Dyson DC44 Animal

Love our Dyson, this is our first vacuum that hasn't been Miele and I'm surprisingly impressed. I will say if you use it on 'max' the battery dies in under 10 minutes so that's incredibly disappointing but otherwise does the job well and will certainly buy another. Show details ·  1

A vacuum that can't vacuum – Tiles and carpet, performance of tiles, 2 out of 5, performance on carpet, -5 out of 5, much easier to use my hand to pick up dust than vacuum it Show details

very handy – My Dyson stick vacuum is a wonderful product. Easy to use and great for stairs. The only problem is that I had to buy a fluffier head for the hardwood floors otherwise it left marks. Show details

Can’t live without my cordless vac! – Have had my Dyson DC44 Animal cordless vac for quite a few years now and it’s only just starting to falter, so I will upgrade to a later model soon. I use it almost every day on tiles, wood and carpet. It’s excellent for picking up dog hair as well as general dirt etc. Twice I have had a problem. Once the battery wouldn’t charge and more recently… Read more

the rotating brush head wouldn’t rotate, even after cleaning it. Both times phoned the Dyson helpline and had my problem solved within a couple of minutes, no charge. Great company to deal with. Will definitely stick to Dyson products when I upgrade.

Great product – 2013/14 still working in 2020. Use it for quick vacumme/spot cleaning. We use our ducted vacumme for full house cleaning. I just give it all the parts a good clean, works brilliantly. Show details

Great while it lasts – Bought from Myer in 2020 as our Kmart vacuum couldn't keep up with the dog hair. Overall the vacuum was okay but I expected more from the brand. Our warranty has just ran out and now we have a red flashing light come up which means we have to call Dyson to pay and get it fixed. The holding capacity is small and could only collect a few rooms… Read more

before needing to be emptied. This was a bit annoying as we bought it specifically for pet hair and it's even in the name. Portability wise it was great. Helped alot during my pregnancy so I didn't have to lug a big machine around. Battery life didn't last very long and we have a small 3 bedroom house. It would need charging after 1.5 rounds of the house.

All in all I prefer a lesser known branded hand held vacuum.

Thank you for reading my review and happy shopping.

Terrible vacuum – Save your money. I only held onto this vacuum for as long as I did for "in-between" vacuums on the fly, like the 20-second whiz around the kitchen, and it was barely capable of sucking up crumbs, despite cleaning the filters and emptying regularly. I also had to buy a new head for it at one point as the clip snapped off. Dyson have great marketing - don't get "sucked" in.

Not fit for purpose – I have written to Dyson twice in regards to this Dyson DC44 animal and on both occasion while they have responded fast, they do little to resolve the issue that the DC44 animal is in fact useless. It pushes hair and fluff forwards, catches in the wheels, blocks any debris from entering the suction head. They even asked me to remove the motor head… Read more

brush on hard floors. Surely this isn't a fix.....nope it wasn't. I am like most on this review....clogging and unclogging...too much! If Dyson are supposed to be the best then they certainly aren't admitting that this unit is a lemon. They have said that this unit has now had many improvements and now the unit is a V11 but all those who have the DC44 animal have to live with the fact that it just doesn't do what they say it was supposed to do. Very disappointed in no resolution from Dyson. Nest stop Consumer affairs!!

Disappointed and frustrated! – Whether using on carpet or hard floors the DC44 doesn't pick up debris as it ought. It is hopeless with dog hair. I end up cleaning the carpet on my hands and knees after vacuuming. I use it on max all the time as otherwise it wouldn't pick anything up!! I have had it 4 years but it's only used once a week so I'm not overworking it!!! It is light to move and that's about the only positive thing I can say. I need a vacuum that CLEANS!!  Show details

Could be better – Purchased this about 4 years, when at the time the DC59 was their newest model. Wanted a stick vacuum to wiz around the house to collect dog hair, small messes and quick clean ups before company came over. I could handle the short run time of the battery, as we found that normal mode was useless and it had to be on MAX mode to suck up the dog hair… Read more

etc. After owning for about 16 months, the powerhead stopped working. Dyson Customer Care were fantastic and sent out a new head free of charge which fixed the issue. Filter was washed often to ensure the vacuum operated at its best. Our biggest mistake was we then decided to get a cat, who sheds so much hair all the time, and often makes a mess around her litter box. The vacuum copes with all the pet hair easily, however it’s hopeless at sucking up cat litter. Often small pieces get stuck in the power head, or get flicked out from behind. We have some scratches on our wooden floors from cat litter being stuck in the powerhead. Now it’s 4 years old, the battery is lasting shorter than ever, the power head works some times and not others when using it on carpet and the wand has a few small dints on it from hitting tables and chairs etc. About 12 months ago we moved into a new house, and installed a ducted vacuum system. It gets used every second day or so to collect the pet hair, cat litter and general household dust. When our DC44 finally dies, we may replace it with a stick vacuum again, but with the V10 costing $999, its highly unlikely it will be a Dyson. Our ducted vacuum only cost $1500 to install, and I can’t really justify spending about $1000 for just a stick vacuum.

Spend more time unclogging than vacuuming – Use on both carpet and tiles. If you have an animal don’t buy a dc44 animal, buy a corded vacuum. I now sweep floors prior to using and lit still has to be unclogged every second day which is time i don’t have. I’d never buy another. Frankly, I expected better with the price I paid.  Show details

Absolutely perfect – I use my Dyson on Tiles and carpet it is fantastic So easy to empty and easy to use . I will never go back to a corded vacuum I simply would not be without it much lighter than a corded vacumn cleaner. Always charged and ready for a quick freshen up for my carpet.  Show details

Cant use it on my new carpet – I am unable to vacume my new carpet . I can only do the floor tiles so whats the good of paying all that money for something thats not suited for good quality carpet. I can't push it forward only backwards. Very disappointed and wouldn't recommend it to anyone .  Show details

The animal was my first Dyson – The Animal was my first Dyson about 2yrs ago. Cordless stick vacuums are great. First time i used it i thought where have you been all my life. I was actually ashamed due to how much this vacuum sucked up. It was as though i hadn't vacuumed for months . I could never go back to a corded vacuum. I have now upgraded to the V8 so i have 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs. I love my Dyson saves time and saves your back.  Show details

Dyson customer service when you eventually get through very poor in my experience – Purchased a DC44 animal (dyson). Hoover used around 15 times,went to use hoover it had no power turns out charger had gone faulty.Spoke to dyson who wanted £29.99 for new one. I thought that a charger would last longer than the machine but evidently not very poor customer relations. Dyson now in recycling never will I buy dyson products again.  Show details

A lot of money for not a lot of vacuum – The suction is great, it's light and easy to use - great for animal hair??? Spend more time unclogging it - we use a bigger vacuum now - this smaller one would be great for 1 person in a small unit with a hairless cat. I'm not sure I would buy a cordless vacuum again.  Show details

Best vacuum purchase I ever made – So handy and easy to use. Battery life 20 minutes so great to use for quick jobs around the house on both hard and carpeted floors. Even my husband uses it! Can easily vacuum mats too! great suction. Easy to empty. Love it. I'm not exactly sure when I purchased - had it over a year. still going strong  Show details

Great for small jobs – Mothers Day gift in 2016, used it a lot at first, then the fun diminished. Its great for the quick clean, but still need the larger vacuum to do the whole house. Battery life isn't long, especially when using the Max Power mode. No on/off button, so its hard on the hand  Show details

Its just a toy – We purchase based on the quality of the brand Dyson - it was our first Dyson vacuum cleaner. Fully charged, it won't last more than 10 minutes on full power. Full power only successfully picks up dog hair on our wooden floor. I could only see this produced being useful in a very small unit that does not have carpet. I'm so disappointed with Dysons cordless that I've said 'goodbye' to their vacuum cleaners.  Show details

Don't waste your money – Very expensive vacuum and it's never really been very good. Doesn't last very long at all, I never got more than 12 minutes out of it when fully charged. It had a lot of difficulty picking up the dirt off the floor. It couldn't replace my corded vacuum that I pulled around the floor. Really isn't up to the job or the hype.  Show details

Dyson – I bought my Dyson in August 2014 at first I absolutely loved it, but them it started to intermittently just stop then start again, I contacted Dyson as it was still in warranty at this time (and I was still paying it off through interest free) after talking to them at length they kind of fobbed me off saying to clean it all out, the problem… Read more

continued but I did not bother contacting Dyson again as I felt they really did not want to help me. Now it is to the point that it stops every couple of seconds then starts again which makes it unusable. So after 4 years and the amount of money I paid for it I am not that happy with this Dyson and would not recommend them.

Loved it... Until the motor went after 2 years – Loved my Dyson until after only 2 years the motor went. Customer service kept me on the phone for 1 hour with no resolve so I needed to go to a retailer. Don't waste your money... I've never paid so much for a product to have such a short life span.  Show details

Definately can't do without this – I love my Dyson DC44. My mother and sister both had various Dyson Handheld models but until I got my own, I just didn't realise how good they were. I use mine everyday. I have a Wertheim vacuum cleaner so I don't use the Dyson for general vacuum cleaning unless its a small space like behind the couch or behind furniture near a window. It works… Read more

amazingly well. I use it every day, sometimes more than once a day. Its so easy. I like the booster suction which I use when vacuuming the carpet as I have cats. I mostly use it to vacuum up spills and little piles of dirt after drymopping my vinyl floors.

It has occasionally stopped working but I have found that if you clean it out, check the hose, clean the filter, clean the inside of the drum that catches the dirt (the clear plastic outer casing is removeable - check instructions). It has cleared my unit and it works again.

Like the machine...Have problems getting answers...for instance...I want to kniw hiw to replace the – Not happy with performance presently. Cannot find anyone or any post how to change out the bin on the unit. May have given 5 stars however, the Dyson Company doesn't supply any instructions in changing out the bin...all the rest of the parts are somewhat easily to figure out. So if the company wants 5 stars.. I suggest better instructions. Will not purchase anymore Dyson products  Show details

2018: Don't buy a dyson stick, they don't last the test of time!!! Are they designed to break early? – So I'm writing this review to warn you that Dyson sticks don’t stand the test of time. I have purchased two Dyson sticks and both batteries on them have failed. The first Dyson stick i purchased was a DC31 since 2009, the second was a DC44 and i have had them since 2012. The first failed about 2.5 years since after i purchased it (so out of… Read more

warranty). OK maybe this was a one off i though so lets give another a go.. so the second Stick a DC44 failed about 5 years after i purchased it.

Both sticks are taken care of monthly, filter cleaned and washed, dusted etc.. and only lightly used, maybe once a day for about 5-10 minutes.

However they have both failed with battery problems (as diagnosed by Dyson support) which now in 2018 can not be replaced since the attaching mechanism is now different.

Do you consider this wear and tear and that they shouldn’t have lasted this long anyway? Well think about it this way i purchased each for about $500 new so the first one cost me about 200$ per year, the second 100$ per year.

I also have many cordless power tools (drills, sanders, grinders) from Bosh and Makita which are all cordless and they get hammered, absolutely hammered on a daily basis. These tools are much older and lasted much longer and have never missed a beat.

I talked to Dyson about this on a live chat for about 1 hour 30 mins and they could only offer a loyalty discount for their store price e.g. a V8 absolute is usually retailed at $899 but they offered that machine for $674.25), catch had it for 646, Kogan 689.. So really.. :(

So does anyone else have a similar experience with Dyson sticks or is it just me? Are they designed to break early? I would love to hear from you please comment below. At this time i’m looking to change brands but have been using dyson since 2009..

Let me know

OK, but repairs are very expensive – As the other reviews show, the repairs are very expensive and would've given this a 4-star review but for this (after all, one should be able to repair a leading brand's machine cheaply to extend it's working life rather than just throw it out). An annoying aspect is that you have to keep your finger depressed on a tight trigger to keep it going, which my wife finds problematic and even I do too after a few minutes.  Show details