It's A Bit of An Animal (Dyson DC15 Animal)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Dyson DC15 Animal
Date:	19/01/06 (3050 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Incredible manoeuvrability, superb cleaning power, groovy design

Disadvantages: Price, build quality - reliability (?)

The last time I moved house, I had one of those "out with the old and in with the new" phases where perfectly good items got sold or given away without any justifiable reason. Call it a pre-midlife crisis. One such item that went to a mate was my trusty Miele Cat and Dog vacuum cleaner - probably the most durable, reliable home electrical appliance that I have ever purchased. As I waved goodbye to the Miele's sturdy little body, I could console myself only with the thought that I could now choose something new. I'm not sure why, but I knew I wanted a Dyson.

Why Dyson?

Unless you've been living on the moon for the last five years, the galactic marketing presence that is Dyson will almost certainly not have passed you by. Dyson vacuum cleaners (and now other appliances such as washing machines) are everywhere, and the Dyson brand has grown to become fashionable and highly desirable. UK born and bred Dyson was the first company to introduce the idea of a bagless vacuum cleaner. The idea now seems as normal as sliced bread, but not content to stop there, the company has continued to invest in design and research to continue to provide cutting edge designs. Their latest product - The Ball - is still fairly new, and has been heavily supported by an eye-catching television and media advertising campaign.

I've always had rather mixed feelings about Dyson. Friends who invested in early models complained of reliability problems and having seen and tested some of the cheaper models in the range I wasn't enthused with what I saw. The whole plastic design left me a bit cold to be honest, and I whilst I wholeheartedly agreed with the funky looks, I was happy to stick with more traditional models. The launch of The Ball, however, changed that perception. Something about this concept appealed to me. I'd wanted an upright hoover for some time - all that stooping, bending and exertion with a traditional cylinder was too much like hard work for me. This meant that very often I would leave the hoovering for some time, such that when I did finally get round to it, it took far longer than it should. Most of my home now has hard floors - only the bedrooms have carpets. I therefore wanted an appliance that was easy to use, easy to manoeuvre and upright. Was I swayed by the trendiness of the Dyson brand? OK, maybe just a little…

Overall Design

You'll be able to see the DC15 in the picture attached to this category but the theme is much the same as any other Dyson cleaner. The device is manufactured pretty much entirely from plastic and has a futuristic, groovy look to it. Essentially comprised of four main parts, for starters you have the large turbine head into which all the debris is sucked. This sits on the front of the device, behind which is The Ball, which is literally what it says - a large, round textured ball that enables the cleaner to be moved around. The head and ball are connected to a series of pipes and connections that deposit all the debris in a large plastic cylinder, which sits on top of the ball. It is in here that you can see all the bits collected from the floor, captured and whizzing around before your very eyes. Finally, the whole kit and kadooble is supported by and attached to the main shaft, which is used to direct and position the cleaner and holds the various attachments and gadgets that I'll discuss later on.

I like the design of this cleaner. It's very unusual and quite unlike anything else on the market. The contemporary looks fit in well with my home and furniture and I like its eye-catching style. I don't, however, think that the DC15, like most Dyson cleaners, looks as expensive as it is. Some of the plastic is a bit rattly and whilst I appreciate that the plastic helps keep the weight down, you could be forgiven for thinking that some bits are a bit cheap.

Using The Ball

Fortunately, as the adverts suggest, using The Ball is very easy indeed. The Ball is really quite a fantastic design and full credit to Mr Dyson for his design innovation. Previously, upright cleaners have tended to be heavy, clunky devices that, whilst often powerful, simply aren't practical in a modern home, full of furniture. Whilst other manufacturers have worked hard to make upright cleaners that DO effectively clean around the edges, they still fall down on manoueverability - and this is where The Ball comes into its own.

Initially, the way in which the cleaner moves takes some getting used to, essentially because it is so unlike anything you will have ever used before. You can twist and turn the device in such a way that suddenly a table or chair that was previously on obstacle suddenly seems to disappear. You can slip into narrow gaps, work under or round awkward shapes and you can lean round corners or crevices that would normally have simply collected dust and dirt. And let me be quite clear - when Dyson states that this is all achieved with the flick of the wrist, they are absolutely spot on. This is hoovering that can be completed with one hand. The device is remarkably light, such that even an elderly person could comfortably use this cleaner on a regular basis. For those of you with no co-ordination (like me), fear not. After a bit of practice, you'll soon get used to correlating how the device will move when you go left and right. Favourite place conquered by The Ball is probably that part of the kitchen floor that normal uprights can't reach because the cupboard doors stick out at the bottom. With The Ball you are almost able to make it drop and crawl forward like a cat on all fours, stalking an over-confident mouse.

From a practical perspective, everything is designed to a high standard. Things can be clipped and unclipped easily. Gadgets slot back neatly into place and there is nothing that fiddly to it. The only thing I have slight problems with is the pedal at the back that releases the cleaner from upright position to full manouverability but I suspect this is more about my clumsiness than anything. I'd also like the power lead to be a bit longer.

How Clean Is Your House?

To ensure that The Ball picks up as much dirt as possible, Mr Dyson has come up with some cunning new tricks.

Nothing drives me madder than trying to hoover up bits that seem to get pushed around the carpet, rather than being sucked up. The turbo head on The Ball has a much wider entrance that funnels the bits up rather than just pushing them round - and it really works. I dropped a big pile of rice that went straight up in one suck. The motorised brush bar uses air and momentum to literally brush the bits off the carpet pile and then suck them back into the airflow. The airflow (Root Cyclone technology appartently) makes the cleaner much more efficient by ensuring that the cleaner doesn't clog up or lose any suction. As you hoover across the room, you can watch all the bits spinning around the plastic bin and it's only then that you can appreciate how the air is actually circulating. It isn't as noisy as you'd expect - although I'm reliably informed that your regular lunatic dog will go loopy as soon as you press the button.

Unlike most upright cleaners, stairs aren't a problem either. There's a long telescopic hose fitted into the back of the cleaner that can be extended right to the top of the stairs, leaving the cleaner at the bottom, so that you literally start at the top and work your way back down, cleaning each step properly as you can go. Similarly you can use the telescopic house to get into ceiling corners and other nooks and crannies. It's so simple to use - lightweight and portable but still very efficient.

Given that I don't have that many carpets, you might wonder why I bothered with this cleaner. Well, I'm not that big a fan of wipes and dusters that essentially push all the bits around and still believe that even hard floors should be vacuum cleaned. But traditional uprights can scratch or mark the floor. Mr Dyson has thought of this too. By pressing a little switch at the top, the brushbar is switched off so that it doesn't scratch along the floor. Perfect! Grooves on The Ball enable the device to be moved around easily without marking the floor that way either.

If you want to clean curtains or certain fabrics, many cleaners have an attachment that works fairly well, but is slow work, due to the fact that the fabric gets sucked into the pipe. With The Ball, this doesn't happen. The nozzle directs high-powered air DOWN into the fabric, forcing more bits and dust back out again and preventing the curtains going up the same way.

Needless to say, with regular use, if you have this cleaner, your house will be very clean. It's efficient, simple to use and powerful and perfect for lazy or obsessive cleaners alike.

Ditch The Dust

Of course, one of the best things about all Dyson cleaners is that there is no need to buy bags. The dust cylinder on The Ball simply unclicks from the main body and can then be moved to a safe location to empty it. It's completely air tight, so no fears that bits will escape and all you need to do is take it to the bin and then press a button when in position so that everything drops out. To keep really clean, you can easily wipe out the inside and then you're ready to get sucking again. Even the filters can be washed and re-used. This is a real plus for me. Hoover bags and filters can be a pain in the arse to get hold of and, of course, they represent a genuinely hidden cost too.

Why The Animal?

There are three models available in The Ball range and The Animal is the most expensive and most advanced of the three. Whilst conceptually, they all come with the same gadgets and features, The Animal is further developed to make the clean even cleaner.

Firstly, the filter captures more microscopic particles than the basic model and also has an additional bacterial filter that traps and kills bacteria on contact. This is particularly useful if you have small children or dogs or if any of the family suffer from allergies. This feature is also available on the Allergy model. What sets this model out from the other two is the addition of a mini turbine head that you can use to clean upholstery (cars, carpets, bedding etc) that has got covered in pet hair. It's very efficient, far more so than any other such device that I have seen and if you have cats and dogs it's pretty much an essential addition.

How Much Is That Animal In The Window?

At launch, the basic model cost about £320. This increased to £340 for The Allergy and then £360 for The Animal. For the sake of £40, I'd recommend going top of the range, particularly if you have pets. The cleaner comes with a full 2-year guarantee. The good news is that these prices have dropped quite significantly since the launch and you can now get The Animal for less than £300.

Verdict

I'm pretty pleased with The Ball so far, although I do still have niggling doubts about reliability based only on previous reputation. Nonetheless, at the moment, the cleaner works extremely well, looks pretty cool and keeps my home very clean. I would recommend investing the money for this item as it cleans well and makes life a lot easier. I suspect that part of the price is really the brand and design, but the snob in me finds this fairly easy to cope with too.

Recommended

Summary: Groovy, innovative gadget - but pricey!

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