Animal Story (Dyson DC07 Animal)

Member Name: wearsidelass

Product:	Dyson DC07 Animal
Date:	10/09/04 (986 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does pick up pet hairs as claimed

Disadvantages: Expensive to purchase and other Dyson models just as good

One household item that I simply cannot be without is a vacuum cleaner. I have tried various appliances throughout my ?housework? lifetime but have now settled for the Dyson DC07 Animal machine.

As my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels form part of my household and boy, oh boy, do they shed hair, then I needed something special that could take the effort out of cleaning up all those hairs!

As all pet owners are aware, pet hairs are a serious problem. Yes, we love our pets with all our hearts, but something I cannot stand to see is my floor coverings ? and by that I mean tiled, wooden floors as well as carpeting, covered in pet hair.

My old hoover gave up the ghost so I toured the shops, as we all do, for a replacement fit enough to do the job required and I kept going back to the DC07 Animal machine. It kept attracting me because of the sheer fact it keeps mentioning pet hairs so I asked the assistant, who was desperately trying to sell me this machine, for a demonstration of the DC07 Animal machine in Currys. I wanted proof that this machine could do the job. He duly put hairs and dirt onto a carpet sample and hovered it all up. Impressive so I ended up mading his day and bought the machine.


THE MAN CALLED DYSON
=====================

James Dyson is the man behind this brilliant product and his motto was that he could do better than the everyday products which almost always let everyone down.

Did you know that he invented the integral hose that is on most upright hoovers? Not only that, but he invented a sea truck, wheelboat, trolleyball and ball barrow. And here was little old me thinking he just invented hoovers and washing machines! There is more to this man than meets the eye! 
7;hat a clever person he is.

The first Dyson vacuum cleaner was made in Wiltshire in 1993 and was aptly name the Dyson DC01 and of course each new model was subsequently numbered.

INFORMATI& #79;N ON THE DC07 ANIMAL
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Dyson claim that this product is the most powerful upright machine for the removal of pet hair and, after using it, I would agree. My previous DC04 was good but I think this one picks up the hairs just that little bit better.

The DC07 Animal has been cleverly marketed in purple/grey which is quite eye-catching.

The machine features Dyson Root Cyclone? technology which works by spinning the air stream, dirt and any other debris to a centrifugal force which throws them out of the air. The dirt etc is spun at a tremendous speed that it goes straight into the clear plastic bin and doesn?t land on the filters thereby stopping the machine from ?clogging up? and so it actually picks up so much more dirt.

One of the features I like about this machine is the auto carpet-height adjustment. Unlike my previous machines which had to be adjusted manually, this one automatically adjusts the setting on the various floor coverings. As I have carpet, ceramic tiles and wood flooring in my bungalow then this feature is really great so that no bending down to the bottom of the machine for adjustments for the different thicknesses is necessary ? the machine thinks for you. Very handy.

It also has ?whiskers? at the side which clean the edges of the room and it has a lifetime HEPA filter but you must remember to clean the filter regularly ? probably about 2-3 times a year. I must admit I never did this with my previous Dyson but I must remember to do
so with this model.

A mini turbobrush is included which gives an improved performance for pick up the pet hairs (and any other debris for that matter) from various confined spaces eg: car, stairs and upholstery. In my case I don?t have the stairs so it doesn?t matter to me but after my dogs have been in my car they leave a deposit of hairs ? just as a way of thanking me for taking them out ? and this tool is very good for removing the hairs. This powerful tool picks up the pet hair by brushing the hairs and fibres out of the pile of the carpet/upholster and taking it into the suction section of the machine.

The HEPA filter is classed as a ?lifetime hospital-level? filter with Bactisafe? screen which helps to kill harmful bacteria and mould on contact. Apparently, it captures harmful particles and zaps them which is deal for allergy sufferers.

This machine also has a feature called the brush control which allows you to switch off the anti-jam brushbar in order to protect rugs and delicate floors ? how often have you heard that awful sound when the fringe from the rug has been zapped into the suction and is screeching at you to free it? Many times for me, that?s for sure!

The usual attachments (upholstery, stairs and crevice ? crevice is the longish tube that has one ended cut at a slanted angle( are located towards the top of the machine apart from the turbo tool which I keep in my cleaning cupboard. I have used all of these attachments and have been very pleased with their performance.

Another feature that I really like is the press button mechanism which releases the bottom of the see-through plastic cylinder thereby letting the waste go directly into the bin or waste bag. This is really good.

Blockages are quite easily sorted as there are removable sections at the bottom of the machine which are effortlessly removed in order to loo
k for the source.

Dyson do offer 2 months? free Petplan insurance with this product but I already have insurance for my pets so I didn?t need to take advantage of this offer. However, for anyone who has just acquired a pet and DC07 Animal then this is probably a good deal.

MY COMMENTS
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Whereas most cleaners don?t always seem to pick up the dirt brought into our homes Dyson machines really do. As the DC07 doesn?t have to rely on bags or filters to hold back the dust then they don?t lose the suction which is needed to carry out the job to perfection.

It does the job and, on the whole, I am pleased with it. There is nothing more than cleaning the carpets only to see pet hairs left behind. Apart from looking unsightly, I also think it is unhygienic.

The machine is very easy to use, not too noisy but does need to be emptied on a daily basis as the it fills up very quickly with pet hairs. This is not a problem though as mentioned previously disposal of dirt is very easy.

The one feature of this machine that I don?t particularly like is the hose section. Every day I detach the handle section and put on the crevice attachment in order to vacuum in hard to reach corners etc. I find difficulty trying to replace the handle section to fit properly into the hose section. I can get quite frustrated with this hose section to the point that sometimes I scream that my DC04 wasn?t like this!

Now, to the cost.

I was particularly horrified at the cost of this machine. I could have bought another DC04 for £154 but after the demonstration so kindly given by the salesman at Currys I was hooked and paid £249.99. He did try to sell me insurance but, after my experience with the insurance purchased on my American side-by
-side LG freezer (see my earlier review please) I declined and decided to take my chance.

If I am totally honest with you then I would say that if I had been given the opportunity to have the DC07 Animal for a trial period of say 2 weeks and then have to decide which model to purchase then I would definitely have bought the DC04 instead.

Why? For a starter, it is approximately £100 cheaper and does do a good job. I didn?t have any complaints prior to it breaking down. I think the couple of extra features on the DC07 Animal are not actually worth the extra £100.

So, there you have it, my opinion on this ?Animal? machine which has been very cleverly marketed by Dyson to pull in pet owners.

Summary: