Dyson DC15 Total clean Upright Cleaner

I have owned this vacuum for a little over a year.

Regardless of its faults, this is the best vacuum I have ever owned or used.

"The Ball"
It may look strange to have only one ball and no wheels on the vacuum, but this makes it easy to pivot the vacuum around the point of the ball. Do not try to "manhandle" the vacuum. A simply twist of the wrist will make the vacuum pivot on the ball and turn at a 90 degree angle.

Carpet vs. Floor
The vacuum works awesome on carpeting with the rollers on and on floors with the rollers off (the rollers are deactivated by pressing a button which is located next to the power button. I sometimes confuse the two. Just me I guess). However, if you try to use the rollers on the floor (which I sometimes do), the rollers can actually fling larger dirt particles around on the floor.

Vacuum Size
The size of the vacuum makes it a bit heavy and sometimes difficult to carry or haul around when using the attachments feature. The size also makes it just about impossible to get the vacuum under beds and other tight places. You have to use the floor attachment for these uses.

Non-Retractable Cord
It would be so nice if the cord could retract either at the end of use or during use so that the vacuum doesn't keep going over the cord.

Attachments
The location of the attachments on the vacuum are very inconvenient. The cord gets snagged on the attachments and ends up pulling them off the vacuum. The location of the mini-floor attachment blocks total access to the carry handle. I do like how the brush and mini-floor attachments can be twisted so that they go from having a bend in them to being straight. The telescoping attachment arm length does not allow for close in, hands on use. Remember on your old vacuum when you could detach the power head and just hold the handle and hook the attachment up to it? Well, that doesn't fly here.

Dirt Canister
It is so nice to not have to change bags. It saves money and time. The dirt canister is released from the vacuum with the simple push of a button, then just place the lower part of the canister in a garbage pail, then press the release button and the bottom of the canister drops open letting the dirt fall out into the garbage. On the top of the canister is the air filter. This needs to be washed out once every six months. This is very convenient as well and nice that it cleans the dust and odors out of the air going through the vacuum before it is returned to the room. Although the vacuum doesn't need bags and for the most part, contact with the dirt doesn't take place, nonetheless you need to on occasion clean the stuck dirt off the suction unit while the canister is removed.

Vacuum Upright Lock
After you turn the vacuum on and you plan on using it as a traditional vacuum, you have to step on a pedal to release the handle part of the vacuum to tilt down. This pedal release can sometimes be difficult to engage. Or I should say disengage the locking mechanism which keeps the vacuum upright. I find that I have to push forward on the handle just prior to stepping on the pedal to get it to release. Then when you are done with the vacuum and are putting it back into the upright position, the locking mechanism sometimes doesn't engage and hold the vacuum up. What ends up happening is that when you let go...BANG"! You will hear the handle part of the vacuum crash to the floor. Not good.

Like I said above, despite all its faults, the Dyson DC15 is the best vacuum I have ever seen.