DYSON DC39 ANIMAL PLUS VACUUM CLEANER

5 reviews for DYSON DC39 ANIMAL PLUS VACUUM CLEANER

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Michael D. Newcomer – May 9, 2025

   My $69 Bissell upright I’ve had for 10 years finally burned up just before Christmas. Being the holidays, buying a vacuum was postponed as long as possible, but having a white Persian cat, I couldn’t take it anymore. My old vacuum also had horrible attachments that were hard to attach, then you had to flip a switch which somehow switched itself back again; it was a royal pain.

   On the recommendation of my sister who has a Dyson and other people I’ve talked to, I bit the bullet and bought the DC39 Animal. Spending this much on a vacuum seemed ridiculous and hurt a lot, but WOW! I thought my Bissell had been doing a pretty good job on the carpet, but the stuff I pulled out of it on the first session was shocking! Also, I hadn’t used a canister since my Mom’s Rainbow back in the early 80’s, but I have a small place and thought it would be easier than an upright and it is – MUCH easier. The extending hose attachment and normal trigger head tool fit easily under most of my furniture without switching to other tools/hoses.

   Other reviewers have found the switches don’t work properly to turn the brush bar on/off, but mine seems to work perfectly. Also, like others, there was some concern about how lightweight the whole setup is, and a question as to whether the floor tool would be heavy enough to get down to the carpet nap, but the results speak for themselves. It simply works great and does what it says. Middle-aged people like myself remember the heavy Kirby’s and it’s still ingrained to think it has to weigh the same as the Queen Mary to work. Not true anymore, apparently. Like other reviewers have stated, just use it at a low angle and let it glide across the carpeting doing the work for you. I have berber carpet and the results have been perfect, but I can see where deeper pile carpets might be of concern.

   On cat fur, it’s amazing, I only had to remove the fur from the brush bar once, but not because it stopped spinning, I could just see the fur in it. I did end up purchasing the Dyson Tangle Free Turbine and was surprised the ‘Animal’ version didn’t come with it – which is why only 4 stars, it should have been included at this price point. Also bought the Dyson Soft Dusting Brush which is amazing. My place never looked so dust-free, and now I can actually dust my mini-blinds while they’re up instead of taking them to the bath tub for a proper washing.

   The statements by others saying it will suck small area rugs off the floor are absolutely correct. I have 2 bathroom rugs and it’s nearly impossible to vacuum them without standing on one end of them, even with the trigger pulled to relieve the suction. Oh well, they should really be taken outside and shaken anyway.

   People who have a lot of large debris like dog/cat food, cheerios from kids, etc. might look at another model. The claims of reviewers who say the floor tool gets clogged are true, although I didn’t find it difficult to unclog. On the other hand, it handles kitty litter and the like easily. For me it’s a non-issue since my main concern was dust and fur anyway.

   Emptying the bin is extremely easy. Confused by reviewers who said it was difficult, I tried to duplicate the problems they seemed to have but could not. Push a button on the main unit and it pops lose. Dumping the bin was also easy, which I do outside based on reviewers who say there’s a cloud of dust, they were right. There’s a hidden button under the red release lever that releases the clear bin from the purple part. That makes it easy to get any caught up debris out and also to wash it if need be. Then replacing it, just line up the intake slots and it pops back in place.

   The removable filter instructions state ‘to wash it under cold water once a month and let dry for 24 hours.’ Mine took almost 3 days to dry completely so I’ve ordered another one from Dyson to switch out at cleaning time. Dealing with Dyson customer service was very pleasant and easy.

   Being accustomed to uprights, I found storage to be rather cumbersome. It’s really difficult to put it anyplace where it’s not taking up a lot of space. The retractable cord is really, really nice. Used to have to wind it and clip it on my old vacuum. Also gives the cat something to be shocked about and chase.

   The bottom line is, I am very pleased with my purchase. It does everything it says it does, although additional tools may be needed to complete every job. Longevity remains to be seen, but the 5 year warranty helps allay any fears.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Tina – May 25, 2025

   I purchased this vacuum cleaner in 2016. At the time of this review, it is 2025. This is 9 years old. It is a very durable cleaner. The suction power is awesome. The handle is cracked now but the vacuum cleaner itself works perfectly. A few years ago there was a problem with the motor. I did contact the manufacturer and they replaced the motor, for free. I have no complaints with my decision to buy this. The quality is outstanding and even the automatic cord sucker still works.

3. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   huntandpeck – June 3, 2025

   I bought my Hoover “Futura” vacuum cleaner so long ago (I’m talking about 20+ years ago) that I’m actually fuzzy about when and where I bought it. Yes, it’s old — yes, it uses bags — no, it doesn’t employ any kind of cyclone technology. But, it was working right up until I was cleaning an apartment in preparation for moving out of it, and the motor on the motorized rug-beater attachment burned out.

   I had a co-worker who bought an upright version of Dyson about 3 years, ago, and she has always been extremely happy with it, and recommended it very, very highly.

   So, when the rug-cleaning part of my Hoover burned up, I figured this was a sign that I should finally move on and get myself a new vacuum cleaner, and I figured it was an opportunity to finally experience what this Dyson cyclone stuff was all about. So, while still trying to clean up to leave that apartment, I made a quick selection of this model, because it had the highest airwatts rating, and ordered it with overnight shipping.

   I expected and really wanted to be impressed — and initially, I was. The parts are indeed made with nice quality materials, the pieces snap together with a good solid feel, and the overall impression is that it’s build like a tank. When I first put it to work cleaning the rugs on which my Hoover had its breakdown, it actually outdid my old Hoover — grabbing up stuff out of the carpet that was even somewhat ground into it, and that the Hoover just couldn’t get at without a dozen passes.

   Unfortunately, within 20 minutes, I ran into my first moment of displeasure with this contraption — the suction audibly and visibly tailed off rather severely. And since the suction is used to drive the rotating brushes on their rug-beater attachment, the reduction in suction was enough that the brushes stopped spinning.

   I figured it must be time to empty it — so I tried to do that. But the interior of the canister is so complexly shaped that things wouldn’t smoothly fall out of it — I finally had to start reaching into the canister to pull things out, myself. And it wasn’t as if the canister was packed full — there was still a lot of clear space on the inside. No, instead, what turned out to be the problem was the particular nature of the dust I was getting out of the carpet — it actually filled in all the pours of the first layer of filters in the canister.

   I ended up having to follow the instructions in the user manual to take the canister apart to get at those filters and clean them up. BTW, the manual needs to be rewritten — actually, it needs to be written in the first place, as there isn’t much text that says much that is useful. There isn’t even a basic pictorial guide that shows where all of the controls are and what they do — I had a couple of days of “discovering” new controls.

   Having fully disassembled and then reassembled the canister, I went back to work vacuuming until only 15 minutes later when the suction reduction and lack of brush spin occurred, again. Fortunately, I was done with the carpet, and could move onto a couple of hard floors — and that’s where the next disappointment came in.

   Whoever designed the floor attachment on this thing didn’t do a very good job of making it accommodate hard floors — when pushing the floor attachment forward, it will just push dust-bunnies and dryer lint forward with it, and only actually vacuums them up when you pull the floor attachment backwards towards you over those kinds of things.

   Finally, there’s the annoyance of dust collecting on the telescoping tube at the end of the hose — the way that one tube fits inside the other to provide the adjustable telescoping feature is so loose that there is a vacuum airflow into that gap between them and dust collects all over the tube that fits into the other one. I actually had to pull the telescoping tube off a couple of times and vacuum it.

   After all of this trouble just trying to clean an apartment, I returned this thing.

   I’m now considering getting the motorized rug-beater part of my old Hoover fixed.

   For about $500, I expected to be impressed — I expected that this thing would be at least as good as my old Hoover, but such was not the case.

   My old Hoover uses bags that are increasingly hard to find (and yes, it costs money to buy bags), but it never choked liked this while vacuuming a rug, its floor attachment pulls up things off of hard floors no matter what direction you move it, and I’ve never had to vacuum some part of the vacuum cleaner, itself (that was just weird).

   Finally, my old Hoover has one useful thing that this contraption lacks — a visible indicator of when its bag is full, so that you know when you’re supposed to empty it — something that seems to be missing on this Dyson, despite all of the other clever little things they did with its design.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   California Dreamer – June 4, 2025

   Like many people, I don’t buy products just because they are a trendy brand. From experience I’ve also learned that expensive doesn’t necessarily mean a “quality” product either. So, it took a long time for me to finally take the plunge and purchase the Dyson DC39 Animal canister vacuum, after my other vacuum quit. It helped that it was on sale, but still, $400. is a lot to spend on a vacuum! The fact that it also comes with a 5-year warranty was a deal-maker for me.

   In the past 10 years, I’ve already gone through four vacuums of various less expensive (and poorly designed) brands, keeping up with my hairy dogs,dander producing birds, and tons of dust. Now I wish I would have bought a Dyson 10 years ago! I would have saved a lot of money!

   I love this vacuum (and historically, I hated vacuuming!)because it is perfect for my home and environment. I have a small house with lots of stuff in it, usually covered with pet hair and dust which the other machines never effectively conquered. Not so for this machine!

   I was so surprised at its efficiency in inhaling the dust and hair I went on a vacuuming rampage! Using the incredibly maneuverable wide head I could get all the way, from every angle, underneath my living room furniture to retrieve the dust gorillas living there, without having to do any rearranging. The perky little machine followed my every move through the labyrinth of my stuff without getting hung up somewhere thanks to the clever ball design. And it’s lightweight! I mean really lightweight! No more ripping my rotator cuff trying to bend a canister vacuum to my will! It’s easy to lift-did I mention it is lightweight?

   Using just the tools it came with, I vacuumed areas and items that had left my previous vacuums literally in the dust. No dust spews from the Dyson- a miracle! I should mention however, that occasionally (at least in my home) it gets a static electric charge and airborne dust may cling to the external plastic parts. The only filters are washable-very convenient( and also cost-saving over the life of the machine). I don’t have carpets, but it does an awesome job on my hard floors.

   The various attachments are a breeze to change. The telescoping wand is very convenient.I used the small rotating brush in my car and again I was amazed by the amount of dust and hair it accumulated in a short time from the carpets and upholstery. Even better was how easy and flexible it was to use there. The hose seemed to be exactly the right length to efficiently reach everywhere I needed it to. I like the short crevice tool with the retractable brush, but the brush does not always stay put when I move it away from the end, so that is a little annoying at times,but overall I could write an essay about just how well-designed and made this machine is, how well it works, and how user-friendly it is.

   I should also mention that in my vacuuming zeal, I accidentally tipped over a very heavy oak shelf while trying to get behind it, which landed on the plastic body of the machine. The plastic survived intact with no apparent damage. All I can say is “If you are thinking about getting a Dyson DC39Animal, you will definitely get your money’s worth, so don’t wait any longer!!!”

   UPDATE: I wrote my original review for this DC 39 Animal in 2012 when I first bought it. I have to say , my opinion is the same and the vacuum is still going strong! I guess the difference for me and some of the one-star reviewers is that I’m not trying to vacuum up pet hair with the brush-type attachment (that is just asking for a hassle!), rather I use the smooth attachment. It is designed for ANIMAL owners (not necessarily for parents of small children who leave small bits of stuff everywhere)-and I still love it due to its flexibility and efficiency of use.

   Second Update July 2017: The vacuum is still going strong and I have added Angora rabbits to the mix in my house. I am still simply amazed at how well this machine works for my needs. I read some reviews here that complained about this model’s less than effective performance on carpets. Well, I recently tested my vac on carpets after my son and daughter-in-law’s 2 year old “high-end” upright vacuum quit on them in the middle of getting ready to move. They had a hairy dog too, and had vacuumed two of their rooms already, but needed to vacuum the third. I vacuumed up so much dog hair and dirt from that small room it was unbelievable, especially since their dog passed away last November, and they are usually clean freaks LOL! Also, someone complained the DC39 Animal suction was too strong to vacuum throw rugs. That is just weird, since where I come from throw rugs are just that–one shakes the rug out over a trash can then throws it in the washer (that’s why they are called “throw” rugs!). ANY bagless vac is liable to spew some dust when it is being emptied unless one takes simple precautions to minimize this, like emptying it outdoors, or if this is too inconvenient ,wrapping a trash bag around the container while it is being emptied– the bin release catch is easy to feel through the trash bag. I’d give this vac 10 stars if I could!

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jan – July 7, 2025

   I have a large yellow lab so therefore have lots of yellow dog hair throughout the house as she is an indoor pet. I have in the past used uprights with bags but the most efficient one that I have has become too heavy over the years. Also, the attachments did not allow for easy reach under furniture and appliances (where the dog hair likes to hide!). I was hesitant to go with this Dyson DC39 due to the price but was able to purchase it on Cyber Monday, which saved me some money on both the machine and the attachments that I wanted. Thus far I have used it to dust, clean blinds, groom dog, vacuum both carpet and hardwoods and have found it to be an excellent tool. Yes, it does take some getting used to on getting the cannister back on after emptying. But, after about the third time it was not a problem. I empty the cannister in the garage in to the kitchen garbage can and have made adjustments on my technique to eliminate the messes that others have spoken of when emptying. It is light weight (I have spine issues) and I am able to carry it up a flight of stairs without straining my back/neck. I was not able to do that with the upright that I was using due to the weight.

   I found that the attachment that comes with if for both carpet and hardwood works fine on the hard wood so did not feel the need to purchase the hard wood tool. However, I did succomb to getting the flat head tool for getting under the appliances as I read good reviews on it (still waiting on it so will review the necessity of it when it arrives). My dog seems to enjoy her grooming sessions. She was timid at first but with being able to brush her without the motor on, then turn it on and suck the hair in to the canister, she stands and positions herself where she wants me to brush. The grooming tool is great and works very well. Her coat is thick and she seems to shed year round.

   I was both pleased and somewhat disgusted the first time I used it on the area rug in the family room where our dog spends much of her time. Although I vacuum frequently, the amount of dirt and hair that this Dyson retrieved on first pass was amazing (although somewhat unsettling, so be prepared to question your housekeeping acumen at first…..LOL!). I particularly love it for doing the blinds as we have a lot of wooden two inch slat blinds and it kills my neck to clean them individually with a cloth. Will rarely need to do that now if I use this on them occasionally. I questioned the efficiency for dusting furniture but it works very well. I have bedroom furniture that has fine slat lines on the tops of the dresser and the side table that I have never been able to fully clean. This dusting tool cleans those crevices out beautifully on first pass.

   I can’t address the hardiness of the machine since I have used it for such a short time. But, so far I am very pleased with this purchase and the machines performance.