Talk Me Out Of It!!

[Impish]

My vacuum cleaner is terrible. I have a Great Pyr x Akbash that's blowing her coat...which means my carpet has a topping of white fur.

 

My vacuum cleaner barely touches it. Its to the point that having the kids duct tape the carpet to get it all up has appeal.

 

I am sooooooooo tempted to apply for a credit card that would enable me to get the vacuum cleaner of my dreams, the Dyson Animal with the ball. I've been saving up for it forever it seems, and am only about 1/4 of the way there (darn things are uber expensive!)

 

Talk me out of it. I don't need more debt. I desperately do need a new vacuum. This thing clogs every.single.time. we use it.

 

Help me!!!

[Tracy in Ky]

Don't do it. Run away from debt.

[hornblower]

I'll talk you out of it.

 

I know 3 people who got the Dyson's & are not that thrilled with them. Do not go into debt for a piece of plastic with a Made in China motor.

 

Get thee instead a good $20 undercoat rake, a good movie on DVD, & a bed sheet. Put dog on bed sheet & brush for 2 hours. Afterwards, bundle up the 4 corners of the sheet & dispose of the fur. If your girl is not afraid of water misters, use a bit of water with a drop of conditioner to spray her as you brush so that the fur doesn't fly as much.

 

Repeat next week.

 

You save $ and you get to watch a movie & she gets a lovely massage.

[momofkhm]

Get thee instead a good $20 undercoat rake, a good movie on DVD, & a bed sheet. Put dog on bed sheet & brush for 2 hours. Afterwards, bundle up the 4 corners of the sheet & dispose of the fur. If your girl is not afraid of water misters, use a bit of water with a drop of conditioner to spray her as you brush so that the fur doesn't fly as much.

 

I never thought of the bed sheet! But I can brush my short hair dog outside. I figure I can make happy birds. (with all that fur for nests)

[2cents]

I had a Dyson and hated it! It cost a fortune and never lived up to the expectations. Heck, it never even lived up to the performance of the crummy vacuum it replaced. I wouldn't go into debt for a Dyson-no way! I would however go into debt to replace my carpet with some tile. I am so OVER carpet! ;)

 

Get a Furminator (cost less than $20) and furminate the dog. You can even furminate the carpet-seriously, if you run it over carpet it picks up the fur better than a vac.

[Impish]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I admit, a Dyson has been an object of desire for many years. The dog hair and horrible vacuum cleaner we have now just was the final straw.

[hornblower]

I never thought of the bed sheet! But I can brush my short hair dog outside. I figure I can make happy birds. (with all that fur for nests)

 

I have tried doing it outside with my long haired guys (& my fosters; I fostered for 13 mos a maremma which is the italian version of OPs akbash) and all that happened was that my gardens looked awful. Giant clumps of huge fur all over the place, floating, getting stuck on rose thorns, attached to the holly, finally squashed by the rain on to the soil in giant mats..... BLEH. We have tons of birds and none of them ever looked that interested in the stuff either..... :confused:

 

I do sometimes do it in very large parks but not in my own garden any more. :)

[StephanieZ]

I had the Dyson and it only lasted a year. Didn't do any better job than the $100 vacuums I've since bought at Sam's or Target. The Dyson was the last $400+ vacuum I will ever buy, as the expensive ones don't last me any longer or do any better than the cheaper ones.

 

If you have $100, just find one that looks OK at Sam's or Target. . . File the receipt carefully, and just return it if it doesn't do a great job. Heck, you can try it for a month (while your dog is doing her thing) and then return it if you aren't satisfied.

 

Don't do debt just for a vacuum!

[specialmama]

You know, the Furminator works like a freakin' charm with a horseshoe up it's butt! No kidding! We will brush for 45 min, then rake the undercoat, and it seems like it's all gone. Pull out the Furminator and in under 10 minutes we have enough fur to build another dog. We gave up on the brush and rake, and just 10 min of Furminator use cuts down drastically on the hair around the house. They're a bit expensive, but soooo worth it. :D

[Wheres Toto]

We have the Dyson Animal. We had a Himalayan Cat (long hair) and still have a Samoyed (long hair dog). The Dyson does work slightly better than our previous vacuum but it does get clogged a lot (mostly from kids stuff though) and has to be run slowly across the carpet to get everything up. I doubt it was worth the price in the long run (we did get ours on sale 1/2 price).

[PineFarmMom]

Don't do it. Run away from debt.

 

What she said!!! I always regret those decisions when I make them. Then I find that if I make the choice to save the $$ to purchase the item, I usually will make a better thought-out decision because that money is harder to part with once the effort has been put forth to save it, kwim?

[Perry]

My Dyson worked great on the dog hair, but it ruined the carpet. The beater brush is too hard on it. Apparently this is a common complaint. Google Dyson carpet damage for lots of stories.

 

When we looked in to having the carpet replaced, we learned that some manufacturers won't honor the warranty if you use a Dyson.

 

That's okay, I hated the carpet and it made the decision to replace it with hardwood easier. :)

[asta]

I discovered an interesting bit about ten years ago: companies like dirt devil and hoover have really good customer service - even on their $150 vacuums.

 

I had, I think a dirt devil, and I literally blew up the motor. Who knows what I did. I called the company (still had the receipt, but I think it was out of warranty), and they sent me a new motor! I sat down on the floor with my screw drivers and installed it myself. It was really easy.

 

I refuse to buy high falutin' vacuums. I've had 3 in fifteen years: that dirt devil, my current hoover, and a canister model panasonic for wood floors. All were less than $150 and all worked great (I gave away the panasonic, and I'm still kicking myself...).

 

Don't buy the hype of the Dyson.

 

 

a

[Impish]

Thanks all.

 

We've gone through 4 or 5 vacuums in our 7 yrs of marriage. Part of what attracts me to the Dyson is the ball. Easier for me to manouver one handed.

 

You're all right...its not worth going into debt for. I *do* need a new vacuum soon though. The one I have is on its last legs.

 

Anyone have a recommendation for a *good* vacuum, one that's good with pet hair, but on a reasonable budget?

[hornblower]

Panasonic :thumbup:

 

There's a Kenmore in Canada which is really a Panasonic ('cause you know, Kenmore doesn't actually make anything). If you google 'who makes kenmore' you get a list of codes & then check the Kenmore vacs to find the Panasonic in disguise. The Kenmore versions tend to go on sale more frequently that the 'real' panasonics.

[Cheryl in NM]

Thanks all.

 

We've gone through 4 or 5 vacuums in our 7 yrs of marriage. Part of what attracts me to the Dyson is the ball. Easier for me to manouver one handed.

 

You're all right...its not worth going into debt for. I *do* need a new vacuum soon though. The one I have is on its last legs.

 

Anyone have a recommendation for a *good* vacuum, one that's good with pet hair, but on a reasonable budget?

 

I have a Hoover Windtunnel with bags. It was $100 at Walmart and it is good on the hair, but I only get 2-3 uses out of each bag. That's dissapointing, but with my allergies I just can't handle dumping the stupid canisters and banging the dirt out of the filters with the bagless.

 

My Windtunnel works good on hair. We have 3 indoor Border Collie mixes and 2 cats. I need to vacuum almost every day to keep up with them all. Why did I think those puppies needed to come live with us?!

[mysticamethyst]

I'm not sure what your budget is but I got a Kirby at one of local pawn shops for $120. The ones around here seem to have plenty of them. I have 7 little dogs but they all shed a lot and it seems to do a great job. Hope you can find something to do the trick.:001_smile:

[Carrie12345]

I will never own a Dyson b/c I am a vacuum murderess, and I'd have a stroke if I killed a vacuum that cost that much!

 

Okay, I have help with the murders. Besides running over cords and killing motors, I have pets who like wires and a kid who used to chew on them. :001_huh:

I keep something like 8 extra belts in a drawer, b/c I burn through those like nobody's business. I totally flunked Vacuuming 101!

 

Invest a smaller amount of money in a great grooming tool. Pay the kids per grocery bag of hair. My Shepherd mix is still kinda gross right now, but we're hacking away at him (and the other dog) every day. We still have some excess hair in the house, but not nearly as much as we have in the past, despite this being one of his worst shedding years yet!

[vettechmomof2]

I have many critters plus 2 indoor Anatolians.

I Furminate them daily, sometimes twice - 3 times daily during blowing coat season. For us that is 2-3 times /year.

I do have a Dyson though. it is the Drive model. With a sale I got it from Target for $300.00. Watch for sales.

I got mine in 2006 and it still works perfect. I vacumm daily and in the coat blowing season 3 times a day.

It happens.

I still would not go into debt for a vacumm though. Go cheap for now and continue saving. Then when enough has been saved you can re evaluate your vacumm choices at the time.

[Giraffe]

I have many critters plus 2 indoor Anatolians.

 

You are a brave woman!

 

Sorry, no advice to the OP, just had to congratulate the fortitude of a woman who owns not one, but two Anatolians and keeps them inside!

[hoosiermom]

We have a golden retriever/chow mix--thick, wooly undercoat, silky, long topcoat. I just came in from a 45-minute brushing session w/ many, many more needed. I highly recommend the furminator, plus a brushing tool called the matbreaker--both work like a charm, but for us, must be used outside. I could literally stuff pillows with this dog's fur.

[justamouse]

That is my favorite dog ever. I have a deep abiding love for Akbashes and am trying my hardest to talk my dad into getting one (we couldn't in this teeny house and now I have two dogs and will not be getting another any time soon)

 

Mine are blowing out their coats, too. It's horrid. I'm thinking they should be bald soon the way they're going.

 

and TWO Anatolians? I'm jealous and in awe.

 

I'm seeing the Dyson Animal's listed for 319 which is actually low for a vacuum, I think. I've spent much, much more and had them for 10 years. And I used them every day and beat them to death. We've been married 15 years and I've had two vacuums-one is still in my attic and I'm going to get it fixed it was just that awesome. (Meile.) I have a Sebo now, that's *so* not as good.

 

My first question is do you really really want THIS vacuum. THIS particular vacuum will last you for 8 years no problem? At least 8 years but 10 or more if taken care of? Are you sure?

 

I don't know your finances, but I would take the $ you have and buy the thing, making the first payment with the money you've saved. Vacuums are not frivolous, they're sanity. Esp with health issues, you need clean air and pet dander and hair are not so great for keeping allergens down. :tongue_smilie:I would not go cheap, because you would be buying TWICE. That's not the object of the game, the object is to buy once and make it good so that it lasts. If I were you I would use the one you had now until it died, then go buy the one you want-but it's not going to work if it's a piece of doodoo and you have to go buy another one in a year, yanno? that defeats the purpose.

[Impish]

Thats the thing: we've gone cheap, and had to replace them repeatedly. I'm hoping to get one that will last for a change.

[Kebo]

I can't tell you how many vacuums I've bought over the past few years (Miele, Sebo, Panasonic, Bissell, Hoover, an Aspria backpack type, etc), trying to find a good, reliable one. Either they don't vacuum pet hair well or they break easily, or they're a bear to use and maintain. We have 4 cats, 2 dogs and 3 kids, so we are hard on them.

 

I'm pretty fond of my Sebo Felix, and my Miele should be worth fixing when I find the time to take it in, but the vacuum that served me the best was a Royal I had many years ago. Not fancy (no attachments on board), but it worked and was reliable. My (new) husband didn't like it for some silly reason--it looks old-fashioned, but it could be retro-cool--and I sold it at a garage sale. I've been sorry I didn't hold on to it, and maybe my next will be a Royal. They are also not cheap, however.

 

My sister has a Dyson, and she doesn't love it (it's heavy). A friend has one and she does like it very well.

 

I agree that a Furminator would be a wise investment :-). It works great.

[Scuff]

I have a kirby g4. I love it. I've had i t about 7 years. I don't know how it would do with pet hair; our animals aren't that bad. But it handles my shedding well! :D Kirby's are pricy, but I bought ours on ebay for under $200 from a refurbisher. You could do that with a Dyson too probably. They have good deals if you're willing to forgo the latest model.

[momzilla333]

-one is still in my attic and I'm going to get it fixed it was just that awesome. (Meile.)

 

I got my used Meile on ebay for 150 and love it. And it's great on hard floors on low with the brush tool. Super quiet on low and sucks like crazy on high.

[vettechmomof2]

You are a brave woman!

 

Sorry, no advice to the OP, just had to congratulate the fortitude of a woman who owns not one, but two Anatolians and keeps them inside!

 

Well, if you really feel like calling me brave we also foster them :)

We have 1 foster right now as well but he is undernourished still so doesn't have a nice ASD coat yet :)

[Mom-ninja.]

Craigslist!

 

Stalk Craigslist everyday.

 

My dad bought his Dyson (brand new in box) for $170 because the man's wife changed her mind and bought a different model, and they kept it too long to return. He again bought another almost new Dyson, for my sister, for $145. It is newer and in better condition than my Dyson.