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At Odvex, we analyze the best products on the market so you don't have to.
In a world obsessed with lightweight, cordless stick vacuums, the corded upright can feel like a dinosaur. Yet, anyone with a large home, wall-to-wall carpeting, or a shedding Golden Retriever knows the painful limitations of battery power: weak suction on deep piles and the dreaded “low battery” light halfway through the cleaning session.
Enter the Dyson Ball Animal 3. This isn’t a gadget designed for light dusting; it is a heavy-duty machine built for war against dirt. Boasting a staggering 290 Air Watts (AW) of suction, it offers nearly double the power of standard cordless models. It also introduces Dyson’s latest “Motorbar” technology to finally solve the issue of tangled hair.
But does raw power justify the weight and the cord? Is it worth the premium price tag? We put the Ball Animal 3 to the test to see if it’s the ultimate solution for pet-heavy households.
Key Features and Engineering
1. The De-Tangling Motorbar Cleaner Head
The most significant upgrade in the Animal 3 is the head. If you have ever sat on the floor with scissors cutting hair off a vacuum brush bar, you will appreciate this. The Motorbar features polycarbonate hair removal vanes that automatically clear wrapped hair from the brush bar as you clean, sucking it straight into the bin. It works on both long human hair and fine pet fur.
2. Unrivaled Suction Power (290AW)
To put 290AW in perspective, most high-end cordless vacuums max out around 150-230AW in their “Boost” modes, which only last a few minutes. The Animal 3 delivers 290AW continuously. This is powered by Dyson’s Radial Root Cyclone technology, which spins dust out of the air before it hits the filter, ensuring you don’t lose suction as the bin fills.
3. Ball Technology Maneuverability
Upright vacuums are notoriously clunky. Dyson’s signature Ball technology places the heavy motor inside a sphere at the base of the unit. This lowers the center of gravity and allows the vacuum to pivot on a dime. You can steer it around furniture with a simple turn of the wrist rather than the “push-pull-drag” method of traditional fixed-wheel vacuums.
4. Advanced Whole-Machine Filtration
For allergy sufferers, moving dirt is pointless if the vacuum spews dust back into the air. This unit features a fully sealed system with HEPA-grade filtration. It traps 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, meaning the air leaving the machine is cleaner than the air entering it.
Hands-On Experience: Performance in the Real World
The Pet Hair Torture Test
We tested the Animal 3 on medium-pile carpet embedded with dog hair and cat dander. The results were immediate and satisfying. One pass was usually enough to lift visible hair, and the clear bin filled up with an alarming amount of fine dust (the stuff you can’t see). True to the marketing, the Motorbar kept the brush roll clean. After vacuuming the whole house, there was zero hair wrapped around the bar.
Versatility: The 3 Suction Modes
Previous Dyson uprights sometimes had too much suction, clamping down on rugs so hard you couldn’t move them. The Animal 3 fixes this with a physical slider on the head offering three modes:
- Deep Pile: Reduces suction seal to glide over thick rugs.
- Medium: The standard setting for most carpets and large debris.
- Ground-In Dirt: Maximum seal for hard floors and short carpets.
This adjustability makes it significantly more usable on mixed flooring than its predecessors.
The “Wand” Experience
While the floor cleaning is spectacular, the instant-release wand—a staple of the Dyson Ball line—remains a mixed bag. The hose is incredibly long (stretching up a full flight of stairs), which is fantastic. However, the hose tension is high, meaning you often have to fight the vacuum pulling back toward you while trying to dust high shelves. It takes some muscle to use effectively.
Weight and Ergonomics
There is no getting around it: this vacuum weighs roughly 17 lbs. While the Ball mechanism makes it feel lighter while pushing it on the floor, carrying it up and down stairs requires effort. It is a substantial machine designed for substantial messes.
Pros and Cons
| ✅ The Good | ❌ The Bad |
|---|---|
| Incredible Suction: 290AW cleans deeper than almost any other home vacuum. | Heavy: At ~17 lbs, it is a workout to carry up stairs. |
| No Hair Wrap: The Motorbar actively removes hair as you clean. | Hose Tension: The extendable hose can be stiff and hard to manage. |
| Filtration: Excellent sealed system for allergy sufferers. | Price: It is expensive for a corded unit. |
| Bin Capacity: Huge dust bin means fewer trips to the trash. |
How Does It Compare?
We compared the Dyson Ball Animal 3 against a premium competitor and a budget alternative.
| Feature | 🏆 Dyson Ball Animal 3 (Main) | 🦈 Shark Stratos Upright | 💰 Bissell CleanView Pet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suction Power | 💪 290 AW | 💪 ~270 AW | 💨 Moderate |
| Anti-Tangle Tech | ✅ Motorbar Vanes | ✅ Self-Cleaning Brushroll | ❌ Standard Brush |
| Maneuverability | 🎱 Ball Technology | ↪️ Swivel Steering | 📏 Standard Fixed |
| Filtration | 🛡️ Whole-Machine HEPA | 🛡️ Anti-Allergen Seal | 💨 Foam Filter |
| Warranty | 🗓️ 5 Years | 🗓️ 5 Years | 🗓️ 2 Years |
Final Verdict
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is an unapologetic powerhouse. It ignores the trend of lightweight, battery-powered convenience in favor of raw, unadulterated cleaning performance. It digs deeper into carpets and manages pet hair better than virtually any cordless stick on the market.
Who is this for?
- Pet Owners: Especially those with long-haired dogs or multiple cats.
- Allergy Sufferers: The sealed HEPA system is top-tier.
- Large Homeowners: The cord means you can clean 3,000 sq ft without recharging.
If you can handle the weight and the price tag, this vacuum will likely be the last one you need to buy for a decade. It transforms your carpets from “visually clean” to “deeply clean.”
