Do you

Hoover or Dyson ?

No competition... Dyson is magical...

When we first got ours our carpets changed colour, the amount of crap it sucked up was unbelievable!

Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:

When we first got ours our carpets changed colour, the amount of crap it sucked up was unbelievable!

Really!

My reaction to the commercials has always been that, without a filter, the vacuumed-up dust (not the sand or large fleas, just the little allergeneic stuff) must end up back in the air of the room, from where it will settle in half a day. Is this not so?

I read recently that Dysons were the worst brand of vacuum cleaner* in terms of amount of time before they fall apart.

* It took a lot of concentration for me, as a Brit, to say "vacuum cleaner" instead of "hoover", but I can see how saying "hoover" would have been a bit confusing to some people. Do any other countries call all vacuum cleaners, regardless of brand, "hoovers"?

I suppose it would sound as strange to Americans as them calling photocopiers "xeroxes" does to the British.

Are there any other things which are incorrectly known by their brand name instead of the correct term? Tarmac and biro are the only ones I can think of.
[ March 02, 2005: Message edited by: Dave Lenton ]

Originally posted by Dave Lenton:
I read recently that Dysons were the worst brand of vacuum cleaner* in terms of amount of time before they fall apart.

* It took a lot of concentration for me, as a Brit, to say "vacuum cleaner" instead of "hoover", but I can see how saying "hoover" would have been a bit confusing to some people. Do any other countries call all vacuum cleaners, regardless of brand, "hoovers"?

I suppose it would sound as strange to Americans as them calling photocopiers "xeroxes" does to the British.

Are there any other things which are incorrectly known by their brand name instead of the correct term? Tarmac and biro are the only ones I can think of.

[ March 02, 2005: Message edited by: Dave Lenton ]

Kleenex and Coke.

In Canada the noun Hoover is a brand name, rarely used to describe any other vacuum cleaner. The verb hoover is rarely used to describe an actual cleaning operation, but often used metaphorically to describe a vacuum like action, eg. "the dog hoovered his lunch, then threw up on the couch"

Aspirin is probably the most well known. Aspirin is actually a brandname owned by Bayer but is pretty much used universally to mean any over the counter painkiller.

And no, we don't say hoover here when meaning vacuum cleaner. We call them dustsuckers (no kidding, though that's of course a translation).

At the price, Dysons seem too expensive to be more than a gimmick.

Dave: Are there any other things which are incorrectly known by their brand name instead of the correct term? Tarmac and biro are the only ones I can think of

Vaseline (in India)
[ March 02, 2005: Message edited by: kayal cox ]

Tivo is becoming one, regardless of what brand of PVR you have.

Band-Aid

Rollerblade

Originally posted by Dave Lenton:
Are there any other things which are incorrectly known by their brand name instead of the correct term? Tarmac and biro are the only ones I can think of.

Biro - (original manufacturer of ballpoint pens in UK)
Bique (sp?) - (original manufacturer of ballpoint pens in France!)
'Lux - Vacuum cleaner in New Zealand (abreviated 'Electrolux')
Esky - Australian coolbox/chiller box manufacturer
Gladwrap - Australian clingfilm
Walkman - !
[ March 02, 2005: Message edited by: Adrian Wallace ]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
Really!

My reaction to the commercials has always been that, without a filter, the vacuumed-up dust (not the sand or large fleas, just the little allergeneic stuff) must end up back in the air of the room, from where it will settle in half a day. Is this not so?

What do you mean "without a filter"? Ours has some amazing 'HEPA' filter that has been rated by various international "Asthma foundation" groups to filter out particles far finer than any 'normal' vacuum cleaner. The cyclinder(about 2 or 3ltrs?) on our dyson gets emptied approximately twice every time we vacuum our house (average 4 bedroom house) - Thats a LOT of dust - and WAAAAY more than our previous vacuum cleaner would pick up after 20 full cleans..

Once you've cleaned with a Dyson I cant see how you could ever go back to anything else - It'd just feel dirty!! It may cost 5 times as much as another vacuum cleaner - but it removes WAAAY more than 5 times as much dirt! When we bought it I was dubious about it justifying the price tag but the sales guy gave us a "Try it for a week, if you dont like it we'll refund" type deal... After 1 week there was NO WAY I was going to let that thing go!

..and as for Daves assertion that Dysons fall apart... 2 years so far and no damage at all... still looks and works like new!

What?? No one mentioned google!!!

I think this thread is now completely hijacked.

The question is which brand is better.

Mark
[ March 02, 2005: Message edited by: Mark Spritzler ]

I have used Dyson, and have found it to be better..

I'm actually in the market for a vacuum myself. I've looked around on the net and saw quite a few people selling them on Ebay for a little less ($50-$100) than the retail places. Has anyone else found a site with good deals. At that price, I am considering going to a physical store, but the reviews I've read so far make them sound quite good.

By the way, I prefer Klenex(tm) brand klenex tissues.

Hoovers suck.

Sorry, it had to be said.

Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
..and as for Daves assertion that Dysons fall apart... 2 years so far and no damage at all... still looks and works like new!

Just for the sake of argument:

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3688983.stm

The Dyson vacuum cleaner - famous for its bagless technology - is the least reliable of all upright and cylinder brands, a consumer magazine has said.

A quarter of 5,100 upright vacuum cleaner owners surveyed by Which? failed to give their Dyson an all-clear on performance after six years' use.

I wonder what this guy would have said in the survey:

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4121691.stm

A man who launched a civil action against Dyson after claiming his new vacuum cleaner sent him flying down stairs has settled out of court.
...
Mr Grant said the hose extension knocked him down his stairs as he tried to clean cobwebs.

[ March 03, 2005: Message edited by: Dave Lenton ]

The Dyson story is quite interesting regardless of how well the Dyson cyclone works.
James Dyson invented the sea truck. the (wheel)ballbarrow among other things. The Brits are annoyed that he closed manufacturing in Malmesbury,Witshire costing 800 jobs and opened in Malaysia promptly pocketing a �17m dividend. He was thus able to slash costs and treble output enabling the Dyson to overtake the Hoover as market leader in just two years.

So decide, hero or hypocrite ?

To the Brits to add insult to injury he has the American can do spirit instead of the British distaste for industry as the work of dark satanic mills.
Dyson says he has created much better inventive jobs in Britain and describes himself as the most successful export since the Beatles.
[ March 04, 2005: Message edited by: Helen Thomas ]