DC14 Animal

Great vacuum, but if it breaks be prepared to pay to have it repaired. I live in a rural area and the closet repair shop is 100 miles from our place. I had a off/on switch go out and Dyson would not sell… me a new switch. They claimed it was a liability issue. I explained how far it was to a repair shop but they didn't care. If I took it a repair shop and had to leave it, I would have to spend traveling a total of 400 miles just to have a switch replaced. I found a place out of state that had the switch and they sold it to me. Took me about 5 minutes to replace it. Dyson wants you to pay for a repair shop when it's something you can do yourself.

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I've only owned this $500 vacuum for 2 years and now the clutch has gone out on it. I talked to a vacuum repair specialist and he informed me that oh yes this is a common problem with this vacuum. He… added insult to injury when he said it will cost around $200 to fix it. If this is a common problem then Dyson should provide extended warranty for this issue or they should quit selling a very flawed product. I for one will never own another Dyson product in my life and I'll will post as many reviews as I can to warn other potential buyers. Dyson, I very unhappy with your products!!

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This is great, still going strong after years of heavy use and several friends have bought them when they saw how the Dyson performs under duress at my house. I use mine almost daily and it is still going… strong. I love it. I do have ten dogs and sometimes more when friends go on vacation and vacuum the dog beds as well as the house and this is the only vacuum (and I have had the "best")that does that well.This is an absolute necessity for me

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I have owned a few vacuum cleaners over the years and when my last machine broke, decided to purchase a Dyson. I read the reviews and was impressed with its visual looks and suction. I noticed the Dyson… difference - both good and bad - immediately. It has amazing suction, far surpassing any other vacuum cleaner I've ever used, but that is it. Below is a laundry-list of design flaws: 1. vacuum is cumbersome - I am a fairly strong person, but this machine is heavy. This combined with an awkward handle, makes it nearly impossible to manuvour into corners and around furniture without missing spots, crashing into walls/furniture legs, or having to try manouvering it in 2 or 3 different angles (think of pulling a big car into a narrow parking space.) I am constantly cleaning scuff-marks off baseboards and stair risers. 2. beater-bar is too high/vertical shaft is too thick - it will not fit under anything including my coffee table which sits 22" off the ground! 3. Attachments are awkward - My Dyson came with three attachments which are housed on the vacuum (and fit on the vacuum's wand) and three additional attachments which do not attach to the vacuum and DO NOT fit on the vacuum's wand! Unfortunately for me, two of six attachments that I need most are the most difficult/impossible to use. The 'low-furniture' attachment (see #2 above) needs to be hauled around along with the heavy vacuum (see #1 above) and usually gets mis-placed as I scurry around with the upright. When in use, it has a habit of falling off the wand (usually when cleaning under the bed or sofa) forcing me to stop the machine, and crawl or move the furniture to retrieve it. The second attachment which I would like to use is the small beater-bar. After having to make another trip to retrieve this attachment (cannot carry vacuum, plus two additional attachments at the same time) and inevitably mis-placing it, the attachment needs to be forced onto the hose - almost like it was made for a different machine! When using it, I must hold onto the attachment and the hose with both hands to keep it from falling off. Using it on the wand is not an option as the force from the rotating heads will pull it off the wand immediately. I am not sure where the third unattached 'attachment' is used or even it's purpose. 4. Crevices on the beater-bar base. The beater bar unit has this odd crevices just above the wheel where the handle unit attaches. When in use, I must be careful around the power cord as this gap is slightly wider than the circumference of the cord causing the cord to slip into it and get yanked out of the outlet. 5. Power Cord - power cord is not retractable. Usually, I would not be so picky about this, but the badly designed cord manager is flimsy. The cord usually becomes unraveled when hauling this heavy beast up and down stairs. 7. Hose - the hose, while a good length, is retractable and tends to pull the machine when extending it more than a 5-foot distance. Resulting in more scuffs on walls and furniture. 8. Canister is difficult to clean. One problem with all bagless vacs is that one must be careful in emptying the canister so dirt/dust does not fly into the room. This vacuum makes avoiding that nearly impossible, unless you empty it outside (which is what I do). To thoroughly clean the canister, not only does the canister need to be removed, but the insides need to come out too. Dirt and animal hair tend to get trapped inside small holes in the filter and must be brushed out. 9. transitioning between beater-bar and attachments is time consuming - one must pull out the wand, find the attachment, anchor the machine to a wall corner or padded furniture so it doesn't roll into and break something valuable. Quick spot cleaning (for broken glass, spilled coffee grounds, etc.) is not-so-quick. Before going through the whole rigmarole above, one must unravel the ENTIRE power cord (wand and power cord manager are one in the same.) When done, the whole wand contraption needs to be put back together (usually take 2-3 tries as the wand rarely wants to slip easily into the hose the first time), and entire cord needs to be re-wound.

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