Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have two cats (one long haired) and one XL dog (VERY long hair) so I have to deal with A LOT of shedding. And, I'm honestly not the best at keeping up with vacuuming and *certainly* not the best with keeping up with mopping. I'm always looking for ways to make the process of keeping my floors clean easier and more streamlined. So, I did a bit of research to decide if I should buy this model or the Pet Pro model, which is almost $150 more than this one. There is a youtube video out there that explains the differences better than I can, but basically they have the same motor and power capabilities. The key differences are the following: the brush roll and the strainer, which separates the liquids from solids (like pet hair) in the waste tank. -The strainer is ONLY included in the Pet Pro. -The brush rolls are different between the two models. The Pet Pro brush roll is designed to deal with excess amounts of pet hair and this model's is not Other than that, it seems like they're the same. I also found out before purchasing this model that you can change out the brush on this model and buy the one separately that's made for the Pet Pro. So, I bought this brush roll: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B3CDZGB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 First, I tested out the regular brush roll on a rug and a small area of hardwood in my living room. I was impressed by how much it picked up on the first run, especially because I did not vacuum anything beforehand, and my rug was looking like it could double as another pet with all the pet hair all over it. BUT. When I checked the tank and the brush roll, I was not impressed. The standard brush roll was covered/tangled in hair. The waste tank was full of hair and it had clogged up. Easy to clean (relatively), but after only using it for less than one minute, I wasn't impressed. I then switched to the pet pro brush roll, which was a perfect fit. While I had already cleaned the rug, which I'm sure had the most hair, with the standard brush, I did go over the rest of my apartment. I saw very little, if any, tangled hair around this brush, where the previous one was completely covered. The tank also did not get clogged up. As for the sifter...I don't personally think it's needed, especially for such a huge price difference. There is a section attached to the top of the tank you can easily use to strain the waste on your own. I strained the liquids into the toilet until very little liquid was left, then dumped the rest (mostly hair) into the trash. I will say that another con is that it goes through quite a bit of cleaning solution, very quickly. You fill most of the tank with water, but also need to add solution as well. I was down to half a tank cleaning my small apartment. I haven't done specific research on other cleaning solutions to purchase, but I know that, while Bissell says otherwise, most buyers have been buying and successfully using better and cheaper solutions with both models. Not a deal breaker for me, but I also noticed that wet pet hair clumps on the ground occasionally, and I did need to go back over at the end to pick them up. Also, it does leak a bit when in the upright position, as to be expected. SO in conclusion: If you have pets and deal with a lot of pet hair, I would recommend purchasing this model (saving money), but buying the Pet Pro brush to replace the standard one that comes with this one. If I had not done this, I would have given it a much lower rating. If you don't have pets, this model would work fine for you regardless of the brush.