Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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295 of 295 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
As good or better than a Dyson, March 26, 2007
UPDATE : 2/11/09 See Note Below if you own this unit...
I purchased this as a replacement for a Dyson DC-15 Animal. The Dyson had a high pitched noise that gave both my wife and I a headache. I found I could vacuum with an IPOD on loud, and she could manage it with earplugs. After giving 2 DC-15's a try I started my vacuum search again bought the 5770.
The Good:
1). This vacuum is a great value when compared to the Dyson.
2). The suction is just as good or better than most Dyson's (a sales guy told me the DC-17 has slightly more, but both are great). When vacuuming after the DC-15 the Bissell picked up more stuff. I noticed that the first vacuum with the DC-15 got a bunch of junk out my carpet, but after that it was just a little... This picked up as much dirt as the DC-15 did originally, so I was impressed.
3). It comes standard with the turbo brush, and all the small tools you need. The standard brush attachment is really pretty cool as it is a standard long bristle brush, but then can pull apart and become a short bristle brush in case you need to really scrub something.
4). The hose is great. It's flexible and actually reaches to the top of the stairs (unlike the Dyson).
5). The front end is low to get into short spaces below furniture etc. and it does have a headlight. I thought the headlight was no big deal, but when the extra long cord allowed me to vacuum into a dark room the headlight actually helped out.
6). You can turn the beater brush on and off with a touch of a button. When you stand the unit up it automatically shuts off. The brush also has a separate motor. The Brush is very stiff, like a Dyson, but the bristles are shorter, I believe this makes it easier on your carpet. The Dyson started pulling up lose carpet fibers from the edges of my carpet, I think, because of the longer bristle brush. The Bissell seems to be gentler on my carpet but at the same time it makes the carpet fibers stand right up and look like new. It also has a height adjustment, which, depending on your point of view, is a good thing.
7). It's Quiet! You can actually talk to someone while vacuuming. Don't get me wrong it's still a vacuum, there is still noise, but it's a lower muffled sound that is easy to listen to.
The Bad:
1). It's Heavy! In fact, we almost returned this unit and started looking for something else that would work for us. We ended up keeping the unit, but we took a good couple of days vacuuming the house and thinking it over. Half jokingly I said let's think of this as an exercise machine that just happens to clean the house!
I would recommend taking some time to test this in the store, pushing it around on some carpet (with a pad) like you have at home to get a true feeling for it. Initially (after the wonderfully easy to maneuver DC-15 Ball) it seemed really heavy. After a few days we're used to it and it doesn't seem bad at all.
2). Bissell got the dirt canister wrong, Dyson wins this battle. The canister is in a slight "V" shape so lots of dirt on the top of the pile must somehow compact a bit to fit through a smaller area on the bottom, kind of like going through a funnel. Water flows nicely through a funnel... Dirt does not. The release button is not right on top, like the dyson, so it's a two handed deal to hold the canister and then press the button to release the dirt. Next, the trap door at the bottom is not spring loaded, like the dyson, so it may or may not open, so you might need to flick it open with your finger. The trick with your finger may or may not get you dusty, because the dirt may not just dump out because the nice "V" shape of the unit keeps it in place, maybe this is a good feature? Joking aside, this really could be improved and I hope Bissell does this on future models because it really is a great vacuum.
I justified this dirt canister problem by comparing it to the Dyson... Fluffy stuff (hair, carpet fibers etc.) would get stuck in their dust bin as well, not as much, but it happened. Also, after a few uses the little holes in the inside bottom part of the cyclone clog up so it's a messy job to clean that up. The bottom line here is I think you empty the canister a little more often and your fine, but the nature of either beast is that you're going to have some dirty work ahead of you at some point. It's just the price you pay for superior suction.
Hope this helps!
Update 2/11/09:
Just under the two year mark the brush started to get noisey and smell. Unlike a vacuum from the old days you can't just throw in a new brush and belt. I called Bissell and they had me send the unit back and sent me a refurbished unit.
The Bad: Being a 'Mr. Fixit' kind of guy, I took this apart prior to calling Bissell. (I didn't remember there was a 2 year warranty). The brush bearing cap on one end was worn and the plastic started to melt. There is are mounting/stabilization points near the belt and these were badly worn/melted as well. You cannot fix these mounting points as they are part of the top and bottom of the unit. I have no idea what this would cost to replace, but I'd guess a lot. This seems to be a bad design. Maybe I just had a bad brush, but I don't think so...
The Key is to find the problem prior to the mounting points being destroyed. They do have a bushing that looks like it can be replaced so this should save big $$ on a repair.
What you should do: If you own this unit, or are thinking about buying one, about once a month do the following:
1. Flip the unit over to expose the brush.
2. Remove the junk that gets stuck in the brush.
3. Grab the brush on one end and try to move it up and down or side to side. The brush should be solid and only move round and round.
4. Repeat step 3 on the other side.
Note: If you can move the brush it's starting to go bad. Call Bissell to find the nearest repair facility if your out of warranty. If you're in warranty they'll replace it for you.
I got my refurbed unit today, it works great!
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194 of 195 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely amazing!!, September 13, 2007
Okay, first of all, I must admit that I have become Amazon-dependent over the past few years. Before I make a new purchase, I have to read the reviews on Amazon. Many bad purchases have been avoided thanks to all of your input.
That being said, I was on the fence about this particular purchase. Most of the reviews were positive... but even the few that were negative seemed legitimate enough to make me pause. However, Amazon has never steered me wrong. So, with four and a half stars, I schlepped out to buy the Healthy Home vacuum cleaner this morning.
OMG!! This vacuum is amazing!! Now, I have three soccer kids and two dogs, so my house gets its fair share of dirt tracked in and out on a daily basis. And, until recently, I really thought that my vacuum, in conjunction with the world's best steam cleaner, were getting the job done, at least for the most part.
Now, my kids all started school last week, so I've got plenty of time on my hands. That time has been spent deep-cleaning the entire upstairs. As a matter of fact, I just went through the whole upstairs yesterday with my Hoover, and thoroughly cleaned every room. We're talking hands and knees, vacuum attachments and hoses everywhere. It was quite the event.
So, I get home with my new vacuum and where do I start? Upstairs, of course. Because if my old vacuum was doing its job, there really shouldn't be anything there, right?? I mean, it all looked clean. I plugged in the Healthy Home, turned it on, and pushed it three feet in front of me just to get situated. I happened to look down at the canister, and holy crap!! That's all I can say. It had already sucked up an insane amount of dirt in one three-foot push. Yikes!!
After I finished up the bedrooms, I moved to the upstairs hall and stairway. I have to say that the teeny, tiny little turbo tool that doesn't even look like it wants to be a vacuum when it grows up, is so powerful, it could probably suck up one of my children... whole!!
So the steps were done lickety split and I still had plenty of time to kill. So, off to the downstairs foyer to tackle the Pergo. Now, my old vacuum had a bare floor setting, and I tried to use it in the past. But, it was more of a dirt spraying setting than anything else. You could feel and hear the dirt being shot around the room from the exhaust under the vacuum. So, needless to say, I was a little doubtful about being able to use the vacuum on the bare floor setting. Doubt's over!! The Healthy Home got all of it. The dirt, the sand, the little tiny mulch pieces, the Rottweiler hair; all gone!! It all ended up in the canister, and I didn't have to use any of the onboard tools to get it there.
Now, I've saved the most frequent complaint for last; emptying the canister. I have been brutally honest with you up until now, I see no point to start lying. I hate emptying vacuum canisters; hate it!! I never hated changing the bag on my old, old upright. But ever since we bought our first bagless vac, emptying the canister has been my husband's job.
So, I'm upstairs, happily working on my first room, when... uh-oh!! Canister's full. I have two options; I can either wait six or seven hours for my husband to come home and empty it, or I can pretend to be a grown-up and do it myself. So, it's off to the deck I go with the canister and an empty trash bag. I am ready for a terrible struggle, since based on all of the reviews, emptying this canister is quite similar to giving birth. I pushed the little button thing on the side, the bottom opened up, and some of the dirt came out. Then, nothing. So, I shimmied the canister back and forth a little bit, and everything came out. I did not have to reach in and touch any of it. The only thing I did when I was done was wipe the outside of the container a little with a damp paper towel, since it got a little dusty during the emptying.
Now, on to the last thing. And maybe this won't mean very much to you, but it means a lot to me. After vacuuming my entire house, in record time, might I add, the vacuum cleaner itself, still spotless!!! No dirt, anywhere, except inside the canister. No hazy little dust coating, nothing!! It is still spotless. And my house smells clean. None of that strange lingering odor that smells like a dog mixed with dirty sweatsocks that hung around every time I used my old vacuum.
So, hip, hip, hooray for the healthy home. I could not be more pleased. And, at $300 less than a Dyson, I think I got an incredible deal!!
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138 of 141 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get bang for your buck!, March 11, 2007
I am skeptical of every new, improved, etc. thing that hits the market guaranteeing excellent results. I always assume that it's a product that will work well for the first few times, but like everything else - overtime it will depreciate in quality. I do not believe that is the case with this vacuum. It does a fabulous job of picking up cat hair, litter messes, dog hair, etc. without even sounding like it's working hard. The suction is unbelieveable! It's strong enough to pull our floor up -so we had to set it on the highest setting to avoid that. It still picked up kiddie dinner messes, etc. without any hassles. It's also quiet enough to talk over. I am a phone-aholic and usually can't carry on a conversation when vacuuming because I can't hear the caller. Not so with this vacuum. It's not really quiet, but it's quiet enough for me to chat away with a friend without them or I having to say "what? huh? I Can't hear you!" The vacuum is heavy, but I don't see that as a downfall. I see it as an asset. With it's weight, it really pushes down into the carpet and picks up much more than our Eureka and Kenmore does. It even outdid my friend's Dyson vacuum for pets. The stair attachment is fabulous, too! No more lugging a stupid vacuum along with me as I try to do each one of our steps. Just carry it down once to vacuum the stairs, then back up when you are done. Think of it as a quick exercise. Emptying it is a breeze, too. There is no dust/dirt mess that I have found. All in all, this is definitely a vacuum that stands up to its claims. I would recommend it for fellow pet lovers like us to get rid of all that fluff and fur that somehow finds its way into furniture and carpets. With four allergy sufferers in our home, it's essential that we pick up enough dust, pet dander, fur, etc. to make a difference. It has proven to be a good investment for us and I hope it will be the same for your family.
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