I recently had the chance to try out a brand new Dyson DC78 and thought I'd share my thoughts on it in case anyone is shopping around for a new vacuum and likes to read reviews first!
When I first saw it, I thought it looked pretty cool. Very space age, or bling, I don't know but it looks fancy anyway.
I was cleaning for a friend and was a bit short on time, so I didn't spend time analyzing all the intricate details of the machine. I just wanted to start vacuuming and figured I'd find out about everything along the way!
So I plugged it in and got to work. The first thing I noticed was how cool the floor brush is. It swivels in a very efficient way so that you can really get into hard to reach places without having to switch to the crevice tool all the time. I liked the way the machine moves, it follows you around very easily and effortlessly. The pole is quite light, so it's also very easy to whip around quickly.
Once I'd vacuumed most of the floors I needed to switch to a tool to remove cat fur off of furniture. I reached for the lint brush tool initially because it was on the pole and seemed like the right choice. I did not like this tool at all. First of all, because the suction is so strong it was impossible to use without pulling the trigger thing to release some of the suction. I did not like having to hold this trigger the whole time, I found it tiring! The tool itself also seemed to leave little annoying lines all over the couch, due to upraised plastic bits on the tool.
I then discovered a little turbine head with little wheels in it. This was a fantastic little tool! I used it on a few chairs to get cat fur off, and it was awesome! It just glided along and sucked all of the fur off the chair completely effortlessly!
I did not like the crevice tool. I don't like the way that it is a combo tool with the brush attached. I kept accidentally bumping it or something and then the brush would come down and I'd have to fix it. I just found that to be annoying. Minor, I know, but worth mentioning.
I then attached the turbine head for the carpeted basement. I can't say I was hugely impressed with it. It did an adequate job, but as it isn't motorized I didn't really feel like it was penetrating the carpet. I also found it small and it took a long time to vacuum the room. I would be very curious to go back over it with a heavy duty motorized upright vacuum cleaner to see what was left behind!
My favourite tool was the animal brush thing. Sorry, I don't know what it is called! It looks like my cat brush, but had holes to suck the fur into the machine. Wow, I used it on a cat tree and it was phenomenal! Absolutely amazing! I've struggled for years trying to find the best way to vaccum these annoying towers of fur and this tool does the trick nicely!
As for the noise, I found the machine to be fairly quiet. It got noiser when using the various attachments, but with just the floor tool it was not necessary to war ear protection.
Let's talk about suction! Well, Dyson like to boast about how great the suction is on their machines, and I have to say, this machine seriously sucks!!!! In a good way, obviously! It had such strong suction that when I placed it to my hand to test it, it almost hurt it was so strong! I've never felt such strong suction in a machine, honestly.
About the floor brush tool. After using it for several minutes it became apparent that it was "snow plowing" all the cat fur, which made for a very messy floor brush. I had to remove it and vacuum it about a dozen times during the cleaning of the house. And while the suction is fantastic, for some reason it just doesn't easily suck the fur right off of the bristles! So I had to manually remove them and then put them into the sucking hole. Time consuming and annoying.
As for emptying the canister, I did not enjoy this in the slightest! First of all, it wasn't super apparent right away how to actually remove the canister. I have used many canister vacuums, and I can usually figure this out quite quickly. Not so in this case. And as this is a brand new machine, and not mine, I did not want to risk damanging it in any way. So I grabbed the instruction manual to see how to do it. The manual is kind of ridiculous! It's full of all kinds of weird pictures and no descriptions! I figured out that I needed to push a button with a strange picture on it in order to release the canister from the main body.
Emptying the canister was not easy or fun. My friend has a small garbage can so the canister would not fit in it. I released the bottom to let the debris fall out and it spilled all over the garbage making a bit of a mess. I ended up having to get a plastic bag to put the canister in it in order to empty it without making a mess. There isn't actually a proper handle on top of the canister, just a small loop to grip. The canister is quite big, so I found it akward trying to hold it and empty it.
While the canister itself is quite large, there doesn't seem to be a large capacity in the machine. There is a giant filter or something that takes up three quarters of the space, leaving only a few inches of free space for dirt! The "max" line, is at the bottom of the canister! I had to empty the canister five times while cleaning the house (there are several cats) and the cat fur got caught inside the canister almost every time. So I had to stick my hand inside to get it out. Some of it was really stuck and my fingers couldn't reach inside to get it. I suspect my friend will have to use a knife or something to get all the way in, or take the canister apart. I would imagine the top part comes off. What a messy nightmare!!!
Conclusion: Overall, it's a great machine. It's fairly quiet. It's very easy to manoever and get into tight spots with. It has very strong suction. It has a fantastic selection of tools. But not all tools are great. The lint brush tool is rather useless. I don't like the combo brush/crevice tool. The brush tool kept falling down over the crevice tool and I had to re-adjust it several times. The extendable wand was rather short. I'm only 5,4 inches tall so it didn't affect me but I can't imagine using it if you are 5,10 or taller. You would have to bend over a bit, I would think. I hate the trigger thing you have to use on the handle for some of the tools that require less suction. It tired my hand out using it. Ok if you are young, but if you are older and arthritic, you really won't be able to use it for long.
The main issue, apart from the above complaints, is the price. If this was a $200 machine I'd probably get one, if only to have all those great attachments. But as it is an $800 machine after taxes I probably wouldn't get one.
Finally, I actually did buy a vacuum recently! I spent a month researching vacuum cleaners and finally decided upon the Sebo K2 canister vacuum. It's my first bagged vacuum cleaner, and so far I'm loving it! It was $399 before taxes, so a lot cheaper than Dyson. It's very quiet, and has a dial so I can reduce suction if needed. The lower the suction, the quieter the machine. Which is great if I have to vacuum at night, it's so quiet. It has a very long hose. Very long cord. Good suction. The floor head is great, it's flat on one side so the cat fur doesn't get caught up in all the bristles. It has a full length crevice tool which sits inside the machine. The lint tool is on the canister, out of the way. The brush tool sits on the wand. Emptying the dirty bag couldn't be easier! It just slides out, and it comes with little caps so I can seal the bag so no dust escapes at all. The bags are pretty cheap, about $3 a bag.
After spending the last 9 years using bagless vacuum cleaners, it's such a treat to have a bagged machine!!! I was constantly having a big mess to clean after emptying them, there was fur and dust flying out of it every time. I was always having to wash all the filters, or bang them to get the dust out. It was a filthy horrible chore that took a lot of time. With this machine, I'll have to replace the filters once a year and that's it. It also has a 10 year warranty on certain things.
At this point, especially after playing around with the Dyson yesterday, I feel that I would rather just pay the extra money for bags and filters rather than have to deal with that whole disgusting process of emptying the nasty canisters! I have cats and have to vacuum around the litter boxes. When I empty the canisters and have to pull debris out, I am actually physically touching the dusty litter particles! Plus all the dirt and dust. It's not hygenic to be touching it!
When I first saw it, I thought it looked pretty cool. Very space age, or bling, I don't know but it looks fancy anyway.
I was cleaning for a friend and was a bit short on time, so I didn't spend time analyzing all the intricate details of the machine. I just wanted to start vacuuming and figured I'd find out about everything along the way!
So I plugged it in and got to work. The first thing I noticed was how cool the floor brush is. It swivels in a very efficient way so that you can really get into hard to reach places without having to switch to the crevice tool all the time. I liked the way the machine moves, it follows you around very easily and effortlessly. The pole is quite light, so it's also very easy to whip around quickly.
Once I'd vacuumed most of the floors I needed to switch to a tool to remove cat fur off of furniture. I reached for the lint brush tool initially because it was on the pole and seemed like the right choice. I did not like this tool at all. First of all, because the suction is so strong it was impossible to use without pulling the trigger thing to release some of the suction. I did not like having to hold this trigger the whole time, I found it tiring! The tool itself also seemed to leave little annoying lines all over the couch, due to upraised plastic bits on the tool.
I then discovered a little turbine head with little wheels in it. This was a fantastic little tool! I used it on a few chairs to get cat fur off, and it was awesome! It just glided along and sucked all of the fur off the chair completely effortlessly!
I did not like the crevice tool. I don't like the way that it is a combo tool with the brush attached. I kept accidentally bumping it or something and then the brush would come down and I'd have to fix it. I just found that to be annoying. Minor, I know, but worth mentioning.
I then attached the turbine head for the carpeted basement. I can't say I was hugely impressed with it. It did an adequate job, but as it isn't motorized I didn't really feel like it was penetrating the carpet. I also found it small and it took a long time to vacuum the room. I would be very curious to go back over it with a heavy duty motorized upright vacuum cleaner to see what was left behind!
My favourite tool was the animal brush thing. Sorry, I don't know what it is called! It looks like my cat brush, but had holes to suck the fur into the machine. Wow, I used it on a cat tree and it was phenomenal! Absolutely amazing! I've struggled for years trying to find the best way to vaccum these annoying towers of fur and this tool does the trick nicely!
As for the noise, I found the machine to be fairly quiet. It got noiser when using the various attachments, but with just the floor tool it was not necessary to war ear protection.
Let's talk about suction! Well, Dyson like to boast about how great the suction is on their machines, and I have to say, this machine seriously sucks!!!! In a good way, obviously! It had such strong suction that when I placed it to my hand to test it, it almost hurt it was so strong! I've never felt such strong suction in a machine, honestly.
About the floor brush tool. After using it for several minutes it became apparent that it was "snow plowing" all the cat fur, which made for a very messy floor brush. I had to remove it and vacuum it about a dozen times during the cleaning of the house. And while the suction is fantastic, for some reason it just doesn't easily suck the fur right off of the bristles! So I had to manually remove them and then put them into the sucking hole. Time consuming and annoying.
As for emptying the canister, I did not enjoy this in the slightest! First of all, it wasn't super apparent right away how to actually remove the canister. I have used many canister vacuums, and I can usually figure this out quite quickly. Not so in this case. And as this is a brand new machine, and not mine, I did not want to risk damanging it in any way. So I grabbed the instruction manual to see how to do it. The manual is kind of ridiculous! It's full of all kinds of weird pictures and no descriptions! I figured out that I needed to push a button with a strange picture on it in order to release the canister from the main body.
Emptying the canister was not easy or fun. My friend has a small garbage can so the canister would not fit in it. I released the bottom to let the debris fall out and it spilled all over the garbage making a bit of a mess. I ended up having to get a plastic bag to put the canister in it in order to empty it without making a mess. There isn't actually a proper handle on top of the canister, just a small loop to grip. The canister is quite big, so I found it akward trying to hold it and empty it.
While the canister itself is quite large, there doesn't seem to be a large capacity in the machine. There is a giant filter or something that takes up three quarters of the space, leaving only a few inches of free space for dirt! The "max" line, is at the bottom of the canister! I had to empty the canister five times while cleaning the house (there are several cats) and the cat fur got caught inside the canister almost every time. So I had to stick my hand inside to get it out. Some of it was really stuck and my fingers couldn't reach inside to get it. I suspect my friend will have to use a knife or something to get all the way in, or take the canister apart. I would imagine the top part comes off. What a messy nightmare!!!
Conclusion: Overall, it's a great machine. It's fairly quiet. It's very easy to manoever and get into tight spots with. It has very strong suction. It has a fantastic selection of tools. But not all tools are great. The lint brush tool is rather useless. I don't like the combo brush/crevice tool. The brush tool kept falling down over the crevice tool and I had to re-adjust it several times. The extendable wand was rather short. I'm only 5,4 inches tall so it didn't affect me but I can't imagine using it if you are 5,10 or taller. You would have to bend over a bit, I would think. I hate the trigger thing you have to use on the handle for some of the tools that require less suction. It tired my hand out using it. Ok if you are young, but if you are older and arthritic, you really won't be able to use it for long.
The main issue, apart from the above complaints, is the price. If this was a $200 machine I'd probably get one, if only to have all those great attachments. But as it is an $800 machine after taxes I probably wouldn't get one.
Finally, I actually did buy a vacuum recently! I spent a month researching vacuum cleaners and finally decided upon the Sebo K2 canister vacuum. It's my first bagged vacuum cleaner, and so far I'm loving it! It was $399 before taxes, so a lot cheaper than Dyson. It's very quiet, and has a dial so I can reduce suction if needed. The lower the suction, the quieter the machine. Which is great if I have to vacuum at night, it's so quiet. It has a very long hose. Very long cord. Good suction. The floor head is great, it's flat on one side so the cat fur doesn't get caught up in all the bristles. It has a full length crevice tool which sits inside the machine. The lint tool is on the canister, out of the way. The brush tool sits on the wand. Emptying the dirty bag couldn't be easier! It just slides out, and it comes with little caps so I can seal the bag so no dust escapes at all. The bags are pretty cheap, about $3 a bag.
After spending the last 9 years using bagless vacuum cleaners, it's such a treat to have a bagged machine!!! I was constantly having a big mess to clean after emptying them, there was fur and dust flying out of it every time. I was always having to wash all the filters, or bang them to get the dust out. It was a filthy horrible chore that took a lot of time. With this machine, I'll have to replace the filters once a year and that's it. It also has a 10 year warranty on certain things.
At this point, especially after playing around with the Dyson yesterday, I feel that I would rather just pay the extra money for bags and filters rather than have to deal with that whole disgusting process of emptying the nasty canisters! I have cats and have to vacuum around the litter boxes. When I empty the canisters and have to pull debris out, I am actually physically touching the dusty litter particles! Plus all the dirt and dust. It's not hygenic to be touching it!
I could not agree with you more when it comes to using a vacuum cleaner that does not use bags versus one that does. Like you said, the mess involved in cleaning a bag-less vacuum cleaner makes it pointless vacuuming in the first place, as there is more dust in the house than in the garbage bag after you have finished emptying it. Vacuum dust bags are the way to go for me too. Especially as they are not only easier to use, but inexpensive to buy as well.
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