More on pet hair vacuums...

**Catty1** · 01-07-2010, 02:21 PM

I went to my local guy after shelteez2 showed me her Dyson. He's the kind of guy that has been in the business for almost 30 years with his own shop, and has repaired almost everything in Vacuum creation!

I would love to hear from people who have owned their pet vac for a couple of years or more.

1. He said to re-examine a Dyson...if you turn it over, he said, likely it will have a plastic paddle instead of a wooden or other sturdy roller with bristles on it. Also, the hose that handles the attachments is clear - and it breaks down in 2 or 3 years due to UV rays (this is why many companies colour theirs).

He did say the warranty was great - except that the owner has to ship it off (here it goes to Montreal) and wait for it.

2. Bissell Pet? He said Bissell just put the pet stickers on one of their machines.

3. He suggested looking at the Sebo. www.sebocanada.ca

I'll check out the Oreck as well. My roller on my Electrolux is stopping up more, even with pre-vacuuming the area with another attachment (who needs to vaccuum TWICE?). I think it is the suction that is now poor. It would be a good machine for someone else, but not for me.

Thanks for the input!

**Taz_Zoee** · 01-07-2010, 03:05 PM

We've had our Dyson animal for a couple years and the only problem I have with it is the animal attachment gets clogged (which could be because of my long haired dogs) and I have to open it up to unclog it. It's simple to open and put back together though, so I'm getting used to doing it now.

I'm not sure of the color of the hose. I'll have to check that out when I get home. But I

my Dyson.

**pomtzu** · 01-07-2010, 03:38 PM

I've had my Oreck for about 5 or 6 years, and have never had a problem with it. I got it after I had back surgery since it was so lightweight and easy to handle, and my old Wind Tunnel weighed a ton, and did a lousy job to boot.

It has a wood roller with good sturdy bristles and never has had to be replaced. Never had a problem with the tube clogging, except the time my DIL let the bag get too full and then it clogged, but that wasn't any fault of the vacuum. It does a great job - picks up everything in one pass, and no need to go over and over the same area. It goes from carpet to bare floor with no adjustments. I've only had it serviced once - not because it needed it, but because it was a freebie part of the warranty.

If you have an Oreck store nearby, you can go in and "test drive" one. You can also get great buys on reconditioned ones that are just like new.

Even my skeptical brother who thought they weren't worth the money, ended up buying one after I told him how good they are. There are quite a few different price ranges - the one I got was on the lower end at $300 - and that also included the portable vac with attachments. I've seen a new one advertised lately - a Pilot model I think is the name, but I imagine it's rather pricey.

Hope this helps.

**anna_66** · 01-07-2010, 05:12 PM

We got our Dyson 6 years ago and haven't ever had any trouble with it (aside from the fact it gets the dogs long hair stuck in it like Taz_Zoee said)
I've said it many times, I do think it's worth the money!

**neko1** · 01-07-2010, 05:34 PM

I've also had my Dyson for about 6 years and haven't had any problems with it. I even dropped in down about 5 stairs and it still held up. The only thing that gets annoying is I have to empty the canister every time I use it because it picks up so much dirt, cat hair & litter!

I also have an Oreck for the upstairs part of the condo and I love that one as well. I love that it's lightweight and has great suction.

**Catlady711** · 01-07-2010, 05:47 PM

I haven't had my Bissell Pet vacuume long enough to have an opinon on longevity yet. However so far I always disassemble and wash the parts after every use. I couldn't do that with my old one and I think that contributed to it's lack of suction power.

Although what killed the old one was the wooden roller with the brushes. It just plain wore out. You could actually see where it had been shaving wood off the roller for some time before it finally got loose enough to just not run.

I'll try to remember this thread in a couple years and give a better review on longevity then.