Dyson Animal Reviews

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The Dyson DC15 "The Ball" Animal was introduced in 2005 with a radical ball and universal joint design which makes it possible to steer the vacuum with turns of your hand. This has to be the most radical design you’re likely to see in a vacuum for quite some time and is easy to guide and very maneuverable.

The DC15 retains the same Cyclone technology as the DC14 Animal so I won’t go through it again. Feel free to read the DC14 review to find out more about it.

Likes

The DC15 is nimble and easy to push with the ball technology. When tilting the upper part of the vacuum backwards to begin vacuuming, the back wheels pivot out of the way. The vacuum then rolls along on the ball with the front of the head also making contact with the floor. It is easy to ‘turn’ by simply rotating your hand one way or the other.

The DC15 Animal maintains the "quick-draw" hose which simply means with one push of a pretty large button just above the canister, the hose and extension handle can be detached from the vacuum and used. The hose has a full reach of seventeen feet which is long enough to reach all the way up a traditional flight of stairs or vacuum the walls and ceilings of a typical room without having to move the vacuum.

The extension handle on the DC15 is identical to the DC14 and no longer needs to be reversed so have the handle at the back with the majority of the aluminum extension out front. You simply slide the cap away from the top of the handle, push a small button to allow extension of the aluminum tube and push the larger release button above the canister to remove the extension handle and hose. No more having to take the handle completely out of the hose and reverse it as with the DC07. The attachments fit on the extension handle solidly - I’ve never had one fall off while using.

The cord length is back up to thirty-seven feet on the DC15 matching the DC07 and just a hair longer than the DC14 Animal. It is a nice long cord that will allow you to reach almost all areas of a floor without having to unplug and move the cord. I can still do each floor of my house (about 1000 sq. ft) if I plug the vacuum into a central location.

The canister is easy to empty and see when it is getting full. Push a button on top of the canister (I think the button on the DC07 is a tad easier to push), remove it and then push a red trigger button located in the handle to open the bottom of the canister and release the contents. A few light raps on top of the canister will release any fine particles of dirt and dust still trapped in them.

The Dyson crevice tool (see video here). It is, in my opinion, an awesome attachment. I say that because until we owned the Dyson, cleaning the drapes or shears (hopefully the correct word) was simply a pain in the rump. They simply never got the cleaning they deserved because all previous crevice tools were sealed with only the narrow opening at the end of the attachment. As soon as you place the tool against a drape or shear the fabric would be sucked into the opening and normally required the vacuum to be turned off to remove it. We got quite good at the "hit and run" technique of simply ‘tapping’ the tool against the fabric and quickly pulling it away. With the Dyson crevice tool, this is no longer necessary.

The vacuum self adjusts for any carpet and floor height and also has the ability to turn off the beater bar when doing a non-carpeted floor. Theres also the additional of a front channel just in front of the beater bar that allows the pick up of larger debris without them having to pass through the beater bar area.

One other feature on the DC15 that the DC07 and DC14 don’t have is a separate motor to drive the beater bar instead of a clutch and belt as on the other two Dysons. In theory this leaves full power for suction and for the beater bar but the trade off is a slightly smaller motor in the DC15 as compared to the DC07 and DC14. I do not feel it detracts from the

The vacuum is the heaviest in the stable at 20 Lbs. but it still maintain the lower-center carrying handle (the handle on top of the cannister) which makes carrying the vacuum up and down stairs easier. I have not given this vacuum my wife and teenage daughter carrying test to get their feedback.

Dislikes

Surprisingly, the same technology that makes this vacuum so cool is one that might give people with hand or wrist problems (ala carpel tunnel) fits. Its probably very intuitive to guide a traditional, non-ball, vacuum because you’ve been doing it for years. ‘Driving’ the DC15 is a different experience that can take a little time to learn. You will be constantly making wrist movement to steer the vacuum vs. the movements you’re used to with your vacuum now. Something to consider.

The cord does not have a self-retract feature and must be completely taken off the handle in order to use the extension wand and hose. This makes it somewhat of a pain when doing just a quick cleanup requiring the accessory brush or carpet tool.

The larger handle on the DC15 has been reported to be somewhat unwieldy to use. It is much larger than the DC07 handle and can at times get in the way when using it or maybe saying it doesn’t feel as ‘nimble’ as the DC07’s handle is more a correct way to explain it. I did not find this to be a great problem when I tried out the DC14 and being able to extend and use the extension handle without taking it out of the hose, in my opinion, more than made up for this.

The vacuum stores the crevice tool, brush and carpet tool attachments on the vacuum itself which will serve 85-90% of your cleaning needs. The turbo tool and bare floor (low reach) tool must be stored elsewhere. It’s a bit of a pain to remember to carry the turbo tool around while vacuuming.

When emptying the canister sometime the dirt and fine debris can float away from the trash can. You must hold the canister down into the trash can and then open it. Since the bottom swings down and away, you might not have enough room in your trash can to do this.