Dyson Animal and Kirby Ultimate G – brush/roll bar cleaning

One of my biggest complaints about vacuums, aside from suction power is the ability to clean the roller/brush bar.  When you have pets and long hair, and vacuum frequently, the roller bar gets filled with hair and most of it is rolled onto the bar making it nearly impossible to get off.

I have owned quite a few vacuums where the only option was to flip the thing over and cut the hair out with scissors because the effort involved in removing the roller to clean it was just too much.

The Kirby makes it somewhat easier to remove the brush bar than your average vacuum, but in many ways it is a “form follows function” feature that I’m not really sure was intentional.  The entire head portion of the Kirby comes off, making access to the roller a little easier, but it still is difficult to remove from the housing to clean or replace the roller bar.

Dyson has really taken their attention to detail to the next level by making it easy to remove the brush bar for cleaning.

Rather than explain it, I have put together a video showing you exactly how the Dyson DC 25 Animal and the Kirby Ultimate G differ in the area of brush bar removal.

A couple of additional observations in comparing the two vacuums:

• The Dyson seems to pick up more hair so I actually notice there is less hair wrapped around the roller head overall with the Dyson compared to the Kirby.
• The Kirby will clog occasionally and I have to pull a wad of hair out from between the roller and the intake opening where I have yet to experience a clog with the Dyson.  Our dog has allergies (and possibly mental problems) and will pull out clumps of his hair and leave them in a pile.  The Dyson has no trouble with them, where the Kirby has clogged once or twice if I try to pick up too big of a clump at once.

I am very pleased with the attention to detail that Dyson has taken in this area of the design of their vacuum. Dyson has taken great care to make the DC25 Animal more sophisticated yet user friendly in its design and they have really simplified the use and care required in owning a Dyson as compared to other brands.

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