To think Dyson is a crock of shit and if we buy a vacuum cleaner it should actually clean?!

[CharminglyOdd]

ARGH!!! I had a tech teacher at school about ten years ago who raved about Dyson. I had the misfortune to believe her so when our vacuum cleaner packed up not long after we moved in together, I persuaded DP to buy a Dyson City Vacuum Cleaner as we live in a small flat and have no DCs or pets... it should have been able to cope perfectly.

My student Henry Hoover, which had survived god-knows-how-many undergrads before me and came with the house was actually better than this piece of junk.

I am not even halfway through hoovering and I have already had to pick threads off the floor (one small bathroom, one hallway) because I might as well just be waving my hand over the carpet for all the suction this machine has. Last time I hoovered (have been away, so maybe a month ago) I took the whole thing apart and cleaned it thoroughly, thinking that might be the problem. It's not. It's still shit and as DP bought it over eBay a year ago we just have to suck it up or not.

Every time I get the Dyson out I spend the time giving myself back ache and furiously composing a letter to James Dyson in my head. I cannot wait until it breaks and I can give up on Dyson for ever. What makes it even worse is that our LLs have cream carpets so every single speck of hair, thread or dirt shows. I'm going to be at this for the rest of the afternoon picking at the carpet by hand...

Well you have all cemented my decision never to have a Dyson again. Service does seem to cost £73, which I resent paying annually on top of the expensive purchase price (even with eBay it was a lot).

Do other hoovers need such frequent servicing in order to retain a reasonable amount of suction?

I'd never buy another Dyson. I persevered with ours for about 5 years but it was shit - ended up buying a £30 one from Asda which did a better job! (not that it was difficult, the Dyson being so useless)

However, I have a Hetty now who is fab

Had an original Dyson, lasted years. Got an Animal now, it's the bees knees. Those City ones are no use, you have to get a proper one.

I'd be worried about "only needing yo change the bag occasionally" on a normal vac. Sounds like it's not sucking your muck up duck.

Nope, Sebo is definitely picking it up! It compresses it in the bag I think like a lawnmower.

I have just bought a Miele Power plus and am very impressed.

We have killed 2 dysons and 2 henrys in this house (over 10 years).

another dyson fan here my last one a DC4 lasted over 6 years and until it died picked up fantastic and ive got four cats , i didnt have much money when it broke so bought an asda one, ha it went back to the shop for a refund one hour later it was crap, then bought a vax bagless one it sounded like an airoplane taking off, the filter is in the center of the canister so all the shite and cat hair stuck to the filter, disgusting trying to empty the canister, so when my exH killed it with some bubble wrap i said right no messing i want a dyson again i have the DC33 upright now abnd its brilliant and the canister empties from the bottom so dont get covered in dust either

We have had a Dyson for 5 years and I hated it...Its so heavy and never picked anything up. I ended up hurling it down the stairs last week in frustration...it rebounded off the stair gate at the bottom and the metal hose broke-oops!

Anyway convinced DH we needed a new one and ended up buying a Sebo...it's amazing and so so light. The first time we used the bag looked like we hadn't hoovered for about 2 years it was so full...so the Dyson couldn't have been picking up much at all!

Dyson's are over priced branded rubbish IMO. Cleaning forms never use them for a reason!

It is Henry all the way here

yabu to buy second hand from strangers on ebay and expect it to not have something wrong with it, if you had bought it new, you'd be able to get your money back because you'd have a warranty.

The dc26 are not so good if you have lots of thick carpet as the flat out head is more suited to hard floors and flotex type carpet. I second what pp's have said about filters, as on that model they recommend washing them once a month, and if the filters are clogged then you will lose suction.

I love my Dyson :) but then, I am on their payroll so possibly a little biased! Lol

The dc26 are not so good if you have lots of thick carpet as the flat out head is more suited to hard floors and flotex type carpet. I second what pp's have said about filters, as on that model they recommend washing them once a month, and if the filters are clogged then you will lose suction.

I love my Dyson :) but then, I am on their payroll so possibly a little biased! Lol

We have a traditional small electrical shop near us which stocks (and repairs) Dysons and Sebo. The chap in there said that Sebos are wonderful hoovers - the best you can buy. And that the modern Dysons (since they moved production abroad) have really gone downhill.

I've got an original Dyson which has been going for years and has never broken down. It works well but I find it heavy, clunky to use and its always getting blocked - especially in that U bend bit - so I cant wait for it to die on me. Bloody thing not showing any sign of it so far though!

I bet it's the filters - there are ones I didn't even know about tucked away all over the place!

I switched from a Dyson to a Miele. A good move.

I have a friend who has a theory that Dysons must be the worst hoovers as he sees more Dysons, than any other brand, being chucked out at the council tip or standing on the pavement waiting for the 'junk guys' to come round.

I believe most professional cleaners - and builders - swear by Henrys.

I have often started this sort osf thread! I have no idea why people rave about Dysons. Mine goes over the fluff...over the fluff...over the fluff ...then I pick it up by hand.
I'll admit mine needs taking apart at the moment and cleaning, and it does get slightly better after that. But if someone had invented the bagless cleaner first, then the bagged ones would be the amazing new invention - look, you open it up, pop the bag out, throw it away and clip another one in. No mess, no faffing around banging the thing, trying to dislodge all the fluff,

and based on this thread we'll get a sebo next time

i love my dyson. it's a dc14 and we have had it for about 7/8 years now i think.

before the dyson i had a henry - i had heard how fantastic they were and believed the hype. it was red useless. i endured it for a couple of years before giving in and buying a dyson.

on the day i got my dyson i vacuumed with the henry. i then re-vacuumed with the dyson and couldn't believe how much dirt came out of my henry-cleaned carpets.

i do look after the dyson - cleaning the filters and taking it apart and washing the drum and cyclones. it is the best vacuum cleaner i have had and it shows no signs of aging so i hope to have it another few years.

Our dyson is great we've had it 10yrs now and still going strong although gets less use now we have a cleaner. Cleaner uses a Henry and I'm not impressed. It's ok but still leaves so much on the carpets, I tried to get her to use our dyson but she never does. So often end up doing another once over if we've got guests.

YANBU. I thought 'Only a f*ing bloke would have invented a cleaner that enables you to dodge around things on the floor - like that is somehow preferable to picking up everything and going over all of it in a methodical, straight-lines fashion.'

DH had one with flimsy plastic bits that broke off when I hoovered the kitchen tiles. We have one as an 'upstairs vacuum' (inherited from flat DH had that we sold) and the thing that grates more than anything in the world, is the utterly rubbish attachments and hose.

Our 'proper' vacuum is a Nilfisk Extreme X300, and it is brilliant. You have to remember to change the filter every four bags (otherwise it can overheat and shut down), but since a pack of four bags comes with a filter replacement, it's not an issue. I can hardly move it across the floor with a new filter and bag inside it, for the suction.

Henry is the best.

Eugene, you are SOOOOOOO right about this:Only a f*ing bloke would have invented a cleaner that enables you to dodge around things on the floor - like that is somehow preferable to picking up everything and going over all of it in a methodical, straight-lines fashion.'

sums up the difference between men and women, and why there is a bit of conflict in every relationship...

I am on my third dyson. The first one was ace the other two have been shite.

I want to buy a new vacuum but which one then??

I see all the posts about Sebo. Any good on oak floors?

Our floors are carpets upstairs (tiles in bathrooms) and oak most of downstairs except lounge which is pitch pine parquet.

I honestly dont know which ones are best for both types of floor.

My Mum has Dysons and they are genuinely rubbish. A friend of mine has a Henry and loves it and I have been recommended a Miele Cat & Dog that I am going to get when we move back to UK this year. They are 'Da Bomb' according to my friend. They do have seriously good reviews as well.

We have Karndean in the kitchen and hall and the Sebo is great on the hard floor - adjusts automatically.

I do not work for Sebo, honest!

Thanks Chandon

Miele Cat and Dog