One of the best investments you can make: Dyson DC07 Full version
Written: May 18 '04 (Updated Oct 18 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Suction power, ergonomics, durability, and it is a Dyson.
Cons: Price, the wand can be annoying to set up.
The Bottom Line: This is a great vacuum that gets in deep, if you have deep pockets.
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| yakkowarner's Full Review: |
My wife kept complaining about her Hoover wind-tunnel. So after I got sick of having to keep fixing and cleaning it out, I went out to Costco and bought the Dyson DC07 vacuum. Within an hour after I came home I was busy cleaning the bedroom carpet with the the Dyson DC07 vacuum. The carpet was pretty bad and had a nice layer of cat hair on it. But after my first test the cat hair was gone and the canister was full of a lot of dust, dirt, and hair. I was floored. Needless to say, my wife was happy I spent the money, because the Dyson DC07 vacuum is not cheap.
Setup of the Dyson DC07 vacuum
The only things I had to attach was the accessories, hose, the wand/handle, and the filter. Once I figured out to access the filter compartment (on the base and you open it with a lever) all I did was slide the filter into the compartment and close the compartment door. Very simple and it only took me 2 minutes to setup once I read the direction. There are no screws to worry about, just buttons that made the process fairly simple.
The Suction of the Dyson DC07 vacuum
When I first used the Dyson DC07 vacuumI was blown away by all of the dirt and dust this vacuum picked up. It was incredible, and a little gross. I knew instantly after vacuuming part of my bedroom that I made a good purchase. All of the cat hair was gone and the carpet looked fairly clean. Once I vacuumed once over an area, was unable to duplicate the amount of dirt I got the very first time I vacuumed which showed me how good the suction is.
While the suction is great, it’s not perfect. Occasionally I will have to go over a spot 2-3 times with certain bits of trash. Dust seems easier to pick up than pieces of thin trash like paper and you will make several passes to pick up all of the cheerios your kid spilt. What I do see is that the Dyson DC07 vacuum cleans the carpet at a deeper level than other vacuums, not just the surface particles. And the most important thing, the suction does not decrease when the dirt builds up in the canister. The only real drawback to the the Dyson DC07 vacuum is there is no way to control the level of suction so be careful when using this on throw rugs.
Dumping the Dyson DC07 vacuum
This part is cool. Once you detach the canister from the vacuum, you place the canister above the trashcan and pull a trigger. The bottom of the canister opens up like a trap door and the dirt falls out. Very easy and a lot easier to clean than my old Hoover. The Hoover had to be shaken to get all the dust out and the dust usually got over me and the surrounding area.
The Noise of the Dyson DC07 vacuum
I’ve read reviews where people thought the noise was virtually silent. I disagree. The vacuum is quieter than my old Hoover, but it is not that much quieter. I certainly won’t vacuum when someone is watching TV or when the children are sleeping. But the noise is an improvement over most other manufactures, if only by a little bit.
How the Dyson DC07 vacuum Feels.
The Dyson DC07 vacuum feels like most other vacuums. It’s not a pain to push, but it doesn’t glide like some of the self-propelled ones. I actually find the Hoover self-propelled wind tunnel to be a tad bit easier to push. The Dyson vacuum is well balanced and doesn’t seem to want to tip over. The handles are in convenient positions for carrying and pushing. I can see where there is room for improved ergonomics, but only minor improvements will be needed. The ergonomics of the Dyson DC07 vacuum are much better than any other vacuum I have tried though.
The weight of the Dyson DC07 vacuum can be an issue for older or weaker individuals, so individuals with arthritis or other medical conditions may want to look for a lighter vacuum. The average consumer should have no trouble with it.
The Accessories of the Dyson DC07 vacuum.
The Dyson DC07 vacuum comes with a “stair tool”, a “brush tool”, a “crevice tool”, the “Animal turbo tool, and a cheap “floor tool”. In addition, you get a second filter with this model.
The wand is stuck in the airshaft and the hose. In order to use it for the accessories, you need to pull the wand out of the hose, flip it around, and attach the accessories and the hose. Other models you just need to detach the hose from the side of the vacuum. Now it is bothersome, but when you are concerned about suction this appears to be the way to do it.
The stair tool, brush tool, and crevice tool are the standard tools you will find on almost all vacuums. They are made of the same nice plastic and there is nothing remarkable about them except that they fit VERY tightly to the hose. This requires a bit of pressure to put them on. They also attach to the vacuum itself fairly well and the placement of the accessories doesn’t bother me when I’m using the machine. But I have had them fall off from time to time.
The animal tool works very well. It is a small vacuum with a brush that spins by air pressure. This accessory spins about as fast as the vacuum brush itself and does a great job. The only problem is that it is fairly big for a portable accessory. You will probably just use the other smaller accessories for the most part, unless you have animals in your household then the animal tool will become essential for proper cleaning..
The floor tool is a cheap accessory, but necessary. As I will mention below, the vacuum doesn’t work well on hard surfaces, but the attachment does. In fact I felt more comfortable using the attachment instead of the vacuum on my hard tile floor. The attachment supposedly does not damage soft floors, but my tile floor is as hard as they come so I wouldn’t know. (as a note my wife prefers not using the accessory because she feels the vacuum works fine on hard floors, but she is not as picky as me.)
For an additional $40, you can get a higher quality floor tool that has bigger wheels on it. It is designed for carpet and hard floors and can be adjusted manually. You can also buy a Zorb cleaning kit for $20 and this comes with an accessory attachment for your wand. This kit comes with the animal and it appears that some “full versions” may come with it also now. I personally don’t need the carpet cleaning accessory because I own a carpet cleaner which I feel works better than any baking soda powder formula.
Hard Floor Effectiveness
The Dyson DC07 vacuum has a setting for carpet and a setting for hard floors. I was not happy with how it vacuumed my hard tile floor. This is consistent with other review I have read. What does work is the hard floor attachment. It is a simple piece of plastic with small wheels that you attach to the wand. The suction is pretty good and it picks up all but the bulkiest pieces of trash. Supposedly it does not harm fragile flooring.
My impressions on how well the Dyson DC07 vacuum cleans my car.
I was very pleased with how well the attachments worked on my truck. It not only cleaned up the dirt quickly as you would expect, but it cleaned the crevices very well. My vacuums in the past did not have the suction power that this vacuum has and failed to clean as well as this vacuum did. It was very impressive.
Construction of the Dyson DC07 vacuum.
I was amused to find a sample of the plastic in the accessory bag. Most companies will give out samples of the product before you buy, not after. It just shows how confident Dyson is in their product.
The plastic used on the machine is very hard and dense. It is strong enough to hurt someone if you’re not careful. They call the plastic “Liquid Steel” and they say it’s partially made of ABS and polycarbonate (whatever that means.)
The vacuum feel solid and well made. Even though it is made of plastic, it doesn’t feel cheap. At 19 pounds it also is not a lightweight machine.
Durability of the the Dyson DC07 vacuum
Durability is great. The hard plastic construction is really holding up to any abuse I have given it over the past 9 months. There are no noticeable marks or scratches on the body. Also there is nothing broken on the vacuum.
The internal construction is also holding up quite well. I have had no serious problems with the vacuum to date and the smaller problems can be solved by taking apart key pieces to clean it out. There is no deterioration in suction over the time I have owned it. I have also not felt any leaks in the hose or on the body.
Cleaning
Cleaning the Dyson DC07 vacuum is fairly easy. First there is a round filter on the bottom of the machine. All you need to do is wash the sponge filter and the plastic casing in cold water and let it dry. The holding tank is the second part. You just separate the clear plastic bin from the inner tube and wash the clear outer case with water to get rid of any dust. The inner portion should be dusted off with a rag. And believe me, a lot of small dust particles will accumulate.
After I vacuumed up some nails I noticed a rattling noise in the line. I assumed it was the nails but I had no idea how to get them out. After studying the base for about 30 seconds I flipped a lever and took out a U shaped tube. In the bottom were 10 small nails that refused to be sucked up into the canister. I was pleased with how easily I fixed the problem. But I was more impressed that the engineers were able to design this U shaped attachment that could be taken off so easily but would not compromise the suction. At that time I proceeded to see what I could take off and I found that I could take apart and clean every part of the main air way. This way you can properly clean it out if anything got stuck, but so far the only thing that has gotten stuck were those nails and some pieces of paper that got stuck in the wand attachment.
Rationalize the price.
The price of the Dyson DC07 vacuum is pretty hard to swallow. The choice for me was to get this vacuum or to get a bagged upright. I had gone through two of the Hoovers in the last 4 years so I refused to buy another bag less from Hoover, and the price of those 2 Hoovers was the equivalent of one Dyson. I decided to take a risk and get a Dyson. So if the Dyson just lasted 4 years then I would be breaking even and getting cleaner carpets out of the deal, but I felt from reading review that the motor would last longer than 4 years.
The other cost consideration is bags and filters. Even on a Hoover you need to replace the two filters on the machine every 1-2 years. This will cost about 30 a year. And if you use a bagged upright then you will be spending a lot of money on bags. On both of these vacuums you will have to spend a good amount of time cleaning off the filters and bags just to keep the suction high. This is a big waste of time in my opinion. The Dyson eliminates this need to constantly clean key parts of a machine to maintain suction.
Which vacuum would I choose right now?
I would go for the DC 14 right now since I think it is a superior machine. There are a couple of minor improvements that I feel justify the cost. If you are concerned about cost then just stick with the DC 07 and you can save about $100. If you are concerned about space then checkout the DC 11. If you have arthritis or you have a weak upper body, then you may want to check out some reviews on an automated vacuum. Just keep in mind that the suction will not be as great (I hope someday they prove me wrong on this point).
Summary:
The major problem with the Dyson DC07 vacuum is the price. Dyson does not market to the masses, just people that want a quality product. It is made of very durable plastic, so it shouldn’t break easily. The ergonomics of the Dyson DC07 vacuum are pretty good and it feels comfortable to use. The cord and hose are very long and together they almost reach half the length of my house. The accessories work and are well designed. Currently, there isn’t a better consumer vacuum than Dyson on the market, but plenty of cheaper ones.
I highly recommend the Dyson DC07 vacuum to anyone that can afford it. It really cleans, accessories actually work, great suction, and it feels good to use. You will be amazed with this machine, it is well worth the money.
Other reviews on some vacuums and a hard floor cleaner.
Dyson DC14.
Dyson DC11.
Dyson DC07.
Dyson floor tool
Hoover self-propelled vacuum
A Two Year Review: Hoover Floor Mate
My guide to buying a vacuum cleaner.
Recommended:
Yes
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