Rating  - BULKY -- better off with an upwright
I happen to own both the upright and canister vac. I purchased the latter item with the intent of using it for quick clean ups and for the stairs. UGH! This item is not only heavy, but very bulky as well. If I could turn back time, I would not have purchased this item. Save your money and get an upright -- Dyson has stellar uprights.
Rating  - Excellent vacuum - in the world of vacuums.
I have two - one in different houses. I do not have wall-to-wall carpet (hate the stuff), so my experience is with wood floors, area rugs (thick and thin), and furniture.
First, the size and ergonomics are very good. Easy to manuever around corners and furniture. Though, the beater head doesn't always let you get under low pieces (but many other vacs don't either).
Next, the DC11 keeps excellent vacuum power all the time. I had both bag and bagless before. They leaked where they could and clogged up sooner than later. Huge pains in the butt. I even had to use hose clamps to keep the 'bag' vac from losing suction - that was real pretty! Anywho, the DC11 hose connections are tight and purposeful. Even the accessory attachments fit tight.
Also, there are some references to this machine making more noise than some. To me, it was reasonably quiet for the power it generates. My other vacs where definitely louder.
There are two ways to empty the dirt. The first is to press the button that unhinges the bottom and the dirt falls out. The other is to take the entire bottom off (a different button) and dump the dirt out, turning the clear plastic cylinders upside down. I do it the latter way because, when I unhinge the very bottom, some dirt always gets on the rubber seal and I have to wipe it off (making sure I get the most secure vacuum seal). However, either way works fine.
The beater bar does sometime bog a little in thicker carpet. If you have alot of carpet, I'd get an upright. For me, the DC11 is perfect. It depends on your floors and use. And if it does stop, just pull the little trigger a the handle and off it goes. Also, I notice that the little round "disc" at the side of the beater that you press to turn off the beater itself, does sometimes need to have the lint cleaned off of it. If this gets too much lint on it, it'll not engage correctly. Not a big problem; just keep this in mine before calling the help line.
Finally, the price. What dollar amount do you put on a clean house? How many other vacs do you buy first? How many bags do you buy? etc... Some people will buy many cheaper items instead of one better and more expensive one. Always buy the best you can afford. It really does pay for itself in the long run.
Rating - I like it!!!
I was intrigued by the split among the reviewers of the Dyson DC 11. I carefully read the reviews, took note of what appeared to be the common problems and then evaluated it in person before making the purchase. As vacuums go, this is relatively expensive so I didn't want to deal with any unpleasant surprises. I don't mind spending money but I sure do hate to waste it!
Let me begin with the common complaints:
1) the power cord is awfully short.
The sales material clearly states the cord is 21.7 feet long. The vacuum and telescoping wand add about five feet to that. It seems adequate to me but others will have to make their own judgment.
2) the air driven brush on the floor tool may turn off unexpectedly.
I haven`t yet experienced that problem, but if you do just pull the air release trigger on the wand and it will come back on. There is no need as stated by others to turn the machine off to reset.
3) The power on/off button and the power cord rewind are the same color and shape.
Put a small red "stick on" dot on the power switch and the problem will go away. If Dyson reads these reviews they should at least make them different colors.
4) The wand collapses unexpectedly.
Pull each section until you hear an audible "click" and it will not collapse. It takes a little extra energy to do that.
5) The beater will not handle carpet with a heavy pile.
That is probably true. I have wood floor and area rugs so it works fine on those. The beater brushes are removable for those of you with oriental or wool rugs where the beating action might do damage.
My own take is as follows:
1) Build quality
In a word--fabulous. It assembles and disassembles very easily. The canisters even come apart so you can rinse/wash them if you like. It seems solid and well made.
2) Suction
I thoroughly vacuumed a high traffic short pile area rug with my old vacuum and then with the Dyson. I was actually stunned at the amount of dirt it took out of the rug. A definite A+ here.
3) Functionality
Everything works as advertised. The noise level is average, the hose could be a bit longer and it's a minor wrestling match to wrap the hose around it for storage.
4) Price
It's a little on the expensive side. I purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond and they allowed me to use a 20% off coupon even though the coupon excluded Dyson. It never hurts to ask!!
The bottom line is that this is a fabulous vacuum for an apartment or small to average size house (1500-1800 sq ft) with a mixture of floor types. If I had lots of wall to wall carpet an upright would be a much better choice. I'd rate it a solid buy. I'll update this review if anything changes.
Rating  - great little vacuum
I have to say that we love this vacuum and have been recommending it to everyone. We chose it specifically because our entire house (with the exception of one room) is hardwood. In response to some earlier posts, this is NOT a difficult vacuum to use. It does require some basic setup, but I didn't have any challenges with that. And when using the floor tool on non-carpeted surfaces, you should turn off the brushes - the suction is enough to pick up things (including pennies!) and it will keep the brushes from "flicking" objects away. Also, my husband thinks it does a great job on the carpet in his office as well.
What I like most:
1. It's SO small and light - easy to carry around the house, up and down stairs, etc.
2. It's fairly quiet - I was surprised at how quiet it is since consumer reports didn't rank it very highly in that area.
3. It picks things up from the corners, even when using the floor tool. The suction is just that good.
4. It has a decreased suction level for doing curtains, area rugs, etc.
5. I like being able to see all of the dirt that it has picked up - silly as this may sound, it inspires me to vacuum more often.
6. I find the switch to turn the brushes off easy to use (and easy to turn off again).
7. It's very easy to empty the canister, although the potential is there for a big mess!
8. We actually have the DC11 Full gear, which is silver and purple, so as trivial as it may be, I love the way it looks.
9. It picks up all the cat hair off the couch. Hurray!
Things I think could be better:
1. As mentioned before, the power cord is too short. Since it's so small, that may be hard to avoid, but it can be a bit of a pain.
2. Also as mentioned before, I find that the telescoping wand doesn't always stay extended as I'm cleaning.
3. I agree with a previous poster that it would be nice to have the power button and the cord retract button more obviously distinguishable.
Despite the few small design quirks, this is truly an amazing vacuum.
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Customer Reviews for Dyson,DC 11,852184000334,0852184000334,B0001K5GOE, |
