(NEW!) Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra Upright Vacuum

TLDR — Powerful, effective, and actually gets the job done in a house with two large dogs that shed year-round. Lots of useful attachments along with upholstery hose. Does not tangle, easy to assemble. Large canister capacity. Quieter than you'd think. Heavier than cordless. PURCHASED MODEL: Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra MY HOME 2 large dogs that shed year round: Golden Retriever and Dalmatian. Golden leaves hair balls all around the house, with hairs that embed into rugs that tangle and collect in all the nooks and crannies of a vacuum easily. Dalmatian's short hairs are like spikes, and will stick to all cloth furniture. WHY I BOUGHT THIS VACUUM I have used many vacuums in the past, including ORECK commercial vacuums, cordless Dyson V8, Roomba, and most recently a Shark Pet Premium (IZ363HT) cordless. These vacuums were either too weak, gets tangled easily with hair and fur, or collect dirt and grime buildup easily. I was tired of never feeling that the house was really clean after using these vacuums, and their performance continued to diminish over time because of these issues. I finally decided that it was time to invest in something that would get the job done and would last me over a long period of time. ASSEMBLY The assembly process for this vacuum was so extremely easy. There are only 3 main pieces to assemble: (1) The floor roller head to the bottom of the machine, (2) the main vacuum handle that you'll use to drive the machine, and (3) the telescoping wand into the upholstery hose. I was up and running within minutes of receiving the vacuum. Components snap into each other without the need for any tools, which also means that it is easy to disassemble components for any needed cleaning or maintenance. The included washable filters are easy to access, which is a huge plus with animals as they need to be washed regularly to prevent that doggy/animal smell that old, under-maintained vacuums have. SUCTION POWER & NOISE Your mind will be blown by how powerful and effective this vacuum is. The Dyson Ball Animal has the most powerful suction amongst all of Dyson's current products, and its suction power is comparable to my 6 horsepower shop vac, which is great for cleaning up big messes but lacks the floor roller attachment for rugs. As a test, I vacuumed my main living room rug with my Shark cordless pet vac, and then ran over it again with the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra — and it still picked up a full canister of pet hair and dust. That said, the suction is almost too powerful. Be careful with fragile or old rugs, because it can potentially damage it if you don't have it on the right setting. When in doubt, keep the floor roller on the furthest setting for the highest-pile rugs and disable the roller, which you can do with a push of a button. For such a powerful vacuum, the noise level is surprisingly manageable compared to many other, less powerful machines. The only time it gets super loud is when using the "Tangle-Free Turbine Tool" attachment with the spinning detangling rollers, as the rollers make extra noise. HAIR DETANGLING The Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra has a large, adjustable floor roller (for different surface types) with a built-in comb that keeps hair from tangling, and IT WORKS. Between all the hair left by people and pets around the house, this vacuum stayed completely tangle-free; I have not once had to clean off the roller in nearly a full month of use. CORD OPERATION, WEIGHT & MANEUVERABILITY After using cordless for so long, I thought switching back to a corded vacuum would be a pain. This was not the case, thanks to the Dyson's extra long 32.8ft cord. The vacuum itself is on the heavier side if you are used to cordless vacs, coming in at 17.3lbs. The design of This isn't really an issue especially with its 13ft upholstery hose. If you need to get into tight spaces with the hose, you can easily detach the telescopic handle and use the vacuum attachments directly with the hose. An additional benefit of having this long, built-in hose is that it makes it easy to keep the vacuum itself clean. The hose automatically activates when the vacuum is fully upright. The roller ball makes it easy to drive the vacuum, and unlike older generations of Dyson's Ball vacuums, the turning is tighter and more controlled, preventing the machine from unwanted turning when you are driving it forward. When lifting the vacuum, you may be tempted to use the main handle on top, but you'll have a much easier time if you use the handle on the canister towards the middle of the unit. CANISTER EMPTYING VS BAGGED There is a compromise here—bagged vacuums are obviously easier and cleaner to empty compared to canisters, but it also means that you cannot operate the vacuum if you run out of bags or if the bag is beyond capacity. Emptying canister vacuums can release some dust, but it also means that you are never going to be stuck without a bag, and there is no ongoing cost to operate the machine. To minimize the spread of dust when emptying the canister, I like to empty into a tall, lined trash bin which allows me to lower the canister more deeply into the bin before opening the hatch. CONS This is one of the most effective and reliable vacuums out there, if you use it properly and maintain it regularly like you should with any machinery. That said, a few things that could be improved are: - At this price point, I would have expected better storage options for all the included attachments. The Ball Animal 3 Extra comes with 4 attachments, but only one tool holder that goes onto the vacuum. This means you have to find a place to organize and store your attachments separate from the vacuum, potentially making them less accessible during your cleaning job. - There are tiny tiny rollers at the bottom of the floor roller attachment, which will have a tendency to pick up hair that gets tangled. This is going to be the case with just about any vacuum out there, but all it takes is checking it after every other use to pull out the few hairs that might have gotten caught. Easy. - Like I mentioned above, the suction can be too powerful, which means you'll need a little extra muscle power sometimes when using it on upholstery to move the hose along, and you'll want to be careful around old or fragile rugs - The upholstery hose wants to stay condensed, so using it when the vacuum is new may take a bit of extra muscle CONCLUSION The Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra is undoubtedly one of the best performing vacuums I have used for housework. It's the right purchase if you have the budget and prefer to invest in long-term equipment vs. spending half the price for something you'll have to replace in a few years, which will end up being more costly to you. If you are in the market for a new vacuum that cleans effectively, this is it!