Need A new 'hoover' are Dysons worth the money?

[THERESA]

Have always had a fairly cheap, standard upright 'hoover' which has finally packed in. I'd love a 'mega' new one but are they really worth the money? There seem so many to choose from & I notice that some other brands now do 'bagless' cleaners which are a bit cheaper. I'd definitely want an upright one, we have mainly (really grotty!) carpets at the moment, but in the future we'll probably have a mixture of carpet & laminate. As ever I'm confident there'll be loads of you out there with a useful opionion! (Have read the thread on Dyson's good customer care which is a nice change!).

I've missed you too Jan dont ignore my old days thread, i feel i have offended you

What old days thread?

Well my dyson is fine apart from all the little plasticky bits on it break all the time. In fact I am currently holding for their helpline to get some bits sent. I wouldn't buy another one I don't think.

Miele cat and dog here. Even if you haven't got a cat or a dog, it's great for picking up hair . Especially when you're pulling out all your grey ones ....

Dyson = emperors new clothes. I think they used to be good a few years ago before they moved the production abroad and now they are pretty rubbish.

We have a Sebo and it is very good.

Next time I am buying a Henry, definitely. 1000 builders can't be wrong

I had a Dyson upright hoover which I found ok until the attachments started to fall apart , I also found the filter's for them very expensive to buy and I need two filters one costing aprox £20 and the other £15 for a packet of four.

love my dyson too got the purple zorbster but never clean with it. Is there anyone you know who you could borrow one off to see if you like it?

NO! They are great at first and if you are lucky and get a good one you will be fine but they are notoriously unreliable , lose suction, and break down.(check out any consumer ratings website)

Friend took one to a repairers recently . he said he makes his living from repairing mostly dysons and would never touch one with a bargepole.
Thanks largely to mumsnet I bought a Henry (after owning 3 dysons - you would think I would learn) fro about £90. It is far better than any of my Dysons. Consumer websites rate them very highly.

So now I don't know whether to get the Miele one JanH suggests or a Henry?

Suspect the kids would prefer Henry as he has a name and a face doesn't he?

Thank you everyone. I think we've decided against a Dyson. Have seen builders with 'henrys' but they're cylinder type aren't they? I've always had uprights, the cylinders seem like hard work, a bit 'back-breaking'??

Have had a Dyson for about 6m now, and cannot fault it! (Apart from thinking that it could have been somewhat better designed, but then, I am a woman). Dh thought that he'd broken a piece of it, the helpline sent us a replacement within days, but then I realised that the piece wasn't broken at all - it was meant to dismantle that way! It cleans better than any other vacuum cleaner I or my parents have ever had.

We didn't want a Dyson at all, because of the reputation and the weight (plus the 'design flaws'), we wanted a Bosch bagless, but they were sold out everywhere and we couldn't wait. Have a look at the Bosch.

Yeah, cylinders are back-breaking, IMHO. Only worthwhile if you've got loads of stairs to lug up and down all the time and need something light.

I have had a lifelong aversion to cylinders for no other reason than my mum never had one!

Thankfully I am now cured.
Henry is NOT back breaking however. He is very lightweight and portable.

Think about it. With an upright you push the WHOLE THING back and forward at each stroke, including the motor which is the heaviest part. WIth Henry you are only pushing the hose back and forward. He works equally well on carpets, wood, lino, slate, and any other surface. My BIL is a builder and he says builders swear by them because they get knocked around building sites and used to suck up rubble and seem indestructible.

I really don't have a bad word to say about Henry. My kids (5,4, and 2) all want to do the hoovering because of his face. (we don't get out much). You can detatch a section of the hose so it is the right size for a toddler. My kids now do most of the hoovering for me.

The flex is so long I plug him into the hall socket and can vacuum the whole house without replugging.

He rolls on castors , it is really no trouble.

Good grief I am calling it "he". Must lie down in a darkened room.

I have not had personal experience of the mielle cat and dog but have heard nothing but praise for it, both here and on consumer websites.

I love my Henry and I now hoover much more often than when I had a Dyson. Simply becasue is sooo much easier and efficient.

Plus I have a history of back pain and he has given me no problems so far!!!!!

Ditto the plug in once and then hoover the whole house without replugging in.

In defence of Dyson, my parents have an original model which is still going strong and has never been a problem .I loved mine ...until it stopped sucking properly just outwith the year's guarantee.

Seems there is a lot of luck involved as to whether or not the one you get is a good one. (just like Peugeot cars but don't get me started)

The whole "bagless" thing does not strike me as an advantage. Emptying the dyson cylinder(the dust seemed to stay fluffed up and need emptying every week) always made me sneeze like mad. Chucking a whole bag of compacted dust (my dear pal Henry) in the bin and slipping on a new bag costing 40p every two months seems liks a far better deal.

Well Miele bags cost more than 40p, but they last for ages (mind you I don't hoove very often...)

But lifting my Miele up and down stairs is a doddle compared with the Dyson upright - that does my back in every time I try to lift it - really! It's not just heavy, it's large and awkward. And however hard you try you cannot hoover upstairs with a Dyson plugged in downstairs. Trust me, I've tried it.

My granny has a Dyson upright which she has had for a few years now.
I've borrowed it on a few occasions and I don't like it. It's so heavy, it doesn't get right up against the skirting boards, the hose attachment doesn't bend in the right places and I hate having to empty it, makes me sneeze, dust everywhere.

A lot of restaurants use Henry hoovers, my restaurant did it lasted for years before we needed to replace it. I know of other restaurants that have Henry's also. So all these builders and Restaurants can't be wrong.

Linnet dysons are probably great for grannies as theuy are so heavy to lug around it will be like an aerobic workout combined with some strength/resistance training.

I want a Henry now - they are only £83 at Tesco online (free delivery!) It's jasper saying you can make them toddler sized that's swung me. Dh says I can't have one as our Dyson is 8 years old and still going strong

I loved my old Dyson that served me faithfully for 8 years with no problems. I replaced it with another Dyson which I absolutely HATE. Wish I'd never set eyes on the thing. The new design of the handle means it's always in the way when you try to use the wand for stairs etc, The tools drop off all the time as you are pushing it and the high pitched whine gives me a headache! Also it's much harder to push.

My carpets are actually much dirtier now because I used to whizz round with my old Dyson all the time but I only use the new one when absolutely necessary!

When we lived in London, the cleaners in our Student accomodation used a Henry, claiming that it was indistructable and I thought it looked great! We had an upright bagless Electrolux (because DH was too cheap to buy a Dyson...) and loved it but it was too heavy to lug up the stairs.
Jasper: I love the friendly little face on the Henry as much as my kids so I am wishing that they sold Henrys in Canada. You make him sound like a member of your family. Now look who needs to lie down in a darkened room. Eek! I need to find something better to do than surf the 'active sights'.

I've got a Bissell- the one where the cylinder comes off. It is absolutely fantastic at picking up dog hairs! The only slight drawback is that it's a little bit heavy BUT that's a small price to pay

I am in love with Henry, he has a very long lead, woohoo! Hated Dyson, threw it in the dustbin. Hated emptying it too, very dirty. Hate uprights anyway, prob depends what you were brought up on LOL, why push the whole thing around, doesn't make sense?

£83 on Tesco on-line!!

Are you sure a Henry is that good because I'm almost about to order one! Please tell me it's fab!