Dyson Animal vacuum cleaners are AWESOME!! I never thought anything could ever beat my Kirby vacuum cleaner, but surprisingly, it does!! When I first bought the vacuum, we had just sadly had our dog put to sleep. I had just vacuumed before we left to go to the vet’s office to have that horrible deed done. Our dog used to shed something horrible, in part I think the shedding was because of the illness and old age that were the reasons our dog had to be put to sleep in the first place. The dog was a longer haired dog, and this shedding drove me crazy toward the end of the poor little guy’s life.
On our way home we went by the store to purchase a new vacuum, I had wanted a Dyson vacuum cleaner for the reason that the Kirby I had was very heavy, and I wanted a lighter vacuum that would still clean very well. I thought I was buying it so I had another vacuum for in between uses of my Kirby. Since like I stated I thought that NO vacuum would ever out clean my Kirby, is why I was thinking this. When I got the Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum cleaner home, I thought, “Hmmm, I wonder how well this vacuum really cleans?” I also wondered if the suction and power the commercials claimed the Dyson had was just propaganda to sell these vacuums, or if there really was something to the claims.
So, I decided to test my new, much lighter vacuum. I re-vacuumed my living room carpet. To my surprise and delight, the amount of dirt and dog hair that my new Dyson, Absolute Animal vacuum cleaner picked up AFTER I had already vacuumed my living room, was incredible! The amount of dirt and hair my Kirby had not been picking up was frightening! “YUK! How long had that dirt and dog hair been under my carpeting?”
Some of my most favorite things about the Dyson Absolute Animal (DC17) model vacuum cleaner are the fact that it is very much lighter than the Kirby. The way the attachments go onto the vacuum are so much better than that of the Kirby as well. Since the handle comes out of the top and turns the handle into the ‘wand’ end of the attachments, it makes it so there is no need to go and find the attachments. To use the attachments on the Kirby, take the vacuum head and the belt off to put on the hose and attachments. The heavy vacuum cleaner (Kirby) must be dragged up and down the stairs or from room to room. Almost all of the attachments are right there on the Dyson Absolute Animal (DC17) vacuum cleaner and stay where they are supposed to, so the tools and attachments do not get lost easily. The attachments also were all included with the Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum that we purchased. Only a few of the attachments are not stored right on the vacuum. Those large parts are the alternate ‘wand’ type ‘heads’ for the vacuum and are too large to be lost easily.
There is an extra long hose right on the ‘wand’ handle, so I can vacuum our two long, and turning staircases without having the vacuum vicariously balanced on the stairs which is dangerous. The need to have two people to do the stairs, one vacuuming and the other holding the vacuum on the stairs, is the other option for doing the stairs with the Kirby. The smaller ‘wand’ head for stairs, along baseboards and in tight areas, also has a beater brush, that works as well as the regular head. This is just like a mini large head, the beater brush can be turned on and off just like the regular head’s beater brush. It also has a ‘wand’ head that is for bare floors, so the need for a broom is eliminated all together! The bare floor head for the wand is very well made and will not scratch Pergo or that type of wood or laminate floors. This head also picks up just as well as the regular vacuum head does on carpets, but will not damage any floors. There is also a ‘carpet cleaning wand head’ as well. The Dyson Absolute Animal (DC17) model I purchased also came with some carpet cleaner that works extremely well. It is a dry type of carpet cleaner. In addition the Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum also came with some spot cleaner- for tougher spots to clean, and this also deodorizes the spot so the pet does not continue to mark the carpet in the same place.
Another feature that the Dyson has which makes it such a wonderful vacuum is the button that gives the ability to turn off the beater brush on the main vacuum cleaner. This makes it possible to leave the vacuum running in order to move a small rug or pick up an object on the floor, without having to turn the vacuum off. With a push of the same button the Dyson Absolute Animal turns back on quickly to go back to vacuuming after moving the object which needed to be moved or picked up. This feature is also made for the ability to use the hose without the beater bar running (and ruining your carpet) in one place. All of the buttons can be pushed and attachments can pretty much be used without having to bend over. This is great for those of us who have medical problems with their backs or dizziness. I have honestly not taken out my old vacuum since I bought my Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum cleaner.
Since there is no impeller to become clogged or broken, there are less parts to worry about repairing or replacing. Another feature that is likable is when the canister gets filled, the Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner does not lose any suction. The suction is the same when the canister is full as when it is empty.
The air filter on the Dyson Absolute Animal is reusable. (It is a ‘life time’ filter.) The filter is washable and needs to be washed with plain, clear, running water in the sink. The filter is then air dried for about 24 hours and replaced in the vacuum cleaner. The reusable filter is great because the need to buy disposable filters eliminated. This saves money on filters and on bags. It is also better for the environment, since there are no bags or filters to dispose of and sit in a landfill for years to disintegrate.
The Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum cleaner is also much cleaner from the point that the canister empties from the bottom. There is a button which opens the bottom once it is down into a trash can, so there is not much dust from emptying the canister. There is a handle on the canister, which again is positioned in such a way that no bending is necessary to empty it. The button to release the canister is on the front of the vacuum and positioned in an easily accessible spot that will not be accidentally bumped. The canister is toward the top of the vacuum and just pops out. The release button to empty the dirt into the trash is on the handle of the canister. Emptying this canister into the waste basket with one hand is possible. This canister on the Dyson Absolute Animal could also be carried outside and emptied directly into a dumpster or into an outdoor trash can as well. If needed for some reason, the dirt and dust from the canister could be emptied into a gallon size (or larger, depending on how much dirt there is) zipper bag to keep the dirt contained. (Fleas, ants or other insect pests is what I was thinking of here.) Hands never touch the dirt from the canister when emptying the canister from the Dyson Absolute Animal vacuum cleaner.
The Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner is a wonderful vacuum cleaner that makes many cleaning tasks much easier than any vacuum cleaner we have ever owned. The cost of this vacuum is worth the price that we paid for it. It was a bit more than some of the cheaper vacuums that we have priced, but not as expensive as a Kirby $2000+ (approximate price new) with only some of the same attachments and options as the Dyson Animal has. The Kirby is also much heavier and is much harder to use, and not as convenient at all. The Dyson Absolute Animal (DC17) cost us $549.00 at a Military Exchange. While I realize that not everyone has access to a military exchange, but I did go and find out how much I could find this same vacuum cleaner for on line. I actually found the same Dyson, Absolute Animal (DC17) vacuum cleaner for a cheaper price than what we paid! The price I found was only $437.00 , this includes free same day shipping, no sales taxes, a lowest price guarantee, with a 5 year warranty (same as all Dyson vacuum cleaners). For the money, I think that this vacuum cleaner is an extremely good value!
