Bissell Lift-Off Floors & More Pet 2-in-1 Stick/Hand Vac

[niclonnic]

I volunteer at a small sandwich restaurant every Tuesday and Friday. Over there is a Bissell Lift-Off Floors & More Pet 2-in-1 stick/hand vac.

One of my jobs over there is to vacuum the hallway. Overall, the performance of this vacuum is disappointing. It sometimes takes a few passes to pick up the lightest, smallest particles. I can only use it for about 10 minutes before the battery starts dying off.

Once I'm done, I plug the vacuum into the charger. Then a couple hours later, sometimes one of the restaurant employees will go to use it. And whenever she does, the battery dies off.

This vacuums looks and feels like a toy. It gets up some surface dirt, but the battery life stinks and it takes all day to charge. It must be plugged in 24/7 when not in use.

In addition, this vacuum has a detachable hand vac. Detaching and reattaching the hand vac takes a bit of strength. You have to hold down the release button and give it a forceful tug to detach, and to reattach, you have to line it up and give it a forceful push. Once detached, the hand vac has a trigger that must be pressed in order to run. You have to detach the hand vac every time you want to empty the dust bin.

And speaking of the dust bin, it fills up and clogs very easily. And when it overfills, the air passageway from the floor nozzle to the hand vac gets plugged up. I have to reach into the floor nozzle and pull gunk out by hand. I have to go through this almost every time I use this vacuum.

Also, like most cheap vacuums, the filter clogs quickly as well.

However, there are two aspects of the vacuum that I love: the swivel head and the folding handle. The swivel head is very nice for getting into tight spots, and the handle bends forward to allow for cleaning under chairs and furniture without straining my back.

Overall, in my mind, this vacuum is not worth $70. Has anybody ever used one? If so, how did it work out for you?

 

[hvrvaclvr]

I had the non pet version. I liked it. It's suction was meh at best. But the brush was very good, it could groom the carpets and It had no problem picking up the cat hair and other bits debris off of the carpet. The filter did clog very quickly, though.

I gave it to my aunt because she needed a vacuum that she could pull out at her office and quickly clean up the rock salt that gets tracked in this time of year. She likes it a lot. She said it's better than pulling out her Windtunnel in between clients.

 

[human]

What can you say; it's a glorified dustbuster on a stick.

 

[niclonnic]

Well

It's actually a decent little machine. It's nice to not have to hassle with a cord.

The one restaurant employee likes it because she can quickly clean up messes that the customers leave behind.

 

[dustin]

I've used the non pet version (It's in my attic currently) It belongs to the summer camp I work at all summer, last summer someone used it and when they emptied it, dumped out the filter, and kept on using it until the motor was clogged full of dust. I brought it home with the intention of cleaning it out, replacing the filter, and taking it back when I go up for the summer. I got it cleaned out but haven't yet ordered the filter. It is primarily used in the dining hall on two floor mats between meals (which it is perfect for.) For the bunkhouses and cabins, we also have a backpack vacuum, a Hoover Tempo bagged (which was completely clogged when I went up in february for a weekend), and a Bissell Featherlight stick vac (corded). Will give them all a good going over before summer though

 

[niclonnic]

Most of the time, restaurant employees will use the vacuum until the dirt cup gets full. At that point, it will start clogging at the floor nozzle, as I've stated in my OP. I have to dismantle the vacuum (no tools required) in order to unclog the floor nozzle.

I have never brought anybody else's vacuums home for the purposes of cleaning them out.