Deal o' the Day: This Really Sucks! (OT)

Hardly photo-related by any stretch, but I pass along Amazon's "Deal of the Day" deals when I think they might be relevant to you—or used to, I should say, back when cameras were more often featured.

However, this is personally relevant and TOP-related. I own and use this thing, and it's fantastic. Lulu doesn't shed (or smell), but Butters sheds approximately his weight in dog hair annually (by rough estimate). I even wrote about the Dyson back when I got it, in an article that starts out "this is going to make me look really bad." My test was worthy of Consumer Reports for its fanatical attention to experimental rigor, I think you'll agree.

That was back in 2013, and today my Dyson Animal is still sucking schmutzy dust and dusty schmutz like the animal it is. And now—today only—you can get a refurbished one for $262, down from $560. I paid $560 for mine and I'd do it again. My current house gleams and sparkles.

Recommended. They really suck. Get yours before they're gone.

Mike

P.S. I should add that vacuuming—"hoovering" in British—is a five-alarm emergency to the dogs, who bark frantically and will lunge and snap at the Dyson if I let them—the handheld version too. I have to cordon them off in various parts of the house where I'm not working to be able to use the Dysons at all. They even come running aggressively whenever I open the door of the closet where it is kept.

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

What's next to godliness?
Buy yourself clean

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Juan Flores: "I beg to differ. This is very much photo-related, as dust is the number one enemy of the digital photographer. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's useful to have as dust-free an environment as possible for things such as close-up product shots, cleaning sensors and lenses, and even installing screen protectors.

"By the way, I can vouch for this product as well. My brother went through many vacuum cleaners, including a number of Dyson clones, before finally breaking down and buying a real Dyson. So as with so many things, he wound up spending a lot more money than he would have if he'd just started with the one he really wanted from the beginning."

Mark Kinsman: "This is a great deal. We have an older model 07 that is 14 years old and still going strong. The only thing that's happened is a few cracked Lexan parts from the kids misusing it. Nothing that affects its function. This vacuum really does suck!"

Patrick Perez (partial comment): "My next dog will be named Nature, for as we all know, Nature abhors a vacuum."

Tom (partial comment): "We British are even known to refer to a Dyson Hoover."

Comments

[Trecento]

The best piece of advice I would give anyone regarding vacuum cleaners is this: get a heavy duty 50' extension cord. It makes a huge difference when you don't have to worry about re-plugging as you go place to place.

I'd put in a word for an Oreck XL. Durable, light, powerful, long (replaceable!) cord, cheap bags, low parts count, easy to self-repair. Also, inexpensive. Probably the ultimate and end-stage version of the classic bag on a stick old fashioned vacuum, of the type beloved by hotel cleaning crews everywhere. Note that you can buy an absurd number of bags for the price of a Dyson, even after you subtract the price of this thing.

The con? Really loud. I wear over the ear type ear protectors when I use it.

[Steve Biro]

I'm glad to read some long-term positive reviews of a Dyson vacuum. A number of British friends and acquaintances I have haven't had much good to say about them. They tell me in the U.K., people call them "Die-soons." But it seems that's not the case here - certainly not for this model.

[Tom]

We British are even known to refer to a Dyson Hoover. They have an excellent after sales service too and will even attempt to diagnose problems over the phone with you which rather amusingly involves you holding the telephone to various parts of it so they can listen to what it is doing. My own Dyson is 2o+ years old and going strong.

[Patrick Perez]

My Chihuaha/Pug Zoe is a valiant defender of me, always lunging to attack our Dyson handheld. She's pretty ridiculous.

My next dog will be named Nature, for as we all know, Nature abhors a vacuum. Also, when Nature barks, I will answer the call.

Patrick

[Moose]

A little photoshopping, and that could be the engine for a starship.

[Earl Dunbar]

I agree that this post is, indeed, photo related. And important. We have two Dysons - one corded and one battery powered. And we are like you, Mike - one dog doesn't shed (Rocky, the "Terrorpoo" - terrier/poodle mix) and one does - Kalli the Border terrier mix, aka shed-o-matic and sweetest dog that ever lived in this world, also aka our Ewok.

I don't have a problem with dust when using a digital camera (the XPro-1 cleaner seems to do a very good job, but film scanning is another story.

[TBannor]

Yep, the Dyson Animal rocks. I actually won one in a raffle at a local Chamber of Commerce event held at an appliance store. After using it on carpeting I'd just vacuumed with our old Kenmore, the amount of stuff and cat hair (we have two) it pulled out was amazing. And I agree it's photo related as mentioned by Juan Flores.

[Ray]

We've owned Dyson vacuum cleaners for well over 10 years, nearly 20 years. The first upright one is still around but not quite as powerful as our barrel cleaner (which recently received new brushes for the power head). We have two black Labradors that shed all the time and the Dyson is the only cleaner that can remove those hairs.

BTW, our two Labs don't get agitated one bit by the vacuum cleaner. They can be lying around on the floor while vacuuming around them and I have to tell them to move so that I can vacuum the entire floor.

[hugh crawford]

Dust the number one enemy of digital photography? Gee , dust is so much easier to deal with in digital photography compared to film. Spotting prints and cleaning negatives is the thing that digital has made the biggest improvement over chemical photography.
True, a film still camera has to be pretty dirty to be noticeable but the rest of the process has so many ways to be ruined by dust or grit.

[Peter Wright]

Hope there's good news on the tooth front very soon! Can't be any fun trying to keep upbeat and run a web site when you need fight tooth pain at the same time. (We're thinking of ya!)

[Fred]

Mike,
While I can't speak to the pluses or minuses of the Dyson, I once had a dog that when the vacuum was turned on would pester me until I would vacuum her and when I did would make sounds that could have
been the sound track of a porn movie.
Fred

[Dennis Ng]

I do not do vacuum cleaning until that arrived.

Bad idea.

Well, when get our new home in UK guess what is the first gadget we bought ...

Too nerdy to let others to use it. Need to upgrade but not in USA, sorry.

[Frank]

I will never ever buy a vacuum cleaner that is louder then 70 decibels, and your thing is well over it, I guess ... I agree with your dogs, it's painfull for them!
Too much noise !!!

[Antony Shepherd]

Our dog (Shihtzu/Cairn Terrier cross) had a particular hatred for the vacuum cleaner hose, which he would attack. Maybe he thought it was a snake and he was valiantly defending us.

Your heading puts me in mind of the best vacuum cleaner advertisement I ever saw, a large poster proclaiming "NOTHING SUCKS LIKE AN ELECTROLUX"
What were they thinking?

[Frank Petronio]

Looks like a sci-fi weapon to me, something out of the Luc Besson movies.

Dyson had a wonderful factory in Britain but decimated the community when he decided to move offshore so he could price point his designs to sell in big box stores and Amazon....

[Dave Wilson]

Don't get me started. Dislike Mr Dyson and abhor his products.

[Paul De Zan]

Vacuums really are something everyone has an opinion about. For a lot less money the Shark Rocket uprights are very, very good. I use a combination of a Rocket and a couple of Roombas in our 2400' house and it isn't even like work to keep the place sharp.

[Bryce Lee]

The Electrolux comment is so very true. Had at least two of the horizontal tube type Electroluxes when I grew up. Alas our local retailer folded and parts were not readily available. Simple in design as well. We then went to the Sears on wheels with internal bags, the first one last 25 years the second one our remaining family (me) still uses 30 years later. If and when Sears folds here in Canada (as it has done so elsewhere not quite sure what i shall use; did purchase two packs of additional bags a few months ago. My floors are all thin strip hardwood, except in my basement office /theatre. That's where the Sears machine lives.

And as is noted Dyson has had its fair share of troubles with reliability, and are too bloody damn expensive. When they do operate, the noise of same reminds me of a jet engine on an airplane, taking off.

[Timothy Auger]

As a (British) editor, I was always taught never to use trade names in a generic way, and certainly never to use them with a lower-case initial; 'hoovering' is used colloquially, but I would never have allowed that to get into a publication. Xerox, Tannoy and Musak are similar cases. I guess Kodak might have been once, at least in the US. Mac and iPhone are getting there. Do Americans refer to brands of firearm in a generic way?

[Steve Smith]

The best vacuum cleaner ever is a Henry.

https://media.numatic.co.uk/images/gallery/md/00004263.jpg

[Dave I.]

Frank P. said, ". . . but decimated the community when he decided to move offshore so he could price point his designs to sell in big box stores and Amazon.... "

As you noted, "hoovering" in British.

The Hoover Company made a deal with the devil and their factory and distribution center in North Canton, Ohio is looking for tenants. Much like the old Packard factory in Detroit.

[Ian]

Just had a DC04 dyson have a motor fail after 17 years. We can get the motor repaired by dyson as the model is not yet opsolete. But they had an offer on this model for the same price as a full overhaul, with a new motor, of the old model. It arrived last week, so much quieter and the improvement on suction is incredible.

[Mark Kinsman]

Updated comment addition - I decided to buy this refurb as a replacement for the DC07 that is 14+ years old. It just arrived - big disappointment- item was clearly quite used- still had a large clump of hair, dust and dirt in the wand (GROSS!) and the canister was severely scratched, nicked and dinged. It's going right back to Amazon. Not such a deal if the item is well used and not at all refurbished.