Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had a DC28 that I liked up until it died :( I had it about 3 years, which considering I vacuum a LOT wasn't too bad. Vacuums have a tough job at my house, I raise and show Persians and Exotic Shorthair cats, we have an indoor/outdoor dog, and we live at the edge of the desert :) I wrote a nice review about the DC28. When it died I was excited to get my new Dyson home--my husband got me their new, top of the line vac--the DC41 complete. The idea was great--the ball. In practice, not so much. It does maneuver nicely, but OMG it collects a LOT of debris and hair! Really yucky... I thought maybe it was just my carpets going several days without a good vacuuming... so I finished the first room, cleaned the ball off with a swiffer cloth, and revacuumed the room. Couple passes over a small area, and the ball was grody again :( This thing does NOT suck like my old DC28. Not even close. It left a LOT behind--hair that I could see, and fine debris that I could see collecting on the ball... and in it's many grooves... One of the things I did NOT like about the 28 was all the crevices dust and hair collected in. On the bottom, in the brush housing, behind the cleaner... But it had enough going for it, I put up with it. The DC41 is WORSE for all of that--and since it is all plastic, it attracts it. The DC41 is NOT HEPA. That was a shock. HEPA is important to me for a couple of reasons--we have strong allergies in my house probably being the biggest of those. The new Dyson is "asthma and allergy friendly"--it is NOT HEPA. Further, it does a crappy job filtering. Run it in bright sunlight. Do some googling--the truth is out there--even their old HEPA vacs were pretty iffy, but this one is BAD. This vacuum is ALL plastic. And cheap plastic at that--it feels fragile. The DC28 was largely plastic, but more robust, and several parts (like the wand) were metal. Dyson's customer service was BAD. All I wanted to know was if this vac was HEPA or not. It was like pulling teeth--they didn't answer email inquiries... and dodged the question when I did get someone. OK--so I DON'T like this vacuum... But it DOES have some good things... Dyson is fabulous at innovating... they just don't carry it through. HERE ARE THE THINGS I LIKED/LOVED ABOUT THE DC41 COMPLETE: If this was a canister vac, I would be sold. (But it is an upright, so we expect it to do floors decently!) 1.) The tools on this thing are fantastic! It has something to do every job I have exceptionally well, except floors. Love LOVE the tools... for furniture, sills, fans, stairs... the tools are fantastic. 2.) The suction thru the wand is GREAT. For everything but cleaning carpet, I loved this thing. 3.) No need to buy bags. If the filtration was good, not having to buy bags is nice--and the Dyson emptying mechanism is much better than other bagless vacs I have tried. 4.) The filters are made to last, and washable. That said--mine went back after a week. I bought a Miele Jazz, and it is AMAZING. I've posted a review about it, if you are curious. It is carried through beautifully--powerful and CLEAN. No complaints about it at all, although I do wish it had more attachments available--or even better, included. But that is no tradeoff--the Miele does everything I need it to, perfectly.