Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Holy cow! I am equally horrified, amazed and delighted every time I use this Dyson Animal. I mean, you see the slick television ads and you read the stuff on their website about how good this vacuum is and all the stuff about it's amazing suction and how it doesn't clog up and can handle any amount of dog hair you throw at it. But until you USE it yourself, you don't really understand. Well...I didn't really get it. I do now and I can't believe I ever thought my house was clean before! After one use of the Dyson in my house I put the old Hoover in the dumpster with glee. First - this Dyson takes some assembling out of the box, but no tools. Every piece snaps and clicks into place - they include a comprehensive diagram attached right to the vacuum and a full book as well. The way it goes together is pretty smart - the extension hose and pole retract and click into the back handle out of the way when not needed and the canister is a simple click in place and one button release to empty. The roller ball movement takes a couple of minutes to get into the swing of using properly - just hold the handle and sort of swing it in the direction you want to go rather than pushing and pulling like with last century's vacuum cleaners. Once I figured out the movement, it was actually easier to use both on carpet and hardwood & tile than my old machine. This Dyson is heavy compared to other brands and styles - so be prepared for that if you are going to be lugging it up and down stairs. Using this Dyson Animal blows me away! We have six inside dogs. Big dogs. Big dogs with lots of hair that they can't seem to keep on their bodies. I vacuum and sweep every single day without fail. I have to with six dogs. I mop and dust at least 3 days a week. I keep a clean house is my point. The very first pass with the Dyson on our foyer rug left me speechless and horrified. In the photos below you can see that rug. On the left is the darker side - that's after ONE pass with the Dyson. The right side is the dull, grey side - that's the before. I had vacuumed that rug 24 hours earlier with my old Hoover. The last photo is the dog hair and sand etc in the canister after that one pass on half of that rug. I think the photos say more for the power and quality of this machine than I can. After several days of use, I have done every floor and area rug in our house a few times with the Dyson. It works equally well on wall to wall carpeting, tile and hardwood floor as it does on area rugs. This morning there was almost no sand in the canister after three rooms and very little dog hair. That tells me that the machine is not only getting every bit of the dirt, every day, but it's not throwing any of it back into my floors. There is a button on the vacuum that allows you to switch the spinning wheel off or on depending on the surface you're cleaning. Additionally, I've gotten a lot of use out of the included attachments - the hose & extender pole connect to the small furniture brush with spinning brushes that get the dog hair etc out of the crevices and fabric of the throw pillows and bottoms of the arm chairs easily. Bottom line is that if you can afford the price, this Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal is worth every penny and that is something I never would have believed until I used it in my own home with my own dogs. Just wow! ********** UPDATE August 2015 ********** It's been over 60 days now and I use this Dyson almost every day. It's amazing me with the sheer amount of crud it removes from my house. I have had no trouble with it clogging up or losing suction at all. I have used the attachments to clean the sofas, chairs, the car, and behind the dryer - yuck. I love this vacuum. ****** UPDATE JANUARY 2016 ******* After 7 months of regular use - almost daily - I have had no problems with this vacuum. I am still loving it and my house is definitely cleaner than before I had the Dyson. I even use the attachments to clean the vents in the ceiling, the ceiling fan blades, the drapes, my car, and anything else that I can think of. I have had to use a little soft brush to clean the filters off twice since June and that's not a big deal at all considering how much random dust & dirt finds it's way in our house. Six dogs and hay & horse hair particles every day are no threat to this machine. ******************** ONE YEAR UPDATE - JULY 2, 2016 ************************ I've had my Dyson Big Ball for a bit over a year now and I swear, you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. I have not had any problems with it in the past year. I have had to dust off the filters a couple of times and pull some loose hair off the roller on the bottom now and then. This thing has made short work of the dog hair, dust, sand, grass bits and what have you that gets dragged in our house every day between the dogs and my barn clothes & boots. I've even dragged it next door let my neighbor use it when her Oreck died - she has since purchased a Dyson by the way. I now have a Dyson cordless as well for use in the truck and up high in tight spots - that thing works equally well and is just as sturdy as this unit.