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.

@samuelzmom @angharad_musladin Hoping either of you or anyone can offer some advice. I read this thread before I ordered my weathered white zellige tile from cle but I ordered anyway in hopes of achieving my own swoon worthy zellige kitchen to match what I see all over social media. I’m in the middle of my install and now panicked. The color feels totally wrong - my lot seems most white/cool tones. I understood the tile had high color variations but I thought that meant high variation between my 19 boxes - that I would have a mix of white, cream, pink pink, and blues. I don’t know what to do now. Will grout improve this? I’m realizing there aren’t a lot of pre and post grout examples out there. Is this a trust the process type thing? My kitchen feels like a cartoon. Is this normal? LOL My samples are on the countertop for reference. They were much warmer (what I hoped for).

I don't know if this matters to anyone, but I thought I would share. I was planning on using Zellige tiles for our upcoming bathroom renovation. I ordered samples from Cle and Zia and also a few other local places that carry Zellige. We tested the tiles for the presence of lead and they were all extremely high for lead levels, other than the unglazed options (which would require sealing). The test kit only detects lead at levels of at LEAST 600 ppm and these all tested immediately positive, so that is the very least amount they have. I would venture to say the are much higher than that based on the test. I wanted to share this, as I would have been extremely upset had I installed these and learned afterward.

Thanks, im thinking of even looking at larger 3x12” white shiny tiles (maybe no variation in color, but not sure if a larger size would work better better) My rug is from Loloi, it comes in lots of different sizes. I believe the color is Olive and Charcoal. In person, there is a bit more dark olive and charcoal in there. I also oircha a 9x12’ for one of our living rooms - I love it!