge to convert from its default configuration to hose mounted acessories, and 2) the most worrisome is bag availability. Bags for it have dissappeared in stores - I have to locate a dealer to get bags for it. If you don't live near a major city, I don't know how one would get bags. However, the bags will hold a generous amount of dirt.

My Kirby does a good job of vacuuming. Its beater brush can get fouled with long hair and fibers, but so has every other vacuum we have owned. Its weak point is burning the belt that runs the beater bar. Its too easy to lower the head too far into a carpet pile and stall the brush. When you do this, the rubber belt takes a beating and will forever slip after that because it is now stretched out from the burn-out.

The last time I looked at a product survey in "Appliance Design" magazine, Kirby had less than 5% of the vacuum cleaning market. This does not bode well.

I anguished over which vacuum to get. Researched until my eyes crossed. I came to the conclusion they are like people...none are perfect. Since we now have about half hard flooring and half carpeting, I brought home a Miele cannister. And confess I also purchased the stick-broom
upright Miele to use for quick pick ups. They are both great and sooooo quiet. The cats want to ride on the canniser.What a difference in the amount of dirt and cat hair the Miele's pick up! Even my husband appreciates the quiet motor and the great job of cleaning. We are happy to pitch the Orecks never to be used again.