Must get a vacuum....

[Queen of Poop]

....I am considering the Bissell Powergroom Pet upright.

As I'm in an apartment with no stairs, two carpeted rooms, the rest lino I'm thinking an upright would be ok.

Anyone have any experience with this particular vacuum? Recommend any others? Dirt Devil makes a pet canister vac, but I've not had good experience with their products.

Truly I'd like the Dyson, but it is far too expensive for the tiny space I have right now.

[Taz_Zoee]

Truly I'd like the Dyson, but it is far too expensive for the tiny space I have right now.

Well then I don't have a suggestion for you. This is the ONLY vac I would recommend to anyone. :) I absolutely LOVE mine.
In the past I've had better luck with Hoovers. I hate Eureka's or any vac with a hose that runs from the bottom to the bag area. They always get clogged.

[pomtzu]

I'm the opposite of Taz - I hate Hoovers! They are so heavy and awkward to handle. Never had a Eureka, so can't be of any help there. I have a Bissell carpet shampooer that I've had for ages, so if the vacuums are anything like it, I'd say that it would be a good buy.
I have an Oreck vacuum, but that might be more than you want to spend for just 2 rooms. You can get good buys on reconditioned ones at the Oreck stores tho.

[happylabs]

I have a Bissell that I bought at Walmart a couple years ago and I love it. It is not the Pet one but it works great! I honestly think I paid less than $100 for it. I cannot believe the amount of hair and dirt I pick up with it when I vacuum. I generally empty the canister at least two times when I vacuum my downstairs and I have 4 cats. The cleaning tool/wand works great too. It actually picks up hair from the furniture which I have never been able to find a vacuum that was powerful enough to do that.

[Taz_Zoee]

Now that I think about it, I believe my parents and brother both have Bissells. And I think they really like them.

[3Catcondo]

I had a Bissell, it has the lift off feature where you can detach the bagless canister and hose part from the actual upright part and I loved it. Had it for about 7 years, paid about $175 for it. The carpet brush motor broke, but I can still use the lift off part of it. I'm hoping to save up for a Dyson next.

[slick]

I purchased an Electrolux back in 1987 and I'm his second owner. He's still going strong and would use nothing else. Don't know if that brand is still around though.

[happylabs]

I had a Bissell, it has the lift off feature where you can detach the bagless canister and hose part from the actual upright part and I loved it. Had it for about 7 years, paid about $175 for it. The carpet brush motor broke, but I can still use the lift off part of it. I'm hoping to save up for a Dyson next.

With as good as the Bissell performs, what is the advantage of paying more money for the Dyson? Just curious.

[cassiesmom]

I've got a Eureka upright with a HEPA filter. This is my second Eureka. I like the HEPA filter part. What I don't like about it two things. This one doesn't clean as well as the first one did. Also, I can't put the cover back on unless I've installed the bag exactly right. With my first Eureka, I didn't have to be as precise as I do with this one - I think it's because of the HEPA filter. My mom has a secondhand Oreck, which is noisy, but cleans great; and my sister has a Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner.

Vacuuming is one of my favorite chores because it's instant gratification for me to see the clean carpet and the vacuum tracks. Cassie hides when I do it because of the noise and because the carpet doesn't smell "right" to her when I am done.

[Queen of Poop]

Thanks all for your comments. I think I'll give the Bissell a shot, it's under $200 dollars and affordable.

[3Catcondo]

Happylabs,
I just revisited this thread and saw your question, sorry for the delay. LOL.
I'm hoping the Dyson will work better and last longer than the Bissell. I just ordered a Dyson Ball from Home Depot, it's a $400 vacuum and I got it for $319, free shipping, no payments or interest fo a year. I'll let you know what I think in a few weeks.

[kokopup]

I have the Bissell Pet and really like it a lot. I like the lift off feature for doing stairs since I have 2 carpeted stairways. I had the use of a friends Dyson for a couple of months and wasn't that impressed with it for my purposes. The Bissell works out much better for stairs.

[Catlady711]

I've had bad experiences with suction and durability with Dirt Devils
The Hoovers were ok, but nothing to write home about.
The Eureka was the best of the bunch I had but clogged frequently which caused lots of suction loss and stopping to bang out filters.


I just had to replace my vacuume about 2 weeks ago. After ALOT of looking at different stores and comparing, I mangaed to flake out $200 (that's with tax) which is twice what I've ever spent on a vacuume before.

Got it at Lowes and I can't believe how great this thing is on pet hair!!!

http://www.bissell.com/Products/c/uprightvacuum/p/liftoffmulticyclonicpet/product.aspx

http://www.bissell.com/images/Products/89Q9-S.jpg

I was able to vacuume things I thought I was going to have to replace since the old vacuume never even made a dent on the hair, this thing has EXCELLENT suction! It sweeps my couches in 1/4 the time with the pet 'turbo brush' thing. The ENTIRE dust cup and filters come apart very easy for washing and the only filter that you'd have to replace (although I never do) is the Hepa filter in the back, the rest is ALL washable!

My only MINIOR complaint is the turbo brush thing does clog up kinda easy if you don't try the regular uppholstry brush first and it's REALLY covered in hair. I made that mistake first use. Although you can tell by the sound when the brushes clog and the whole thing comes apart with only 3 easy to get to screws. The entire thing dissasembles and can even be washed. So now I just make sure to use the turbo brush for the stubborn stuff the regular attatchment can't get, or the finishing touches on something.

The 'lift off' thing is pretty neat too but anytime you're using a hose keep one hand on the vacuume. These newer type vacuumes have a shorter stiffer hose that will pull the canister or upright part over on you. They certainly aren't like the one my grandma had with 10 foot of hose that didn't have a slinky recoil effect. lol

Sorry don't mean to sound like a Bissell employee but if anyone is considering this vacuume, or if you're not sure about that kinda money for it, I wanted people to know it's good/bad points.

For me and my pet hair, it was worth it.

[Queen of Poop]

I got the bissell pet canister vac. For my tiny space it's great. Takes me less than 15 minutes and I'm all done. The dirt collector is full, easy to remove and dump and replace. Diego HATES it, he hides on the wee counter between the fridge and stove till I'm done.

[K9karen]

Love my Electrolux cannister. It is pretty heavy, but it's worth the fantastic job! Luckily, I'm not the one who has to schlep it up and down stairs (that's what John is for)