Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor Review

The Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor is super tough on pet hair and has a sleek design that would fit in with any modern household. But, this model doesn't just have looks to offer — it has a pretty good carpet cleaning performance too. Also, the long reach of this vacuum means you likely won't need to carry it up and down the stairs. Lastly, we enjoyed the see-through head of this canister, as it was satisfying to be able to watch the debris suctioned up.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Cleaning

Although wood and other hard floors are growing in popularity, carpeting still reigns supreme. Therefore, we weighted this metric to be 35% of the total score for each canister. For our carpet cleaning tests, we splayed out lots of different debris such as flour, rice, oatmeal, and cereal. Then we counted how many passes each canister took to clean up each mess. Continue on to see how well the Dyson executed our carpet cleaning tests.

The Dyson performed particularly well with fine debris, like flour and oatmeal, picking up everything in around five passes. But, the Big Ball dropped the ball when vacuuming up larger and heavier debris, like Cheerios and rice. In order to pick up the Cheerios, we had to lift and drop the head on top of them several times, but we still could not pick up everything.

Ease of Use

Next, we compared each vacuum's ease of use, which is responsible for 25% of each model's overall score. We examined each canister vacuum's span of reach, ability to transition from carpeting to hard surfaces, and how easily each model maneuvered in and around furniture. Keep reading to find out how easy the Dyson is to use around your home.

The Dyson was only a little above average in the edging tests. It vacuumed some grains from the edges and corners of the wall, but it wasn't able to catch 100% of the debris. The Dyson did do well in our surface transition tests due to its trigger on the handle that is used to reduce the brush roller speed. The only downside of the trigger is that you have to hold down on it the entire time it's in use. The vacuum handle also has a suction-control slider that shifts the motor and head for the different suction levels.

One of the things we enjoyed most about the Dyson is that it manages to get all the way under our furniture, thanks to its length of just over 33 feet. This model also angles quite well and manages to maneuver around tight corners.

Handling

In our handling tests, we vacuumed stairs, measured the level of pushing/pulling effort, and tested maneuverability through our vacuum obstacle course. We weighted this metric at 20% of each canister vacuum's overall performance. Please continue reading to find out how well the Dyson handled our tests.

Again, the Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor canister vacuum really shone in our handling tests, earning one of the highest performances in this metric. The pushing/pulling on hard surfaces felt so-so, but the vacuum's effortless maneuverability made up for this. The adjustable handle also worked really well at keeping the hose out of the way of the vacuuming, thus cutting down on frustration. And, the long cord made it easy to vacuum more than one room without having to unplug and replug somewhere else.

Hard Surface

For our hard surface tests, we vacuumed up a myriad of messes such as cereal, oatmeal, rice, and flour on our hardwood flooring. We also took note of which vacuums had adjustable brush roller speeds. Brush rollers can create fine scratches on hard surfaces, especially hardwood floors, which is why you'll want a vacuum that has the option to turn this feature off. We gave hard surface cleaning a 10% weighing over each product's overall score. Read on to see how the Dyson performed in our hard surface testing.

The Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor canister vacuum had a middling performance on hard surfaces. The Dyson did very well at getting all the fine debris like flour and rice, although it struggled with larger debris, like Cheerios and oatmeal. What we really liked with this vacuum was the convenient trigger design on the handle that reduced the roller speed for hard or chunky pick-ups. The slower speed worked really well here, although it still was no match for larger debris. Although hard floors are not its strong suit, this model performs well in every other metric.

Pet Hair

We give pet hair its own testing metric for those with furry friends in mind. For our testing, we tirelessly first weighed out exactly 50 grams of pet hair that was generously donated to us by a local groomer. We then spread the hair on the carpets and floors we used for the previous testing. Then we weighed out the hair, determining what percentage was vacuumed and how much was left behind. Pet hair performance accounts for 10% of each product's overall score. Read on to see how well the Dyson Multi Floor performed in our pet hair tests.

The Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor vacuumed up a whopping 98.20% of pet hair! It only left behind 4.91 grams of pet hair on our high pile carpet after just four passes — quite impressive compared to others in our lineup. To put that in perspective, we only saw a few strands of hair here and there. This vacuum could easily compete with the best upright vacuum any day in our pet hair tests. Thanks to this model's effective and adjustable brush roller, it was able to not only suction but also grab the fine pieces of hair. We highly recommend this canister vacuum for pet owners.

Should you buy the Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor?

We base value on what matters most to consumers in a product as well as the price. The Dyson Big Ball Multi Floor canister vacuum definitely lives up to its name — if you have pets, this is the vacuum for you. However, it is on the expensive side. But, even if you don't have pets, you might still want a vacuum cleaner with many outstanding features, is easy to use, and has a decent overall performance. If that's the case, then this vacuum is worth the investment.

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