Dyson DC25 Ball All-Floors Upright Vacuum Cleaner
by Dyson, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $464.49 You Save: $34.51 (7%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $325.00 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Dyson DC25 Ball All-Floors Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Customer Review: Stupendously suck-tastic... Really!
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, I don't know that I can say it better than the title. This thing sucks hard-core... In the good way. People who have, in other reviews, lambasted the packaging are either suffering from acute illiteracy (the directions for opening easily are on the box, plainly printed in large-font, high-contrast ink,) or severe near-sightedness. Tonight, admittedly, was my first evening with the vacuum. I did what I would consider a decent amount of testing by cleaning about half of the floor area of my apartment, including the rough slate-tiled kitchen, hallway and bathroom and a touch of carpeted living room, as well as a basic upholstery clean of the couch... And let me tell you... Wow.
I am an allergy suffering asthmatic, and have always viewed vacuuming as a mildly unhealthy (albiet necessary) pass-time. For the first time, ever, I was able to do the deed without breathing in half my own microscopic flakes of shed skin in the process. A major plus. The clean state of my massively uneven slate tile kitchen, after a fresh sweeping yesterday, is only the most basic testament to this machine's good design. This was all achieved properly, without resort to the power brush. Further, my previous vacuum, a sclerotic 18-amp Herbert dirt-mover, had left so much gunk in my rug that simply sweeping through a bit of the living room filled the dust reservoir almost by itself. The side-to-side clean is appallingly awesome. Dust was wicking across the floor to find a home in the guts of Sir Dyson's monster. I plan on using the upholstery attachment on my mattress, and finishing a full clean of all the carpet in the apartment tomorrow to conclude this honeymoon... Then, to promptly repeat twice a week for at least a month until I feel clean again. The only criticisms I am forced to agree with (all of which I've read in reviews on amazon,) are as follows:
* The ball is too tall to allow for much low-profile sub-furniture cleaning using the powered brush head.
* While the vacuum is quite maneuverable, sometimes the old back-and-forth still serves best... The ball, in other words, will take a bit of time to get used to, and slows up cleaning for traditionalists.
* The power brush head is not wide enough to allow easy cleaning even under the modest overhang of standard modern cupboards, even given the ability to tilt the machine at 45 degrees to angle properly and dodge in sideways.
* There is nowhere to put the accessories that didn't come with the vacuum, so one is rather up the river if one would like a mini turbine-head someday...
* Use of the wand keeps one upright, but the flat upholstery tool is, umm... difficult to use. The hose is just stiff enough to drag the vacuum a few feet behind one if one moves too much while captured by the muse of cleanliness.
* The vacuum always starts, if not in its locked upright state, with the power bar running. If one had hardwood floors, I should think one would want Sir Dyson to make account for this. The activation button is easy enough to toggle, but I'd personally rather turn the brush on than off.
Honestly, that is about it. I'm sure I'll come up with more to dislike over a great deal of time, but this is the first time I've been able to breathe without wheezing after vacuuming, ever... The air smells clean, and isn't making me sick! That's a gift well worth the price of a Dyson.
Customer Review: Dyson beats Kirby
Summary: 5 Stars
The Dyson DC25 that I purchased yesterday is a clear improvement over the 16-year-old Kirby that it replaces. It picked up an amazing amount of dirt and fuzz; maybe the carpets will be beige again instead of grayish!
I bought the ball version specifically because I'd had it with my clunky old Kirby's lack of maneuverability. The ball plus the narrower front end definitely make the Dyson easier to direct into tight places and between chair legs. The Dyson does feel heavier in use, although I'm sure it weighs less, because the Kirby provided a drive assist and was largely self-propelled. For that reason I won't suggest the my 70-something mother get one, as the Dyson does require a bit of strength, but for me the trade-off in its tighter turns is worth a little effort on my part. The Dyson fits further under low furniture and even uses its "kick stand" wheels to advantage if you lay it down to roll under an end table.
The Dyson's suction impresses not only for the dirt it lifts but for its restraint too. Ol' Kirby loved to gobble up area rugs, laughing at me as I vainly stood on the rugs while trying to vacuum them. The Dyson tugged at some of these rugs, but it never ate them, and now they look fluffed as well as clean. One reason I had kept the Kirby so long was for its suction when using attachments, but the Dyson performed every bit as well. The hose portion is stiff, but I hope it will soften in time, and it does reach far. Since its pieces snap together, they don't separate in mid use the way the Kirby's twist-together attachments invariably did. Another plus for the Dyson is that the attachments are always with you, and you don't have to bend down and disassemble things to use them; you just click, pull, and go without even cutting the power. The Kirby required fetching the hose and attachment ends, turning the machine off, disengaging the drive belt and removing the beater end, then hooking up the hose, often leaving a small pile of dirt on the floor beneath this operation. The Dyson skips the hassle and lets you attack that cobweb on the wall without the 5 minute pit stop. I do wish for two more attachments ends: a hard, round tube and a larger stair cleaner, as I was used to these with the Kirby.
Emptying a vacuum cleaner will never be this allergy-sufferer's favorite job, and I did have to reach up in the dust bin to pull out massive dust bunnies, but I was so amazed by all the junk the Dyson picked up from my floors that I didn't mind this brief contact. With the Kirby, I could only squish the opaque bag and wonder whether it was full, although the cloud of dust it emitted when turning it on usually gave me a clue. Dyson so far eats dust; it doesn't belch it out the way Kirby did. While vacuuming five rooms, I emptied the bin twice, but I expect that will be less frequent after this initial phase of picking up what the Kirby left behind.
Overall I'm quite happy with the Dyson and hope it lasts a long, long time.
Pros
* suction: plenty strong without eating area rugs
* maneuverability
* convenient attachments: on-board, minimal change-over to start using, good power, long reach
* keeps dirt contained, doesn't spew dust when turned on
Cons
* a little heavy
* only two attachment ends included
Customer Review: Fabulous vacuum. It's worth every penny.
Summary: 5 Stars
I got everything I wanted in a vacuum: user-friendly, light, a killer carpet cleaner, and easy to maintain. I found that with my Dyson DC 25.
How picky am I: Very. I am quick to complain about any little fault I find in a product.
Our house: My husband and I live in a three-level condo. All the rooms are carpeted, minus the kitchen, bathrooms, and dining room.
Time owned: We bought it in November 2008.
Putting together: Super easy. I'm one who really needs easy directions and this was a snap to put together.
First use: The first time we used this vacuum, we picked up five canisters full of dog hair from the previous owners' dog.
Weekly/biweekly use: We vacuum once a week, sometimes twice a week, and the vacuum picks up dust, dirt, and whatever is on the floor. The canister usually fills up about two thirds, maybe a little more. It's so easy to dump the junk directly into the garbage can.
Use on stairs: Fantastic. We have 13 stairs and the tube reaches all the way up. The tube and attachments pick up everything.
Weight: It's easy to carry up stairs and push around.
Ball: Awesome.
Cord: I don't mind that it doesn't have a self-retracting cord; I think that would have made the device heavier. It's really easy to unplug and move from room-to-room. Wrapping the cord around the back is not hard at all. Sometimes the cord gets in the way when I'm vacuuming, but it's really easily to hold or move.
Maintenance: It is so easy to take out the two filters and clean them and put them back.
Customer service: Amazing. There is a seam in the back of the canister that I mistook for a crack. So I called customer service. They lady I talked with was so nice. I told her what my problem was; she didn't ask any questions and sent a new one immediately, free of charge. It turned out that the new canister had the exact same seam, so I took a closer look and I realized that I had been mistaken. The "crack" was actually a seam. There was nothing wrong with the first canister at all. So I have the second canister just in case anything does happen.
Cost: Pricey, but worth every single penny. I love this vacuum. I wish my parents could have had one when I was growing up. Just having a bag-less vacuum saves so much energy that can be spent on replacing a bag. And this is a bag-less vacuum that is light, easy to use, and works.
How do I feel about vacuuming: I used to hate everything about it. In the past I used vacuums that were too heavy, didn't do the job completely, required a lot of maintenance, and were too complicated. It was so frustrating getting so little reward for so much effort. Now it is such an easy to thing to do. It doesn't take up a lot of time, and it's actually fun (!) because I can see all the dirt I've picked up at the end after so little effort.
Customer Review: Outstanding!
Summary: 5 Stars
This thing is amazing!
I have wanted a Dyson ever since they first came out, but when I went to a store to look at them, it was so heavy I would need one for each level of my house and not enough closet space to store them.
This is under 12 pounds, fits easily in a closet, and is so light it's very easy to carry up stairs. I'll admit I'm not a fan of cleaning but being a female engineer I certainly appreciate well-designed products. This one has many clever features. The cleaning head is low-profile, so it easily hugs floor boards under kitchen cabinets (huge plus!). The ball design is incredibly inventive and so easy to use. It's like the difference hauling a suitcase around that has weels that go in only one direction vs. the new ones with pivot wheels - makes SO much sense and doesn't hurt my back to use it.
Cleaning power is great! It isn't especially labelled for pet hair cleanup, but does a great job. I cleaned once with my old vaccuum, then filled this Dyson up with a 2nd run through. I was amazed at how much my old one didn't pick up!
Assembly is easy - just 3 snap in place steps and no tools. If you get stuck on attaching the wand (which didn't seem to fit when you put it in according to the picture), turn it around to the other side and it snaps right in.
Most vacuums have hand tools that are awkward or just don't work. This is so easy to pull out (with a long handle to reach ceiling cobwebs) that I don't hesitate to use it many times in the midst of vacuuming a room. The attachments have very good suction power. The long handle makes everything, floor to ceiling to window sills, easy to reach without effort.
The only thing I'd improve upon is a better attachment for stair cleaning. The attachment isn't quite wide enough to make stair cleaning as fast as I'd like. I think there is an attachment sold separately that looks wider that might be better. And if you try to do stairs without the attachment (and carry the whole vacuum up each stair), it is difficult because the back set of balls move and disable the rotating brush and you can't manouver the whole thing across a stair. But no vacuum can do that properly, right?
All in all, I think it is a tad bit expensive, but I think I'll never buy another vacuum in my life. And how good for the environment, not needing to buy and throw away vacuum bags! If I divide the cost by the number of years I'll use it and the decreased allergens in my house, it is worth every penny!
I'm not the kind of person to get excited about a vacuum cleaner, so I hope you appreciate my review :) I really do like this machine!
Customer Review: Love at second, third, fourth, etc. use....
Summary: 5 Stars
So I'm a person who will read like all 200 reviews of a product before I buy it. If there any more of you out there, this one's for you!
I have had my Dyson DC25 for around 2 weeks. I was SO excited to get it home after going through 6 vacuums in 6 years. Yes, you read that right. I have three boys, 2 cats, and we had a dog in the mix at one point as well. I've owned Hoovers, Dirt Devil, Bissell, Eureka, and the list goes on. Hubby and I finally decided that we would fork over the money for a Dyson, not only because it's so well rated, but because of the 5 YEAR guarantee!! This would've been useful with our other vacuums.
So, brought it home, plugged it in, expecting a major WOW factor. Like, to see just gobs and gobs of goodness knows what collecting in the receptacle. The semi-bad news is, that didn't happen. (The good news is, I'm a better housekeeper than I had previously thought!!) So, initially, I was a wee bit disappointed. I think in my mind this thing was going to make my carpets look new or something. Which it didn't, it just made them look vacuumed. Well, a couple days and a couple vacuums went by, and I started looking around at my carpet, realizing - my carpet actually DID look better. A bit fluffier, and just overall BETTER. And then my husband commented on something I thought I was just imagining, that the house SMELLED cleaner. As in, fresh air, no more odors coming from the carpet - not that we had a stinky house, but sometimes if you lay on a carpet or whatever, there can be a kind of residual smell just from day to day life. Not anymore! When I walk into my house now, it smells FRESH. The on-board tools took a little getting used to, but now I love them, they are brilliant!! The dust bin is pretty easy to empty, although it's not entirely hands-free, you will have to get your hand up there to clean debris out from time to time. But heck, if you're not willing to do that, take the money you would've spent on a vacuum and hire a maid. Maneuverability is outstanding. On my deep pile carpet it's a little harder to manage, but that tells me it's cleaning nice and deep. And cleans very well on hard/tile floors as well.
Only real con I can think of is that the power cord is pretty darn short. I mean, it's usable, but it was a little disappointing to have such a short cord.
I'll try and edit in another month or so to keep this current!
All in all - HIGHLY recommended. This is a keeper for sure. If you want a clean and healthy home, this is the vac for you.