Better than I ever anticipated
I have had this machine less than 24 hours, so I’ll come back in a couple of weeks and post an update if problems arise with it. I read all the reviews of this vacuum before I ordered it. I called Dyson for more information. I tried out one a friend has. I waffled. It was expensive (well no more than other upper end vacuums). It was different than the Dyson I had had for almost 10 years. I read that there was a considerable learning curve. Caution: I finally decided to order it from Amazon because, according to Dyson, Amazon is an authorized reseller. That will assure me of the 5 year warranty. This is important when buying appliances. Dyson also said that if it were purchased from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, the 3rd party would have to be an authorized reseller to validate the warranty. It is SO MUCH BETTER than I ever expected. I should have ordered it months ago. I have owned a Dyson Animal DC14 since they came out, and I’ve always respected the way it cleaned without wearing me out, but in the last year it has gotten weaker and weaker in its ability to deal with the bushels of dog and cat hair that my pets seem to shed. I finally decided I had to do something about replacing or repairing it. After checking into the repair situation, I decided to go for the newer technology. Out of the box I had to assemble it using the little pictographs that Dyson has provided on the instruction sheet. They are actually pretty good. I usually prefer directions in words, but these worked easily. The hardest part was figuring out how to attach the attachments to the sweeper. I really like the provided fabric holder for the larger attachments. With my older one, the attachments that didn’t fit on the machine were on the floor of the closet and always in the way. When I ran the new DC41 over the carpet I had just vacuumed with the older Dyson, it pulled out an entire bin of dog hair and dirt. It did it more easily and more quickly and more quietly than the older machine. It works equally well on our stone and cork floors. It picks up the hair and lint with ease, and I can see the top of the brush so that if it picks up something that could potentially tangle in there, I can deal with it before it becomes a real problem. The ball technology works differently than just pushing around a vacuum. By turning my wrist I can turn corners. After about 2 minutes, I figured it out, and now the old one feels awkward. When standing it up, it actually required two light pushes. The first one clicks, and then if you press the handle forward again, it locks into place in an upright position and the little stand moves back just a little to support the handle. Those reviewers who had problem with it falling backwards probably didn’t fully engage the stand (or they may have gotten a machine with a problem). Even when the dog ran into it, it was really stable when fully upright. The Tangle-Free Turbine Tool works on the sofa and on the lightweight cover I use to protect the cushion. It removed dog hair from the cover that the washing machine couldn’t touch without sucking in the fabric. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this vacuum. Read more