Wow! This is a VERY expensive vacuum. How much more powerful would this be than let's say, a normal priced vacuum you can buy much cheaper? I have a pet bird (messy seeds everywhere) and my biggest problem is the rotating beater on my vacuums jut spits...
282616
I purchased my vacuum because I was buying vacuums at the rate of 1 or 2 per year. I have carpet (dogs and lots of birds) the bristles turn off when the body of the vacuum is in the upright position and you use the hand-held hose. Generally, I sweep the seed and feathers up first with a broom and then use the hose and wand on the rest. I've had the vacuum for 4 years without any problems. The one negative I've found is the price of the bags (I wanted a vacuum with a bag as the bag-less seem to spit out everything). I do purchase generic bags on-line and they are the same as the pricey ones at half the price. The body swivels and will get under furniture pretty well, around corners easily and does a good job overall. Hope this helped.
1233923
Impossible to give a definitive answer. Too many variables. Where do you live? Pets? Do you regularly vacuum? I clean mine once a month - it's easy and quick.
1780890
This vacuum's suction really impressed me, but then my previous vacuum was a pos Oreck. This vacuum allows the user to choose carpet or floor (which does turn off the rotating bristles). I find it does a wonderful job in picking up cat litter from a linoleum floor, so I would expect the same for birdseed from hardwood. Hope this helps.
814944
Hmm? Im not sure? I have had mine for about 6 months, and so far, its been the best vacuum i have ever owned...good luck to u:)
279471
Hi, I do not own a parrot or any other bird for that matter, but, to answer your question, this dyson model is fantastic in picking up just about "anything". I use different attachments, depending on the type of floor your cleaning. The dyson canister has no problem picking up all of the above items you mentioned and then some. I have a house cleaning business and using this vacuum has picked up MANY items including pens/pencils, scarves/socks, small toys parts, coins, etc. The suction is very powerful. Hope this answered your question!
330242
It's too noisy for that, and I'm sure would result in disfunction, as that is not its intended use. I bought the Oreck AIR108 for that purpose. It's virtually silent. I've run it continuously for the last 9 months and going strong. It filters 99.999 percent of stuff out of the air, and even though I have 3 cats, my co-worker, who is allergic (we both work all day in my home office) is not suffering in the least. Very effective in combination with the Rainbow, which I use as was intended, as a vacuum cleaner.
2170989
The suction is so good on carpets that I've had to beef up my arm strength to pull it along. It does not come with a beater brush, you might want to check if they are sold separately. It cleans carpets well enough that i have never felt the need to purchase one. It is controlled by suction, but the suction is high power, just keep it in good repair, as you would with any other vacuum. This vacuum is great for cleaning large areas with ease, it is not really a deep cleaning vac. If you're looking for something like that you may want to look for a push vac. However, if you would like a good quality vac that can will aid in cleaning areas well with ease this will work. The suction is so good on carpets that I've had to beef up my arm strength to pull it along. It does not come with a beater brush, you might want to check if they are sold separately. It cleans carpets well enough that i have never felt the need to purchase one. It is controlled by suction, but the suction is high power, just keep it in good repair, as you would with any other vacuum. This vacuum is great for cleaning large areas with ease, it is not really a deep cleaning vac. If you're looking for something like that you may want to look for a push vac. However, if you would like a good... » Read More The suction is so good on carpets that I've had to beef up my arm strength to pull it along. It does not come with a beater brush, you might want to check if they are sold separately. It cleans carpets well enough that i have never felt the need to purchase one. It is controlled by suction, but the suction is high power, just keep it in good repair, as you would with any other vacuum. This vacuum is great for cleaning large areas with ease, it is not really a deep cleaning vac. If you're looking for something like that you may want to look for a push vac. However, if you would like a good quality vac that can will aid in cleaning areas well with ease this will work. « Show Less
1672086
Mr. Starter, if you ended up purchasing this Hoover (or another canister vacuum model), what is your opinion of cleaning hardwood floors? I have the same dilemma.
1780893
I think it is definitely overpriced - plus I emailed customer service about an issue i am having with it after 1 yr (the on/off button does not work so to turn it on and off I need to unplug/plug it in ) and they never even responded! If you have hardwood floors a cheaper vacuum would be fine I am sure - I think this is more for carpets and ppl with dogs/cats to get anything out of its "pet" features. The bristle brush does turn off but I also have a Dyson that does as well - get a cheaper one and just suck the seeds up with an attachment- save yourself the $ . Also, not sure how strong you are but this is VERY heavy to carry and very difficult to push on plush carpets even when using the correct setting. I think it is definitely overpriced - plus I emailed customer service about an issue i am having with it after 1 yr (the on/off button does not work so to turn it on and off I need to unplug/plug it in ) and they never even responded! If you have hardwood floors a cheaper vacuum would be fine I am sure - I think this is more for carpets and ppl with dogs/cats to get anything out of its "pet" features. The bristle brush does turn off but I also have a Dyson that does as well - get a cheaper one and just suck the seeds up with an attachment- save yourself the $ . Also, not sure how... » Read More I think it is definitely overpriced - plus I emailed customer service about an issue i am having with it after 1 yr (the on/off button does not work so to turn it on and off I need to unplug/plug it in ) and they never even responded! If you have hardwood floors a cheaper vacuum would be fine I am sure - I think this is more for carpets and ppl with dogs/cats to get anything out of its "pet" features. The bristle brush does turn off but I also have a Dyson that does as well - get a cheaper one and just suck the seeds up with an attachment- save yourself the $ . Also, not sure how strong you are but this is VERY heavy to carry and very difficult to push on plush carpets even when using the correct setting. « Show Less
1080731
I was about to post the same complaint! We got our DC14 back in February I believe and at first it was great on our old carpeting (14 years plus). Then in August I got new carpeting in 2 of our 3 carpeted rooms -- this new carpet is a good quality Anso Nylon, and I love it -- except that the DC14 takes a lot of muscle power to push around on the new carpet. I mean seriously, I expect my shoulder to give out! It often makes that horrible grinding noise when I try vaccuming this carpet. Also it doesn't seem to pick up nearly as much pet hair on the new carpet as it used to. I have pored through the manual but it only says that the DC14 may not be good on area rugs because they are not secured to the floor. It suggests raising the rotating brush for the hardwood floor setting. This isn't helpful to me in my situation. I tried that, same results. I know the vaccuum itself is still fine because it works wonderfully on the one room that still has the old carpeting. That old carpeting was installed by the our house's previous owner so I don't know what it is made of, but I suspect it's polyester. I believe that the DC14 just isn't good on certain kinds of carpets. Do you know if your new carpeting is nylon? If so, that may be it. Dyson really needs to address this problem if I am correct about the cause. Either that, or the box AND Amazon's product page should have a very visible warning that this vaccuum is not good for Nylon carpets. So if anybody can recommend a vaccuum that does well on an Anso Nylon, I'm all ears!
1408408
I found this vacuum to be a little hard to handle, the hose keeps getting on my way, it heavy plus it's not very good using it on carpet, I ended up buying a tool for hardwood floors and that its it's in use, hope it helps!
2051175
Now I'm confused. Some of you are saying the Bissell 3920 is the best vacuum ever while others are saying it's the worst. I'm not worried about the bulkiness or noise. My main concern is a strong suction effect to lift deep-down dirt and pet hair.
2059314
The pet hose attachment is a pos.... It was caked in dog hair after the first use and I think I only used it twice. The vacuum is powerful at first but quickly dies down to less than average within weeks.
1797165
It's hard to say. Maybe if you're renting a house you could just go ahead with a cheaper model. The reason why I wanted a good sweeper is because we paid $3,000.00 for new carpet in our house and I wanted to do everything I could to make it last. We're planning on staying here a long time. Having a dog and a cat (and a three year old daughter) is hard on the carpet. It would be nice if you could go to your local Vacuum Center (if you have one close by) and see about renting different brands/models before making a final decision.
735183
I have the same problem. I have Golden Retrievers. I just keep checking it and cleaning it about every time I sweep and that's often. For as expensive as this sweep was, it should have no problems at all!
615561
I don't know if it ruins the carpet. It's just difficult to use because it doesn't really glide over the carpet. The apparatus has like a felt brush that doesn't rotate. I wound up using my dyson on my soft carpet. I think there may be a separate attachment that you can buy. Maybe that's the difference in the more expensive model. I have to say that this vacuum is excellent, quiet, powerful and odorless.
2090469
I find the suction is really good with the attachments. I do have to be careful to not accidentally whisk by an unintended target and suck it up. I will have to say...on another subject.... that it is really hard to get a good suction on an uneven carpet. I purchased a rug with different heights and I find that the vacuum is not heavy enough to get a good suction. I have to go over it numerous time to get the dirt (front hall rug). Now I wish it was a little heavier to really get a good suction.