Last summer after having tried in vain to remove the fluff from our new-ish living room carpet with our trusty Dyson DC02, now nearing retirement age, we decided we needed something with a bit more power and a rotating brush bar. We had tried an air-powered turbo brush attachment on the DC02, but it constantly clogged up and stopped rotating. So, slightly miffed, we gave up that idea, and a few months later, we received our new Dyson DC07 Animal.

So, there are 7 models in the range now, 8 including the special edition model from Currys. Starting the proceedings is the basic silver/yellow model. With this you get the Root Cyclone technology. The cyclones work by forcing the air flowing within them to spin at very high speeds (around 924 mph), and centrifugal forces force the dirt out of the air stream. If you are on a spinning roundabout in a park, you can feel yourself being ‘pushed’ to the edge of it. This is centrifugal force, and the same principal is employed in the Dyson. The Root Cyclone is only different to the Dual Cyclone, in that there are eight cyclones, and not just two. Dyson claims that this gives the Root Cyclone models 45% more power than the Dual Cyclone models, though the fact that the Root Cyclone models have 1400w motors, and the Dual Cyclone models have 1200w motors might have something to do with the 45% power increase as well. Dyson didn’t tell us that one did they!!

Next in the range is the silver/turquoise “Brush Control” model. This has an additional Brush Control System, which switches the brush bar on automatically, when the cleaner body is pulled back, and switches the brush off itself, when the cleaner body is returned to the upright position, and the hose is being used. You can also switch the brush off manually when the cleaner body is pulled back; indeed, this is recommended for vacuuming hard floors. Leaving the brush on, on hard floors makes little difference, but it is quite noisy, so it is perhaps better to switch this off.

“High Efficiency Particle Airfilter” just to clear that one up! (No pun intended).

Next in line is a bit of a pointless model, the purple/red “Allergy + Low Reach Tool”. This is the same as the Allergy + models, except it has a floor tool, usually found on cylinder vacuum cleaners. This is for cleaning under low furniture. This is because, unlike other uprights, the Dyson has a tall, curved base, whereas other makes like Hoover or Electrolux have flat bases, so you cannot get a Dyson under low furniture, whereas you might just get one of it’s competitors under. To end the range, is the Animal, in purple/silver. On top of this, Currys sell a silver/red “Full Gear” model. It has a floor tool and a dry carpet cleaning kit.

Currys = £289.00 (£224.00 online)
Allders = £239.00
Tesco = £225.00
John Lewis = £239.00
Miller Brothers = £248.98

Maintenance is easy to - obviously there is no bag to change, but the cyclone does need emptying. This was a very messy business in early models, but Dyson have tried to rectify this with "Remote Trigger Bin Emptying". You pull a catch on the top, underneath the carrying handle, and the flap at the bottom opens up. Then shake the canister firmly, so all the dust falls out, close the flap, and click back into palce on the machine. Also, the Dyson employs lifetime filters. The pre-motor filter, designed to keep dust out of the motor, is in a removeable case beside the motor, at the bottom. This needs to be removed and washed every 6 months, and probably replaced every few years. The post-motor filter, designed to give the air a good last clean, is permanent, never needs washing or anything, and just sits there. You cannot ever hope to remove it, so i suggest just don't bother!!

Everything has its downfall, and the DC07 does have a number of slight problems. The suction is so powerful; the hose is hard to use, as explained earlier. This should be taken into consideration if you aren’t particularly strong. Also, the vacuum is quite heavy to lift and to push on long-pile carpets – it is surprisingly easy to manoeuvre on short-pile carpets and hard floors. Additionally, Dysons in general tend not to be the quietest vacuums around, so that should be taken into consideration if noise presents a problem