I debated for awhile on doing this post for several reasons. I wasn’t sure if it would be appealing to our little community here, I didn’t want to sound like a commercial, and I didn’t want my post to come across as fake or insincere. When you’re writing, you worry about these kinds of things from time to time and I decided that since we’re keeping it real here at Our Storied Home, real we’re going be. This is life.

Most importantly, friends, I want to share that this post is not a paid post. I wrote it on my own because I was lucky enough to find something awesome and as always I wanted to share it with you because it was truly a game changer for my family. That being said, there are affiliate links in this post and if you do make a purchase through those links, we receive a small percentage of the purchase total at no extra cost to you. The affiliate links allow us to continue doing what we do and keep Our Storied Home going. My thoughts and experiences are purely my own.

Several weeks ago I bought a new vacuum cleaner. We have not been lucky with our vacuum cleaners in the past. One was top heavy so whenever you got out the hose to use on the baseboards or whatever, the whole thing tipped over. Not very convenient. One we had the hose never stayed in its place and would sort of pop up at will. Another one we had would leave black lines on the baseboard if the band around the vacuum came in contact with it (this one was especially bad for me because I considered it creating more work for me down the road because I would have touch up where all the black marks were). Then there was one that every time you rolled over the cord it would get all torn up and eventually we ended up using electrical tape to prevent us from getting shocked. Needless to say, I was skeptical of vacuum cleaners. Any and all vacuum cleaners. But it was time. I wanted a vacuum cleaner that wasn’t going to give me grief. Is that asking for too much?

I researched, I looked, I price compared, I did it all. I read reviews, I probably put more work into it than anyone ever should for a vacuum, but after our string of bad luck, I wasn’t willing to take a chance with this one. This is probably a good time to mention a few things about our family. One, I am a single, divorced mom of one (Jake is 20 now). Last year I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, so some days I experience pain and I am stiff and sore and it takes me awhile to get up and really get moving. Lastly, we have a dog — a Jack Russell Terrier. He is small but has the biggest personality of any dog I have ever come across. And he sheds like no other dog I have ever seen. He will have hair balls that seemingly take on a life of their own around the baseboards and just float along the laminate floor so easily. It’s almost graceful if it weren’t so gross. Jake and I have really dry skin and bad allergies so we use a lot of tissues. More dust everywhere. (I’m not painting a great picture here, am I?) I am just giving you all the info you might need regarding why I chose THE most amazing vacuum ever. Seriously. We bought the Dyson V8 Animal Cordless HEPA vacuum cleaner. That was a lot of build up, wasn’t it? I assure you, however, that I am not overselling it. This vacuum was a game changer for my family. For me personally.

There are so many great things about the Dyson V8 Animal Cordless vacuum, I don’t even know where to start. I can’t speak for other models of this brand, I can only say this is the only Dyson I have ever owned, but I will say this: I will probably never buy another vacuum that isn’t a Dyson ever again. Here are some of the features that in my opinion make this vacuum so great:

1. Cordless. As previously mentioned we have had cord issues. This vacuum charges similarly to a phone charging and when it’s fully charged, have at it. I cannot do my entire house on one charge. We have about 2100 sq. feet, a little over half of that is carpet. What I have been doing is vacuuming til it loses charge and then while it’s charging clean the bathroom or something. To me, having to charge again isn’t a big deal.
2. It’s soooooo lightweight. On Amazon it says the weight is 11.9 pounds, but even with the floor attachment, it doesn’t feel that heavy to me. Not at all. For us it makes getting the vacuum out and ready to go a lot less cumbersome. I would imagine for older people or people like me who have some chronic pain issues, this is a big deal for you. It was for me. It has truly made my life a lot easier. It also has a dock to mount on the wall which makes it convenient. We haven’t put ours up yet, but we will. It will keep it up and out of the way.
3. The attachments on the Dyson V8 are easy to switch and it’s easy to empty when you need to do so. Switching from the smaller attachment for baseboards and smaller jobs to the the long piece for floors is so easy. Some I remember I have had to push down on the button and hold it while I pull off the attachment and it had to be aligned just right. Or emptying the vacuum made a mess because it didn’t always detach so easily. No more. Not with the Dyson V8 cordless vacuum.
4. HEPA filter. If you have pets, a HEPA filter is a must.
5. The Dyson V8 has great suction. Regardless of which attachment I am using, it always picks up everything — much better than any other vacuum I have ever used. The bar for the floor gets great suction as well — you can feel it attach to the floor, which is nice — you know it’s doing what it’s supposed to. while the suction is really good, it doesn’t suck up your smaller floor mats. You can vacuum them just like you would carpet which I really like. It picks up all the dog hair — from the floor (carpet and laminate flooring) as well as the furniture.
6. Because it’s so small and versatile you can get into all the nooks and crannies that were impossible or too much of a hassle to reach before. Since the hand piece is so lightweight and small I can attach the small attachment to the bar and get cobwebs off the wall, clean my blinds and curtains, and even easily clean my furnace filter where the dust collects. I have three ceiling fans and come spring, I am anxious to try it on those, but I am fairly sure it will do a fantastic job. I also like that with the long bar and small attachment you can also clean the base boards and along the perimeter of rooms without having to bend over at all, which, again, for me is amazing. Another feature I like is the floor bar is a little more narrow than others I have used. It has a rotating feature so it twists and turns (not too easily to where it’s a pain) smoothly when you need it and is able to go between furniture legs and further underneath furniture like beds, dressers, tables, etc. I can actually vacuum underneath the entire beds by doing one side from top to bottom, then the other side. My bed frame is pretty low to the floor, so I haven’t really been able to easily vacuum under the bed….until now!

I did notice that some people seem to feel the Dyson brand is too expensive. I do not agree. Perhaps with my previous track record with vacuum cleaners I was willing to pay more than some people. It wasn’t cheap. But I feel like with as well as it works and how much easier the whole vacuuming task has become, it was worth every penny. Jake would agree. There are several different models to choose from and prices do vary from model to model. Since we have the dog hair issue, we wanted a vacuum that was specifically for pet hair. And it works beautifully for that purpose.  For us, there’s just no more “lugging the vacuum out”. Hooray!!!!

I really could go on and on, but those are the highlights. I’d like to do a follow up post after I have had it awhile to see if I am still as fond of it as I am now. If you do and up purchasing the Dyson V8, I hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine. Happy Vacuuming!