I have the Dyson animal. I like it a lot. I was amazed the first time I
used it and saw all the cat hair it picked up. It's hepa canister has a
trigger on it to release the dirt in a trash can.
It's called the animal because it has an attatchment to reach under the
sofa and beds to get the pet hair. It's the purple one.
At $499 US it is pricey but so far ( 6 months) I am real happy with it.
And YES. You can use it on your furniture.

Yes.  Yes, yes, yes, yes.  Absolutely.  It was my best purchase for 2004.

Better.  I give up trying to find superlatives to describe it.

I live in a narrow townhouse, and with the extensions I've been able to clean
literally everything.

I see that they are

No.  You stick the mouth of the dustbin in your trash can, pop the button, and
it all falls into the trash can.  I have found that it works better in a mostly
empty trash can, as opposed to one that's mostly full.

 Can you vacuum

Yes.  And curtains and stairs and dustbunnies that lurk along the ceiling.

I was skeptical, so a friend who was going away for the weekend lent me hers.
I had just vacuumed my 9x12 living room rug with my old Hoover.  With the
Dyson, I filled the bin after vacuuming half of what was supposed to be a clean
rug.  I emptied the bin and vacuumed the other half of the rug.  I emptied the
bin again and vacuumed the entire rug again, pulling up even more dust and
dirt.  I bought one of my own the next week.

The power of this thing is astonishing.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Daria
Timing is everything.

I agree with all of the others.
It is really great.
The only drawback that I can see is that it is mosly plastic so don't
drop it down the stairs.

Check into a Rainbow water vac too.  http://www.rainbowsystem.com

Parent's had one and it picked up stuff no matter what vac they used (the
water was always cloudy or muddy when they used it).  The thing will not
pass anything back into the air as it goes through the water bath first.
Looks like a shop vac with a clear water tank.  Their Hepa vacs always
seemed to stir up something.

B~

I have a Dyson. It is excellent! I'd never buy any other make of
hoover.

Iain

Rescued Cats & Kittens Needing Homes
 >'o'< www.celiahammond.org >'o'<
   >'o'< www.cat77.org.uk >'o'<

(...)

I do. It's purple and looks like an art deco spacecraft. What more do
you need?

I don't know - how wonderful do the ads make 'em seem?

Works very well on carpets and such, and not so well on hard floors
because the vacuum exhaust tends to blow random detritus around before
it can get sucked up. The pet hair tool (turbo tool) is very good.

All the different models (in the US) are essentially the same, the
only difference being the colour of the vacuum and the accessories you
get (you can buy accessories separately).

They're fairly large and perhaps slightly unwieldy.

No, unless you decide to empty it onto the living room floor.

You could probably even vacuum the cats with it, given suitable
restraints and body armour for yourself.

Steve.

<snip>

I no longer have an online subscription, but when I was researching
vacuum cleaners, Consumer Reports essentially said that the Dyson is
way overpriced and overrated, and that many much-less-expensive and
less snazzy vacuums do a much better job and have better repair
records.  We went with a Kenmore... don't recall the model, but it was
a CR Best Buy.  Less that $200 and does a fabulous job.

---------------

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/upright_vacuums/

- Dyson DC07
(*est. $400 to $520, depending on model)

In professional testing, the Dyson DC07 doesn't outperform the cheaper
Eureka models above. Even so, we have never seen so many owners and
professional reviewers rave about a vacuum cleaner. Although a British
review magazine recently found Dyson to have a below average repair
record, the same survey respondents still said they'd recommend Dyson
to friends. The nineteen-pound DC07 has an award-winning bagless
design that owners love. It comes in four versions (the Dyson All
Floors is the base model), each with different accessories.

If you love gadgets and snazzy design, then the Dyson may be for you.
Otherwise, the Eureka models above clean just as well for less.

---------------

HTH.

--
Jennifer

I bought the dyson animal model a year ago in May. I love it! It is
amazing how much it picks up. You will be amazed, too. It's really
easy to empty. Just pull the switch and the crud drops out into a
receptacle. No mess.
The animal model is $100 more because it comes with a special
attachment for cleaning cat and dog hair off the furniture and is well
worth it. I highly recommend the dyson.
Theresa