Bissell 3750 Bagless Upright Vacuum

Ever since I started doing chores around the home at the age of 10, one of my main responsibilities has been to vacuum clean every room, with or without carpets. For over 30 years, therefore, I've become more than familiar with various types and brands of vacuum cleaners, ranging from a bulky Electrolux monster which lasted from 1965 to roughly 1985, to a Hoover bagless "Electric Broom" small-area-only upright, to a Hoover Elite model upright which had pretty good suction for a 7.0 amperage machine but proved vexing in some areas. The motor's rubber belt broke very easily, the bag was tricky to remove and replace, and it was fairly hard to use when vacuuming our stairs. This is just a taste of the problems associated with these older models.


Now, both of the Hoover products still work, which means they are solidly built and, if taken care of properly, can stand years of heavy use. However, the Electric Broom (which is a bagless model with a removable dust cup) is designed to clean only small areas; you can, of course, use it to vacuum your entire house, but you must do it in phases and with long breaks between each clean-up, otherwise the motor will overheat. The size of the dust cup is also very small, and that dictates pretty much the size of the area you can clean in one vacuuming session.

As I said earlier, the "main" vacuum cleaner we used until this week has been an early 1990s-vintage Hoover Elite. It still works, but the easily broken belt that makes the rotating brush move along with the bag-changing issue prompted us to get a Bissell Lift-Off Bagless Vacuum Cleaner.

The Bissell Lift-Off Bagless Vacuum Cleaner - Basic Features:
? * 12-amp bagless upright vacuum with detachable center canister ? * Suitable for carpets, bare floors, stairs, and upholstery ? * HEPA Media Filter captures 99% of dust mites, pollen, and ragweed ? * Includes nine-foot-long super-stretch hose and onboard cleaning attachments ? * 30-foot Power Cord? * One-year warranty

For over 25 years, the one thing all the vacuum cleaners I've used in this particular house (starting with a 1960s vintage Electrolux monster and on to the Hoover Elite) have had in common is that they all cleaned very well, but were problematic when it came to cleaning such tricky areas as the stairs and in tight confined spaces, such as a walk-in closet or the cramped utility room adjacent to the kitchen. The stairs, particularly, are quite tricky to clean; the Electric Broom is okay for the landing but can't quite clean the inner edges of the steps, while the hose of the Elite is a bit too short; to thoroughly vacuum the steps of the stair case you must first "do" the top ones from the second floor hallway, then lug the Elite to the landing, then carefully vacuum the rest of the upper set of steps from there. The same process has to be done for the seven steps that lead from the landing to the first floor, the only difference being that you have to lug the upright to the ground floor after vacuuming the first two steps, plug the darned thing in again, then clean the remaining five steps.

When it became apparent that neither my mom -- who's very ill and has lost a lot of her dexterity since October 2005 -- nor I could change the Eureka's bags once they reached their capacity, I took it upon myself to lobby for the purchase of a new vacuum cleaner, preferably a bagless one. I also figured I'd look for a smaller hand-held one for the stairs, even though those small ones have less dirt-holding capacity in their dust collecting bags. Credit card in hand, I therefore went to Amazon and started looking under Vacuum Cleaners in the $140 price range.

The first brand I looked at, out of loyalty, I suppose, was Hoover. They had some good models, but I didn't see any that I really liked, and then I decided to look under Bissell. I'd seen the brand mentioned here and there, so I figured I'd check their products before going on to Dirt Devil, Oreck, or even back to Hoover.

Fortunately, the first model that caught my eye was the Bissell Lift-Off Bagless 3750. It wasn't simply because it is an attractive looking upright with a candy-apple red/black color scheme and is a bagless one, but because it was described as being designed as a two-in-one unit. It also had a fully-functional 12-amp upright with the capacity to clean carpets and bare floors, while at the same time being able to clean upholstery, stairs, and tight spots by virtue of the detachable container that gives the Bissell Lift-Off line its name. By unlocking a latch on the back of the unit and pressing two release buttons on the handgrip, you can separate the center cylinder, unfurl the already-attached nine-foot-long super-stretchy hose, and select an attachment (a telescoping extension wand, a crevice tool, a stair tool, a dusting brush, and an upholstery tool). From there, you're good to go on those hard-to-reach stairs or any above-floor items that can be vacuumed (sofas, chairs, coffee tables, and tricky nooks and crannies where dust, dirt, and other debris need to be taken care of.

From the Package: Features of the Bissell 3750 Lift-Off Bagless Vacuum Cleaner

Detachable Canister: portable canister detaches to easily clean your stairs and
hard to reach areas.

12 amps Maximum Power: full powered upright and canister to thoroughly clean your carpets,
bare floors, stairs and more.

Bagless Convenience: Easy Empty™ Dirt Container means no
more bags to buy- EVER!

Wide Cleaning Path: more brushes and an extra-wide
cleaning path to reach more dirt.

Extra Cleaning Reach: telescoping wand and deluxe
stretch hose extend to reach all the way to the top.

HEPA Media Filter: captures over 99.9% of dust mites,
pollens and ragweed.

First Impressions: After opening the box and getting a friend of mine to come over and attach the handle to the main unit (it brings a bag with several screws which require the use of a Philips head screwdriver), I decided to "test vacuum" the Bissell on a pair of small throw rugs we have on the first floor, strategically placed in high-traffic areas near the front door, the kitchen, and the living room. Navy blue and not very plush, they required the next-to-lowest height adjustment for the floor variation; you can select from seven settings, ranging from high plush carpet to bare floor. At the time, the aforementioned rugs were covered with our "borrowed" dog's hairs, so I figured they would be perfect for a "test drive" to see how much suction the Lift-Off has, how many passes it takes to thoroughly clean an area, how much noise it makes, and how easy or hard it is to clean the dirt cup and the upper tank filter.

1. Suction: Even though the Hoover Elite model has a more economical amperage of 7 or even a .5 amp more, the 12-amp motor of the Bissell Lift-Off seems to be more efficiently designed to give the Lift-Off high suction power. With only one pass along the small navy blue rug, 80 percent of the dog hairs were removed. Considering that with the Electric Broom it takes three passes and two with the Elite to get similar results, I'd have to say the Bissell does a better job.

Ease of Use: At 21 pounds, our new Lift-Off Bagless is a bit heavier than the Elite it is replacing, but it seems to be more solidly built and therefore looks and feels sturdier. It has a small pedal on the back that allows me to adjust the handle's angle from totally upright to nearly flat, and the ergonomic handle itself features what Bissell calls a "Soft Grip." It also has an extremely wide floor nozzle (14.5 inches), a headlight, and a rubber furniture protection guard, so I don't have to worry about the size of the area to be cleaned, not seeing things in the vacuum's path, or damaging furniture should I bump into it with the Lift-Off while vacuuming. Pushing it takes very little effort; its 21.8 lb. weight does require a little more elbow grease than the Elite does, but not that much, and it seems to glide easily back and forth.

As I said earlier, removing the canister isn't very complicated. Simply unlock the Lift-Off canister by turning a red latch in back and pressing the release buttons on the canister's handgrip, then gently lift it up and away from the main handle/rolling brush components. Make sure, though, that the Lift-Off is in its fully-upright position; however, you don't have to turn the power off.

Speaking of Power settings, there are two Power On/Off switches on the canister. One is the main power switch, the other is for the brush.

Noise: The Bissell Lift-Off, while it won't ever win the price for quietest vacuum I've ever used, is not particularly loud, so I can't complain about its noise levels.

Ease of Clean-Up: Like the Hoover Electric Broom it is also replacing, this vacuum is a bagless model, which means all the dust, hairs, and other debris are sucked up and collected into a transparent Easy Empty™ Dirt Container. You simply unlock it by moving a lever from left to right and very carefully sliding the dirt cup outward. If it's full - I recommend emptying it before it gets two-thirds full, by the way - its best to be careful when removing it, as the dirt you just removed can spill if you tip it slightly. Simply have a trash bag handy, empty the cup's contents, then slide it back into its cradle and lock it before turning the vacuum on again. I also think it's a good idea to empty the container every time you use it; it makes the Bissell Lift-Off work more efficiently and prevents fine dust from infiltrating into the motor and messing up the inner workings of the vacuum cleaner.

My View of the Bissell Lift-Off Bagless Vacuum Cleaner: Although this is the first time I've selected a vacuum cleaner – the logic being that I'll be using it, so why not pick it out myself? – I believe I chose wisely. Thus far, I've vacuumed the downstairs half of the house in about half the time it takes with the Elite, which has lost a lot of its cleaning capacity over the years. Yes, the changing of the dirt container cup does require a pause (and care in not spilling the dirt), but the Lift-Off is sturdier, more efficient, and more versatile than the two Hoovers it's replacing.

I would like to thank fellow Epinions member three_ster, who took time from his weekend activities to read the rough draft of this review and gave me some really helpful pointers.