The Dyson Ball Animal 3, a new upright vacuum from the brand, is specially designed to tackle the unique challenges of a multi-pet household. Not all vacuums are able to handle large amounts of pet hair and dander. However, the best Dyson vacuums are known for their powerful suction and high-quality filtration – both appealing characteristics if you have pets.
The Ball Animal 3 also has a newly designed cleaner head with 'hair removal vanes' to prevent long hair from getting wrapped around the brushroll. Plus, its whole-machine filtration system is able to capture 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns and keep dust, dirt, and pet dander out of your home.
It sounds great, but is this new upright model from Dyson one of the best vacuums for pet hair? I put it to the test over the course of several weeks to find out if it’s a worthwhile upgrade for your home. Here’s what I found.
Dyson Ball Animal 3: Specifications
Who will love the Dyson Ball Animal 3?
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is specifically engineered for households with pets, and it has several features that make it well-suited for vacuuming pet hair and dander – for instance, the new tangle-resistant brushroll.
Because of its large size and corded vacuum design, it’s best suited for more thorough cleaning jobs, as opposed to picking up small everyday messes, and I found it performs especially well on rugs, making it a beneficial tool for households with a lot of carpeting.
Unboxing and setting up the Dyson Ball Animal 3
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 arrived in a tall, narrow box, and much to my surprise, there was no plastic wrapping or styrofoam inside, just strategically placed cardboard cutouts. Many brands still use a surplus of plastic in their packaging, so it was really refreshing to see that Dyson is taking a more sustainable design approach.
The vacuum only has a few pieces to put together, and while I was able to attach the floorhead to the body without any issues, I did get confused while trying to put the wand section together. I ended up needing to consult the user manual for instructions on all the vacuum attachments, and frankly, the directions weren’t that helpful. There are just a few simple diagrams without any text. Eventually, I figured out that the wand goes into the hose, and you then slide the wand into place on the back of the vacuum. All-in-all, assembly took me around 10 minutes, and then the vacuum was ready to use.
Dyson Ball Animal 3: Design and features
Right away, I noticed that the Dyson Ball Animal 3 is a large, heavy vacuum. It weighs around 17 pounds, and it’s fairly bulky to tote around the house. When moving it between rooms, I generally opted to roll it instead of picking it up, and it’s definitely cumbersome to carry up and down the stairs. For this reason, it’s probably not the best choice for those with mobility limitations, chronic pain or homes with several floors.
To turn the Dyson on, there’s a large red button on the front of the handle, and there’s a second button that turns the brushroll on and off – helpful if you’re sucking up cat litter or another material that’s easily scattered around, or when moving from carpets to vacuuming hardwood floors. Delicate hard floors like wood benefit from no spinning brushroll so as to not damage the surface.
The only other control on the vacuum is the suction adjuster, which for some reason is located on the top of the floorhead (check out our vacuum jargon buster for any new terms). This is inconvenient, as you have to stop and “park” the vacuum to walk around and change the suction power as you move from carpeting to hard floors. I often had to stop and adjust the vacuum several times while cleaning the downstairs area of my home.
This vacuum has Dyson’s signature “ball” design – hence its name – which makes it quite easy to maneuver around obstacles and into corners of your home. I like that the stabilizing wheels on the bottom of the vacuum automatically release when you tilt the body back, making it easy to start moving. Other models, such as the Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum, require you to hold the base with your foot to unlock the body from its parked position.
I will say that, after reviewing this vacuum, I donated the Dyson Ball Animal 3 to my mother who tried using it for a number of weeks, but found it to be too heavy and cumbersome to keep long term. Its weight shouldn't be ignored, but when compared to the other best upright vacuums, 17lbs is about average.
The Ball Animal 3 also has a de-tangling brushroll called the Motorbar that's similarly seen in Dyson's best cordless vacuums. In addition to the stiff, dense nylon bristles that agitate and remove dirt from carpets and floors, it incorporates 'hair removal vanes' to prevent long hair from getting wrapped around the brush roll. It's engineered with angled bristles that follow a spiraling helix design to migrate hair along the brush bar, from left to right.
What is the Dyson Ball Animal 3 like to use?
On Carpets:
Right away, it was clear to me that the Dyson Ball Animal 3 was designed as a vacuum for carpet. I have lots of area rugs in my home – mostly to keep the animals from scratching up the hardwood floors – and the Dyson does an unbelievable job pulling dirt and dog hair out of the fibers.
I used it on the low-pile rug in my dining room, and even though I thought the surface was pretty clean, the powerful suction of the vacuum pulled out a disturbing amount of pet hair from the carpet that was hiding under the surface. The dense nylon bristles are ideal for this task, driving deep into the carpet to agitate dirt and dander, and the cleaner head’s hair removal vanes kept long strands of hair from getting wrapped around the brushroll.
I will say that it’s important to choose the right suction setting when you’re cleaning carpets with this vacuum. If you have the suction on too high, the vacuum will essentially suction itself right to the floor, making it almost impossible to push across your carpeting – a lesson I learned the hard way.
On Hard Floors
While carpeting is where this vacuum shines, it still does a good job on hard floors. When I vacuumed the hardwood floors in my kitchen, the Dyson was actually able to pull debris out from between the floorboards, and I was pleased with how easy it was to maneuver into corners and around obstacles. It's an excellent multi-surface vacuum.
However, I do wish the vacuum had headlights or other dirt detection mechanisms—for instance, the brand’s cordless models like the Dyson V15 Detect have a laser dirt detection feature that I absolutely love. These features help illuminate dirt and pet hair on hard floors, and I’ve always found them helpful when cleaning.
On Stairs:
Because my dogs run up and down the stairs several times a day, I typically have to vacuum hair off the staircase at least twice a week. I was excited to see if the Dyson would excel in this area thanks to its extending hose, but unfortunately, it fell flat. The brand claims that the hose extends to up to 15 feet, but the problem is that once you turn the suction on, the hose shrinks back on itself. I ended up wrestling to keep the hose extended far enough to reach up the stairs, and overall, it was an uncomfortable experience and I wasn’t able to reach the top few steps of the staircase.
I also used the vacuum’s hose and wand combo to dust baseboard heaters around the house, and this worked better, as I didn’t need the hose to be stretched out as much. The combination tool did a great job capturing dust off different surfaces, and the wand was also long enough to comfortably suck cobwebs out of the corners of the ceiling.
Dyson Ball Animal 3: Cleaning, maintenance and storage
I typically had to empty the Dyson’s dustbin after cleaning one or two rooms in my house, and it’s quick and easy to do. There’s a red button that releases the dustbin from the vacuum, and then you simply press it again to open the bottom and allow the debris to fall into the trash. I never had any issues with hair or other debris getting stuck in the dustbin, though I did learn to put the bin as far as possible into the trash can – otherwise, dust and dirt can puff out into the room as you empty it.
Maintenance for the Dyson Ball Animal 3 is minimal. The brand recommends cleaning the washable vacuum filters once a month to maintain optimal suction, and when you do this, you may also want to check for blockages in the cleaner head, tools and main body of the vacuum. That’s all the maintenance required to keep the machine working properly, and it’s backed by a 5-year warranty.
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is fairly large, and it doesn’t fold up or break down when not in use, meaning it will likely take up quite a bit of space when storing the vacuum in a closet or other storage area. The good news is that it comes with a tool clip that allows you to store both accessories right on the side of the vacuum so they’ll always be right at hand. The vacuum also features a cord wrap on the back of the machine for the power cable.
How does the Dyson Ball Animal 3 compare?
If you want more versatility, there are two other versions of this same vacuum—the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra for $499.99 and the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Complete for $549.99—that come with additional tools and accessories. The Extra includes the “tangle-free turbine tool” (a motorized accessory for cleaning upholstery) and the brand’s new pet groom tool, which is essentially a dog brush that attaches to the vacuum to make grooming less messy. The Complete model includes both these tools, as well as even more accessories, including a soft dusting brush, mattress tool, and more.
We’ve also tested its predecessor the Dyson Ball Animal 2, and the new model features a few notable upgrades from the previous version. Most notably, the cleaner head has been redesigned to prevent pet hair from getting tangled around the brushroll, and it now features adjustable suction. However, beyond these changes, the two vacuums are virtually the same in design and features.
Shark and Dyson are almost rivals in the vacuum market, and we've recently tested the Shark POWERDETECT, which is now our favorite upright vacuum. It's sold for the same price as the Dyson Ball Animal 3 but has added features like odor neutralization, a lift-away pod for more mobility when cleaning, and automatic floor detection to maintain the right suction power.
Should you buy the Dyson Ball Animal 3?
The most basic version of the Dyson Ball Animal 3 retails for $399.99, which is quite expensive as upright vacuums go. It definitely offers superior suction power compared to cheaper models, and if you have a lot of carpeting in your home, you won’t be disappointed in the Dyson’s sheer cleaning power. The vacuum does a great job handling pet hair, digging it deep from rugs and preventing long strands from getting wrapped around the brushroll, and while it is heavy, it’s easy to maneuver around your home thanks to its swiveling ball base.
However, if you’re looking for a versatile vacuum that makes it easy to clean stairs and other hard-to-reach areas in your home, this might not be the best choice. The Dyson’s hose can be a bit unwieldy, and it’s not the most convenient option for quick cleaning tasks. Plus, the base model of this vacuum only comes with two attachments—a crevice/dusting combination tool and a stair tool—and if you want additional accessories, you’ll have to shell out even more for the Extra or Complete models.
For more tried-and-tested floorcare that costs a little less, consider our best Dyson alternatives.
