If I have to unblock that pipe one more time....! (Dyson DC01)

Member Name: 137699

Product:	Dyson DC01
Date:	03/01/03 (1296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb suction, No bag, Good accssories

Disadvantages: Blocks up too easily, No revised part to fix, Losing power slightly

I bought my Dyson nearly 8 years ago. It is the original DC01 model, and I got it through distribution for the paltry sum of £140, when they were still £200+ in the shops.

For the first few months, we got on brilliantly. The suction was fantastic, and it brought my carpets up in such a way that I immediately binned the VAX which I'd been using for years before.

The DC01 is an upright model, and the handle detaches to become a mobile pipe, to which you can fit one of the three adapters - a creviace cleaner, a brush, and an upholstery adapter.

I won't bore you with the specifications, as the other 60+ reviews here will tell you all about the power, and filters that are provided, and the full range of accessories.

As a cleaner, it is a little bulky and cumbersome. The power is great, but you need to be more than slightly built to lug this thing up and down stairs. It does not clean right to the skirting board, although it goes pretty close.

There is one achilles heal which really lets this cleaner down, and that is how easily the pipes become blocked.

At the rear of the front roller is the outlet pipe where the waste is sucked into the receptical. I have to unscrew, remove this and unblock it at least once per month - which is a 15 minute job. Perhaps it is my dog, or my girlfriend's long hair which causes this but it is no end of frustration. It is a terrible design flaw. The hole through which the waste gets sucked, is a fairly small aperture, and to add insult to this, there is a stupid bit of plastic which particles easily get stuck behind - within minutes you get a blockage, causing dirt to be thrown back onto the floor.

I have checked, and there is no revised part, so we're stuck with it.

Probably because the DC01 is the original model, you should expect some design issues. I have looked at the later Dyson's, and this part has been radically redesigned.

I've a
lso noticed that the suction of the cleaner is not what it once was. 8 years ago it could practically suck a brick up, and while it still gets the job done, it's not quite the same. Again, I have used a DC07, and that was radically better than the DC01.

I think the time is coming for my DC01 to be pensioned off onto the 2nd hand market, as I have just spent too much of my life unblocking that pipe! I will certainly buy another Dyson, as I have not found another brand who's cleaners come close to outperforming a Dyson, but I'll buy a much newer model, and I'll be checking carefully for narrow pipes which might cause blockages!

Summary: