Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead Review
Our Verdict
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Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Canister Vacuum for Carpet Cleaning |  Best Overall Canister Vacuum |  Best Budget Canister Vacuum | ||
| Price | $380 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $400 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $399 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $100 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $80 List Check Price at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The lackluster performance makes us wary for any homes with carpet or pets | Though it has great handling and multiple adjustable features, this expensive vacuum doesn't work as well as we'd hoped | Our go-to canister vacuum for just about anything | We think this canister vacuum is one of the best options if you are shopping on a slim budget | A decent solution for those who want a good vacuum for very little money |
| Rating Categories | Dyson Big Ball Turbi... | Kenmore Elite Pet Fr... | Miele Classic C1 Pur... | Eureka Mighty Mite | Eureka WhirlWind |
| Carpet Performance (35%) | |||||
| Hardwood Performance (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
| Pet Hair (10%) | |||||
| Filtration (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Dyson Big Ball Turbi... | Kenmore Elite Pet Fr... | Miele Classic C1 Pur... | Eureka Mighty Mite | Eureka WhirlWind |
| Suction | 722 Pa | 547 Pa | 3956 Pa | 1766 Pa | 896 Pa |
| HEPA Filter | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Brushroll | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Bag or Bagless | Bagless | Bag | Bag | Bag | Bagless |
| Measured Noise Level | 75 dBA | 84 dBA | 76.6 dBA | 82 dBA | 72.2 dBA |
| Low Pile Cleaned | 71 % | 91 % | 91 % | 88 % | 76 % |
| High Pile Cleaned | 42 % | 69 % | 54 % | 49 % | 57 % |
| Hardwood Cleaned | 93 % | 99 % | 99 % | 99 % | 90 % |
| Pet Hair Cleaned | 32 % | 68 % | 90 % | 86 % | 82 % |
| Variable Suction Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cord Length | 21.5 ft | 25.6 ft | 17.5 ft | 20 ft | 15 ft |
| Hose Length | 5.2 ft | 6.7 ft | 5.2 ft | 6.8 ft | 4.7 ft |
| Measured Max Reach | 4.2 ft | 4.1 ft | 4.2 ft | 4.3 ft | 3.8 ft |
| Measured Weight Whole Unit | 13.2 lb | 25.3 lbs | 13.1 lbs | 9.4 lbs | 11.2 lbs |
| Dustbin or Bag Capacity | 1.5 L | Not Specified | 4.5 L | 2.5 L | 1.2 L |
| Model Number | Big Ball Turbinehead | 81714 | SBAN0 | 3670M | NEN110 |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The bagless Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead is easy to use, and it kept our hard flooring clean, but it had plenty of shortcomings worth noting.
Carpet Performance
The Dyson Big Ball was lackluster on carpets, cleaning only 73% of the mess we made on low pile carpets. It picked up mostly sand, leaving larger debris behind. The brush head has no gates for the debris to pass through, so it ends up pushing it along. In the end, we had Cheerios lined up for us at the edges of our rug. High pile carpets were about the same, with only 69% of the mess cleaned.
Hardwood Performance
The Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead offered more promising results on hardwood, with 93% of the debris picked up. Like on carpet, we had no trouble cleaning sand, but the small amount left behind was Cheerios. We had so-so results along baseboards. Moving head-on, we were able to clean all the debris. However, moving parallel to the wall was tricky. The vacuum left behind a small amount of coffee grounds along the crevice of the wall.
Ease of Use
This vacuum can be easy to use for certain households. If you have no stairs and primarily hardwood, you are in luck. The vacuum isn't too heavy at 13.2 pounds, and is easy to tug along, and if it topples over, it self-corrects thanks to the ball-like design. However, it isn't the best option for multistory homes, and the brush head needs to be changed when moving from one floor type to another. We were pleased with the selection of attachments and found the upholstery tool to be very effective.
It is worth noting the bagless design of this vacuum. While we appreciate not needing to replace a disposable bag, emptying this machine was less streamlined as other options.
Pet Hair
Pet owners should consider another canister vacuum, as this one easily gets clogged. It only picked up 32% of the hair on low pile carpet and 46% on high pile carpet. At first, it seemed to pick up a few clumps, but the brushroll quickly became clogged and needed to be cleaned.
Filtration
If there is one thing the Dyson Big Ball does well, it is keeping potentially harmful particles out of the air. We calculated it to only let out an average peak of 26 µm. For reference, anything under 75 µm is considered excellent at filtering. This was one of the best scores we had across the lineup of vacuums tested. If you have allergies or respiratory conditions, these filtration results are promising.
Should You Buy the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead?
For light cleans and hardwood-heavy homes, you can get away with the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead, especially if you struggle with allergies. However, if any carpet or pet hair is involved, we suggest choosing another product.
What Other Canister Vacuums Should You Consider?
Have a lot of carpet and concerned about the Dyson's performance? We suggest the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly. This model does well on hardwood too. The Kenmore does a decent job cleaning pet hair, but not as good as the Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction Powerline.
—Becca Glades and Rachael Lamore
