It's Just Animal (Dyson DC07 Allergy)

Member Name: SueMagee

Product:	Dyson DC07 Allergy
Date:	19/09/02 (5314 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See text

Disadvantages: See text

When one of our dogs decides to have a good scratch the entire house reverberates. At 42kg Rosie packs a good scratch. Her little (40kg) sister, Kia, hasn't quite got the power to rattle the plates three doors away, but she's still impressive. Both dogs are allergic to house dust mite.

It's easy to think of house dust as being just a single substance, but it's actually little bits of fibre, fur from animals, mould, bacteria and food particles as well as bits of plants and insects. Within this mixture are microscopic mites, which live in bedding, upholstery and carpets. They used to thrive in summer and die off in the colder months but now that houses are generally well-heated in winter they will thrive even then. Have you ever seen those particles which float in a shaft of sunlight? Well, in there are the dust mites along with their waste products and it's actually the waste products (didn't I put that nicely?) which provoke an allergic reaction. It happens in dogs but more commonly in humans and it can cause an asthma attack.

For several years our main weapon in the war against the house dust mite has been a Dyson DC03 and although it was good it did have drawbacks. The main one was that emptying the cylinder usually meant that you got at least some dust blown back onto you and it seemed pointless to vacuum only to bring some of the dust back into the house on your clothes so that the dogs could inhale it more easily. It could also only be good in those areas which it could effectively reach and it wasn't as good as it might be on edges or on stairs. Reluctantly we took the decision to upgrade to the DC07 Animal.

Why reluctantly? Well the best deal I could find was at £244.99 from Vacuum Cleaners Direct (excellent service by the way - I couldn't fault them) and this did seem a lot to pay for a vacuum cleaner. Then Rosie leant against me and scratched. When I recovered I realised that it was a
small amount to pay for their comfort.

~ Quick History Lesson ~

Good looking inventor (play 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' music here) moves on from his success in inventing a wheelbarrow which had a ball instead of a wheel, for greater stability, to produce a prototype of the first bagless vacuum cleaner, having realised that bags reduce suction. He roams Europe for a couple of years in the early eighties looking for someone willing to invest in the product. The baddies won't oblige though, because of all the money they make from selling replacement bags. Finally he works with a Japanese company to develop the first bagless vacuum cleaner for the commercial market and the rest, as they say, is just the story of a common-or-garden multi-millionaire.

~ End of Quick History Lesson ~


There are six models in the DC07 range. The basic model (grey and yellow) is for homes that are mainly carpeted. Next comes the turquoise and grey model for homes with carpets and hard floors. The turquoise and blue model is the cheapest in the range to have the better air filtration system and along side this is a purple and lime model for people who habitually wear sunglasses. Soon to be available is a tangerine and blue model for easier cleaning under low furniture, but it's the top-of the range purple model, The Animal, which I'm going to concentrate on today.

It came in a big box, a very big box and I will confess that I struggled to open it. Once inside though, I found some instructions which showed me that there was an easy way to open the box, but, of course, I had to open the box to find them. I'd almost rather not have known. If you have the space it's worth saving the box in case the vacuum ever has to go back to Dyson. Something else you might like to do whilst you're being all efficient is to make a note of the serial number which you'll find on the rating plate on the base. You'll
need this to register the guarantee and if you ever need to contact the Dyson Helpline.

It wasn't that long ago that I'd assembled the DC03 and I didn't anticipate any difficulties with the DC07, but it wasn't quite so simple. I had a couple of false starts in trying to attach the hose to the main body and it didn't actually all click together until I cursed it roundly. Three of the tools, the stair, brush and crevice tools, click neatly into slots on the main body, but the 'Animal Turbo Tool' is rather like a spare part for someone else's cleaner. You'll have to find it a place to live and remember to get it out when you want to use it.

The first thing that struck me is that this machine is heavy. If you say '8.6kg' quickly it doesn't sound a lot, but it's heavy and unwieldy to carry upstairs, particularly if you're 5'4" and have a bad back. The Dyson website (http://www.dyson.co.uk/range/feature_frame.asp?mo del=DC07-ANIMAL) says that it's light to use, but 'd qualify this and say that it depends on your carpets. On a short pile carpet that's tightly anchored to the floor it moves easily, but if there is the slightest give in the carpet or it has a longer pile the suction is so strong that vacuuming is better exercise than going to the gym.

The suction is impressive though. I used it shortly after I'd vacuumed with the DC03 (which had always impressed me before) and was rather embarrassed at the amount of dirt that was removed. Edges were cleaned easily because of the 'whiskers' at each side of the vacuum which flick dirt up into the airflow and thus into the cylinder. The disadvantage here is that the machine is bulky (the base is roughly 34cm wide, 31 cm deep and 16cm high) and I couldn't get it into some of the areas which the DC03 had reached easily. You also have to take the size into account when considering where you will store
the vacuum.

The Animal has a 'reversible wand'. You and I would call this a handle with a long tube at the end. Either end of this 'wand' (you'd think cleaning got done by magic, wouldn't you?) attaches to the hose which does give some versatility when you're using the tools. The tools will attach directly to the hose if you're working in a confined space, such as the car, but I have found that the connection between the hose and the Animal Turbo Tool is not particularly good in this situation and we've suffered a divorce in the middle of the stairs on more than one occasion.

The hose is said to stretch to 13 metres and this is quite probably true if it's simply stretched without the power being on, but once it is the suction is such that it's very difficult to stretch it to half this length. I struggle to reach the top of some very unexceptional stairs and when I say 'struggle' I mean struggle! You can only work with the machine at the bottom of the stairs (unless you're keen on meeting for a passionate embrace in the middle of the stairs) so you have to switch the power on and pull the hose upstairs behind you. By the time that you're nearing the top of the stairs you feel that there's some tremendous force trying to pull you backwards down the stairs.

I'm giving you the feeling that I don't really like the animal aren't I? Well, that's not strictly true. I love the results, but I find it hard work. Those sunbeams with dust motes are a thing of the past and the house always smells so much cleaner and fresher when I've vacuumed these days. I love the fact that I can detach the cylinder, hold it in the dustbin, release a trigger and all the dust drops out through the bottom. I no longer need a shower and a complete change of clothes after I've emptied the cylinder. It's great to be able to vacuum the whole of the downstairs of the house,
or the upstairs without having to constantly unplug the vacuum. I like the lifetime filter which I can wash every six months rather than replace.

The Dyson comes with a two-year guarantee. With the DC03 I took regular advantage of this and there was never any problem about them providing replacement parts or sending a repairman if necessary. You also receive an offer of two months free insurance for a dog, cat or rabbit with Petplan. This does, however, only apply if you take out a policy for which you will have to pay. Both our dogs are already insured with Petplan so this was of no value to me.

We're getting used to each other. It's just that sometimes it's not so much animal, more a ferocious beast!

Summary: