Bissell 3576 Bagless Upright Vacuum

After my shoulder surgery about a year and a half ago, I had a really hard time trying to vacuum my house with the old antiquated heavy machine I had. I mentioned my problem to my daughter who decided to give me a new one since my birthday was approaching...I know it doesn't sound exciting to get a vacuum for a birthday but in this case I certainly was. I use my cordless upright vac for light cleaning my tile floors and the cat areas, but the wall to wall carpeting in my bedrooms need a bit more power than my little Eureka provides.

So she choose the Bissell, CleanView II because of all the special features it states on the box, especially the one that says Lightweight Design "easy to maneuver and carry".

I live in a split level house with just 4 steps to get upstairs but a heavy vacuum is really a big pain to carry up those stairs. This Bissell really is pretty truthful in that claim since I find it much easier to move around and carry than my other vacuum.

Set-up

To get the vacuum up and running was pretty easy right out of the box, all you need is a screwdriver to attach the handle to the body of the machine, and it's just a matter of sliding the handle into the grooves at the top. The instruction booklet gives details and illustrations so even a non-mechanical person like me can do it, you then attach the Twist and Snap Hose by lining the tabs on the base with the matching notches as is shown, as well as the tools that are attached by special clips...No more looking for each wand and crevice tool since they sit in a storage spot designated for each piece.

What pieces? You might want to know.

Well, the Deluxe Stretch hose, a long Crevice tool, a combination Upholstery/Dusting brush and an Extension Wand. This model also comes with a Turbo brush which is great for cleaning the stairs and perfect for pet hair. It too gets tucked in its own little spot on the front of the vacuum.

The Quick Release Cord wrap is a nice feature too If I remember to wind the cord back the correct way, instead of just winding it in circles when done cleaning.

Another feature I really like is the fact that there is a long 27 inch power cord so I can use the vacuum in most areas without plugging and unplugging the machine which is a pain in the you know what...Now that pain has disappeared. I can clean my whole bedroom, part of the hallway and half of another bedroom at one time. If I plug the cord into the hall bathroom I can clean the rest of the bedrooms and, since there is an option to clean bare floors, with just a turn of the dial, I can do the rest of the hallway and that bathroom with just plugging it in once.

This is a bagless cleaner which I really do prefer. On the front of the vacuum you can see the easy to empty dirt containers, the inner and outer circular filters. On the bottom of these containers and filters is a large Lock and Seal lever, which really makes cleaning the container very easy to do. The filters are a bit tricky to clean but not that hard once you've done it a few times. You can actually see the dirt fill up the containers so there's no surprise awaiting you. This is a great feature since the power seems to be better when the containers are empty or near empty.

The vacuum has 7 height adjustments for all carpet thicknesses and one for non-carpeted areas, just by turning the dial on the front you are ready to clean...it has 12 amps of power, I guess that's a lot or they wouldn't mention it as a selling point, it does feel powerful when cleaning...another added feature I really like are the three handle positions so the vacuum can almost get completely flat for getting dirt out from under a sofa or bed or whatever.

We just recently used the long crevice tool and extension wand to get under the refrigerator to remove all that hidden dirt. Also, cleaning the dust out of the intake A.C vents was a breeze.

I really like the fact that there is an extra wide cleaning bottom, nearly 15 inches, with a wide bright headlight but it's not too tall, actually just the right height for my furniture. This has really come in handy for me since most of my bedroom furniture is built-in but there's still space between the base of the wood all around the bed and the carpet so I can see and clean whatever gets in that space now without bending. One of my biggest problems is cat fur, with three cats, two of them who love to rub against the furniture, this is a great feature.

The Bissell CleanView II really does clean very well and deep cleans at that. Sometimes I just can't believe how fast the dirt container fills up and I pride myself on keeping a clean house. At least I like to think so...the great part of having a bag-less cleaner is that there is no guesswork involved. You see the dirt and cat hair (in our case), and just empty the container. There is a "full" line that tells you when to clean it, so with it's handy Slide and Lock, just slide the seal lever to the unlock position, grasp the handle and pull it straight out from the vacuum...empty into garbage and you are good to go again.

If you choose you can wash the container, using warm water with a mild detergent. You have to remove the filter cup from the bottom though before washing and make sure both pieces are dry before using again.

Cleaning the filters is a bit of a pain though...but not hard to do, there are what they call the Inner and Outer circular filters, when the dirt container is out you have to grasp the filter cup located at the bottom of the dirt container and twist counterclockwise to unlock and remove, the same thing with the circular filters....You have to take them apart by twisting and unlocking them in order to clean and wash each piece individually, then, once again, wait for all the pieces to dry after assembling them again.

To tell you the truth, I don't bother with that task too often, cleaning out and wiping down the easy to open dirt container seems to do the trick...if I see them full or with too much dirt on them I clean them  There are all sorts of instructions and hints on how to keep the Vacuum clean in the Users guide book which would answer anyone's questions about anything, should they become the owner of this machine. It does take some maintenance though so be forewarned. More than my old vacuum needed.

Bissell CleanView II really does a better job of cleaning then my old dinosaur did and without too much heavy pushing and pulling....once on, it does really glide across my carpets and tile floors scooping and sucking up everything in its path. For heavy dirt I do have to go over the area more than once but I like the fact that I can see it filling up the dirt container as I go. You just have to be careful all the parts are assembled correctly. Just recently, I guess I didn't do that and I couldn't figure out why the dirt wasn't being removed. When dirt came flying out of the machine and onto my rug and me making a bigger mess than I had, I realized something was wrong. It turned out one part wasn't in its specified place exactly as it should have been. Well, actually my hubby helped me to find the problem then put everything back the right way. He calmed me down.

Other than that experience I really do find the Bissell CleanView II Bagless Plus quite a good vacuum. It cleans, it picks up dirt in hard to get at places and is definitely a lighter weight than any other upright vacuums I've had in the past. I like the wide lit up base and having all the cleaning tools handy. I don't know about you but I always seemed to be losing those parts with my other cleaners. Being bagless really does have its advantages, you just have be careful when putting all the parts back together again after cleaning them. If you can see the dirt in the container, then you know it's no longer on your floors!

Thumbs up for Bissell and their slogan "we mean clean"...I like that!



For A little Cordless vacuum, this Eureka is the best!