Every Christmas, DH and I buy something nice for the house instead of gifts for each other. I am currently eyeing a cordless Dyson, but I am so overwhelmed by the different types. Just for reference, we have all laminate floors, 2 dogs (one that sheds A LOT) and two kids. Which model would you recommend? Thanks!
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We have the v6 I think, the cheapest model (still not cheap even on Black Friday!). I think it works great but we don’t have pets just messy kids. We have a combo of tile, lots of hardwood and some area rugs. I think it gets the most out of the rugs, like it’s almost scary to see!
One thing that might be worth investigating is the battery life, the v6 says up to 20m but that’s only if you don’t use “max power”, which gets you more like 6m (so at best I can do 2 rooms - but that’s ok for me because I love it for quickly cleaning under the table etc). More expensive models supposedly have better suction (which for us, isn’t needed) as well as better battery life.
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I have the V11 Animal. We have one preschooler (with #2 on the way),a lab, 2 cats, and a bird
; we have all solid surfaces except 2 area rugs.
I make my husband vacuum the area rugs because the boost setting is so strong you have to fight it. It's awesome and kind of gross what it can pull out of a rug. I have also used it to vacuum the cat tower, the car, truck, and stairs and it's been great for everything... Even the pink glitter/confetti from our gender reveal balloon pop.
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Following because we’ve been wanting one for awhile but are hung up on the model differences. I’m partial to the one that comes in pink, haha, bc that definitely makes vacuuming more fun
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@Sams Mom: the car is actually one of my favorite uses. So great for all the sand/crumbs/etc on the floor as well as getting into cup holders and every nook and cranny of car seats.
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Thanks, this is helpful!
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We have the v8 (i think) I can do the whole apartment on one charge which might say more about how big our place is than the vacuum.... I love it. It's so easy.
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I'd just get the newest/most expensive, lol! Ours were gifted to us some years ago so I am sure there are much newer models by now but this is the one thing I'd splurge on, by the sheer amount I use this daily between 2 kids (soon to be 3), a shedding dog, and there are 3 females total that do/will shed hair
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@bhbee: ugh our car is so disgusting, can't believe I'm that mom but I can barely remember a car ride where our 3-year-old *didn't* eat a graham cracker or something crumbly. I think I might be sold on getting a dyson after reading this thread and the other !
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I have this one: Dyson V8 Absolute Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner, Yellow (214730-01)
Its amazing. One of the best purchases I have ever made in my life. I can't imagine my life without it. I use it so many times a day that I really want a second one for the upstairs.
I do not have pets, so I can't say how it works for that. But I do have a house with lots of girls, so lots of hair is an issue and this vacuum has no problems.
The one tiny *issue* I have with this vacuum is that it doesn't last too too long on the "max suck" mode, which is the mode I love. So you cannot leisurely vacuum an entire two story home on one mode. I have never tried to rapidly vacuum both floors in the same charge. really, this only becomes an issue if you have a house cleaner. Otherwise, this vacuum gets used daily for spot clean ups, or one room clean ups as needed. The charging really hasn't been a total problem.
Also, you will want to keep this plugged in when not using it. So, the normal place like a hall closet where you store it won't totally work unless there is a plug in there or you get crazy and install a plug in there. Or else you just love it so much that you don't mind plugging it in and keeping it out for every house guest to see because they will eventually see it since you will likely use it 100 times during a party.
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@agold: hey girl, I'm about to buy either yours or the V7, which is only $250 on Amazon (the V8 Absolute is $420). I was going to wait for black friday but our old trusty Shark upright just died yesterday, very serendipitous
quick question as I'm comparing the models--it seems like yours has slightly better suction on the turbo mode and lasts a tiny bit longer and has a bare floor head that's supposedly great on hardwoods. Do you really end up switching out the heads and using the alternate ones, or do you tend to just keep it on the carpet head all the time? Also, off the top of your head, how many minutes does yours last when it's on turbo/max/whatever mode? And how many minutes does it last on regular mode? Thxxx 
@crazydoglady: are you decided on which one? -
@maddyz: do you tend to use your V8 on the turbo mode, or regular mode? thanks!
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@LCTBQE: I got the v8 last year on black friday. I remember it being a bit hard to pull the trigger, but I'm super glad that I did. I don't think i spent that much time distinguishing between models, as it made less of a difference with the sales at the time.
I do use both the wood and carpet attachment. Most of the time the wood attachment is on, as we have wood floors in our kitchen, but when I need to vacuum carpets that attachment goes on. I pretty much permanently leave it in max suction mode, unless I'm vacuuming an area rug that I want to be careful with. I am not a patient person! Other attachments I use for occasional needs to get into tight places or furniture.
We do need to charge between uses, but the battery life has not for the most part been a problem. I use the roomba to keep things clean in general. I mostly use the dyson for after meals in the kitchen, also entryway where stuff is more like to get tracked in, or for other contained messes. I leave it to charge along with the roomba in the pantry. When our house was built two hundred years ago, the owners probably had servants that slept in there, whereas my servants are the roomba, dyson, and microwave, also all in there
I do know someone who had to return theirs because their cleaning lady refused to use it as she wanted something where she didn't have to worry about battery life. So worth potentially checking if you have a cleaning person who uses the vacuum.
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@LCTBQE: I'm having trouble deciding! I'm going to see what Black Friday deals are like. Sorry to hear about your shark...I really wanted to love mine.
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@periwinklebee: @crazydoglady: I thought about it a little longer but last night ordered the V7 for $250 (vs the V8 for $420) and this is why: the suction difference per wirecutter and other review websites was negligible, I know myself and I'm too lazy to switch out the heads, even if I did switch out the heads and use the hardwood head I never really feel like my floors are clean until I've swiffer wetted them down anyway so it won't make a difference, I think I can live with the slightly crappier battery, and lastly I've just heard of so many issues with Dysons that I wanted to plunk down less money rather than more. Also, this way I can put that extra money towards getting a vitamix per the other thread
If the V8 goes on crazy sale during black friday I might be kicking myself a little, but oh well, we need a vacuum NOW and Amazon is delivering it today.
@periwinklebee: Our amazing cleaning lady uses her own vacuum so not an issue, yay. We don't have ANY storage closets on the ground floor of our house besides one tiny coat closet in our vestibule which irks me to no end, so I'm planning on keeping ours permanently docked upstairs in our big closet up there (which has a plug). Have you heard anything about keeping it charging degrading the battery life at all?
@crazydoglady: I did really like our Shark and it lasted through (I think?) 6 years and two Labradors. I went to use it a couple days ago and suddenly the roller head wasn't spinning. RIP. I'll let you know what I think of the V7! -
@periwinklebee: Also sooooo jealous your house is 200 years old! Ours is only a 1923.
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@agold: the leaving it out issue is why I want the pink one (ha!), but it's not one of the "best" models.
@LCTBQE: Please update on your V7 if you have a chance! Hubs thinks we need like a v10 or v11 or whatever the newest thing is, but my line of thinking is more like yours!
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@LCTBQE: Good point on having it constantly charging. Whenever DH uses it, he rarely bothers to plug it back in. I found this mildly annoying, but maybe it's actually a good thing
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@PinkElephant: haha, the V11 is SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. like, even if you're rolling in dough, how could that be necessary?! but can relate to men who require only the best when it comes to gear.. and also, lol that a vacuum cleaner even falls under the "gear" category in their minds. my best friend's husband actually was the most informative person I talked to ! I'll let you know what I think of it, it's coming today. I'm a little worried the battery will bug the shit out of me, but I can't find any research comparing the V7 on turbo to the V8 Absolute on turbo, so just gonna see. Here are the websites I used to research:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cordless-stick-vacuum/
https://moderncastle.com/vacuum-cleaner-reviews/dyson-v7-vs-v8/ -
@periwinklebee: so our house has an enormous amount of storage and great closets on every floor except the ground floor--also no powder room on the ground floor. If we stay here long term I think we'll renovate and do an addition at some point. I would LOVE a bathroom, a pantry and especially a mud room. I know you guys did that upstairs hallway reno, but has your house been added onto ever by prior owners?
ETA it's getting a little hazy now but at some point my dreams switched from traveling to Thailand and owning my own business to having a Dyson and a mud room... what happened here.. -
@LCTBQE:
Our house sounds like the opposite of yours. Previous owners did a lot to the first floor and we're not touching it, but second floor is a different story. They added on a mudroom like side entrance at some point, it's okay but it's basically a screened in vestibule/porch attached to the side of the house, if that makes any sense. It's quite small and doesn't lock, so I haven't really figured out yet how to optimize shoe, coat, and bag storage. They also added on a back verandah, which is one of the best things about the house, and redid the kitchen (I believe adding a powder room in the process). Second floor - the two main bedrooms that we will use for the kids had closets that were only around a foot deep, can't even fit a little kid hanger or diaper box in there so we are moving out a wall to expand them to standard closet width. Master bedroom had a 3' reach in closet, which we're also expanding while we're doing other renovations to the space. And there was not a single place to store extra towels or linens, so with the new hallway we're adding a linen cabinet. I wouldn't have done it all right away, but since we needed to add a hallway to connect our room to the kids rooms, it made sense to take care of it!
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@periwinklebee: yeah, what was done to your bottom floor needs to be done to ours for sure, there is no way at all to work my wishlist into this house without an addition, the footprint is really small (like 700 sq ft) and it's a very vertical house (finished basement and attic). I've lived in a lot of houses built in the 19th century and those foot-deep closets are so useless, good for you for updating (and I can't believe no one did prior to you guys !) It'll feel so good to bring the girly home to a finished space
Are they done yet/almost done?
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@LCTBQE: Is it weird that I am excited to see if you like your vacuum?
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@LCTBQE: Of course they are behind schedule (and over budget). It will be super annoying if they are not done before the baby, but not holding my breath!
An addition sounds awesome, but I'm sure also a lot of work to figure out exactly what you want and plan it all. In the meantime, the Dyson should make life better
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@LCTBQE: So...what's the verdict?
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@crazydoglady: I like it but I'm on the fence. Def, def glad I didn't spring for the V8 Absolute for an extra $170. It's convenient and I'm able to do stuff that our Shark couldn't get at (carpeted stairs to the basement, car, etc) and I think like pp's say I do reach for it more often because it's so light and easy. But, the battery is incredibly stupid, it runs out so quickly on turbo mode which is the only mode that I want to use, and to me it doesn't feel like it's picking up more/better than our Shark did when it was new. So, I think maybe it's nice as an add-on cleaning tool, but for me doesn't replace the plug in upright completely. We have a cleaning lady who comes twice a month and uses her own vacuum and that's the only reason I'm not planning to replace the Shark as well. For reference we have 4 stories: wall to wall carpeted finished (but rarely used) basement and attic, and hardwoods with lots of rugs on the main two floors.
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I think we must have the absolute? it came with an attachment for hardwood floors that the animal didn't have--i find that one really does work better on wood floors, though the all purpose head is almost as good.
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@LCTBQE: I'll caveat this with the fact that we don't have pets - so no idea how it does with that - but have you considered some sort of robot vacuum to use in combination? Because I know you want to add some more *exciting* household items to your black friday wish list
We have a seven year old roomba, that I run nearly every day. I use the dyson mostly in kitchen and entryway, or places where the roomba won't reach, for contained messes, and use the roomba to control general dust, lint, etc in the rest of the house. We are strict on no food or shoes outside the designated areas, so it's mostly issues with dust and lint. I would never have the patience to vacuum more than a contained mess, but I also am a neat freak.
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@periwinklebee: yeah, I'm a neat freak too. I've heard/read on wire cutter that Roombas aren't amazing for dog hair. (But, one of the reasons I am head over heels in love with our dog is that he is the un-sheddi-est labrador on earth.) The main reason I don't really want one is the issue I've talked to you about before, how our house is super vertical with a small footprint and again ZERO places to store it on the ground floor. right now the new V7 is upstairs in our big storage room which isn't ideal, I really wish I could keep it in a (non-existent) kitchen pantry or cleaning closet on the ground floor. Everyone I know who has one loves it, though. Some people even seem affectionate about them
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@LCTBQE: I'll confess a sort of affection towards my roomba, which I did name
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@periwinklebee: We also have names for the Roomba, and also it’s not unusual for it to start beeping and me to yell “what’s wrong, Rey? Don’t worry, I’m coming!” (They’re both named Rey. Oldest named the first one, when we got a second the younger guy got to pick the name but as usual, he wanted to do what his brother had done, so....)
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@erinbaderin:
We named ours spot. LO is affectionate towards it, but at the same time completely terrified when it turns on
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@erinbaderin: @periwinklebee: hahaha. I wish someone would name theirs, like, Jennifer.
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@periwinklebee: our best couple friends have two Subaru Outbacks whose respective license plates start with KVN and LRY. They call them Kevin and Larry.
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@LCTBQE: Hah! We have some friends who thought long and hard for an original name for their daughter, finally came up with Siri, and then within a couple of months after she was born Apple announced Siri. But there was no changing it at that point....
It took me awhile to get it across to DH that when I ask him to do something around the house, the appropriate response is not to say "I wonder if there is a robot that does that" and then go off to his laptop to look and bemoan its non-existence. No, there's not a roomba equivalent that will clear the table and load the dishwasher
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@periwinklebee: ROSIE
eta that's terrible about siri, wowza -
@LCTBQE: We can dream!
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@periwinklebee: Now that I'm freelancing I have time for my own inner Rosie and I will say our house is company-ready clean and organized almost all the time and it feels SO GOOD. almost as good as it felt to earn a paycheck.
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@LCTBQE: I 'd really love to have someone at my house 5 days week to help clean up constantly, or at least for a few hours. So I can absolutely imagine the value that you feel having the time to do so adds to your life. Definitely a value for having gone to freelancing. I'm glad to hear its working out at least a little for you. Hope its going great.
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@LCTBQE: I wish I could be a freelance middle school teacher.
quick question as I'm comparing the models--it seems like yours has slightly better suction on the turbo mode and lasts a tiny bit longer and has a bare floor head that's supposedly great on hardwoods. Do you really end up switching out the heads and using the alternate ones, or do you tend to just keep it on the carpet head all the time? Also, off the top of your head, how many minutes does yours last when it's on turbo/max/whatever mode? And how many minutes does it last on regular mode? Thxxx 
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