Forgotten Bissell Products

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PureAir & Powerclean

Rob, just a warning - if you do get your hands on one, immediately disassemble the vacuum and install a cord protector where the cord meets the body of the vacuum. Those vacuums had a recall on them from the CPSC in America for that very reason.
 
Those Bissells were actually made by Ryobi for Bissell and Singer. Probably the most expensive Bissells they've developed because they were hit by Hoover and had to pay them as a result. Nonetheless, that black 10 amp model I'd say is my all time favorite Bissell. At least for a non Bissell made machine. My favorite Bissell they made themselves would be the Amway ClearTrak.
 
No disrespect to people for liking these machines, but...

Aren't these machines known for being unnecessarily loud? I saw an Intellitech Studios video about one of these machines and he said something along the lines of the common complaint with these are that they are very loud.
 
PanasonicVac

Wait... So Hoover sued them for "copying" the Elites, when those style of machines were one of the most generic and frequently copied? If that's the case, then Oreck must've been sweating in their britches around this time, which by the way, when were these produced?
 
Yup

Hoover had already filed a patent on their Elites that Bissell copied thinking they were going to get away with it. It didn't take long for them to notice so to answer your question, I'd say no earlier than 1996. In fact they even used the same bags and belts as the Elites. But between the two, at least with my Bissell, Hoovers were better made. Nonetheless the Bissells and Singers were overall decent machines, I mean I wouldn't have minded buying one back in the day. However after Hoover had won, Bissell was forced to discontinue them.

https://web.archive.org/web/19990221143259/http://www.hoovercompany.com/company/BisselSuit.htm
 
PanasonicVac

Oh, well that seems a bit more reasonable... but not by much. That's like if Coke were to sue Pepsi for selling cola flavored pop. Sure, they're both the same type of pop, but they're different in their own respects. As long as Ryobi wasn't copy+pasting the Elite design and using the same bags and belts, I don't really see the problem.

At least that makes obtaining parts a bit easier in case I ever get one ;P
 
Rugsucker

You're right, but there was also a Scooby-Doo version available. I think it's a neat concept- making real hand-held/stick vacuums for kids. It'd teach them the basics of vacuuming and such from a young age. Plus, the translucent plastic is giving me Frutiger Aero vibes. It's a shame these didn't catch on.

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A forgotten rarity...

The Bissell CatchAll, dating from the early 2000s. It was billed as "the bare floor cleaner that vacuums and dusts your floors in one easy step." The CatchAll is essentially just a dry floor mop combined with a vacuum for picking up large crumbs. According to the manual, the cleaner can utilize ANY kind of dry electrostatic cloth, including Swiffer and Pledge.

What makes this little machine truly rare is that absolutely NO videos of it on YouTube exist. It doesn't really surprise me; the CatchAll must not have sold very well, and all that were sold eventually made their way to the dump due to dead batteries (it utilized a removable NiCad battery that lasted up to 15 minutes on a single charge).

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Anybody remember the forgotten Bissell ProDry?

Ran across this page and I found perhaps one of the most forgotten Bissell products from the late 2000s. This here is the Bissell ProDry carpet deep cleaner and when I was a kid seeing these, I always thought these look interesting. It features a TLR power roller that looks like a paint roller brush. I guess these didn't last long. Probably about a year or two. I assume these didn't clean carpets and rugs that well and probably weren't meant for every spills like yogurt or coffee.

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