by Olivia Emisar

Created on: September 26, 2009   Last Updated: September 27, 2009

Let's forget about fancy brands and German engineering for a few minutes and boil down to basics what would make you happy with a particular product. If we get down to basics and ignore the hype, most of us would agree that the best vacuum cleaner is the one that does not have you cursing under breath every time you bring it out, saves you money and works as well a decade later as it did on the first day.

Some of us buy vacuums based on product name recognition, well placed advertising or perceived status as a symbol of quality. Some of us buy a vacuum based on financial ability and our choices are limited based on income and choices at the time.

After having fallen into the latter category more than once, I decided to take the plunge and invest in something more reliable by narrowing our needs and finding something that would meet the expectations mentioned in the first paragraph. I did the math and took stock of how many units we had replaced over the years and factored the cost of the units over a 4 year period. The amount I came up with was the actual cost of 2 vacuum cleaners over a 4 year period plus the cost of belts, filters and bags.

The previous brands were Hoover, Kirby, Kenmore and others that I can recall right now, but had to be replaced every 18 months to two years. After adding up the amount of money we had spent and how sick and tired we were of replacing bags, filters and belts, we made the decision of looking at an expensive vacuum with a 5 year warranty, no filters, bags or belts and would work just as well as the first day years later.

Since we had been burnt, literally and figuratively, by less costly brands, we decided to buy "The Animal" by Dyson from Costco. Their return policy made it an easy decision to fork over so much money with the understanding that we would get recoup it all should we decide that it no longer did what it advertised to do.

The added benefit was the extra attachments that would add to the cost had we bought the machine at a retail outlet. The package included attachments that we did not think we'd need, but would be nice to have just in case.

"The Animal" lived, and continues to live, up to its name. This purple beast has not lost suction, broke, burnt the carpet, or required expensive bags and replacement filters. Those extra attachments were completely unnecessary when most of our home had wall to wall carpet. Years later we replaced the wall to wall carpet in all common areas with laminate flooring and the

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