swissmiss is an online garden (aka design blog) run by Tina Roth Eisenberg, a Swiss designer gone NYC.
I admit it.
I admit it. I am dreaming of a Dyson. In case you don’t know what a dyson is. It’s a fairly expensive spacy looking vacuum cleaner that ‘never loses suction’. I guess, this means, I am officially grown up. Oh my! (slap flat hand on forehead)
Don’t do it! The canister part of the Dysons is made from an especially rigid plastic that makes it prone to breakage; that and some of the counter-intuitive placement of release switches and things means that if you’re not absolutely careful, you’re in for a heartbreak. Our Dyson bought the farm after less than a year, and was replaced by a less stylish but much more durable Electroluxe that’s been a champ.
They are amazing!
My mum had one for about 4 years, and true to its word, never lost its suction! She lives in a house with 4 dogs and 4 cats, so it needed vacuuming pretty much every day, so it got a lot of use!
they are no more powerful than other vacuums on the market, but they are easy to empty and maintain suction till the end. we use our wet/dry vac more than the dyson, as it really has more suction power for bare floors. they are over-designed, and would benefit from a sleeker, quieter form (design, not decibel). they have fantastic air filtering- i never sneeze while vacuuming with the dyson, but almost always do with other vacs.
overall, i like it, but the price does not = the benefits.
if you have an animal in house… it is better than anything i have found, and i know three others who bought top vacuums who swithed after i go mine… the dog isn’t afraid of it either.
If you go to any UK recycling centre you will see a big long line of broken Dyson cleaners waiting to be scrapped! – I think that says it all! My favorite vacuum cleaner has to be the Numatic Henry with its smiley face, bombproof construction and super long power cable…
Hello Tina, thank you for your awesome and unique blog and sharing so much inspiration. When I relocated form the US to Germany I had to find a new vaccuum and it had to be bagless (had Miele before). I found the Philipps FC9208/01 and it is the best I have had (paid 180 Euros on the net 2 yrs ago). The inner filter is washable, extra HEPA filter. Very powerful and very quiet machine. Good design and never had to read the instructions. And I live with 3 cats. Honestly, I find Dyson products completely overrated and far too expensive.
Hope you don’t mind the link http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/gb/consumer/cc/_productid_FC9208_01_GB_CONSUMER/Bagless-Vacuum-Cleaner+FC9208-01
B. Angelika
Interesting how a vacuum cleaner can bring out so many comments! I concur with a few people here: skip the Dyson. Miele is king of vacuums and makes models with hepa filters and that are super quiet. cheers, m
I thought the plastic and finishing of this vacuum cleaner looks really, really cheap. It just looks like it has been made very sloppy and as cheap as possible.
i used to want a dyson really really bad, and so i got one. i had to get it on a super duper clearance style deal, so it was about $250 for the purple pet style one. I can say we’ve never looked back, it’s amazing. Yes the plastic and the bright colors make it look cheap, but they work so good. We have a corgie, and we didn’t know how much they shed til we got him. The dyson works like a champ. my wife vacuums almost everday (and twice a day this weekend since my parents were visiting with their dog). So everyday she goes around the house with it. It’s still working as good as they day we got it. If you’re careful with it, as with any vacuum you should be, it’ll hold up just fine. But everyday we take a fist size ball of hair off our carpet from Rocky (the dog who sheds forever…)
So i would say they live up to their hype. I have tried a lot of other vacuums, a lot of the brands listed on here and nothing has done as good of a job they dyson. But yes, they are not as good on hardwood, linoleum, etc, they work best on carpet.
If you know of a site called woot.com, it’s a deal a day website, they often get refurbished dysons on there and sell that at extreme discounts, but they sell fast!
I’ve been down the road of spending $250-300 for a “good vacuum every 2 or 3 years before it falls apart for whatever reason. I’ve had a Dyson Slim for over a year and it truly is the best vacuum I’ve ever owned. If it lasts over 4 years (it’s warranted for 5 years) then the extra money was worth it and in the end is actually cheaper.
Here’s one thing I’ve learned growing older: (generally) you get what you pay for.
Swissmiss is an online garden Tina Roth Eisenberg started in 2005 and has lovingly tended to ever since.
Besides swissmiss, Tina founded and runs TeuxDeux, CreativeMornings and her Brooklyn based co-working community Friends Work Here. (She also started Tattly which was recently adopted by BIC)
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Don’t do it! The canister part of the Dysons is made from an especially rigid plastic that makes it prone to breakage; that and some of the counter-intuitive placement of release switches and things means that if you’re not absolutely careful, you’re in for a heartbreak. Our Dyson bought the farm after less than a year, and was replaced by a less stylish but much more durable Electroluxe that’s been a champ.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 5:07 pm
They are amazing!
My mum had one for about 4 years, and true to its word, never lost its suction! She lives in a house with 4 dogs and 4 cats, so it needed vacuuming pretty much every day, so it got a lot of use!
Feb 15th, 2008 / 5:20 pm
As a former Industrial Designer, these have always looked “over-designed” to me. Too future-y.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 6:36 pm
i’ve had one for a few years, my thoughts:
they are no more powerful than other vacuums on the market, but they are easy to empty and maintain suction till the end. we use our wet/dry vac more than the dyson, as it really has more suction power for bare floors. they are over-designed, and would benefit from a sleeker, quieter form (design, not decibel). they have fantastic air filtering- i never sneeze while vacuuming with the dyson, but almost always do with other vacs.
overall, i like it, but the price does not = the benefits.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 7:00 pm
if you have an animal in house… it is better than anything i have found, and i know three others who bought top vacuums who swithed after i go mine… the dog isn’t afraid of it either.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 7:04 pm
I have to suppress desire for the Dysons; they’re just so pretty.
But it’s a vacuum.
Until I’m loaded, I’m planning to find my next one on Craigslist for less than $50.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 8:42 pm
Take a breath…don’t do it!
Dyson is the Bose of vacuum cleaners. Marketing and form over function.
You’re *really* grown up when you find yourself desiring an Electrolux or Miele.
Feb 15th, 2008 / 9:11 pm
I’ve heard that folks who own on swear it’s the best $400 they ever spent. Then again, the above comments show obvious mixed feelings.
This bring up another point — we don’t really think too much about our household appliances. I’m a fan of the George Forman grill as well.
Feb 16th, 2008 / 12:04 am
If you go to any UK recycling centre you will see a big long line of broken Dyson cleaners waiting to be scrapped! – I think that says it all! My favorite vacuum cleaner has to be the Numatic Henry with its smiley face, bombproof construction and super long power cable…
Feb 16th, 2008 / 9:21 am
Hello Tina, thank you for your awesome and unique blog and sharing so much inspiration. When I relocated form the US to Germany I had to find a new vaccuum and it had to be bagless (had Miele before). I found the Philipps FC9208/01 and it is the best I have had (paid 180 Euros on the net 2 yrs ago). The inner filter is washable, extra HEPA filter. Very powerful and very quiet machine. Good design and never had to read the instructions. And I live with 3 cats. Honestly, I find Dyson products completely overrated and far too expensive.
Hope you don’t mind the link
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/gb/consumer/cc/_productid_FC9208_01_GB_CONSUMER/Bagless-Vacuum-Cleaner+FC9208-01
B. Angelika
Feb 16th, 2008 / 10:06 am
Interesting how a vacuum cleaner can bring out so many comments! I concur with a few people here: skip the Dyson. Miele is king of vacuums and makes models with hepa filters and that are super quiet. cheers, m
Feb 16th, 2008 / 12:48 pm
I thought the plastic and finishing of this vacuum cleaner looks really, really cheap. It just looks like it has been made very sloppy and as cheap as possible.
Feb 17th, 2008 / 12:56 pm
i used to want a dyson really really bad, and so i got one. i had to get it on a super duper clearance style deal, so it was about $250 for the purple pet style one. I can say we’ve never looked back, it’s amazing. Yes the plastic and the bright colors make it look cheap, but they work so good. We have a corgie, and we didn’t know how much they shed til we got him. The dyson works like a champ. my wife vacuums almost everday (and twice a day this weekend since my parents were visiting with their dog). So everyday she goes around the house with it. It’s still working as good as they day we got it. If you’re careful with it, as with any vacuum you should be, it’ll hold up just fine. But everyday we take a fist size ball of hair off our carpet from Rocky (the dog who sheds forever…)
So i would say they live up to their hype. I have tried a lot of other vacuums, a lot of the brands listed on here and nothing has done as good of a job they dyson. But yes, they are not as good on hardwood, linoleum, etc, they work best on carpet.
If you know of a site called woot.com, it’s a deal a day website, they often get refurbished dysons on there and sell that at extreme discounts, but they sell fast!
Feb 17th, 2008 / 7:21 pm
We love our Dyson, but we’ve only had it a couple of months. I guess time will tell. Want to know how much we love our Dyson?
Check it out here: laughingaloneinthedark.blogspot.com/2008/02/babies-vacuums-and-dancing-oh-my.html
Hope you don’t mind the link. Thanks for the consistently great blog full of beautiful stuff.
Feb 18th, 2008 / 12:38 am
I’m also a sucker (ouch) for Dyson’s.
Feb 18th, 2008 / 3:48 am
I’ve been down the road of spending $250-300 for a “good vacuum every 2 or 3 years before it falls apart for whatever reason. I’ve had a Dyson Slim for over a year and it truly is the best vacuum I’ve ever owned. If it lasts over 4 years (it’s warranted for 5 years) then the extra money was worth it and in the end is actually cheaper.
Here’s one thing I’ve learned growing older: (generally) you get what you pay for.
Feb 18th, 2008 / 3:35 pm