Customer Reviews

BISSELL 20Q9 CleanView II Plus Upright Bagless Vacuum

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The Bissell 35766 CleanView II is a great vacuum. It did what was advertised. I based my decision to buy this from the reviews on amazon.com

I bought this vacuum for my apartment in NYC with two other roommates. I have wood floors throughout the apartment. And I found that this vacuum is a little too much for this. I learned that this type vacuum is great for carpets and rugs. It still did its job well on bare floors. All the components worked well, and the attachments are pretty useful.

MAINTENANCE:

You have to clean this vacuum regularly. There are about 5 parts that needs to be cleaned thoroughly. These are the plastic reusable filters separates the dust from the larger chunks crumbs that the vacuum might pick up. In order for the vacuum to operate properly these filters have to be cleaned by washing it in soapy water, scrubbed, and dried. If poor maintenance clogs the filters it WILL damage the motor.

In a roommate environment, in our apartment this proved to be a problem. Because lets face it, who likes to clean? We have a cleaning schedule to keep all the roommates do their part in cleaning. But the problem arose to who cleans the vacuum, and the vacuum was never maintained and eventually overheated the motor and broke.

CONCLUSION

This is a great vacuum and I recommend it to those who have carpeted apartments. For those of us with wood floors or in a roommate situation, this is not the best vacuum to have. In fact it's best to avoid bag-less vacuums. Just go for the more traditional bag vacuum, you can all (roommates) split the cost for the bags.

I went to a local authorized repair center and learned about how bag less vacuums work and the lifespan of the affordable vacuums such as this one have.

What I learned, low-end vacuums, such as this one have about a two or more years worth of use, if maintained properly before they break. It has to do with the quality of motor that they use on these things.

I also learned about the advantages and disadvantages of bag-less vacuums. The advantages are obvious--no bags to buy to use the vacuum, and less waste--it's a bit more ecological to have a bag-less vacuum. The disadvantages are the maintenance. The vacuum needs regular thorough cleaning of its own.

** READ MY UPDATES AT BOTTOM **
The Bissell Cleanview II vacuum is a Quick Recommendation from Consumer Reports if low price is a main concern. Which I took as meaning, if you don't want to spend a lot of bucks, this will be plenty good. They were right and I'm pleased with the ~$80 spent on this vacuum. The 3576 model is the 3576-6 model without the turbobrush and a slightly longer cord, but are the same price. CR's Best Buy is a Eureka model at almost double the cost. If I had more area to clean, other than my living room rug and a long hallway runner, I may have considered the Eureka.

PROS:
- Picks up everything
- Long hose attachment with tools
- Easy to put together
- 27-foot power cord
- Easy to empty dirt cup
- HEPA filter
- Inexpensive filter replacements (HEPA media filter is $9.99)
- Headlight
- Soft bumper sides
- Pile adjust settings
- Easy carry handle
- 1 Year Warranty

CONS:
- Pretty loud
- Big & heavy
- Wheels make a lot of noise
- Turbo brush attachment is difficult to remove from storage slot
- 1 Year Warranty

I live in a flat that has hardwood floors. I purchased a small stick vac with a 6-amp motor to use on a living room rug, a hallway runner, and a small patch of carpet in the bedroom. After a while, I realized it wasn't working very well at all. It tended to push debris, dust, and pet hair around instead of sucking it up.

I finally decided to stop playing around with stick vacs and decided to get a full-sized one. I referred to Consumer Reports for advice and though I really wanted to get the Eureka that they recommended as a Best Buy, I couldn't justify the price for the small area I would be using it for.

My main requirements were that it actually pick up everything off of my rugs and that it had easy to use attachments. The HEPA filter was a bonus. I now realize that since the last time I bought a full-sized vacuum (1995), vacuum cleaners have come a long way.

ASSEMBLY
Couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is attach the handle with one screw and then place the hose and attachments onboard.

CLEANING
I had just used my stick vac a few days earlier. After putting together the CleanView II, I thought I'd give it a whirl. What it picked up that the stick vac didn't was amazing. The dust cup was already beyond the full line! My rugs have never been cleaner.

ATTACHMENTS
The hose is extendable and easy to to use. It is as simple as lifting it off of the unit and placing any of the onboard attachments to it. My only complaint is that the Turbo Brush, stored in the front, is difficult to remove once you've stored it. I couldn't get enough of a grip on it to pry it out without using a screwdriver to pop it out. Bissell should have placed rubber grips on the sides of the Turbo Brush so it'd be easier to remove.

NOISE
Don't run it at night if you live in an apartment and want to be considerate of your neighbors. It doesn't have a super high pitched noise, but it definitely rumbles. The cat went scurrying away and hid when I turned it on. The plastic wheels seem to contribute to the noise too. I don't know why someone hasn't come up with rubber or inline wheels for vacuums.

MISC
It's a heavy vacuum (21 lb shipping weight), but it's not so heavy as to be a burden. Granted, I don't have much to clean. The headlight is nice so I can see in areas where my flat is not well lit. The manual pile adjustment dial is easy enough to use and has seven height settings. The dirt cup is easily removeable and emptied, though slightly messy. It's also easy to turn the power on and off.

The cord is located on the right side of the vacuum. If felt somewhat awkward when I tried to guide the cord while vacuuming since I normally vacuum with my right hand and guide the cord with my left.

SUMMARY
This vacuum works and is easily the nicest I've ever owned. I thought I could get away with using one of those smaller vacs to take care of simple jobs on small areas. I was wrong and wasted nearly $50 learning that lesson. The Bissell Cleanview II is not that expensive and does a good job. What more could I ask for?

=== 16 Months Later (2/24/07) ===
I now live in a 2-story townhouse that is all carpet and still believe that this is a great vacuum. As another reviewer noted however, regular maintenance is required to keep it running well. I can attest to how gruesome a job that is too. Despite this, I am still happy at how well it works.

=== 28 Months Later (2/25/08) ===
I disposed this vacuum cleaner 2 days ago because it started to smoke from the belt area. I could not see what was happening and personally, did not trust it anymore. I'm guessing something got stuck between the belt and the friction burned something that it picked up but boy did it freak me out. I was falling out of love with it anyways because of the constant maintenance and poor attachment performance. Because you have to detach the hose from the main unit, there's a pathway for dirt, hair, and dust to fly out of the vacuum while using the attachment. I'd have to re-vacuum over an area after using the attachment and grossed me out. It worked pretty well for about a year and a half and then I couldn't wait to replace it. I finally did yesterday with a Hoover Empower model for about the same price. The Hoover seems more cheaply made, but I'm content with it so far and is another Consumer Reports recommendation.

Machine broke 3rd time I used it! Part broke off inside and literally burned up...melted the insides. Took it to an authorized repair and got it fixed under warranty, but it took 3 weeks to get the parts. Service guy said it was the 2nd he had seen in the last month with same problem.It vacuums well, but...

This vac rocked. I rate the performance at 5 stars -- I LOVED THIS VACUUM! It did a really good job at getting what our POS Dirt Devil didn't. I was impressed with the ease of use and the ease of dumping the dust bin which filled fairly quickly since our last vac was a Dirt Devil. Wife wife, who is pregnant, loved this vacuum cause it was light and did a really good job.

Until. (Zero (0) star part)

She was vacuuming some pretty short carpet in my sons rooms and the thing started to smoke. I got the call at work from her. She was afraid the thing was starting on fire and it was spitting hot pieces of plastic all over her feet. I told her to put in on the patio out back just to make sure until I got home. When I got home I found that the belt had migrated off of the beater bar/brush bar and was burning into the plastic on the bottom of the vacuum. A little disheartening because the vacuum was only 24 days old.

The wrap-up. Although I loved this vacuum and its excellent performance; the fact that it was spitting hot melted plastic all over the carpet and my wifes' feet made me dislike it even more than I liked it. If you are going to buy this vacuum make sure you buy an extended warranty so that you can bring it back.

I've owned an Electrolux for 13 years, finally the motor quit. After 1 time of using the Bissell 3576, I couldn't believe the amount of filth that I pulled out of my carpet. It costs $100 a year to service an Electrolux just to maintain the warranty on it. The Bissell only cost me $79.99. At that price, I could replace it every year for less than what it costs to maintain the warranty on the Electrolux.

Pros -

1) Great value

2) Really sucks the dirt up

3) The TurboBrush works great on the stairs

4) The attachments can all be attached to the vacuum so you're not searching for them

Cons -

1) Because of the suction power, it gives your arm a workout

2) Does not have a seperate attachment to attach to the hose for vacuuming floors (the upright models do not reach into corners)

3) The Hepa filter needs to be replaced frequently (per the owners manual and costs about $10)

4) Puts out quite a bit of heat from the powerful motor

I've had two of the cleanview models. Both worked great and had great suction. The filters (there are 3 of them) are very effective, it's easy to clean and fairly lightweight. I couldn't be happier with it. But a few things a new owner should know.

1) You can wash all of the filters except the Hepa. Just run it under warm water and keep squeezing until the water comes clear. Then set out to dry COMPLETELY.

2)The filters need cleaning at least 4 times a year.

3) The brush wheel should also be cleaned by removing the cover plate and suctioning the brushes AND the ends. Like I said, we've had two and both have had the brush start to stick after a year or two. You'll notice that the brush doesn't rotate as well when you're running the vacuum. Eventually the brush can become so stiff that it won't rotate at all and you'll start to burn the belt. You'll think the belt needs replacing, but when you buy a new one, it'll start to burn too. Here's the good news, if this happens, all you need to do is go to the Bissell site and buy a new rotating brush (for about $15). It's really, really simple to change out. Remove the belt, pull out the old brush and then snap the new one in place.

So, it's a great vacuum especially for the price. It takes a little upkeep to keep it running well and you might need to replace the brush appliance if you don't keep up with cleaning out the filters etc.

This is a wonderful vacuum. I never realized how dirty my carpet was until I bought this. Works like a dream at a great price! Best vacuum I have bought.

I've had this vacuum for almost a year. It was my first bagless. At first I was impressed with the bagless-ness part, just because you could see what was coming up. After some use, though, I don't feel it is worth it. This may be a problem with all bagless, but the whole vacuum is always full of dust and requires frequent cleaning of all parts. I have a dog and cat, as well as three kids. It does not do well with pet hair and I need to take it apart to get out the pet hair after just my living room. And today, it spewed black stuff out on the landing of my stairs as I was vacuuming them. I don't know what it was. It came out from underneath and could not be vacuumed back up. Luckily, I was able to get out the spots with carpet cleaner. I had not vacuumed anything previoulsy that was black, so it must be something from the vacuum itself. I'm afraid to use it again now. I did take it apart and clean it and there was nothing out of the ordinary and no clogs. So, in general, I feel this vacuum only has mediocre cleaning power and the frequent cleaning is a hassle. And I'm quite dismayed as its spewing of back stuff.

I love this vacuum cleaner; I think I love it even more than my other birthday present, which was an Olympus digital camera that I've wanted for years. (I guess I must be a grownup.) This is coming from someone who got stuck selling Kirby vacuum cleaners as her first job out of college, *mumble* years ago. This is every bit as good as the Kirby, lighter, and easier to change parts on. I cleaned a crowded, carpeted room that hadn't been vacuumed in four months without having to move any furniture, and was easily able to get under and over and around things with the aid of the hose attachments. Even the cobwebs are gone, and the high-traffic bits of carpet got fluffed up. I'm very impressed.

I was amazed at how well this vacuum cleaned! I thought my carpets were clean but this vacuum got out so much dirt that I didn't even know was there! The turbobrush is a great feature for my stairs too becuase I have a dog and children who leave messes everywhere! The attachments are also great! I especailly like the filters becuase seeing the dirt shows me how clean my carpets are getting when I use it!