Customer Reviews

Bissell 1715U Spotlifter Cordless Handheld Carpet Cleaner

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

We purchased one of these a while back, and received another as a gift. The Spotlifter works, to some extent, but there are serious flaws.

First, as noted by another reviewer, the battery life is limited. The limitation is not just in short term use (the unit runs out of juice very quickly) but in terms of long term battery life. I would be shocked if someone got more than a year's life out of the unit, based on our experience with both of the Spotlifters we owned.

Secondly, while not intended to deal with large stains or spills (we had floor standing deep cleaners for those purposes), the Spotlifter is intended to be quick to fill up, operate, and clean. While you can get the unit up and running pretty quickly (as long as the battery lasts), the reservoir and recovery tanks are just too small to deal with a serious stain. Not only is the running time limited, but the fluid becomes exhausted in a hurry. This might be a good product to have around if you have a white carpet, no dogs or children, and spill red wine once a week. This is not a good product for owners of pets larger than 10 lbs, or children less than 40 lbs.

Finally, there are some minor inconveniences in filling and emptying the tank, but these are fairly trivial compared with the more serious problems.

I have owned two Bissel spot lifters. In both cases, the spray hose became easily blocked so that the spray became uneven. There is no simple means of cleaning the hose. The AC adapters fail easily. This is a problem since the Bissel must remained plugged when not in use; its batteries cannot hold their charge for long periods of time. It's too bad. While it works, its very convenient, especially for those with cats who cough up hairballs.

2 1/2 stars

Pros:

1. It can lift stains, particularly cat hairball vomit stains (my main use for it).

2. It's been somewhat improved from earlier models.

3. It's the only thing like it on the market in the sub-forty buck price range (at least when I bought my second one).

Cons:

1. It's extremely hard to clean. There are so many inaccessable nooks and crannies in the waste liquid reservoir that very quickly, no matter how much rinsing you do, vile particles and sludge build up.

2. Lousy NiCad battery. Battery life is poor. Only gives about 4 minutes of usable time per charge, which can be inadequate, plus it is not replaceable when it dies (lasted three years for me on my first one, I've got 18 months so far on my second one). Takes a long time to charge.

3. Can leak waste liquids from reservoir. If the intake reservoir is getting full of liquids you have vacuumed up, it eventually will start leaking. Or, if you try setting it down, because it is not flat on the bottom, it could tip sideways and spill.

4. Nozzle for spraying cleaning solution is flimsy. My first one broke right off and on my second, newer unit, it appears to be a new design but I still don't trust it.

5. No rotating power brush, just a little three-inch strip of brush material.

Summary: my first one aggravated me but did its job for three years before the battery died. I wanted to replace it with a better designed carpet spot cleaner, but at the time, there wasn't anything else like it on the market so I bought another one. It's a little bit improved from the first one, but still aggravating.

I'd shop around and see if any competitors have introduced a similar cleaner before considering this one again.

The bissell spot lifter is a must have if you have cats (or kids). It does a great job on little spots like spilled juice or cat puke. I have been amazed by what this little thing will pick up. Even that nasty yellow hair ball puke. Gone! I use woolite carpet cleaner spray with mine. I spray the spot let it sit a minute and then use the bissel to wet the spot and suck up the mess. It works wonders and I don't have to measure carpet cleaner each time I use it.

I have found that I can get 2 or 3 cleanings out of a recharge. I don't leave it plugged in and I haven't had any problems. I just plug it in when it starts to get low on sucking power and then I'm good for another couple weeks.

I would recomend it to anyone and just bought one for a wedding shower gift. They are great!

I just bought my second Bissell Spotlifter. The first one I had about a year before it gave up the ghost, but I really worked that one into the ground. I used it for everything...to clean carpets to clean the chair I use with my computer, to clean out the car carpet when something spilled. Between a cat, a dog, and two active and small grandchildren, I've had lots to clean up. I absolutely hated lugging around the large rug cleaner to clean up small messes, and I hated the room that rug cleaner took up. In fact, I gave it to Goodwill prior to getting the Spotlifter, so I was desperate to have something that I could use. I am not the world's best housekeeper, but I am not an absolute slob either, so I really wanted something in our small house to keep the smells and the messes down.

The original Spotlifter did not retain energy for very long. I am finding the new version does a much better job at working for a longer period of time. Because the amount of electricity retained is more, the suction is also better this time around and it is picking up significantly more dirt. So Bissell obviously worked to improve this. Mind you, the cost of the other small handheld spot cleaners is much higher in comparison with the Bissell. So for a cheaper product you are getting a lot of product. Target also by far gives the best price on this.

Many of the other handhelds kept their power by using a cord to keep plugged in. That is fine, if they only place you are using it is in your own house. But if you plan on using it in the car or say at your office with limited electrical plug-ins you will have a problem with the handhelds with cords, that the Bissell can fulfill.

Fairly good product, and I hope Bissell continues to work on it and make it better (since I am sure I will eventually bust this one!)

Karen Sadler

I love my spotlifter. I have 3 kids and a puppy that make all sorts of messes. Although the life of the battery is about 5 minutes when fully charged, it does a great job getting up any spill. Immediately after each use we plug it right back in. I even have the kids trained to clean up their own spills! It's intended use is for spots only. Hence the name "Spotlifter". Do not plan on cleaning an entire carpet with this little machine. You will be dissapointed.
A great gift for anyone with kids or pets!

When fully charged this cleaner only works for 5-7 minutes and you can not use the cord as an adapter, it only works off the battery. Must use cordless! Very inconvenient! Also, the part that collects the soil/water off of the carpet is a very strange shape. When I used this that compartment got very very dirty and due to the strange shape I can not clean out the compartment except for rinsing. Since I could not clean it out well mold grew in there and now the only option I have is to buy a replacement compartment. Please look for another handheld carpet cleaner as this one is very inconvenient!

This product lasted less than a year. The charge would not last long enough to clean a spot of carpet. Started making a terrible noise. Suction power went down. Now in the dustbin. HOWEVER if you believe that something for $30 should last about a year this is a good buy. It worked very well for the first few months. That is why the two start and not less.

Our dogs, ages 11 years and 4 months, gave me the Spotlifter for Christmas. They obviously know their pet products -- at least when it comes to doing their business... The Spotlifter works great for me. I love this product and would recommend it to anyone. It easily soaks up nasty wet spots out of the carpet. No more disgusting ... soaked paper towels. I read the negative reviews, but have not encountered any of the described difficulties. I use it immediately after a wet accident occurs. I try to let the charge run down each time (it lasts about 5 minutes). If you have pets or mess-prone young children (or both, like me), you should get one of these.

I bought the spotlifter for cleaning cat messes from carpet. It worked pretty well at first, although the power supply was very limited (about 5 minutes of operating time when fully charged). After a couple of uses, the tank began to leak, and the steaming function became less predictable (sometimes water wouldn't come out when trigger was pressed). After about 20 or 30 uses, the machine is now dead--one day it just produced a burning smell and no longer had any power. I only had this thing for about 8 months before throwing it away.