Customer Reviews

Bosch BSG71360UC Formula Electro Duo HEPA Canister Vacuum Cleaner

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

We moved to a three-story townhouse, and it quickly became clear that my loud, clumsy old Hoover upright was not going to work out in our new home. I nearly went deaf trying to vacuum the stairs, and trying to keep an upright balanced on the steps was an exercise in futility.

So I was convinced that a canister vac was the way to go. This is the second one I tried and the one I decided to keep.

Suction is very good. I'm sure it could be stronger, but given the light weight and the quiet operation, I'm very happy with its ability to clean. In a tradeoff between outright suction and weight, I'm happy to err in favor of a lighter unit, especially with three stories to clean.

The power brush attachment is great on low-to-medium height pile and works better than I'd expected on hardwood floors. A switch to turn the brushroll on and off is right on the handle, which is a must in my book. Crevice, upholstery, and dusting brush attachments are included and fit nicely onboard. They're useful, if a little small.

On the downside, the other reviewers are spot-on with the complaints about the hose length. It could certainly be longer, and though it has a telescoping wand, it's not enough to reach that far overhead.

In addition, I think it would've been more convenient had they put suction strength and on/off controls on the handle, as is the case with the competing Electrolux Oxygen3 that I tried.

I do wish it were priced lower, but after spending many weekends trying out the available alternatives at brick-and-mortar stores, I just couldn't find anything that had the Bosch's virtues with a comparable price. If your priority is having a quiet, compact, and lightweight vacuum with excellent suction and all the essential cleaning tools, it's probably worth the premium.

This vacuum is ultra, ultra quiet, great suction power, very lightweight, nice exterior design, and the powerhead has a low profile so it can get under furniture. The minuses are the power cord is short, the hose tends to kink up and cause the suction to cut off and you get that high pitched scream, the hose is also too short to reach the top of curtains, and the crevice accessory is too short to get into crevices like frig coils. With a few design changes it would be the perfect canister vacuum. In the meanwhile, it's a well-made vacuum for a smaller home with low windows.

After reading the other reviews, we were concerned about the hose length, but attracted to light, quiet, and cleans well. We bought from Costco online which allows return directly to the store, so we were willing to take a gamble on this, even though we could not find a display unit here in Salt Lake City.

Now that we've used it for a few weeks, we're fine with the hose length and extensible handle. Cord length is somewhat shorter than on the old Kenmore we are now relegating to the basement. Cord length can be a little annoying.

Unit cleans well. We have hardwood and grouted ceramic tile floors and have used a cannister for many years. Even on it's lowest power setting the unit cleans the floors just fine. I would estimate the noise at about 65-70 dB on low. Most of that is in the hose and attachments, you can hardly hear the unit alone. You can easily carry on a conversation over the noise of the vacuum without raising your voice, or listen to music/TV. We turn the power up for cleaning furniture/fabrics.

The unit comes with a hose and removable, extensible wand. The tool kit includes a beater bar/floor tool, a crevice tool, a small soft brush, and a small hard brush. We found the beater bar/floor tool works great for our two area rugs. It certainly is also effective cleaning hard floor surfaces, but the unit is heavy compared to a typical floor brush, it's wheels tend to grip rather than slide (so you have to steer it around) and it is noisy on hard floors as the wheels clack around. We felt these factors made it unsuitable for hard floors.

We ordered the optional floor brush, and it solves all these problems... works great. Cost an extra $[...]. Should be in the box to begin with in our opinion. Our only gripe with the floor brush, it does not lock into position. Tends to fly off, or get mis-oriented when you bump around furniture or lean it up against a wall for a minute. Based on the quality of our Bosch dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, Bosch could certainly do better on the floor brush, sheer laziness on this.

Bags and accessories are hard to find. No local sources. We could not relate the part numbers in the manual to what was available on Bosch's website. Ordered from Total Vac.

Still on the whole, the unit is less than half the weight of our old Kenmore, amazingly quiet, and effective. I'd rather use it any day than the heavy, noisy Kenmore.

This vac cleans the best of any vac I have ever owned. However, the high tech parts break and warranty service is terrible.
I bought mine in May. It broke in June. Parts were sent directly to me and a week later I was back in business. Then another part broke in July. I sent the part in under warranty, they agree it is broken, it is September and I still do not have the part. It is backordered. So if you want a vac that cleans, this is the one. If you want a reliable vac that has a good warranty, DO NOT BUY A BOSCH.

This vacuum is the best! I have always had an upright but decided based on the Consumer Reports review and the great price at Amazon to try this one. It is so light that even a smaller woman lacking in upper body strength can easily carry it up and down stairs (which was not at all true of our old upright which was a Dirt Devil of some sort). It has great suction and the tools are conveniently, yet neatly, stored in the canister. My husband and I actually compete to see who can get to the vacuum first because it has actually made vacuuming more enjoyable. The only hesitation we had was the bag (since we did love the bagless feature of our old vacuum) but after reading reports about the effectiveness of bags versus bagless parts of vacuums at containing the dirt (important to me because I have terrible allergies) we decided we could deal with the annoyance of having to buy bags. Happily, I can report that we are definitely satisfied with the capacity of these bags and would definitely recommend this vacuum to our friends. Lastly, it is very quiet- so quiet that I can even vacuum now while my kids are napping. I researched A LOT before buying this vacuum and am confident that I made the right decision.

It is light weight, has good suction but as a canister it is lacking. The hose is too short, the handle is awkward to use and there is no extension pipe to use with the handle to reach things over shoulder high. We use an upright for the floors and a canister to dusting and hard to get at places. This product does not work for us which is a shame since it was so expensive.

I love it, it's quiet, lightweight and very powerful ! My husband said it seems like a toy, but he loves it, too.
I have 4 carpeted bedrooms and carpet in the living room and it gets under all the furniture. It puts out clean air not dust, like other vacuums I've had. I also use it in the car! I have been using it for 3 months now and my only complaint is that bags are a little hard to find and a little expensive. My friend has a SEBO, a little more expensive, has rubber around it to not damage the walls, but works just as good as the Bosch.

I purchased this vacuum from a local vacuum dealer. My husband is from Sweden and is quite familiar with Bosch products and they have a great reputation. Thought I would be safe with this purchase.

Within 6 months the cord retractor broke. I took it in for repair and it took about 2 weeks to get it back. The store stated it was taking some time to get the part it needed. Now, the brushes stop working for no apparent reason. Usually I can get them functioning if I turn off the vacuum and pull the hose off the unit and plug it back in, but not always. I sometimes get frustrated and just walk away from it. I need to take it back to have this taken care of, just not looking forward to it.

We have two dogs and two cats so I have to vacuum frequently and it does a nice job on pet hair. We have a mix of berber carpet/laminate and vinyl flooring. It is great on smooth floors and the head is small enough to get into smaller areas but not too small that it takes forever to get the job done. I like that it's not so noisy, the animals are not real bothered by this vacuum and I can still hear the phone or doorbell ringing if I have it running. There is a variable power mode that is nice if you want to vacuum drapes or surfaces and don't need the max suction.

Pros: Light weight, good suction and quiet.

Cons: It does flip easily, the cord does not pivot, the lid for attachments comes open and they fall out, the bags are small and expensive (generic bags do not perform as well with this model), the hose twists and bends and the power cord is rather short.

Overall I am somewhat frustrated with the vacuum, mostly because of the repairs. I like the features and can deal with the little annoyances (short cord, flipping, etc.) but I did expect more given the Bosch name and the price.

I love this vacuum. My Eureka recently broke and I have to say I am really glad that I happened upon the Bosch. I was not really interested in buying a canister vacuum but after using it, I am glad I did. It is really maneuverable, moves easily around corners and hard to reach places. It also has several attachments that allow for cleaning in tight spaces and window blinds, hard surfaces etc... I am really happy with the transition.

We purchased this vacuum cleaner in November 2006. We previuosly had a Kenmore canister that broke after 5 years. We loved the way the Bosch worked, the quietness and the ease of vacuuming. Our house has mostly hardwood floors & tile and the only carpeting is on our stairs and bedrooms. The vacuum is only used once a week. It lasted 6 months. That's when the fun began. Their customer service is lousy. There is only one service center in California. I live in San Diego and the service center is 600 miles away in SF. In addition, Bosch requires you to mail the vacuum cleaner at your own expense even though it is under warranty. This will be the last product I buy from this manufacturer. I expected more from them especially in this price range.