Dyson DC14 All-Floors Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner
by Dyson
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List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Dyson DC14 All-Floors Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Customer Review: Consider the negatives before believing the positives
Summary: 4 Stars
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R22MU8EWRHRU12 I've owned my [refurbished] DC14 for a month now. I vacuum roughly twice a week, a small 2-bedroom condo with about 2/3 carpet and 1/3 tile floors. This vacuum seems to do a great job on both surfaces, although on the carpet, I honestly don't notice a huge difference over my previous Bissell Cleanview. I would describe its carpet performance as "good" meaning I don't know what else I could ask for, really.
For my tile flooring, with the brush-roll off, this does a surprisingly good job. I primarily am picking up kitty litter and hairs on this surface, so I can't vouch for too many crazy types of dirt. I do know it only takes 1-2 passes, where my Electrolux stick vacuum (battery-powered) takes several.
The dirt container is very easy to empty and cleaner than my previous vacuum, although still not really *clean* as you have to touch the dirty area to close the container back up.
My main gripe so far is with the hose/wand piece. I feel like this was a very poor design choice. Yes, it provides a lot of suction power; more than my previous vacuum (although I think this may be partially due to the smaller tube diameter at the end making the suction seem stronger). However, I'd take the maneuverability of my old wand any day. This thing is really hard to maneuver when you HAVE to extend the ~2-foot-long long metal tube to use it (trust me, you have to extend it). This puts the actual tool 2' away from you, and as many of us know, getting right in there with the tool/suction point is often the best way. Being two feet from the suction at all times makes it frustrating to use (see video). It's almost like this wanted to be part upright, part canister vac. It fails at the canister part, and sort of fails at half of the upright part as well in a sense that the wand functionality is greatly reduced.
The overall quality seems good, but maybe not good enough if you're paying around five hundred bucks. I got mine for half of that, and I feel like that's about what it is worth, to be totally honest. It just hasn't blown me away any more than any other vacuum I've ever used.
I see that many like to do the "Dyson test" and vacuum with one of these directly after their previous vacuum and see what it picks up that the other left behind. The problem as I see it with this test is that the reason you bought a new vacuum is because your old one was underperforming to begin with. Therefore, I wouldn't be too impressed that your brand new vacuum picks up a whole lot more than your old worn-out one. When jumping from my old old vacuum to my Cleanview I experienced the same thing. My Cleanview still worked fine when I switched to this and thus, I didn't notice a huge difference at all.
Pros:
-Suction seems very strong (although not hugely different from previous vac)
-Dirt canister super easy to empty/attach
-Holds a lot more than previous vacuum without decreasing suction power
-Cool attachment that has a "velvety" material on it to help get hairs and such off of fabrics
-Good on tile floors
-Ergonomic handle is more comfortable than before
-Relatively quiet when in use
Cons:
-Wand tool unwieldy and hard to use (although attachments are good)
-Annoying noise when in upright position (due to wand vent)
-Cord must be COMPLETELY unwrapped to use wand tool
-No light on front (is this a con?)
-Dirt cup mechanism could be a bit cleaner (somehow)
P.S. Sorry I said "unwieldy" so much, but it's just true!! =)
Update 8.5.08: Since I originally wrote this review I realized you can actually detach the handle from the flexible hose portion, which removes the long metal telescoping piece from the equation and allowing a lot more control. However, while this piece is removed I cannot easily switch the vacuum back into upright position without re-attaching it. Poor design on this piece alone would warrant a rating of 3.5/5 in my opinion. I would certainly look for a better implementation in a future vacuum.
Customer Review: A pain in the neck
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this vacuum about 3 years ago, and while I'm impressed with the amount of dirt it pulls out of my carpets, 3 years of hassle with this hulking, hard-to-manage behemoth is enough for me. I'm now shopping for something more ordinary. My BIGGEST problem is the hose attachment, which I dread using every time (and have to use all the time) - it is such a chore to prepare the hose for use. Unlike my old Hoover, which required only pulling the end of the hose out of its housing and flipping a switch, the dyson requires you to pull a the long extension tube out of a very tight-fitting hose, and then disengage it from the plastic piece at the end of the hose, and then reattach that plastic piece to the opposite end of the extension tube... and when you're done, you have to reverse the process. Sound complicated? It is. My mother was trying to help clean one day, and after 5 minutes of head scratching, gave up. And because everything fits together very stiffly, it's physically very difficult to do. I'm a healthy young person, and I struggle every time I have to do this. For that reason alone, I'm giving up on this thing; I'll keep it in the basement as a secondary vacuum, and get something lighter and easier to use for the rest of the house.
Other cons:
- Very heavy, a pain to carry up and down stairs
- It doesn't come with an attachment for vacuuming stairs, so you'd have to lug the darn thing up to each step and vacuum, which is a MAJOR chore, or shell out another $45 for the appropriate attachment
- When I get to the edge of my wall-to-wall carpeting, or on area rugs, it sucks so hard the carpet gets caught up in it, and it makes a HORRIBLE, VERY VERY LOUD ratcheting sound that scares the living daylights out of everyone in the house.
- The hose is long, but not very stretchy, so not practical to use for stairs. When I do use the hose, the unit almost always falls over
- The bottom portion is so tall, not only does it not fit under furniture but it routinely scratches and scrapes them up
- Dust gets caught in the canister and you must reach up inside to get it all out (I think I'm going back to bags)
Customer Review: Dyson DC14 vs. DC15
Summary: 5 Stars
Today (March 22, 2008) Fry's Electronics store has both All Floor REFURB DC14 ($250) & All Floor REFURB DC15 ($300) on sale. I purchased both. Like everybody else, I first vacuum my carpet with my 11 year old Eureka Sanitaire ($400) commercial vacuum cleaner. Then I vacuum with the Dysons, WOW, double WOW! The amount of dog hair picked up was unbelievable! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it! I really, really like the see thru plastic. To see what is picked up and when it should be emptied.
DC14 vs, DC15 comparison
Motor Noise
The DC14 noise was low enough for my wife and I to talk in a normal voice while vacuuming. With the DC15 my wife and I had to raise our voice to hear each other.
Weight and Push-Pull
Picking up by the cyclone canister handle, I could not detect any difference in weight.
The DC14 push-pull is much easier. The DC15 does require more body strength. However, the DC15's BALL does give you greater flexibility.
Telescope Wand and Flex hose
I hate the Telescope Wand! I remove the wand and connect the tools directly to the flex hose. The DC15 flex hose is attached to the body, at the bottom, and pivots out when you pull on the hose, giving the hose better flexibility when using the tools. Versus the DC14 hose snaps in and is rigid at the bottom.
Brushbar head or Brushbar housing
Reasons why I like the DC15 brushbar head better then the DC14 brushbar head.
When I vacuum our 5x8 rug with the DC14, it sucked up so strong, it pulled the rug against the brushbar to stop it turning, and the belt's safety mechanism slipped, causing a very loud noise. The DC15 brushbar housing is designed different and continued to rotate. I don't mean the DC14 vacuum is stronger, but the DC15 brushbar head is different, with its direct drive versus belt drive.
We have kitchen tiles against our family carpet. When I was vacuuming the carpet with the DC14, I backed up onto the tiles, and the brushbar head came off the carpet (on a pull motion), then as I pushed towards the carpet, the head caught on the high edge of the carpet. I repeated this and half the times the DC14 head would catch on our high edge carpet, the DC15 never did.
I also vacuum the stair's carpet holding the dyson unit as one would hold a shovel. This means I am vacuuming with the brushbar head, not the mini tool head or not the mini turbine head that comes on the animal model. Holding the dyson unit (like a shovel) is not easy but the results are worth it. The DC15 head pivots giving it greater flexibility, over the DC14. But the DC14 was easier to hold. I also like the see thru plastic on the DC15 head. I could see when hair and thread were wrapped around the brushbar without having to tip it over to view from the bottom.
The DC15 housing is low profile versus the DC14, thus allowing you an extra 1-2 inches under the sofa.
Other diff
To switch off the brushbar, to go from carpet to bare floor, the DC15 switch in next to the handle's On/Off switch, on the DC14, it's on the brushbar housing.
On the DC14, when you are ready to vacuum the carpet, I would take a step forward and use my left foot, to press down on the brushbar housing, and pull handle down. On DC15 backside, there is a large yellow plastic pedal to step on with my right foot, and then pull handle towards me.
Cyclone canister
Same canister on both DC14 & DC15. The DC14 inside plastic is yellow, the DC15 inside plastic is gray.
Summary
My wife like the DC14 better due to it's easier to handle and less noise.
I (husband) like the DC15 better due to it's better turning and hose flexibility, and the DC15 brushbar head.
I also reviewed Consumer Reports and Consumer Search. Both gave BEST BUY to Eureka Boss SmartVac. I looked at model 4870, wow, it's so cheap looking. There is a difference in the plastic between Dyson and the others. Consumer Report also gave Sears Kenmore 35922 a higher overall score then the Dyson. I looked at this model, and its looks like a very good vacuum cleaner, much better then the Boss 4870. But I still think as a long term investment, a Dyson will have a better return on my dollar and my satisfaction.
Oh yea, since I do 98% of the vacuuming, we kept the DC15 and returned the DC14.
Customer Review: Dyson is a wonder
Summary: 5 Stars
Never had a vacuum that worked so well. Extremely lightweight and easy to push, yet it is very efficient. All the Hoovers we have had in the past few years were bulky, constantly breaking down and never were as good at bringing up the pile or cleaning as deeply. The extra $$ are worth it.Customer Review: I spent $500 on a F------- Vacuum!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I just spent $500 on a vacuuum, and I can say, even though it broke my wallet, it is pretty much worth it, this is THE BEST vaccum I have ever owned. What made me purchase the Dyson is that I have terrible allergies, and the carpet in our apartment was not being vacummed regularly, mostly because we would buy them every 6 months or so and they would all break down.
The Dyson is a completely different animal. First off it is built solidly, made mostly out of aircraft grade polycarbonite. The colors are a bit weird, but who cares? So like I said before the apartment doesn't get cleaned often, we had bought another vacuum, an Eureka Boss 4D, and it stopped working one day for unknown reasons, I think the apartment was just too damn dirty, and we have lots of pennies all on the ground.
I will have to protest the "Never lose suction" motto that Dyson keeps slinging around. It should read, "Difficult to lose suction". To all those other idiots writing reviews, it is common sense that a clogged filter will lose suction, just in the Dyson it is a lot more difficult, but it is possible. Long story short, it picks up a ton of dirt, no bags to fiddle with, although, depending on how dirty your carpet is, you will have to empty it more often. On first pass, I filled the container, and getting it completly clean involved taking the filter apart seperatly from the barrel, and washing it with a wet cloth. other than that, is this worth $500? Yes, because you can't get another brand name that can clean like this. I know from experience, over the years I have owned at least 20 vacuums. I do think Dyson would sell a lot more vacuums at $300 though.