Dyson DC15 Animal Bagless Upright Cyclonic Vacuum

I haven't had but a couple of vacuums over the years, the last being a Dirt Devil that I constantly had to repair. After saving up a couple of bucks here and there (as I would before replacing any other expensive item) we decided to purchase a new vacuum cleaner because the old one just wasn't cutting it anymore. I didn't start out with an exact model in my head, but I knew it was between an Oreck, a Hoover, or a Dyson. I researched all of them pretty thoroughly before shopping for any of them and finally settled on a Dyson Animal because it seemed to be just the type of vacuum I was looking for.


At first glance I liked the Dyson DC15 Animal Bagless Upright Cyclonic Vacuum. It was purple, a bit metallic; one of my favorite colors. It also looked a bit robotic and satisfied my science-fiction-adoring side. I just thought it was the coolest looking vacuum I have seen in quite a while. It's also a lot different than vacuums I have been used to because it has a type of "ball" built on that will allow the vacuum to swivel making it easier to clean around table and chair legs. And since it's built for all floors and has powerful suction (it has a 10 amp motor), I knew it would be great for not only my carpet but also for cleaning dust and loose dirt that can collect between the cracks in my older hardwood floors.


They cost close to $600 everywhere I saw them so I just went to Sears to purchase mine. With the Dyson Animal here, you get the vacuum, a low reach floor tool that is perfect for going under sofas or beds to clean the harder to reach places (as low as 3"), a mini turbine head, and a floor care kit. The kit is mostly for taking away odors and stains and is a nice extra. My vacuum came with a 5 year warranty as well There are so many cool features with this vacuum. Let me tell you what I mean:


The Appearance: I love the way this vacuum looks being that it's purple and looks a bit space-age (I have been looking at the same ordinarily square vacuum cleaner I had previously for over 10 years, so this design was entirely new to me). It doesn't really match anything I own, but I keep it shut away in a closet anyway when not in use. It's also pretty big being that it is 18 & 1/2" (wide) X 13 & 2/3" X 44" (tall). I look a bit funny standing next to it because I am a bit short but it's very easy for me to pick up and move from room to room because it weighs only 20 lbs.
If you do lift it however, probably a good idea not to do so by the top handle because it removes (it is a wand). 


 The Ball Feature: This is one of the best things about the vacuum cleaner, in my opinion. I don't have to strain my back anymore moving furniture around because since the vacuum swivels on this "ball", it moves with ease around chair legs, table legs, you name it really. This also means I won't scuff any furniture by trying to get the cleaner around a "leg" and then banging into it like with an ordinary vacuum. It works effortlessly and I don't have to shove it to force it to swivel. It glides like a dream and all with the turn of the wrist. 


 This is a bagless vacuum and so the dust, pet hair, and dirt collects into a clear bin (no bags!) that is easy to remove and replace. It has a 5/7-gallon capacity and is designed where you can empty it without ever having to touch the dirt. All you need to do is hold it over the garbage and press a button. That's it. Also, since it's clear you can see the contents. This comes in useful if you hear something knocking around in there and wonder what it could be ("Oh , so it was a penny!") or to see if it's full. 


 The Lifetime HEPA Filter is great because it allows the air that comes from the vacuum cleaner have over 100 times less mold and bacteria. It also claims to be money saving, because less air makes it through the filter, extending it's life. 


 The Dyson Animal made me a bit ashamed of myself after using it the first few times. My carpet looked clean before but it wasn't until I used this vacuum that I saw there was a lot of hidden dirt and carpet cleaning product underneath my carpet that my older vacuum wasn't pulling up. After running it over twice, my carpet was cleaner than it had ever been because there were no more traces of past dirt. When it comes to the hardwood floors, the spaces between the planks were sucked clean of any dust or loose dirt that had gotten trapped inside with little effort at all. It took 10 minutes to do a room that my old vacuum would take 30 minutes to clean.


Since this vacuum is made with pet owners in mind and has the Root8Cyclone technology, it doesn't clog as easily (mine never has, but if it does there are 2 access panels giving you easy access to unclog it). It picks up pet hair with ease! I have a Pomeranian and she tends to shed this time of year until I cut her and it picks up the little hairs I might miss while spot cleaning with one swipe. The mini turbine head is perfect for this and can make cleaning your sofa en easy process. Besides loose dirt, dust and pet hair, the only thing I usually vacuum would be crumbs. I have never vacuumed anything bigger than that. This vacuum will clean edges though if you walk it along the edge of your walls. This is the first vacuum I have owned that would do this and it cuts out a good 10-15 minutes of my time where before I would have to take off the wand (of my old vacuum) and go around the edges with that (lugging the vacuum behind me).



The beater bars are removable so you can clean them if need be and you can turn them off with the push of a button. The purpose for this is when you go over delicate surfaces like a fine rug or bar floor (that you don't want to risk marking). You also get an extendable reach bar that works as the vacuum's handle when not in use. This is also the wand that you will have to add the other attachments. The shaft extends to several feet and I totally use it to clean my ceiling fans and it's also great for the ceiling corners too. 



 Those are some of the neat features of the Dyson Animal. I use mine twice a week and just go over the entire house. I'm getting the cleaning done a lot faster than with my previous model and this one has a wider cleaning path (13"). With my old one, I would have to run it over a crumb a few times and it would just push it for a while until it picked it up. Those, or the little tears of paper that might fall out of a spiral notebook. But this vacuum cleaner sucks those right to it and pulls it in before I even run over it. I do not have to do the "back and forth" dance with this machine. It's been great.


The carpet kit that comes with it is both Zorb and Dysolv. The Zorb is good for heavy trafficked areas because it is supposed to absorb dirt, and the Dysolv Spot Cleaner is good for spills and stains. I gave my Zorb away because I do not really have discolored carpet and I used the other maybe once on a Coke spill. It worked okay, but I did get to it early. One thing I had to do was find a place to put the two heads that come with this vacuum because they do not store on the vacuum cleaner. They don't take up very much space, but that's something you'll have to do, too (find someplace to put it, I mean). I've used the Dyson Animal for over a year and I haven't had an instance where I would want to deduct a star from this review. It cleans like no other I've had, it's not extremely loud (as compared to others I've had), it glides very easily and in such odd angles, and it has extra pieces that make the other cleaning jobs (under a sofa, for instance) a lot easier. My dog is not a fan of it but she's not a fan of any electric appliance. OH!! And the cord is about 35 feet long so I have a lot of reach and can even go from Room A to Room B without having to unplug. (My other was a paltry 20 foot cord). I couldn't say enough good things about this vacuum cleaner. It's been the best one I've ever had.