When I first used the Dyson Ball Animal 2 ($499) I thought it had eaten half my carpets there was so much dirt inside the tank… it turns out I just have that much dirt, dust and grime. And that’s with a robot vacuum on an automatic schedule to clean every morning when I leave the apartment and a cleaner coming every two weeks.
I first became interested in the Dyson because of stories I was doing on robot vacuums for various other media outlets and how they put us in yet more compromising positions when it comes to openness to getting hacked. Robot vacuums have come a long way from the days when they were basically glorified Swiffers. Today even “basic” ones connect to smartphones and work with cameras to map out your home, meaning you are at potential risk for data collection and camera hacking. Not to mention that even the fancy ones that claim to avoid carpets and “learn” your home, often get stuck in cracks (making loud, distracting and obnoxious noises) and start sucking up small, flat toys on, for example, my kid’s play mat that they certainly did not learn to avoid.
All of this leads me back to the Dyson Ball Animal 2. A “forever” investment with a ton of features that are relatively easy to set-up/learn how to use right out of the box. You can vacuum one-handed because it’s so easy to maneuver and get around corners and objects, it has a cleaner head that adjusts when you change levels (like from carpet to floor) so you don’t loose suction, it has all kinds of attachments to reach all over from couch cushion to blinds and it has one-click dirt emptying (no getting your hands dirty like with so many other regular/robot vacuums!).
Plus, like with all Dyson models there is no bag (this was an invention by Dyson) and comes with a washable lifetime filter.
