 A Great Vacuum At A Great Price!!! |
| Review Date: May 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Kelly Barrett, Clearfield, UT |
[...]
Now to be honest, this is a girly looking vacuum. It looks kinda purplish and two toned at that, in fact, Bissell calls it a Dark Cherry Fiz color. However, my wife liked the color, so that was a selling point for her. It also weighs considerably less than the Dirt Devil did, which was also a major selling point for both my wife and myself. (Yes, I do vacuum when nagged enough!)
So I brought it home, took it out of the box, and after 3 screws and 15 minutes later, the vacuum was put together. I found the assembly very easy to do, and the instructions quite straight forward.
Observations:
Right away I turned on the vacuum and found it very easy to maneuver. The adjustments for the floor height were easy to turn and it actually quieter than my Dirt Devil. All good things to me. Of course my wife and I took off the hose and tested the suction strength on each other, like the cheek, arm, and hair. Very impressive suction strength! Then my 2 yr. old son got upset because he thought that the vacuum was hurting us, so we stopped laughing and put the vacuum hose back.
I then vacuumed up a small patch of carpet in our spare bedroom, which I only use for my office, but right away my wife yelled at me to turn it off. She pointed out the amount of dust spiralling around the canister, which looked really cool! The cyclonic feature really works! There was a good amount of dust and debris already in the canister. We were both amazed at home much this vacuum had picked up, especially when this room had been vacuumed with the Dirt Devil just last week. Also, the carpet seemed to be fluffier. The 12 amps of power and extra wide 15 inch brush are very effective at cleaning our carpets.
I was also impressed with the fact that there are 2 filters on this vacuum. One just beneath the canister and a HEPA filter on the side of the vacuum where the air is returned to the room. Also both of these filters are very easy to find, remove, and replace. The canister also is very easy to remove, clean, and replace. A simple locking arm swings to one side to release the canister, then slides back to lock it in place.
There is also an indicator which changes colors based on the quality of air flow. If it is green, then things are well and air is moving freely. If it turns red then the airflow has become reduced, and if it turns black then there is something blocking the airflow completely. It is very easy to remove the entire hose, you just simply turn the hose on the back of the vacuum until it releases the hose, then you can clear away any blockages that might be in the way.
The hose is 14 feet long. However, I have not needed to use this feature as of yet, but it is very flexible and stretches easily. The Bissell Velocity Vacuum also comes complete with the dusting brush, TurboBrush, Curved Hose Wand, Extension Wand, and Crevice Tool. The power chord is extremely long at 35 feet, but can be a hassle when you only need a small amount of it for a smaller room. However, it is great when vacuuming a large room, or multiple rooms close to each other!
The TurboBrush also works great. I used it to vacuum off the stairs and my car. Again the 12 amps of suction strength is evident when the brush gets up to full speed. It really spins fast! I can even press it fairly strong into the carpet and it still spins.
There was mention that this vacuum seemed to tip over easily, and that is true. I tested this out on both carpet and bare floor. A good nudge or bump anywhere above the Turbo brush will send it falling backwards. Locking wheels would probably have helped in keeping this from happening. If you are going to be pulling on the hose to bring the vacuum closer to you, it is best to do this if the hose is attached to the handle at the bottom of the vacuum. However, I would not recommend this type of action.
Some people had issues with the power switch being on the front of the vacuum. This is not an issue for me. It is near enough the handle that it takes nothing to reach down and flip it off.
Conclusion
There isn't much about this vacuum that I don't like. It is lightweight, powerful, and easy to use. It is a little back heavy and can tip over fairly easily, and the power chord can be a nuisance because of its length, but those are minor problems.
For the money, you really can't go wrong with this vacuum. It will leave your carpets clean, fluffed, and your air filtered. What more can you ask for?
[...] |
I LOVE this vacuum BETTER than my Oreck!
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| Review Date: January 28, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Shannon B. Paul, La Mesa, CA United States |
I bought this vacuum last week after finally giving up on my expensive Oreck($450 w/ can vac). For anyone that is doing comparisons before buying a new vacuum, hopefully this will be helpful.
The Oreck has a very strong suction, but maybe too strong. It did not have any height adjustments either. I couldn't even push it along my berber carpet(very low pile as to be non-existant) w/o getting a major workout. To the point that it became almost too bothersome to even vacuum. This was my main reason for ditching it. It was very light weight though.
The Velocity has an equally strong suction, but it is a heavier vacuum. The weight doesn't bother me. There are 7 height adjustments, so I was able to go from carpet to hardwood floors by flicking a lever. This vacuum pulls itself along! A huge difference from the Oreck! I did get used to having a headlight on the front of the Oreck for vacuuming in dark corners and this one has a light.
The Oreck does not have on-board tools which I later decided I prefer. (Oreck has a separate canister vac). The Velocity has a small brush attachment, an edger and the most awesome turbo brush attachment! It is perfect for area rugs! I used it on a small white area rug that had turned gray(not even the Oreck can vac could get all the dust out) and is now white again!
The cord is so wonderfully long, I went from the bedroom all the way down the hall into the kitchen before I had to move the plug to do the family room!
I didn't know if I would like not having bags as I've only had a Hoover and the Oreck that both used bags. Since I am new to bagless, I didn't really keep a close eye on the dirt chamber level the first time I used it and had fully exceeded it, so it was a little messy to empty it. So just keep an eye on the fullness level. I do like bagless though and seeing everything this vacuum picks up.
I am very pleased with the Velocity and look forward now to actually vacuuming again! The Bissell Velocity is one of the least expensive of the bagless cyclonic vacuums, so I wouldn't necessarily say you have to spend a ton of money to get a better vacuum. I will update this if my opinion changes for any reason. |
Vacuum delivers
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| Review Date: November 4, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Mary M, California |
| This vacuum works great and I don't understand the negative reviews here. I don't find it heavy to push. In fact my old vacuum was heavy and a pain to move around and it was a Dirt Devil! It does tend to tip over when using the extension tools which are wonderful, so I remedy that by laying it over on it's side while using it! This has GREAT suction power and is still getting crud out of the carpet after about 6 months. This a great price for a great working vacuum. I would buy this one again in a second! |
Have had for 10 months - no problems!
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| Review Date: November 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kelly Leavitt, 29 Palms MCAGCC, California |
I have had this vacuum since January of 2009. I have dark carpet that's pretty short, so it seems to pick up dirt. I have two kids and a husband, and we live in the desert. I have used this vacuum nearly EVERY day since buying and never once have I had a problem. I have had to clean the filter twice, which was very easy. Putting it together was easy - just a few screws and snapping things in to place.
I never got to use the TurboBrush attachment until yesterday. I used it on my friend's stairs - she has long hair, and two cats. It was amazing what the vacuum picked up and how nice her stairs looked afterwards. I like that it is not a super heavy vacuum. I also used the corner brush and it, too, works amazingly well. I have NOT noticed any "easy tipping". Even when I was vacuuming the stairs, or if I have it in another room plugged in across the house. I don't know what people are talking about when they say it tips easily. It does not. My kids can run/crawl by it or bump in to it and it's never once fallen down.
It has EXCELLENT suction. I have on occasion accidentally vacuumed up the power cord. Nothing bad happened but wow, talk about suction! I used it to clean out my car, too, and it's great. The extra long cord is awesome!
It is noisy, but it's a vacuum, you can't seriously expect silence.
It also has a wide suction area. Most vacuums, you have to manipulate the vacuum funny to get corners or even up against a couch/wall. This one is great, usually I can just run it by the front of the couch and it picks everything up! The first time I used it, I had been living in my house for just a few weeks. The amount of hair it picked up was incredible. This vacuum sucks - in a good way!
I give this vacuum 5 stars. |
WOW!!!
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| Review Date: April 25, 2008 |
| Reviewer: E. Sovern, Plano, IL |
| I LOVE this vacuum. I hate cleaning, especially vacuuming. It seemed pointless with my other vacuums - I would run the vacuum over the carpet repeatedly to get it clean. This vacuum is easy, it cleans the carpet so well that you can a tell a HUGE difference. It makes cleaning much more rewarding. |
The best in this pricerange
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| Review Date: September 10, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Md Shaheed, San Diego, CA |
I bought this vacuum cleaner after hours and hours of reading too many reviews of different cleaners and getting confused and more confused. It was kind of like ok, I give up, lets just go with this one since many people said it is good and it is quite affordable.
The first time we vacuumed our apartment with it, the dirt canister was like half-full.......that was a big surprise. My wife is a very clean person and she vacuums our carpet at least every other day. Since then, we are very happy with the product, its been a few months, and it is working great.
The only reason I am spending time writing this review is so that it benefits many like myself who get confused which vacuum to buy in this pricerange. In summary, my wife and I are very satisfied with this vacuum, it is much better than the other (sometimes more expensive) vacuums that we had used. |
The BEST vacuum!!
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| Review Date: December 31, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Cynthia, CT |
| Powerful vacuum for the price! Purchased the Bissell Velocity to replace a 3 year old Eureeka Maxima vacuum that stopped working. What a difference. The Bissell is not only more powerful, it has so many more frills. The canister is very accessible and effortless to remove and reattach to empty. The mini turbo brush attachment is awesome....great for stairs and for cleaning my sofas! This vacuum has great suction and totally beats my old Eureeka even when it was new! Easy to maneuver, attractive design, powerful suction. Buy this vacuum, you won't be sorry! |
Great Vacuum
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| Review Date: February 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Impressed, |
| We just got this vacuum cleaner last night and I was amazed at the results. The first thing that comes to mind is...gross, you would think that we have never vacuumed the carpet before. It was pulling so much stuff out of the carpet that we had to empty the container before we were finished vacuuming. We went over the carpet twice last night and once today...it's still pulling dirt up. Previous to purchasing this vacuum we were using an inherited Bissell Clean View. I actually had planned never to buy a Bissell because the performance of that vacuum was less than stellar (evidenced by the amount of left over dirt in the carpet). When I started doing my research, I read the reviews for this vacuum and they were very good, so I thought we would give it a try. It had too many good reviews to ignore on this site and others. I would definitely recommend this vacuum, especially for the price - it's a great buy! |
A clean freak's dream come true!
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| Review Date: October 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: S. Mengesha, Boston, MA |
| After moving into my new apartment a year ago, I decided it was time to make some grown up purchases..including a vacuum cleaner. I bought two very nice, very expensive 8x10 rugs and wanted to keep them spotless. My boyfriend and I were good at first, but within a short amount of team we were eating dinner parked on the sofa in front of the tv in our living room. Despite this bad habit, I am somewhat OCD when it comes to cleanliness and purchased a dirt devil stick vac for about $60. This thing NEVER worked. My rugs always looked exactly the same afterward and left me feeling like my apartment was still dirty. Finally, after planning our first dinner party and realizing I couldn't have people over without cleaning our rugs I decided to purchase a better vacuum. I had no idea how expensive these things are! I wanted a Dyson initially, but after much research and reading customer reviews, decided on the Bissell Velocity 3950. It took 10 minutes to put this puppy together out of the box (if that). The first time I tried it on our much-used living room rug, I was in shock at how much dirt and dust it picked up! The dust canister was completely full after one use! I proceeded to go vacuum crazy and used it not only on all of our rugs but also on the bare floor (on bare floor setting) and it worked great everytime! I also did use the turbo peice that attaches to the hose in order to clean our sofa. I do agreed that the back side of the vacuum does generate a lot of heat while used like this, but its not a big deal to me (especially during cold weather). I see NO cons with this vacuum. I only hope that it doesn't crap out on me in a few months, my heart will truly be broken. |
It picks up where my other one left off
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| Review Date: May 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Marsha Werdehausen, |
| I just bought this today. I have been using the Eureka Boss for years and was happy enough but it was biting the dust and I liked the color on this one. I vacuumed the whole house today before I left so I could give it a good try out. First off it was somewhat difficult to put together so I had to engage the husband (not a easy task in itself). It was much lighter and quieter than my Eureka. It took off almost like it was self propelled. Make sure you see the word "almost" otherwise you will say self propelled my foot. I vacuumed my living and my bedroom and it gave me back about 2 cups of hair, dirt, and dust. It is much quieter than the Eureka although I could hear a slight high pitched ringing sound, but I can get used to that. I took it to the tile where the cat litter pan is and ran over that area on the bare floor level. It took up most of the litter but I did feel a small amount hit my feet. I use a mighty mite for bare floors anyway. That cannot be beat. The beater bar does not stop on bare floors so I would'nt use it on wood. I took the power paw to my cloth chairs and got up most of the huge amount of cat hair, but some did linger. All and all I was looking for a upright to do carpets, not bare floors, chairs or steps and this one has great suction. It is easy to carry, and easy to push and I am very happy with it. I got it at Target. It was 129.99 and they gave me a twenty dollar gift card for buying it so it was just 109.99. |
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
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| Review Date: March 8, 2007 |
| Reviewer: G. Simmons, Forsyth, Illinois |
| Just replaced my Electrolux vacuum with this one yesterday! Just like the other reviews mentioned, this picked up so much stuff that my other one left behind. My husband was so engrossed with this things performance, he vacuumed the ENTIRE HOUSE! Looks like a great purchase |
So far, So good
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| Review Date: July 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: R. Jasavala, Davis, CA USA |
I went out to buy this vacuum from Target today since it had positive reviews across multiple sites. Assembly was pretty straightforward and it cleaned really well. I like that the pre-motor filter is washable so all i need to worry about is replacing the HEPA filter. It picked up a lot of stuff - which is good, since our carpet hadn't had a good vacuuming for months.
The vacuum, though it feels heavy, was pretty easy to push (I have no upper body strength). I used the hose, but it was annoying to me that the brush on the beater bar still spun while using the hose - oh well. That'll have to be my biggest pet peeve about it. The bagless part is designed well where there is no filter in the dirt holder unit the way older bagless vacs had. I filled up the canister in one vacuuming session, though.
Since I just got this, though, I'm calling this a "so far so good" review. Hopefully nothing bad will happen. |
the best vacuum ever!
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| Review Date: April 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Betsy NJ, NJ USA |
| I bought this vacuum on sale when it first came out and it seemed to work well. I like it, and use it sometimes myself and s/t the housekeeper who helps out 2X a month. I love it. It has been really reliable and I have had it like almost 3 years now. The housekeeper swears that this is the best vacuum ever. She tells me it is so much better than the other vacuums that every other client she works with has. It does seem to do a good job picking up and the clear bagless cyclone is easy to empty--I finally got around to cleaning the filters and stuff and that was even easy. Good vacuum for a cheap price. |
The best vacuum I've ever owned
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| Review Date: February 13, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Eve, |
First,
I had a $60 Dirt Devil for 3 years
I have kids and no pets
I have over 900 sq ft of cream colored carpet
The Bissell Velocity was my 2nd choice
At Target I initially purchased a Euro-pro Infinity NV30 because of the rave reviews of it being as close to a Dyson. However, after using the Infinity I was not impressed. It did not seem to clean my carpet as well as I was hoping it would and for $179.99 I needed to feel some kind of justification. The only features I liked about the Infinity were its look and telescopic wand. So I returned it to try this one out. Thank God I did! The Bissell vacuumed even more dirt that the Infinity left behind!
Not only is the suction on this way better (I can actually see the bristle marks on the carpet!) but I absolutely love the rotating turbo brush! The Infinity does not have a rotating brush. All that for $129.99! I saved myself $50 and over $300 if I had bought Dyson.
All the pros about the Velocity far outweigh the cons and definitely exceeded my expectations.
With vacuums like this for a fraction of the cost and do an excellent job at cleaning why buy a Dyson?
*I'd give it 5 stars if it were to last 5 or more years..we'll see |
Great!
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| Review Date: January 1, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Gift Card Customer, Evansville, IN |
I purchased this vacuum last week at Target after my old one bit the dust. This was timely because I was getting ready to clean up from taking down my Christmas trees and seemed to have that fake snow everywhere in the house.
I was amazed at the suction power with this vacuum! We have four room-sized wool rugs over our hard wood floors and the amount of fuzz and debris that it picked up was astonishing. (especially when they had all been recently vacuumed with my old Hoover)
I'm pleased to say that it handled the fake Christmas snow like a champ and performed equally well on my carpet and hard wood.
It's easy to operate and if I had one con to report it's that I had to empty the dirt chamber quite a few times during the Christmas aftermath. This was to be expected to some degree and I'm hopeful that in normal cleanup I won't have to empty it as often. |
Works Well, Even in Dyson Comparison
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| Review Date: August 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: WI Mom, |
I've owned this vacuum for at least 3 years. I've always been pretty happy with its performance and ease of use. I do have the same problem as some others with how easy it tips. After having it hit me in the back several times while vacuuming furniture with the hose, I've learned to keep the vacuum close to me to avoid stretching the hose too far and pulling the vacuum over. But that's really my only complaint.
We have a dog that sheds a LOT and a toddler. Within the past few months, I've been getting down on the floor after I vacuum to take a close look, and I still see more dog hair than I'd like to see. Sure, it's a lot better than it is before I run the vacuum...but I was hoping to find a vacuum that might get all of the dog hair out.
I have a friend who owns and loves her 2 year old Dyson. I asked her if she would mind bringing it over so I could test it out to see if it would be worth spending $600 to replace my Bissell. I selected a test area of carpet - the area that is the most frequently traveled by both humans and the dog (and the spot she often choses to lay in or roll around.) First, I vacuumed half of the test area with my Bissell. I got a decent little clump of hair and a teeny amount of dirt/dust. I then vacuumed the second half of the test area with just the Dyson. The dirt cup looked about the same. I then took the Dyson over the original Bissell test area. It picked up just a little of the dog hair that the Bissell had left behind, but no additional dust.
I then took the Dyson around my entire main floor. I hadn't vacuumed in about 3 days. Usually in 3 days, I can get enough dog hair, dust, and dirt to fill the Bissell canister at least 1/4-1/3 of the way. Well, the Dyson picked up a pretty good amount of hair, but almost no dust or dirt. So as far as effectiveness, I feel like the Dyson gets a little more dog hair out, but not as much dust/dirt as the Bissell. However, the biggest difference I noticed in this test was the ease of maneuvering and pushing the two vacuums. I am a 30 year old woman in good physical shape that works out and isn't overweight. By the time I finished the living room and master bedroom with the Dyson, I was literally exhausted and had to take a break. I asked my friend if I was doing something wrong. She said I wasn't, then she tried vacuuming my daughter's room. She completely agreed that the Dyson is extremely hard to push on my frieze carpet, but she noted that on her standard carpet at home, she has no problem pushing it. With the Bissell, though, I don't have that problem at all. It is very easy to push and maneuver.
After this test, I've decided to keep the $600 in my pocket and keep the Bissell. |
Thrilled -- Updated Two Years Later
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| Review Date: October 25, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Chicago Winter '07, Illinois |
I researched a lot of different vacuums before deciding on the Bissell Velocity. Not only did I check the reviews on Amazon, but also on [...] and even customer feedback on Target's website. With the majority of people giving this vacuum a thumbs up, I decided to purchase it. I absolutely made the right decision.
When I got the Velocity I assembled it (pretty quick & painless) and then vacuumed my entire living room one last time with my old vacuum (Eureka Boss Lite). I then re-vacuumed with the Velocity and watched with horrifying glee as the canister filled up with a LOT of dirt and dust. It truly is unbelievable how much this vacuum sucks up the dirt...especially on a carpet that was vacuumed less than five minutes before. I also love the fact that I won't need to run to the store to buy vacuum bags any more!
I haven't had the chance to use all of the attachments yet, so it wouldn't be fair of me to comment on them. My only complaint (as others have mentioned) is that the vacuum can tip over easily if you bump into it. I would also give this vacuum 4.5 stars if I could.
***Update in October 2009***
It's been almost two years since I purchased this vacuum and I wanted to take the opportunity to add to my initial review. I still think the Velocity is a great product and I have not had any mechanical problems with it. HOWEVER, I may have replaced it if I hadn't discovered that there are a few things you need to do in order to keep the vacuum running well.
First, in addition to the bottom canister that you empty out after vacuuming...there are THREE other filters they are removable and should be cleaned. The first is under the canister itself, and appropiately labeled 'FILTER". Much to my chagrin, I realized that this piece could be pulled out and the filter itself removed and cleaned. If you are having problems with suction, I would look here first. It makes a huge difference.
Second, above the bottom removable canister is another filter (it looks like a gray cylinder). This can be turned to the left, causing it to "unlock" and enabling you to remove it. It comes apart in two pieces and after rinsing & drying it you can put it back in (turning it to the right to lock it back in place). There are "lock" and "unlock" icons on the bottom of this filter for identification.
Lastly, there is a HEPA filter on the side of the vacuum that is easily removed and cleaned. This will probably not make a big difference as far as the performance of the vacuum, but it is worth noting.
I will readily admit that I did not read my owner's manual aside from the instructions on how to assemble the vacuum. I rationalized that I already "knew" how to use a vacuum cleaner. Well...I was not expecting the additional bells & whistles on this product. I hope that my experience will help at least one person out there who thinks their vacuum has stopped working well. Luckily, I did not burn out my motor before realizing my mistake. Good luck!
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Sucks Great But...
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| Review Date: February 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: A. Mitcham, Palm Beach, FL |
| I was soooo hesitant. I researched for weeks as to what to buy. I was almost to the point of confirming my order for a Hoover, but something held me back. Well I went to Target one afternoon and they had this there, I remembered the reviews were good, plus I got a free 20 dollar Target gift card. So I bought it, set up was easy. First was my area shag rug. At first I thought something was wrong, like it was pulling my rug apart. Apparantly, my rug was just that dirty. It's like it came back to life. Second was the Bedroom. God, that felt good. Nice and clean. Third was the bare tile floors in the rest of the house. It's amazing how much this thing catches. It was super easy to empty, no mess. The only thing that I did not like was that it was hard to push back and forth, but the weird thing is that it's not a heavy item. Thats the only thing I would complain about. I have so many back aches that I can't imagine pushing that thing around on the regular. My husband would definately have that duty. All around, with the 20 dollar gift card, it was a great buy. |
A very High Quality Cost Efffective Machine...
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| Review Date: October 31, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Alan P. Goodgold, |
This Bissell was a delightful fulfillment of what it promises. It has excellent suction, a nice wide array of accessories and has an ease of use feeling. We are quite delighted with the results we achieve on floors, furniture, carpets floor coverings and deep pile wall to wall. An excellent quality piece of engineering. I would buy this vacum cleaner without hesitation again as well as for a gift for any of our children. Well done Bissell.
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The best vacuum I've ever used
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| Review Date: April 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Ulmer, Levittown, PA |
I purchased this vacuum two years ago and love it. It's the best vacuum I've ever used and I would not buy any other vacuum unless it was a Bissel with the same bagless technology (like I know there's a pet hair one that looks very similar).
This vacuum has great suction and is very easy to empty. I hate vacuums with bags, which is what drew me to this, and this one makes emptying it so easy.
I also like all the attachments that it comes with and the fact that it's very lightweight, which makes it easy to carry upstairs.
The only problem I can say is that it got clogged once and in trying to unclog it I broke a piece off inside (the tunnel part that distributes whatever it is you sucked up into the holding container). It's made of cheap plastic, so it just snapped off, so every time I went to empty the dirt, the tunnel part would fall out, which made it annoying to put the waste container back. I finally just gave in and bought the pet hair version of this vacuum (which was fine because I'm getting a dog soon anyway) and am curious to see how that one compares.
Also, after two years, the rubber of the cord began severing so that the wires were exposed and I had to wrap it with electrical tape in several places... however, I will be honest and say that I am not gentle with my vacuums, which could have exasperated the problem.
I also recently moved into a house with laminate floors and it does not pick up the best on hard surfaces, even on the hard floor setting. It's better as a carpet vacuum. |
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