Animal anticts! (Dyson DC14 Animal)

Member Name: helen23

Product:	Dyson DC14 Animal
Date:	19/09/05 (2014 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent suction, long reach cable and hoses, very little maintenance.

Disadvantages: None really, perhaps a larger dust collection would be better.

As my old vacuum was get tired and not picking up dog hairs properly I decided it was time to invest in a new vacuum and as I had previously had good results with Dyson vacuums, I decided to return my allegiance to Dyson and invest in another one.

The last vacuum I purchased was a Morphy Richards allergy cylinder vacuum and to be honest was only purchased because of a need to spend less and do the job asked. It had filters on that had to be washed every time you emptied the dust collection cylinder and was losing suction each time you washed the filters so I have to say it was the worst £80 I ever spent on a vacuum.

After looking on Kelkoo comparing the prices, I decided on a Dyson DC14 animal and allergy bagless upright vacuum which I purchased from Tesco's at a cost of £232.95 including delivery.

There wasn't much difference in prices available online, the most expensive was 24 Electric.com who had the same one for £279.21 so I think with the clubcard points I received as well, I am pleased with my purchase. You are of course able to purchase from the Dyson website itself at a cost of £299.99 which surprises me that it is so much more than I paid. I expected a more reasonable deal if you were to buy direct, but anyway.

I ordered it on the Friday afternoon, my normal day for cleaning after giving up hopelessly with the old model. My new vacuum was delivered on Wednesday afternoon. So I am very pleased with Tesco's delivery service, 10 out 10 for that from me.

***DC14 Animal***

Sliding my finger under one of the flaps, the box opened easily. Inside the box is folded cardboard that fits snugly around the contents enclosed in the box. The first item to come out of the box is a bag containing the tools. Next I pulled out the handle wand and then flexible hose. Then out came the turbo head also in a plastic bag. After which I was able to remove the vacuum itself which was inside an open ended plastic bag.

At first I couldn't stand the vacuum upright but I soon located a block of polystyrene holding the vacuum head in an extended position which allowed it to fit in the box more snugly.
Around the clear cylinder was the instruction booklet which I then removed, along with the registration card and an option to increase the guarantee period from the standard 2 years to 5 years. This would of cost me a further £64 which I have decided against taking out. 2 years is long enough for me, it might seem like false policy but I can't afford to spend a further sum of money on the just in case scenario.

***Assembling the vacuum ***

The instructions informed me to push the flexible hose in the base until it clicked into place. Then I pushed the upper handle and wand down into the flexible tubing until it again clicked into place.
The tools were all then placed in position on the top and sides of the vacuum as instructed. The electric cable was curled into a tight ball and wired up. Upon undoing the wires, the cable was extremely twisted so I decided to follow the instructions and wrap around the cable winders on the vacuum for a while until it had uncurled slightly.

I do feel this is a bit unnecessary as if it had been wound up a bit less tightly, it wouldn't of been quite so twisted and tangled when I undid the holding wires. I was pretty keen to test out my new purchase and get hovering straight away, but felt it would be a bit of a disadvantage due to the twistiness of the cable.

***Instructions***

Also included in the box apart for the instructions, were a booklet called 'The Story of Dyson'. It basically introduces James Dyson, early products he made and how he overcame early problems including how Hoover tried to steal his ideas for themselves. An interesting fact I learned from looking at this, is that, Dyson products are on display in several museums around the world. I find that fascinating, it sorts of tells me what kind of appreciation is shown to James Dyson for his wonderful products and ingenuity.

The 'turbine head' also came with an instruction card informing me how to maintain it and keep clean. More about this later.

The main instruction booklet informs me of:
Box contents
Assembling your Dyson
Using your Dyson
Emptying the clear bin
Cleaning the clear bin
Washing the filter at least every 6 months
Finding blockages
Changing/fitting the belt (steel/yellow model only)

On the reverse cover of the instruction booklet, there is a list of accessories that are available for the DC14, Dyson customer care including telephone no's and website details. There is also some safety instructions:-
Do not pull on the cable
Do not use on stairs above you
Do not put your hands near the brush bar when in use
Do not use near naked flame (What!!!)
Do not leave cleaner near heat sources
Do not pick up water of liquids
Do not run over the cable
Do not pick up burning objects (What, does anybody pick up burning objects in a vacuum???)

Okay the vacuum itself, what's so special about it?

Firstly it has to be its' looks, it looks special and trendy with a good blend of silver and purple, both opaque purple and solid colour. Okay I know that looks don't make a vacuum, but if it looks nice, I might feel like using it a bit more frequently. You never know!

***Features***

^^^^^This vacuum is fitted with a HEPA + Bactisafe filter and has been awarded the British Allergy Foundation seal of approval. I have been using this vacuum now for 3 weeks and I am so pleased with it, my house is cleaner and I am no longer sneezing away whilst hovering, a definite benefit for me.
The one touch emptying is another good feature for me with regards to allergies because it is so easy to empty the dust collector without having to shake or touch anywhere near the dust. The clear bin can be easily separated from the upper cylinder part for washing.

^^^^^It uses the Dyson Root8Cyclone™ system makes it extremely efficient in terms of suction. I am not even going to try and explain that one to you, have a look at Dyson's website for a visual aid and explanation. All I do know is that I personally don't think you can beat a Dyson vacuum in terms of suction power.

^^^^^One of the extra tools that comes with this vacuum is the Mini Turbine Head which makes removing stubborn pet hairs from upholstery, chairs, cars or even the dog's bit of carpet really easy. It is attached to the hose or wand and when in motion, spins the brush bar round at a terrific speed and makes a sort of whine noise whilst sucking and you hear the air gushing about. It does feel quite heavy on it's own, I find it best to use with the rigid wand rather than the flexible hose. It is easy to clean, instructions are included but all you have to do is to remove the soleplate by twisting 2 buttons and slide out the brushbar, clean and replace.

^^^^^There is a really useful flexible lower pipe out of which comes the rigid wand which makes it really useful to reach further or higher. What I particularly like about this is the fact that you can extend the inner metal tube above the handle and it locks into place. You then have the handle in the middle with nearly 3 feet of tube above to reach that high corner along with the flexible hose underneath. You can of course use the flexible pipe only with the supplied tools which is great for better manoeuvrability like when cleaning cars. This really is the best extendable wand that I've used on a vacuum and find it so useful. It is also so easy to clean the stairs with as well, it reaches to the top with no problem and as it is 'lockable' there is no worry about the pipe being too short and flying out of your hand if overstretched. Something that used to happen with my old vacuum.

^^^^^The suction is designed to clean even at the very edge of carpet edges. This is achieved by little brushes which Dyson call whiskers that sort of stick out and flick the dust back into the airflow. I am really pleased with the edge to edge cleaning as I find it does really work and rarely do I have to use the wand and tools to get round the edge.

^^^^^All Dyson upright vacuums have a motorised brush bar which is constantly sweeping the dust into the airflow. It is also an anti-jam brush bar which basically means that if it were to become obstructed, it disengages and makes a ratchet noise to warn you. So far, so good and I've never experienced this so I can't comment further.

^^^^^There is a brush bar control which allows the brush bar to be turned off for use on hard floors or left on for carpet areas. It's not something I have used even on floors where I have a harder surface, I do tend to leave on the Auto setting which is set to On when using the vacuum. It would be useful I suppose for laminate flooring or tiles but I guess I'm old fashioned and get a brush out. It is designed to be turned off to protect delicate floors or rugs, though none of mine are what you'd call delicate. Not with 2 children (3 if you count hubby ) and my dog!

^^^^^There is two channels on the front cleaner head, one larger than the other for larger debris which is ideal for larger bits like nuts, food bits or other such small objects. I think this is a good feature as it will allow for greater cleaning, the dust will disappear up the first channel, leaving the larger bits for the wider channel behind.

^^^^^There is a pre-motor filter that removes particles down to 0.1 microns, the only thing you have to do with this is wash once every six months. There is a post motor filter which traps harmful carbon emissions from the motor, but this one never needs replacing. As I have yet to try washing the filter, I can't comment on this yet, but I did have a look at it and it's very similar to a blue piece of sponge which I am informed needs washing under the tap until the water runs clear, allow to dry completely naturally and replace and that's it. In the instruction booklet, there is a note about turning off the power and unplugging before washing the filter. I hope you all won't need to be reminded of this should you wish to purchase your own.

^^^^^Tools - There is the basic crevice tool which is angled to a bend. I did find this awkward at first, but once I got used to it, I actually find it quite useful now, it gets in the corners easier without too much bending on my part.
There is also an open brush tool which I useful for when there is dust about, for example after my hubby drills a hole for whatever reason, he never thinks about cleaning the dust off the wallpaper and so I can simply go over it with the brush tool and it all comes off beautifully.
The last one is the small head stair tool which is really only useful to me in very narrow places like near the bathroom sink and on the stairs, but it's one I couldn't do without all the same.

***Using the vacuum***

The first thing I did notice about this vacuum is the length of the cord, at an amazing 9.3 metres, I can plug it in and do the whole of the ground floor and up the stairs without having to move the plug at all. It's great. The only thing is my son is occasionally known to unplug it whilst I'm not in the same room when he knows I can't see him. Bless him!

At first I felt the vacuum was a little heavy, but having compared to my mother's Dyson DC04, it is actually no different. I have since checked on the Dyson website and the weight is actually 8.4 kg. As my old vacuum was a cylinder which you pulled along behind, I guess it was because I had got used to not having to push and pull it about with me. Now I'm used to it I find it very easy and nimble if that's the right word.

I don't think this vacuum is the quietest one I have ever used, but at least I am confident in it's ability. I can put up with a bit of excessive noise if it works well. It isn't so loud I can't hear the telephone ring, but you certainly can't have a conversation while anybody is vacuuming nearby.

The clear bin for dust collection needs emptying around every second time I vacuum if going right round the entire house which for us with a dog, I consider fairly good. It actually holds 2.7 litres of dust which is not as much as some of the older Dyson models like my mothers DC04 for instance, but as it doesn't affect the suction and is certainly sufficient for us, I don't feel this is a problem at all.

Each time I use this vacuum, I am amazed at how much dust and debris it picks up. My house has never looked so clean nor smelt so fresh.

In conclusion, if you are looking to purchase a new vacuum and are interested in the Dyson range, do check out their website, but probably not to buy from there, but you will learn so much from there. I would definitely recommend this vacuum and have confidence that you will not be disappointed with whichever model Dyson you choose, this is definitely one of the best I've tried yet.

Dyson Helpline:
08705 275 104

***www.dyson.co.uk (or .com)***
The website is well worth a look especially if you are considering purchasing any Dyson product, there is so much information on there, it loads quickly and gives demonstrations on lots of features of products available. There is a minefield of information for anybody intersted.

The following technical specifications were taken off the Dyson website:

Dimensions - 1110 x 335 x 340 mm (HxWxD)
Weight - 8.4 kg
Suction power (airwatts) - 280 airwatts (constant)
Motor wattage - The power of a vacuum cleaner is best measure in airwatts (suction power). Motor wattage simply tells you how much electricity a cleaner uses.
Bin Capacity - 2.7 litres
Cord Length - 9.3 m
Maximum reach 14.5 m

Thanks for reading this far, this review was first published on Ciao under my other username of Craggsy23. Why I didn't use the same name on both sites I don't know but nevermind! Thanks

Summary: A really good vacuum at a reasonable price, very reliable and nothing to beat it, yet!

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