Tell me. Does this describe you as well? I have owned so many vacuums that I lost count. Every time I believe there is actually one that may last longer than a week, something happens. I am beginning to believe I am cursed by the vacuum cleaner gods.

If the belt does not break repeatedly, the hose is stopped up every time I need to vacuum. If a store sells a vacuum that uses a bag, I believe there should be a law somewhere that says they have to sell the bags as well. When it is bagless, does that mean it should throw the dirt back out at you? I thought the carpet was supposed to be clean when you were finished.

Bitterly determined to track down a vacuum that actually does what it is supposed to do, I decided to try once again. I hoped this would be the one, because the garbage men are beginning to wonder why I have a different vacuum for them to pick up every week.

The one I chose was the Dyson DC15 or some of you might be familiar with its longer name Dyson DC15 "The Ball" All Floors Upright Cyclonic Vacuum. The look was different than any of the others I had purchased in the past. To me I found it to be a bit bulky at first. What striked me the most was the fact that it did not have wheels. Instead it had a big ball in the middle. To allow better flexibility when vacuuming, the Dyson DC15 uses the ball to glide around the television, behind couches and under beds without crashing into all the furniture.

No time like the present to see how long this vacuum was going to last before it met the fate of all the others. The lightweight design was impressive. It was so easy to maneuver - they were right, the ball made a difference. All well and good but the real test would be to see how much dirt this vacuum could pick up and how long it could last.

Vacuuming in the past involved going over spots sometimes three or four times to pick up one little thing from the floor. And just when you thought you had it, it would fly out from under the vacuum so that you actually had to pick it up by hand. This made just about as much sense as getting down on all fours and picking the carpet clean manually. But surprisingly, the Dyson 15 picked up the first time and though I waited patiently for the offending piece of paper to come flying out from under the machine, it never did.

This was a plus already. Add the fact that I would not have to send out a search party to find vacuum bags. (Boy, would all the relatives be happy. No more phone calls for them to keep an eye out for a vacuum bag to fit a certain brand.) An actual dirt cup that could be emptied and a lifetime washable HEPA filter were also two things I found great about this machine. As a matter of fact, I read that the Dyson DC15 upright is the first and the only vacuum to be certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation as being asthma friendly.

In addition to the great idea of the dirt cup versus the bag, when it came time to empty the cup, I did not have to touch it. The cup just pops right off the vacuum. I can hold it over the trash can and the dirt is released by simply pulling a trigger.

The attachment was growing and I really, really hoped this vacuum would not suddenly start doing something it was not supposed to do. Another cool thing was the 37 foot wand that could reach 51 feet by simply releasing and touching a button. This was awesome for stairs and other hard to reach areas. The amazing thing was the way the vacuum glided across the floor to pick up all the dirt and debris. Even turning corners, it did not leave the floor.

All I had to do is guide the vacuum, turn a corner by simply turning my wrist and no back ache. This was a normal event after every vacuum. The twisting, turning and bending was more conducive to giving me a back ache than anything else including cleaning the floors.

I found another plus to the vacuum. Although it had plenty of suction power, it did not try to pull the fibers out of the carpet. Other vacuums I had in the past would practically shave the carpets every time you vacuumed, leaving the dirt behind. They had an affinity for carpet fibers.

My real test for this vacuum would be when I thought I was finished, to go over the carpet again in a few spots and see if the vacuum was picking up all the dirt. Guess what! It did not miss anything and there were not large clumps of carpet fibers filling the dirt cup.

The type of floor seemed to make no difference. From the carpet to tile, it picked up all the dirt and even some of the larger items that I thought I would surely have to pick up by hand. It also did very well on upholstery, unlike some I have had in the past that I had to pry loose from the furniture and curtains. I actually had a vacuum try to suck up the sheers from a window once. The Dyson DC15 has continuous air flow to keep this from happening.

The only negative I can find about this vacuum is the price. It is pricey, but I figured if I wanted quality, I was going to have to pay for it. The cost of all the vacuums I had purchased in the past surpassed the price of this vacuum. So, if the cost seems high, you can consider the cost of one vacuum versus all the ones you will have to keep replacing.

In conclusion, the Dyson DC15 held up through this vacuuming and is still going strong. I finally lost the antsy feeling that the vacuum would suddenly fly apart or do something that would render it useless. The vacuum performs as well now as it did the first time I used it.

It no longer feels like a chore when it comes to house cleaning. Dyson DC15 vacuum actually makes me fall in love with vacuuming again. Call me a weirdo, I find it very enjoyable. You know what, I think I'm gonna go and vacuum the living room again.