Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Prior to purchasing this, we had a Bissel deep cleaner that we loved. We had it for 7-8 years before it finally stopped working. So when I went out looking, I was expecting huge leaps in advancement since our original Bissel from nearly a decade prior. The reviews of this item were really, really good, so I was excited. We used to have a Hoover vacuum, which lasted a couple of years before it stopped suctioning, but I didn't hold that against the company. BTW, we now have a Dyson and have loved it for the past 7 years and it is still going strong! Back to this Hoover! When we used our old Bissel, it always amazed me how much dirt it picked up. We have a high traffic areas and places my son would eat while watching TV and the Bissel alway made the carpet look new. First time out with the new Hoover and I could tell it didn't clean as well. It took several more passes with the Hoover to get it clean, but it never got as clean as the Bissel. Since I hate returning things, I just kept it and decided to keep using it. Just a side note, if the seals aren't lined up properly, it will stop working. This drove me absolutely crazy. It took many, many tries to figure out which seal weren't lining up properly. Finally I gave up and my husband had to spend 10-15 minutes to get it to latch. As another note, the cord on this is very short. It doesn't reach all the way across my living room, so I have to stop and unplug it, then move to the otherside of the room. If you have ever used a carpet cleaner, you know when you turn it off, if you are still on the carpet, it drips dirty water on the carpet. Which my Bissel always sucked up immediately upon starting. But this takes several passes for it to suck up that dirty water. The old Bissel never had to be unplugged to reach across the room. It also has a smaller water container, which again, is difficult to latch in. So you have to stop to refill and drain more often, probably two additional times, compared to my old one for the same size living room. The suction isn't as great as well, so the floor stays wet about twice as long as my old Bissel. After having this for nearly a year, I found myself using it less and less. I used my Bissel about once a month or two. This, I would wait 3-4 months, just because I dreaded using it. It didn't seem worth the effort. All the extra passes to get clean, the unplugging and re-plugging in, etc... and the floor was never really as clean. So this Christmas, when I had family coming over and was crunched for time (cooking a large meal, cleaning the house, etc...) I hauled this out. I didn't have a lot of time and I am sure my frustration level didn't help, but I just got fed up with it. I was able to make it about a third of the way across the room before I had to dump it out. When I went to relatch it it, I couldn't get the latches to lock properly and just got more frustrated. I spent 20 minutes on it and never got it to start sucking again. I finally called my husband and told him to pick up a Bissel on his way home. I told him at this point I didn't care what he bought as long as it wasn't another Hoover! He came home with a Bissel Lift-Off Deep Cleaner. At first look I wasn't impressed (keep in mind my tolerance level was nearly gone for a deep cleaner). It was very large and seemed bulky. Let me say that I love it! I don't have to struggle with sealing latches or seals. Just drop the container into the base and it is latched. The cord is long enough to reach across the room! The water container is much larger than the Hoover, so I only had to stop to refill and dump it once in the whole room. The floor dried in a couple hours, as it sucked out all the water it effortlessly. And impressively, the third of the room I had already "cleaned" with the Hoover looked amazing after I went over it again with the Bissel. It pulled out so much more. We were thinking of replacing our carpets, but this Bissel made them look new again! I was so impressed. I haven't tried the "lift-off" portion of the Bissel yet, but based on just cleaning the carpet on the main floor, I am a happy camper! No more Hoovers for me!