It's A Bit Of A Monster (Dyson DC07 Animal)

Member Name: Nomad

Product:	Dyson DC07 Animal
Date:	16/09/03 (2255 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful suction, effective turbobrush tool, eood savings to be had if you shop around.

Disadvantages: Expensive RRP, heavy, no on board storage of turbobrush tool.

Sooner or later we all have to do it. It's like one of those rites of passage things. It was only when my time came that I realised how complicated it all appeared to be.

I'm talking about buying a vacuum cleaner of course. It's one of the most under-rated and yet, when it stops working, one of the most annoying household appliances. I had been trying to put it off for a while but I finally realised our old cleaner was past it about five months ago.

It had long been at the stage where I would run the vacuum over the same small spot of carpet a dozen or more times in the hope that it would get that last little piece of fluff. It never did, but I kept trying to encourage it. Yes, I could have just picked it up in a fraction of the time but that's what the vacuum was for, damn it. It was a bit like my insistence to walk the entire length of the living room to get the TV remote despite the fact I had been right next to the TV to start with.

Then of course there were the cats. Two little black ones. Quite how they produce so much fur is beyond me but they do. They are almost eighteen months old and shedding more fur as each day goes by.

Finally the day came when our old vacuum could take no more and reached a point where it would cut out after only minutes of use. I tried to open it up in order to fix it but I only succeeded in removing handfuls of cats hair which was wrapped around every single moving part in the cleaner.

So, with my head held high, I decided it was time to do what a mans got to do. I pleaded with my girlfriend.

The usual session of browsing through catalogues and web sites followed. As per usual when looking for a new electrical item you have to learn to recognise a different sort of language, one specific to manufacturers. Remote Trigger Bin Emptying, Anti-jam Brushbar, HEPA filtration, Brush Control ... Sorry, but I just want to buy a vacuum cleaner. I want to switch it on, push it around the carpet and have all the cat's hairs sucked up without clogging up the machine.

No search for a vacuum is complete without at least a quick browse of the Dyson range and it was while searching through their website that we discovered the DC07 Animal. While it's looks and purple and silver colour may put some people off, I personally don't think it's especially ugly but since most of the time it's stored out of sight that wasn't a great concern.

The first thing to attract us was the animal tag and the promise that it was the most powerful bagless upright for pet hair. The DC07 comes in a range of models. The standard DC07 is silver and yellow and is mainly for carpeted houses. There is a model for houses with carpets and hard floors (DC07 allfloors) and a couple for allergy sufferers (DC07 allergy+)

Different models in the range include different features but the main thing to set the DC07 animal apart from the rest is the inclusion of a mini turbobrush tool designed specifically to remove pet hairs from upholstery and stairs. It's at this point that I'd strongly recommend a visit to the Dyson website for a better description of all the features and exactly what they do. However I will give a quick run down of some of the, what I consider to be, main points.

Apart from the aforementioned turbobrush tool it has lifetime HEPA filtration (meaning no need to change it) an adjustable brush control (to vacuum hard surfaces) and a reversible wand which means the handle of the vacuum unclips from the body, flips around and can be re-attached. With the additional three supplied tools you can then reach awkward areas or vacuum the curtains.

The base itself has an angled brush along the side and front which enables you to reach every last speck of dust right along the edge of a wall. All the tools, apart from the extra turbobrush tool clip securely onto the body of the vacuum, which feels sturdy and durable. Fortunately the design still allows access to key areas should anything get blocked, not that I have had any such problems with it as yet.

This particular model uses Dysons' root 8 cyclone technology, which has been endorsed by the British Allergy Foundation. This indicates that it should be suitable for those particularly susceptible to dust. It also comes with two months free petplan insurance.

At £290 it's certainly not cheap, in fact it's among the most expensive in the DC07 range, but a quick search on the internet revealed that Tesco.com were selling it for £230. There were a couple of sites selling it cheaper but I'd used the Tesco site before and decided to go with what I knew.

It arrived a couple of weeks later as predicted. Although not flat-packed it certainly arrived in more bits than I was expecting but a quick read of the instructions and ten minutes later it was all put together. Not only that but I didn't have any unexpected spare bits left over which I always consider a good sign.

The first thing that struck me was the weight of the vacuum. 8.6 Kg may not seem like much when displayed on a computer screen but it's certainly a hefty piece of kit to lug around.

In practice it's not much of a problem when vacuuming as it's very well balanced. It does feel heavier to use than my last vacuum and the extra suction also makes it's presence known but I do find it comfortable to use. However, the weight is something to keep in mind if you are going to have to carry it between floors.

I'd like to point out that I do my fair share of jobs around the house, other than cooking that is, mainly because I have no desire to give my girlfriend food poisoning. Vacuuming is classed as one of my jobs and while I can't honestly say I look forward to doing it, I do occasionally find it somewhat therapeutic. One of the joys of this particular vacuum is that, due to the clear bin you can see everything that it picks up. As it builds up and swirls around in the bin the effect can be strangely hypnotic.

Of course I expected the first use to make a real difference (which it did) mainly due to the fact that our previous cleaner did a pretty poor job. But when I used it for a second and third time I was quite surprised by how much it was still pulling up. I've already said the cats leave a lot of hairs over the place but the quantity of fluff and hairs the bin contains after using it never fails to surprise me.

The turbobrush tool also appears to be very effective and easily removed several layers of pet hairs from the sofa and chair. It's just a shame the cats jump straight up on the sofa after we've vacuumed it.

So, is there anything I don't like about it? Well not much to be honest. I've already said it's quite a heavy machine, it's also a bit louder that my last one. The hose has a decent enough reach to clean all the stairs with the body sat on the ground floor although I must say that from about two thirds of the way up the pipe does need quite a strong grip as it's a bit of a tight stretch. This may be because it's new and hasn't been used much yet. While the hose may slacken off a little over time, care is definitely required.

I've already mentioned the price and I do think this is a bit on the expensive side but at the end of the day it does what we want it to do and does it very well. Saving £60 by shopping about makes it much more worthwhile and moves it into the fairly priced category. It would also be nice to be able to store the extra turbobrush tool on the body of the cleaner but I couldn't find anywhere suitable to clip it onto.

I've been using it now for about five months and haven't had any problems with it yet. Of course only time will tell how long the suction will last but it's certainly been able to tackle everything I (and the cats) have been able to throw at it so far. The animal comes with a two-year manufacturers warranty which should also give some peace of mind.

The website is well worth a look even if it's just to amuse yourself with the revolving vacuum images. I've included a link below which takes you direct to the DC07 animal page. Click on any of the listed features for more information.

All in all a very impressive vacuum and one highly recommended if you have pets. Going by the RRP of £290, it probably a little too expensive and combined with the few minor niggles I've mentioned I've decided to award it four stars. That said it can be bought cheaper if you shop around and at £230 it's within reach of that fifth star.

Thanks for reading
© Nomad 2003


Specifications
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Dimensions - 350 x 285 x 1172 mm
Weight - 8.6kg
Suction power(airwatts) - 330 airwatts (constant)
Bin capacity - 4 litres
Cord length - 8.35m
Maximum reach - 13m


Website
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Official Dyson website - http://www.dyson.co.uk/range/feature_frame.asp?mod el=DC07-ANIMAL

Summary: The small furry member of the Dyson family

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