Festool CT X vs Dyson

[BUTTER]

The Festool would own the Dyson in a street fight.

Dyson's do an ok job, but I wouldn't rave about them. We've got 3 Dyson's, the upright is dead and is going in the next council clean up. The powerhead barrel like Dyson unit my wife uses in the house is ok, but I think our previous Miele was better.

I really like my little hand held cordless Dyson - but the battery life is rubbish - wish Festool made a small cordless vac with an 18V 4.2Ah to juice it.

Seriously! I've been considering getting some Milwaukee 18V drills just because they have a good little cordless vac!  I would love to have a small unit for final cleanup after all the other tools are put away and cords are all rolled up.

We use a battery-powered Dyson at home because we live in a small space with wood floors, and it seemed like a good idea at the time of purchase. I love how compact it is, and wouldn't mind one for jobs, but its battery won't survive trying to clean the entire 800 sf apartment.

As for canister vs upright, the canister is much easier when trying to clean up underneath furnishings!

 

[Kev]

The Festool would own the Dyson in a street fight.

Dyson's do an ok job, but I wouldn't rave about them. We've got 3 Dyson's, the upright is dead and is going in the next council clean up. The powerhead barrel like Dyson unit my wife uses in the house is ok, but I think our previous Miele was better.

I really like my little hand held cordless Dyson - but the battery life is rubbish - wish Festool made a small cordless vac with an 18V 4.2Ah to juice it.

Seriously! I've been considering getting some Milwaukee 18V drills just because they have a good little cordless vac!  I would love to have a small unit for final cleanup after all the other tools are put away and cords are all rolled up.

We use a battery-powered Dyson at home because we live in a small space with wood floors, and it seemed like a good idea at the time of purchase. I love how compact it is, and wouldn't mind one for jobs, but its battery won't survive trying to clean the entire 800 sf apartment.

As for canister vs upright, the canister is much easier when trying to clean up underneath furnishings!

Yeh - I've got several batteries for the little Dyson.

I'd like to see more high performance / high quality cordless home appliances on the market.

 

[Brentley]

Seriously! I've been considering getting some Milwaukee 18V drills just because they have a good little cordless vac!  I would love to have a small unit for final cleanup after all the other tools are put away and cords are all rolled up.

the Milwaukee 18v stuff is really nice.  I have a mix of the 12 and 18v tools and they are all strong.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I have used a CT for my Limestone floors and it works great.  I have a Roomba that I use and that is the Bees Knees!  Just turn it on and it runs itself for an hour or so...gets under furniture and everywhere, then docks itself when done.  You can run it 1-2 times a day and it keeps up with the dog hair (two German Shepherds) with no real issue.  Love it...

I will likely try the turbo brush at some point...would be very useful for stairs, I think. 

Scot

 

[Kev]

I have used a CT for my Limestone floors and it works great.  I have a Roomba that I use and that is the Bees Knees!  Just turn it on and it runs itself for an hour or so...gets under furniture and everywhere, then docks itself when done.  You can run it 1-2 times a day and it keeps up with the dog hair (two German Shepherds) with no real issue.  Love it...

I will likely try the turbo brush at some point...would be very useful for stairs, I think. 

Scot

So your Roomba can't climb stairs eh? ... same problem the early Daleks had [wink]

 

[leakyroof]

I have used a CT for my Limestone floors and it works great.  I have a Roomba that I use and that is the Bees Knees!  Just turn it on and it runs itself for an hour or so...gets under furniture and everywhere, then docks itself when done.  You can run it 1-2 times a day and it keeps up with the dog hair (two German Shepherds) with no real issue.  Love it...

I will likely try the turbo brush at some point...would be very useful for stairs, I think. 

Scot

So your Roomba can't climb stairs eh? ... same problem the early Daleks had [wink]

  That and the one track message, EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE... That gets old. [wink]

 

[greg mann]

I have used a CT for my Limestone floors and it works great.  I have a Roomba that I use and that is the Bees Knees!  Just turn it on and it runs itself for an hour or so...gets under furniture and everywhere, then docks itself when done.  You can run it 1-2 times a day and it keeps up with the dog hair (two German Shepherds) with no real issue.  Love it...

I will likely try the turbo brush at some point...would be very useful for stairs, I think. 

Scot

Our German Shephard can make it look like we never vacuum, in about fifteen minutes after the task. How do your dogs take to the Roomba scurrying around? Our GS doesn't get startled by much of anything but our Greyhounds would freak out.

 

[ShawnRussell]

Just wanted to post an update. We bought both the Dyson DC41 and the Festool CT Mini. At the end of 3 days we have decided to keep the Festool and we are returning the Dyson.

Overall, for our home the Festool performed stellar. The suction was greater than the Dyson and at the end of the day that was what mattered to the boss.

I honestly liked the Dyson a lot. The ball is very maneuverable. I think it is quieter than the Mini. And there are many more attachments to choose from.

Being that our home is tile and hardwood I only need the workshop head unit and a crevice tool. I did several tests like the vacuum sales guy you see in Hollywood movies. I poured a mixture of dust, dirt, wood chips and hair(ugh 5 women in the house) and tested which unit picked up the most. The Dyson was not bad but it was not great. The Dyson would leave debris behind even after 2 passes. I ran over any of the piles and the Festool left no debris. I also noticed as the Dyson became more full it did lose suction power, irrelevant to what the commercials claim. I truly filled up the Mini with 2 gallons plus of crud and I saw no noticeable loss in suction power.

What really sealed the deal was that I could use the Mini as a wet vacuum as well.

The point that became a sour thumb for the Dyson was the lack of available information. They said the vacuum is asthma and allergy certified but exactly what does that mean. I could not readily find any information that told me down to what micron the unit trapped nor was there a merv rating. I was also a bit disappointed in the feel of the Dyson. I am sure it is well built but I would not test it dropping down the stairs. The Mini felt like it would drop down the stairs, gouge the floor, and still keep sucking.

The last factor was cost. I did end up spending more on the Mini after you factored in the workshop kit. However, I will be using that same kit with my CT 36  and the metal construction is built like a tank.

I would have loved to test a Miele but the boss was wanting the dust gone and the spider webs eradicated. I certainly did not want to come home and face a Trump style boardroom explaining why I was testing and not doing.

Thanks everyone for your input. I continue to learn so much from everyone else's experience.