Dyson vacuums . . . actually worth it?

Many years ago I got a regular Dyson vacuum that plugs into the wall (DC17 Asthma and Allergy). I have a registration email from Dyson I got on 5/20/2009. It still works. Over 15 years! All I have ever done to it is empty it and clean out the rollers of hair n stuff. It does “smell” in that it has that yucky vacuum cleaner smell whenever you use it but I just thought that’s how it was and if you wanted to avoid the stank you need to buy a new one ever few years. We don’t use it nearly as much as we should but it gets used often.

More recently I purchased a Dyson V8 Absolute SV10 which is a cordless vacuum. I figured that if it was easier, we would vacuum more! And the robot ones at the time just wouldn’t work for us. It was about $250 on a Black Friday sale on Nov 30, 2019 (I found a receipt from Paypal to Dyson direct!). Originally it was $450 and I even got some kit that was valued at about $60. Also got a V7 at the time and I imagine it was $150 or less. I just didn’t get why the V8 would be much better and I wanted to compare. Plus, my kid was at the age she would want to use one too. So why not have two! There were not really any serious competitors at the time and these were “the best” except for the latest and greatest from Dyson.

At first, we used them all the time! They were just so cool and easy to use and you didn’t have to drag around a cord and then roll it back up. I loved them and wanted to leave them out all the time so it was easy to get to them. After awhile, I lost the battle of leaving them out and my idea of where I wanted to mount the charging station (right in the front hall after you entered the house!) was DOA. “You are not supposed to leave the vacuum cleaner out!” I just didn’t get it and didn’t care what you were supposed to do. I wanted to do what was practical!

Eventually I put an outlet in the closet right across from where I wanted to mount it in the front hall and I shoved them in there to charge one day with the intention of eventually mounting the charging stand. I never mounted the charging stand. And over the next few years, whenever I wanted one it was dead. So I would plug it in and then go find old trusty and drag the cord around.

Over time, the closet gets more and more full of junk and it gets more difficult to get the vacuum let alone plug it in. But I would still try. One day I go in and they are both plugged in and neither of them work. What the hell?? Did I make a mistake? Looking back on the price I paid, I don’t think so. Even the cheap ones cost as much as I paid for these Dysons now and they lasted a few years at least. But once again I shut the closet and got out old trusty.

Today was different. The task as hand was to clean up the closet so I could get some more stuff in there. I take out the Dysons and sure enough, neither of them worked. The V7 goes on for a second and just turns off. The V8 goes on great but then it sorta pulses and acts all strange. For a few minutes, I thought about just putting them in the donate pile and making that the Christmas present I want this year. The also had the yucky vacuum smell so maybe it was time? Maybe the competition had caught up and I could just get a cheap Shark?

I looked at prices for a new one and the top rated one from Vacuum Wars (on youtube . . . so who knows if it’s real or just marketing) and it was nearly $700. Even #10 on the list was over $300. More than I paid for the Dyson! So maybe I should look at a robot one. Top rated was $1500. “Damn it. That’s too much. Maybe I can fix these.”

I figure with the V7, it’s probably the battery. I go look it up and an official one is nearly $100! The cheap ones on Amazon are around $40. I also see from some creators on youtube that you can just replace it with a DeWalt or Milwaukee battery. Okay NOW we are talking! Can I 3D print it? Hmmm. Maybe, but the top part is really thin and fragile. $20 isn’t bad for molded plastic and some metal prongs . . . let’s go for it!

With the V8, the small content creators said the pulsing was because it was clogged and they showed how to take apart and clean almost all of the Dysons cordless models. WOW. So easy. Basically, it all comes apart and most of the parts that come into contact with dirt you can easily clean with water and an old toothbrush. I could even clean the main brush area that was especially horrible because someone used it to clean up baking powder and parmesan cheese . . . . or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Right now it’s all drying but I’m sure it’ll work great. I’m going to mount that one in the closet right after this post! When the battery dies, I can always adapt it to other batteries. The downside to using drill batteries is you can’t charge it on the stands anymore but the upside is that I always have batteries fully charged and waiting anyway. And that’s only if it works. Still have to try that out with the V7. Otherwise Amazon is getting it back.

In the end, I don’t know if the Dysons are worth it. I don’t have any other vacuums to compare! I wish we could rely on “the internet” and “content creators” but everywhere you go that stuff has been gamed to sell products. Even when products are sent for free and that’s the only terms it’s only human to look at it favorably and your sense of if something is worth the money is all thrown off. Even Vacuum Wars . . . that buys all the products themselves . . . probably has bias too in that they have affiliate links and selling ANY vacuum is good for them so they are generally very favorable.

What I can say is that the battery operated Dysons from years ago seem solid and something that can last a long time with a little cleanup here and there. I with my old vacuum was as easy to take apart because it sure could use a cleaning! Maybe it is! But hopefully I use it less and less.

Also, the election was a disappointment. I don’t get it. But it seems pointless to post about it. Everyone is so divided and the results change nothing. The sides don’t even agree on basic truths let alone the bigger issues and the mechanism to solve them. Even a few days later I just want to avoid the news and stay heads down on ANYTHING else.