Dyson DC07 Animal Upright Vacuum (New)

With two large mutts who have made simple vacuuming into an ongoing nightmare, I have to say that this vacuum actually turns the task from heroics into normal housekeeping. It pulls dog hair out of pile carpeting with the very powerful and unchanging suction as advertised. Yes, the brushes fill up, but much more actually makes it into the bin, unlike previous vacuums, so you have to clean off the brushes much less frequently. It's also easier to get the hair off the brushes because they aren't squeezed into a too-small compartment. The vacuum also picks up everything else amazingly well. Among the many machines I've tried, probably the worst was a bagless from another company. The filters clogged after one cleaning, the suction stopped until two filters were washed and dried after every use, and emptying the bin was a filthy annoyance. None of these problems, here. The filters are unrelated to suction and the bin opens at the bottom with the push of a button at the top. If I stopped the review here, you'd probably wonder why I wasn't jumping up and down. The problems come with the attachments. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I didn't have trouble figuring out how to make them work, the problem is more how they work. First of all, the hose is incredibly tight. It is stiff and it really takes an effort to keep it extended. The good news is that this doesn't knock the vacuum over, because it attaches at the bottom of the machine. You can pull without problems, but it's hard to do and very hard to maintain. Another problem with the attachments is that the cannister-like head doesn't click onto the wand--actually none of them do--and it actually fell off a couple of times under the bed. The suction and lint removers on the attachment work so well that it stuck to the rug and came off the wand. This matters, because the vacuum is rather high, so you pretty much have to use attachments to get under anything but a table. The turbo head is a bit over-rated, as well. If you have soft cushions, the brushes stop turning on contact--which certainly saves the furniture, but defeats the purpose. Of course, with the excellent suction, the ordinary furniture attachment works very well. I got this machine at a great price here at Overstock, but, frankly, if I'd had to pay anything like the list price, I would have returned it. So the value was good for the money I paid. If you have never used one of these machines and you've got a pet hair problem--go for it. It will change your life. Just be aware there will be some struggles with the attachments. I gave appearance three stars, because I don't really care what my vacuum cleaner looks like. I didn't grade durability, because I've only had it for a few weeks.