Our house has all hardwood floors with area rugs, some of them quite large. With a dog and two cats, pet hair is definitely a concern. And with a crawling child, of course it is important to keep the floor as spic and span as possible.
The Dyson was just about ready to roll straight out of the box. All I had to do was snap the handle pole and the brushbar into place – and I even did it without my husband's help! My vacuum's maiden voyage was on a large area rug that has grooves in it; hard to describe, but suffice it to say that I never felt our other vacuum was ever able to really suck up what was lodged in the carpet fibers between the grooves.
The effect of the Dyson's powerful suction was instantly visible. We could hardly believe our eyes. This is what this carpet looks like completely clean. The machine's dust bin boasted not only gobs of pet fur (it had only been a couple days since I'd vacuumed, mind you), but a pile of fine dirt that my other vacuum cleaner, which also had a clear dust bin, never got up.
I was completely hooked, and I proceeded on a vacuuming rampage. The way the Dyson ball almost makes the vacuum cleaner drive itself definitely takes a little getting used to, as does the way you have to assemble the machine's reversible wand. But handling both are almost automatic for me now.
Cleaning our hardwoods with the Dyson was also extremely rewarding. Usually I vacuum them and then go over them again with a Swiffer in order to get up the pet fur and fine dust the vacuum leaves behind. But with the Dyson, the second step wasn't necessary because the vacuum did all the work. I still can't believe what it picked up from my ‘clean’ kitchen floor. Especially during pollen season, it's a great feeling to know that my vacuum cleaner is picking up such tiny particles and getting them out of our breathing zone.
I chose the Dyson DC24 because it is lightweight, has an excellent reputation, and there are no bags to purchase. I've found that is has far, far exceeded my expectations.