Side by Side Comparison of: Bissell vs Eureka

This is a must have if you have wood floors and pets! My husband was so annoyed with me for buying another vacuum, but he has told me several times in the past few weeks how much he loves it. We had a Dyson at our old house, but needed something for hardwoods at our new place. I seriously can't believe how great this is, especially for the price. The Dyson was so heavy and almost impossible to maneuver. This one is incredibly lightweight and you barely have to do anything. My 12-year-old is vacuuming daily...on her own. If you have kids, you know this is a miracle. But the BEST part! It works! No hair, no crumbs, not even dust left behind. We have very dark floors and no rugs yet, so there was dust everywhere. This actually picks up all the dust. It's amazing. Picks up litter, stray carpet from the cats' scratching post, everything. We really have to vacuum daily around here because of pets and renovation work, and now it isn't a huge pain. For upholstery and stairs, try their Pet Hair Eraser hand vac. Bissell is my new favorite!

I love this vacuum. I have two cats and they use the Cat Genie--if you're familiar with it, it's an awesome self-cleaning cat box. The box is amazing, but the cats track these little granules all over the place. I have hardwood floors so I find them everywhere! I also have a long-haired cat with very fine hair (Norwegian Forest Cat) so that also gets into every crack and crevice, and tends to want to stick there!These are my first hardwood floors, so I have spent a fair amount of money on different vacuums and cleaners--a lot of it wasted. This was not a waste of money! This is the one! It cleans up the hair, the dust and the granules without any problem. The cord is long enough where it's not annoying, the power is strong enough for what I need. I like the fact that the front it split so I can get the corners!Now if it would only clean the floors itself when I'm at work. ;)

This is the perfect little vacuum. I live in a small apartment with hardwood and tile flooring with two long hair cats. It's fairly quiet so I don't have to worry about using it at odd times and waking up my neighbors which is good since I work odd hours and can't always clean during normal "awake" hours. The cord is long enough that I don't have to move outlets constantly and the light build and swivel head make it very easy to maneuver. I was concerned about the suction power as my old vacuum was a beast. While this vacuum doesn't come close to the power of my old one, it's more than adequate as long as the filter is clean, a lot of that is because of the squeegie/funnel design, it's really good it picking everything up.

I was worried about the squeegie blades before I ordered it. Were they sticky rubber that would grab the floor and make it hard to push? Were they so firm that they'd catch on the small nail heads that stick up occasionally on my beat up old floors? After getting the vacuum I'm happy to say that they're a fairly medium density rubber that doesn't stick too much and is also very pliable. The continuous blade in the rear is backed by a hard piece of plastic at about half it's depth that prevents it from bending too far back and adds some stiffness, as is the center of the front blade, while the edges of the front blade can bend more freely. This allows it to be pushed over the occasional small nail heads and even my beveled door sills without getting hung up or damaged.

The only thing that this vacuum doesn't have is a detachable hose, if they ad that in a future version I'd buy the new one.

This vacuum is a LIFE CHANGER!!! Last Christmas we redid our floors. We were so so excited to get rid of our carpet and replace it with some laminate. Since we've never done this before we didn't make the wisest choose in color or finish. And we went with near black/high shine. PALM TO FOREHEAD. We have 3 dogs and a toddler. Immediately after installation we realized our grave mistake. We had a shark vacuum which we loved for the carpet but it was so freaking bulky and didn't pick up all the dust particles. I started searching. I almost bought a Roomba but I think my husband would have killed me for spending anymore money. So I read reviews for this and have it a shot. It changed our lives. This thing picks up EVERYTHING. Every speck of dog hair and dander and dryer fuzz particles. I mean everything. It's incredible. I'd pay $500 for this thing. We've had it for nearly a year and we use it every. Single. Day. Sometimes twice a day. If you're contemplating this vacuum and in a similar situation as us. Do it. You will not regret it. Your life will change! I recommend this thing to everyone who will Listen to me!! I'm now really glad we picked such terrible floors because now our house is always super clean.

I paid 30 for a refurbished - I actually forgot it was refurbished/used until I noticed a small scuff and then remembered that that scuff saved me $20+ bucks. this replaces a broom basically - don't expect it to do anything a broom couldn't do ( It works great on our pergo floor - picks up dog food, pet hair, dirt and dust. there are a few gripes - the red top filter; for whatever reason its a PitA to line the threads up and put back on. just needlessly difficult, always misaligned. Also, I lost suction this morning and had to fumble around with it for awhile to release whatever it was that blocked it up. There appears to be a way to take the head off so that the user could remedy any blockages but I couldn't figure it out***. Also, I feel like the tabs that the cord winds around could be easily broken if you aren't careful. Other than that, this thing has been amazing - for $30 and delivered to my home...it gets used a lot more than the swifter and a lot more economical as well as effective.

***UPDATE: SO The head piece does in fact come off - its just a little tricky. push the white tab at the base and then lift the black latch around front at the opposite side, careful not to snap it off. from there you have access to everything else! Now that I know how to do that - I'm still pretty pleased with this thing - its for light cleaning so don't over do it, but for hair and dirt its pretty great and more effective than sweeping stuff around.

O M G !

I'm a newly minted Mr. Mom of about 3 years now. (Though that is another story.) Given that I AM NOW THE ONE "Cleaning" everything in the house, I have a new found appreciation for all the stay at home Mom's. Cleaning the whole house IS THE BANE of my existence! That and a 15 year old daughter........
I'll tell you something... I don't write a lot of reviews. But this vacuum deserves EVERY FREAKING 5 Star review it gets! Our short hair dog SHEDS LIKE NOTHING I've ever seen! IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP UP WITH! Our house HAS NO CARPET. So I've been "sweeping" (DUH!) for 3 years now. I just vacuumed the bulk of what I normally "sweep" in about a 1/4 of the TIME! Plus this thing gets UNDER EVERYTHING! Along THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING! And the V shape let's you get into places that you just COULD NEVER GET TO! It has... Awesome Power/Suction... Easy as pie to use and empty! Very well built! A STEAL AT Fifty Bucks! Works FANTASTIC! The only slight negative is the power cord is just a tad short.. NO BIG DEAL! Just add a 25 or 50 ft extension cord. If you are contemplating this? Or "On the fence?" JUST GO AHEAD AND AND BUY IT! This thing is a MAJOR TIME SAVER!!! And works on ANY HARD FLOOR! I'm beyond impressed!

I've been using this regularly for three years to vacuum loose dirt off hardwood floors in my place, and absolutely love how powerful this is for a cordless vacuum. It works well, is easy to clean and maintain, and performs reliably. I did have to buy replacement batteries recently, and here's what I purchased: Powerextra 2 Pack 2200mAh Eureka Replacement Battery 60776/68112/39150 for Eureka 96 Series VacuumsI've also replaced the filter one time with this: Genuine Eureka STK Filter 61544B - 1 filterAnother really nice convenience is that, while charging, the red light on the recharging unit blinks, and when its full charged, turns solid red, so you know it's charged. Very nice design.The only real very minor note I want to make is that at one point I thought that the batteries had died, but, I believe now, in fact, the battery had just dislodged itself. I've noticed that, while using, sometimes the battery will dislodge and the vacuum will cut off. I then just press down on the top of the battery, to make sure its seated properly in the vacuum. It's hard to fault the vacuum for such a minor detail, however, as when I use the vacuum, I really swing this little guy around. Plus, the battery pack is really convenient to be able to insert and remove, and it only becomes dislodge with alot of great force.

Almost 70, and can't believe I haven't gotten one of these before now!
This little sweeper is a real time and work saver. I use it primarily on my kitchen floor(hardwood with a few throw rugs, big country kitchen) and it really makes cleanup fast. I have never run the battery down so I can't say how long it lasts, but they say 18 or 20 minutes. You would be surprised how much ground you can cover in less time than that.
My hardwood floor accumulates a large amount of dust, popcorn chips, cat food crumbs, grand kids cookie crumbs, lint, and any number of other small bits in a very short amount of time. So I end up using this thing at least a couple of times a day. I used to use a dust mop then have to pick up the pile. This thing makes life much easier. I also have a cat that is nearly as old as I am(Max is his name) and I was surprised at the amount of cat hair that was on that floor that I didn't know about. This sweeper cleans it right up and I was amazed at how much there was. Glad I bought it, just for that. There is a setting for rugs(just activates the spinning brush) and does a great job of the throw rugs I mentioned earlier.

I mounted the charger on the wall in my laundry room right next a power outlet. The sweeper just hangs there in it's nifty little holder charger, inconspicuously out of the way and always charged and ready to go. It's light weight and great for old people as well as young, and saves me from getting out the big vacuum. I still use the big vacuum, just don't need to as often as I used to.

We'll see how long it lasts, but it has already saved me enough work and aggravation with the big vacuum that I figure it has paid for itself and everything else is gravy.

When it goes, if it goes(before I do) I will certainly buy another.
Oh! and nobody gave me nothi'n for this review.

Debated about which cordless vacuum to get and this one was so affordable! I just moved into an apartment with hardwood floors and my two feline children love to fling cat litter around. Once I saw somebody specifically mention it's perfect for cat litter, I purchased it. I let it charge for 24 hours and just ran it through my apartment (which is small, ran it for less than 10 minutes and battery survived the whole time). I think it worked hardcore on my carpet because it seemed to have found another cat (see photo!). Would recommend for sure.
I want to add a tip, if you're looking for something to pick up big things, this probably isn't the best vacuum for you. It's more for picking up hair and dirt and little pieces of things. I got this a couple of months ago and it still works. I still love it because I'm too lazy to use a plug in vacuum. I run it every other day or so to pick up cat litter.

If I could give this 10 stars I would. I have a hairy, hairy dog and hardwood floors. I am not a clean freak. This stick vacuum is perfect for picking up the dog hair. No, it will not clean your floor spotless, but it will make it presentable. I LOVE mine. It's so light weight and easy to just run over the kitchen floor once. You will not be sorry. It makes normal noise for a dustbuster/stick vac. I bring that up because I have another one that sounds like a jet engine- I can't even use it I feel like it's damaging my ears. This one, normal, expected noise level. The charging station can be mounted to the wall and mine seems to go for quite some time before it needs to be charged. You open it and dump the dirt out. I think the stick detaches as well, but I have never done that.

Bought this to replace a 2009 model (purple) that didn't charge properly. Over the 6 years we owned it we replaced the battery every 2 years which is expected of NiCad batteries. This time it was the charger base and that is $22, so might as well buy new model. This model is virtually identical in design. They both use NiCad batteries and claim a 12 minute run time. We use this for our kitchen floor and the oriental carpets at the front door. It does a fine job picking up small debris/dirt/hair. Be aware that the unit uses small rubber rollers (no height adjustment) and probably rides less about 1/16" off the floor. In other words, it won't ride over top of Cheerios and larger debris, but if you lift it it would have no problem inhaling those items.
The old model used a simple "trickle" charger design that really isn't good for NiCads. The new design uses a smart charger that shuts off once charging is complete, this should be better for NiCad life. There are two red LEDs on the charging base. The right one is always on and simply indicates that the power block is plugged in and the unit is receiving power. The left LED is normally off, but when you plug in the vacuum (or set a battery in the charging base), the LED will flash while the battery is re-charging. Once re-charged, the LED goes off. Used the unit for 10 minutes and the re-charge time is many hours. This is not a 1-hour Li-Ion charge like a cell phone or cordless drill.
Upon receipt, you must initially charge the unit for 14 to 16 hours to provide a full initial charge. I then ran for ten minutes on carpet (with brush on) and on vinyl floor (brush off) and then placed back on charger for a good overnight charge. It took over 4 hours to re-charge. I have also placed the 2 year-old battery from the old unit on the charging base and charged it overnight. One thing, when both vacuum w/battery and 2nd battery are placed on charging base, the left LED will flash until BOTH batteries are charged and you really don't know which has finished first...
The dust cup on this model is clear so it makes it easy to see when the cup is full or the filter needs cleaning. The brush does a fairly good job beating/lifting the carpet nap, but this unit is not corded and therefore it is not anywhere near as powerful as a corded unit.
One final thing, don't even bother comparing to a Dyson cordless. The Dyson is a whole different animal from battery through motor and cost 10X the amount. The best way to think of this unit is "Dustbuster on a Stick" and is a good unit for the price. I expect it to be as reliable as the 2009 model it replaces.

I like the design for getting around legs of furniture and end edges of furniture, but it is harder to use in an actual corner. It also does not work on carpet AT ALL. It also does not pick up fine particles like glitter. I have to use my general vac for that. However, it does pick up small hard candy like MNM's and food like peas. I have had other hard floor sweepers that worked better in corners and picked up even glitter, but those were cordless and all three of them stopped holding a charge within a year. Soooo... here we are with a corded one (not preferred, but I feel it necessary after three failed cordless). Happy enough with it and didn't want to spend more money, so... happy with it for what it is.

I bought this for the tile in my kitchen and love it. The 'V" shape did take a little getting used to, but once you figure out how to use it, it works amazing for getting the edges and corners. It has picked up dirt, crumbs, larger items like popcorn and cut up pieces of paper and everything else that has ended up on my floors. The suction seems powerful. The cord length is nice and long. Cleaning it is as easy as emptying the canister. Would definitely buy again, but it seems like this is going to hold up for quite a while!

unbelievable vacuum for the price! I would have given it 5 stars if the cord wasn't so darn short. but that would be my only complaint. works amazingly great on my wood floors & ceramic tile floors! we live in the desert and it seems like the floors are always dirty, love this quick easy vacuum to clean them right up.

It's great for what it is designed to do.

1. It DOES NOT WORK on carpeting. I mean not at all -- I am a pretty strong guy and it won't budge on medium to thick carpeting so don't even think about it.

2. It will work on flat outdoor style carpetting (e.g., runners with rubber backing).

3. It has very good pickup power on tiling. It handles errant pieces of dog food fine.

4. It is light.

5. They added additional manueverability that allows you to turn the vacuum 30-40 degrees with a flick of the wrist.

6. They added the "V" shape to the front so it gets in corners fine.

7. The thing to get the head of the vacuum down is kind of at the bottom -- you have to bend down to get to it -- which is a pain. The small things we bi*&^ch about, right?

8. Very easy to empty.

Very light.

Love this vacuum for an inexpensive, light weight and quick solution for picking up dog hair. Works great on kitchen floor, picking up after my Springer Spaniel (sheds heavily). Have to get used to the rubber blades instead of brushes; doesn't work on carpet (which it's not designed to do); have a little difficulty maneuvering the edge of the vac along a straight wall as the video shows (but DOES work fine); the "V" shape really does help to gather up all of the dog hair. In addition, I did a test to determine the effectiveness of cleaning up against the bottom/sides of the dog crate - after which I swept the same area with a broom, and no extra debris. The 20-ft cord is a little shorter than some of the others, but should fit most kitchens OK. I opted for the corded model so as not to be bothered with charging, how long it's been running, etc.

Only real issue is vacuuming against the back wall under the desk - which is cumbersome and doesn't always get everything. All in all - very happy with my $50 solution.

I bought this to replace my wife's swiffer. We have a large house with a lot of hardwood and two German Shepherds. She seems to constantly be changing swiffer pads and then having to pick up the little piles with a papertowel. She was initially excited and approved of the purchase. Unfortunately she only used it for a week and then went back to her swiffer.

The Vacuum itself is great. It swivels great to get in all the nooks and crannies, it has a long cord, and great suction and does especially well on the edges. The quality seems decent, it seems well built, I am not concerned about it scratching the floors, and like I said - it has great suction. It's a luxury item though and outside of the convenience factor, there's nothing this can do that my Kirby can't already do.

Her issues compared to the swiifer is she likes to listen to the TV when she swiffers and this vacuum is VERY LOUD especially echoing off the hard wood and the walls. She also prefers changing swiffer pads to winding and unwinding the cord and then moving the plug around when she changes rooms.

This review is for the product itself and it's a four star product. If my wife was to rate this compared to the swiffer, should give this a three star rating.

I got this for "in between" cleans on my vinyl plank flooring and tile floors. So far, I love it.

Pros:
- Lightweight and easy to use. My 4 year-old loves using it, and I certainly don't mind getting some help from my kids.
- Easy option for charging. I prefer to remove the battery and charge the battery, but there's a mount option that allows you to plug the entire unit onto the charger (this option makes more sense for a wall-mounted charger set up).
- No cord to fumble with, plug in, unplug, untangle, etc.
- Reasonable battery life. Since this is only for my downstairs and between major cleanings, it usually lasts as long as I need it to before the battery needs recharging.
- Cleans the messes I need it to! I got this for picking up crumbs. I've got three young kids and there are always crumbs on the floor after meals. This has saved me from getting on my hands and knees and a using a dustpan to clean under the table. This does not pick up larger, moist foods, though.
- Beater brush works surprisingly well on carpet and rugs. I was thrilled to see how well this picked dog hair off the carpet on my stairs! Again, I use this as an in-between cleanings with my Dyson and for quick pick-ups. Using this on the stairs compared to a full size vacuum is, of course, like a dream. Super light-weight and no cord features make it perfect.
- Small and stores well. This unit will stand up on its own, unlike a large, heavy vacuum that might have tendency to tip over. Slim enough to store in tight spaces.

Cons:
- Does not pick up well against walls/edges. I have no trick for getting around this issue other than sweeping out messes away from edges (like under lower kitchen cabinets) and then vacuuming. I find that it really doesn't pick up anything that is within an inch from the wall, no matter what angle you come in at.

Other than that one issue, I have no major complaints. This is not a vacuum for all jobs! It's been a great replacement to sweeping and wonderful to do quick pick ups on rugs and carpets without bringing out the big guns. This isn't really any more powerful than a handheld vacuum, so come in with reasonable expectations and you'll be happy with it. The larger head provides more efficient vacuuming for larger areas than your typical hand-held and if you have young kids, you might actually get help with some light vacuuming. Seize that opportunity, parents!

For what you pay, it's great value. We have a Dyson but I hate dragging that up from the basement to use - we have 2 young kids and this is perfect for a post dinner quick clean up vacuum, or in the winter if you've trod in a bunch of salt and grit from outside.
Would I use it to deep clean my whole house? Definitely not.
Could I use it to pick up crumbs and food post dinner or dust balls from the rug or under the couch? Yes.
It is not a heavy duty vacuum. It's light weight so you can also use it to vacuum your stairs too - providing they aren't crazy dirty. Does the battery last a long time? No, not really if you use it as much as we do. This isn't the one with an additional battery either, so I recommend picking another one up when you buy it. It's also light enough to get the kids involved in helping to clean up! :)
I'm actually posting this review now as I grab another one of these!

ONE YEAR UPDATE: Battery lasted about a year and is completely dead as of July 2015. In defense of the product, I noted when I returned from a 10 day trip that our live-in pet sitter had this in a corner and NOT on the charger... possibly for the whole 10 days, and maybe depleted it completely before leaving it there. I liked this so much that I'm looking to purchase another of the same. I'm noting that the price has about doubled from $15.99 when I purchased to $30 now. May still be a good value when comparing to other cordless stick options, plus "known vs unknown" factor is big for me.
_____________________
Very good for the price. I've had this vac for 5 months now. The battery life is excellent. I purchased exclusively to pick up the scattered litter from our cat, but I'm preparing to purchase another because it's so small and convenient. Like most stick vac's you have a dust cup to keep clean - this one is easy to clean and dries quickly when rinsed out [which I do every 2 weeks or so since I used daily]. The waste receptacle is nice and large, so you can actually get away with cleaning it every few times used. The suction is best when the dust cup is just cleaned.. but still good after 2-3 light uses. I did note when I first got this that the suction to pick up litter and other small scraps is not very good if you don't have the brush bar switched on. The good news is that the spinning brush doesn't seem to kick particles back towards your feet like my others have. So, for that reason, when I first used it I considered returning, but for under $20 [paid $16] I'm happy I kept it. The hanging hardware is incorporated with the charger mechanism, and you also have the convenience of pulling the battery out [which is easy/nice design] if you have space to mount the charger, but not enough space to hang the vac. I've used this both ways - battery pull out, into charger, and back into vacuum is a swift one-handed easy operation.

This little vacuum is almost perfect for my needs. It has a decently long charge, it picks up very well on my wood floors, area rug and carpet on the stairs. I can get though most of it on 1 charge. The only thing that what somewhat disappointing was that with it being a 2 in 1, I thought I could remove the lower portion to be used as a Dustbuster type vacuum as I was going along. Welllllll, that's not really the case. The 2 in 1 means the handle can be taken off. There is a handle to hold the lower part when detached, but it is as you see in the picture. There is no taking the bottom part with the beater bar out of the unit. There are no attachments to get into tight spots. It doesn't work at all on furniture. It does work really well on the stairs though.

For the price, I would still recommend it. But if you want a true 2 in 1 vacuum, this isn't going to fit the bill.

Oh, and make sure the battery is seating in the unit correctly. Otherwise it doesn't charge properly and then you get to call customer service. Hopefully you won't get the same guy I did.......

I am very happy with this little mini Vac. I charged it for a full 14 hours before using it the first time as I've read. Did my whole upstairs (hardwood throughout) and my stairs (carpet runner)I was pretty happy with that! It is NOT for heavy vacuuming...won't pick up cheerios people (which is why it got 4 stars instead of 5!! Its perfect for crumbs, dog hair and dust bunnies which used to be my problem but now I can quickly take care of it without having to drag out the big vacuum AND no tripping over the darned cord!!

Another plus, it fits under the bed which if you have hardwood floors, you know you get dust bunnies under there fairly quickly.

Worked better than I thought it would on the carpets. Love that it doesn't suck the edges of the carpet up into the vac...but it manages to pick up the mess...

Also I read about the mess emptying and basically its fine - just put the cup INSIDE the trash when you pull it out - If your trash is full - empty it first or you will have a mess.

Can't say enough about this - If you have the problems I described above - Go for it you will be happy!

It's more than okay in terms of power, and how well it picks up all my long-haired cats' fur that tends to drift around the place, as well as all the shredded stuff off their scratching posts. It's also not too terribly loud, and I live in a partially adobe, fully stucco'd house with all ceramic tile floors that turns everything into something 2-4x louder than it feels like it should be.

I also had no problems with using it along wall edges, the weird-shaped head seems to really do its job well, and it IS super lightweight which is also very nice.

However, despite using the microlined filters and so on, it really releases a lot of very fine dust back into the air, and the exhaust, placed as it is pretty much on the front top of the vacuum, means that as you're following it along, you're walking right into everything it has expelled at around face level, especially if you aren't terribly tall.

And worse, if you bend forward, like to real quick shove a curtain out of the way or something, it pretty much is right up in your face. This might not be too terrible for people not living in desert environments where there is a lot of fine dust, but it had me coughing and wishing I'd put a face mask on before using it, and I'm lucky nothing got in my eyes. I'm positively ill even a good fifteen minutes later and coughing from all the fine dust I inhaled, and my house smells like a sandstorm.

I bought it because of all the great reviews it had. A testament to: just because it's popular doesn't mean t's as good as people claim. The vacuum is good at picking up dirt/dust wherever you run it, but it doesn't pick up any surrounding dirt as the advertisement states the V look should do. I try to vacuum the corners and edges of my apartment and it does not pick up any of the dirt. I have to follow up with a broom which is what I was trying to avoid. The vacuum would be better if it had an extension to pick up dirt in the hard to reach places. I do use it on ceramic floors.

This vacuum was almost a great idea, but someone needs to go back to the drawing board and work out a better overall design. It does have three great features: (1) powerful suction—surprisingly powerful for a lightweight stic vac, actually; (2) a V-shaped head for angling around corners; and (3) squeegee type flaps on the bottom instead of a beater bar (rolling brush) to help pull in loose dirt, hair and debris. The problem is, the latter two features actually work against each other, making it very difficult to maneuver.

The V-shape of the squeegees on the bottom causes the vacuum to skid rather than move smoothly. I have to pivot the handle sideways and vacuum at an angle just to get it to glide correctly in one direction (which gets aggravating, and is taxing on the wrist). Then after about two or three strokes, I usually have to lift it up and place it back down on the floor in the direction/angle I need it to go.

The powerful suction does *somewhat* compensate for the lack of maneuverability, but not enough so that I would recommend buying this vacuum. What good is power if you can't move the vacuum around?

Used it just a few times so far. It does pick up the dirt and dog hair well, but its just seems very cheap. The wheels are made like they were meant for a toy, which makes absolutely no sense to me for a vacuum of this type. The noise from the cheap wheels and rubber front end scraping on the floor make it sound like I'm scratching it all up. It also makes the maneuvering more awkward - not smooth at all. I've reached down more than once to check the surface of the wheels to make sure the outer rubber layer on them is sufficient to keep from scratching the floor. I suppose it is, but its very thin, and on very cheap plastic wheels.

I've also realized that it's difficult to get under couches and other furniture with it because you cannot vacuum straight up against the wall with the front end. I have to move the couch to get along the edge of the floor by the wall. Not sure yet if I'm going to keep this one.

Pros:
Good power given its lightweight.
Convenient to grab and go compared to a full sized upright. Gets small crumbs better than a broom.
Good value.
Sucks up moderately dense, 1/2" sized dry food pieces when they reach the center of the head, but they sometimes have to be encouraged by hand. Larger pieces don't fit.
The edge cleaner gets small stuff well, better than our upright.

Cons:
The right side wheel (when viewed from the perspective pictured) does not roll freely. It has loosened up with use but still occasionally binds and impedes pushing and pulling motion.
The "V" shaped head prevents cleaning the floor completely up to the baseboards when pushing it perpendicular them. This requires a second pass parallel to the baseboard. This requires extra motion and time and is aggravating.
Not as maneuverable as we would like. It has a large turning radius.
The cord is too short. We have to unplug and move to the next outlet to finish vacuuming.

We wanted something that would replace a broom and dustpan but would be more convenient that lugging out a full sized vacuum. This does fit that need; we leave it out ready for service in a corner in the pantry making it easy to grab and go. We had recently purchased the PowerFresh steam mop and were impressed enough with its performance to stay with the Bissell brand. Unfortunately this vacuum does not impress.

We have many small areas that require easy maneuverability to get too. Our bare floor attachment on our upright glides easily over the hardwood on bristles making this task easy. This vacuum has rubber on hard plastic wheels. It does not glide or move easily laterally. To cover the area immediately to the right or left of the head requires the user to retract the vacuum toward oneself and the push it away toward the area one wants to cover. This may not seem too much of an inconvenience but when there are a lot of small areas like this cover, it becomes a time consuming chore.

The "V" shaped head works as advertised to direct dirt toward the center of the vacuum head where it can be sucked up. But this only works well in large areas. The user has to push it forward several feet to get large crumbs into the center. What happens when one runs out of floor space? One has to bend over and push it by hand. Our upright's bare floor attachment doesn't blush at an oncoming wall. If it has not gotten it by the time it reaches the wall, it will get it at the wall by covering it and concentrating its suction power on the offending debris. The upright's bare floor attachment is straight, not a "V" design. This vacuum can leave them at the baseboard and requiring a parallel pass to get them.

Despite these few gripes, it still works well enough to find a place in our home.

I purchased this item to keep tidy a carpeted area that was less than 250 ft square. It was sufficient for the task, even slightly impressive in its ability to grab hair, etc. (although it was not a high traffic area so hair, lint, etc was minimal). But given that I only vacuumed this room twice a month, I'm disappointed that the battery started dying just after month 5 (or 10 vacuums into its life). After that I had to recharge midway thru & as time went on, would have to recharge three times, just to do a small room. By the time I got my real vacuum out of storage a year after purchasing/using this item, it only held a charge for 2 mins or so at a time and was good for nothing.

This vacuum is great overall, but fair warning that the battery life is extremely poor. I've had 3 of these so far and I've managed to make each successive one last longer than the previous one. My first vacuum wouldn't hold a charge after about 9 months...the second after 12 months.....and this last one about 2 years.

You're probably wondering "why do you keep buying it?" Well, each time I've gotten it, it's been as part of a flash deal for just over $20. A new battery costs about the same (if not more), so I figured I'd just get a whole new vacuum. Right out of the box, this thing is better than cordless electric sweepers that cost $50-70....I've tried a bunch.

You can extend the lifespan of the battery by removing it from the charger after it's fully charged. Also, fully drain the battery before you recharge it. With my first vacuum, I just left it sitting on the charger constantly. With my second, I would remove it from the charger after it was charged, but I would recharge it after every use. With my third, .....well, you get the idea.

If you get this on sale and you're willing to put up with the headache of removing it from the charger, you really can't beat this vacuum. Otherwise, you should steer clear.....

There are no deals for this right now, and I can't honestly justify paying $35 for one of these, so I think it's time to move onto a new vaccum....

We have a 1600sq foot house 2 toddlers and 2 cats. When we put our house up for sale I had no desire to pull the big vac out every morning before work to vacuum the whole house before work. I thought about a Swiffer sweeper but they are only guaranteed to run 12 minutes and cost $45! This thing was amazing. I could do the floors, couches and area rugs without skipping a beat and without losing suction. The battery also made it through all 1600sq ft. Now don't get me wrong this is not my house cleaning vacuum. It was just my quickie, catch the cat hair balls, and food on the floor vacuum but it would last as good 25-30 minutes and I bet it would go longer.

**UPDATE**
Well 11 months later of daily use; I continued to use it at the new house to clean the tile and hard wood in the new house, the vacuum would die seconds after turning it on. I called the manufacturer and was sent a new battery but my electrical engineer husband said the battery wasn't the issue, in his opinion. New battery lasted several minutes longer but now after the warranty has expired I have a dead vacuum and 2 junk batteries. I honestly think they knew the motor was about to poop out on me but since I was so close to the end of my warranty they would just send me a $3 battery to "kill time."

All in all it was a good vacuum. I'd say in the 12-13 months I owned it I used it close to 400 times which adds up to about 950 hours of use so for the price I might just buy another. Unless I find an awesome deal on a Dyson and a few $100s in a parking lot.

We bought this just to do quick pick-ups on our hardwood floors. It works really well for that kind of job. These are the pros and cons:
-It's a little tough to get the cup back in to the vacuum after you have emptied it but you can get the hang of it after a few attempts. (Put the rubber seal at the bottom of the cup in first)
-After about 6 months, the battery stops holding a full charge. So you will be able to use it but battery charge won't last long enough to get the whole job done anymore. So, you can either buy a new battery or a new vacuum.
-It is so much handier than dragging out the big vac or even the canister that replacing it more often is not that terrible and the price is great.

I have a love/hate relationship with this vacuum cleaner. There are great things about it, and horrible things about it. I will break them both down for you but first I will tell you a little about my home. It is about 2300Sq ft. It has 3 most common floor times. Hardwood, tile, and plush carpet. I bought this vacuum for my new home because it was appealing on many levels. It was small, lightweight and cordless.

The Pros: This vacuum is small, lightweight, and cordless. It is easy to assemble and virtually goes anywhere! It's a lot quieter than a traditional vacuum cleaner. Heck it's so small and compact even my toddler enjoys using it (Woohoo!). It is also pretty easy to empty!

The Cons: The battery life only allows me to vacuum about 2-3 rooms at a time on a full charge, and about 1 room on a partial charge. The suction isn't the greatest, and you can FORGET picking up anything that isn't dust or hair. It has trouble vacuuming up anything dime sized or bigger. You can also forget trying to vacuum anything on thicker carpets.

In the end, it's not a bad buy for the price.. However, it could definitely use room for improvement. I find that it's best to use on a daily basis to keep the dust off the hardwood floors to prevent the dreadful dirty feet. It is great when used in addition to a regular sized vacuum. I use my Eukera stick vacuum daily for the dust and hair, and my traditional oreck twice a week for the bigger stuff, and a deeper clean especially on the carpets. If you are looking for a main vacuum, a vacuum you can buy and it does it all.. This is not for you. If you are looking for something in addition to your main vacuum for little jobs without having to lug out the big guy, then this is for you!

I had high hopes for this vac. Its not very powerful, emptying the canister is messy and you have to do it every time you vacuum because the canister is too small. It does pick up cat hair...but just so-so on regular dirt and debris on hardwood floors. It barely picks up the 1/2 eaten cat food nuggets that my cats drop next to their bowls. It's fine for a quick touch up to ke it look like you cleaned more recently than you did...but can't replace my broom and dustmop...which was the whol point of owning one.

I bought this about a year and a half ago and have really tried to like it. Thought I would like the v-shape base feature that allows it to go into corners but it just hasn't measured up. It just doesn't have enough suction to pick up everything and stuff like cat food just seems to get pushed around until you literally pick up the vacuum and put it over the stuff. Cat and dog hair gets caught up in the plastic guides on the bottom and again, you have to pick it up to get it to suck up the hair. Tried to vacuum up some spilled talcum powder the other day and it just wouldn't do the job. Just don't think it has enough suction.

Sincerely disappointed with the vacuum. Think I'm going to order a straight hard floor vacuum without the plastic things on the bottom and without the "V" shaped base.

Ok, so here's the deal. I bought this to pick up dog hair in between my regular vacuuming. This is not going to replace a broom or a regular sized vacuum. With that said, it does pick up dog hair. Anything heavier is left behind. Also, the "V" shape floor piece makes it impossible to get up close to the wall when pushing forward. You have to do a quick twist of your wrist to try to get close to the wall, turning the unit left or right. I don't find this practical. I'm also not so happy with the design for the exhaust. It blows out in front, blowing the dog hair away from the unit and stirring it up into the air.

If you already have a vacuum that has a beater bar you can turn off for floors and attachments, just use that. Chances are-- if you have dog hair on the floor it's also on your shelves, TV, cable box, furniture, etc...

This product didn't help me with vacuuming dog hair. I still had to pull out the big one... and for that, I cannot recommend this product.

I have owned this vacuum now for almost 8 months. For the first 4-5 months I absolutely loved it. The v-shaped head took a few minutes to get used to, but it quickly became my favorite feature of this vacuum. I feel a little spoiled by it now and can't imagine using a flat head vacuum again on my hard floors...it's fantastic for vacuuming around furniture legs and corners.

However...for the past 2-3 months, the suction has just greatly diminished. I empty the canister and clean the filter after every single use...so it's not a problem of anything clogging up the vacuum. It just seemed to continually diminish over a few weeks and now the suction is so light that it will only suck up dust and dog hair that it directly passes over, rather than pulling it in from the sides a bit. This makes for a lot of extra time vacuuming with having to cover every square inch of floor. The first few months of use...I could run it into tight spaces and it would literally suck my dog's hair into the vacuum head...now the tight areas have to be broom swept into the open floor areas in order to vacuum up. For me...it's turned what was once a very impressive little vacuum into a vacuum that feels more like a chore to use on an already undesirable chore (vacuuming).

I don't feel like the suction should be diminishing on a vacuum after such a short period of time and only used a couple times a week...so for me it feels like a bit of a waste of money. Although I really love the v-shape head...I can't see buying another of the same one when I finally give in an purchase another vacuum.

As a mom of several rescued dogs that shed year round and live indoors, including two golden retrievers, I was really looking forward to this purchase to help me deal with the madness of living in pet hair. First of all, to be fair of the task at hand and my expectation of the vaccuum, while the dogs do shed tremendously we sweep daily and vaccuum regularly so the floor is typically clean but with the inevitable clumps of hair that form and fly around daily. While the idea of the angle was appealing, I do not like this vaccuum at all; the V shape is more of an inconvenience than a benefit. Picture the V angle, and note that the suction is at the base of the V only and not the "legs", which means that every time you reach a wall the "legs" reach the wall first and prevents the suction from reaching the edge. Therefore to clean along the edge of the wall you have to vaccumm alongside the wall, not facing it, which is inconvenient and not possible in tight spaces. Also where the V should be more useful, such as around furniture legs, if there is hair slighly caught under the furniture it does not suction enough to vaccuum it so I find myself pulling the hair from under the furniture to be able to vaccuum it. As to the overall suction aside from the angle, it does not suction clumps of hair that well unless the suction goes over the clump directly. Also the cord is pretty short, so you will likely not be able to vaccuum more than 200 square feet using the same socket, so a longer cord would be a plus. I decided to keep it to avoid the return shipping cost but unfortunately it does not meet my expectations.

This is going into the trash today so I thought I'd provide a review of its full lifetime performance. First, if you have shedding pets I don't recommend this stick vac. We have two mid-sized double-coated (e.g., heavy shedding) dogs and in no time the hair had completely gunned up the tiny "wheels" meaning when pushed over a smooth surface this left behind black marks where the wheels weren't turning. The brush in the vacuum cannot be easily (or at all?) removed but I would use scissors to remove dog hair. It's also not particularly effective for picking up larger items, like a cheerio. It is decent when working for vacuuming an entry way (dirt) or stairs. The biggest issue is how quickly the vacuum stops accepting a charge. It made it almost exactly two years in my home, but at least the last year of that was less than 2 minutes of vacuuming from fully charged. I've kept it because my three year old really likes to "vacuum" with me. Now it's something like 15 seconds of run time when "charged" which is frustrating for everyone so out it goes.

This used to be a great product. We have owned several of them over the past 10 years or so and kept replacing them as they wore out because they did a great job for what they were and could afford to be replaced as needed. It was cheaper to buy a new machine than to buy a replacement battery. We are very disappointed in the most recent replacement because of the charging system. They have made some changes and they are not for the better. We used to be able to charge the spare battery while the machine itself was also charging. No longer. If the machine is charging when we put the battery in the charger, the battery does not charge until we remove the machine and lift and replace the battery. The same for the machine. If the spare battery is in the charger when we insert the machine, the machine battery will not charge until we remove the spare battery. This never happened with the older models that we used to have. After complaining to the company they sent us a new wall charger, but it did not change anything. Still works the same inconvenient way. And it takes a very long time to reach full charge. This did not happen with previous models. Because it takes so long to reach full charge we often only get a very few minutes of running time when we need to use it before a full charge. The more recent model still does a great job of cleaning when it is running for awhile but we can't stand the inconvenience of the new charging system. It has been a great disappointment because we really liked all the previous ones we bought.

EDIT: dropped review from 4 stars to 2. See note at end.

Terrific little vacuum. I've only had mine a short time so can't speak of durability over time. Some complain of the battery giving out.* The instructions say it may be left plugged in constantly. It comes with a power-up wall-mount; I love being able to just take it off the wall, do a quick sweep and then put it back for recharging. It couldn't get any more convenient.

I (initially) give it 4 stars because there is no provision for edge work. The brushes and vacuum opening begins about an inch away from the edge, so you're not going to be able to get in edges and corners. This is intended for general quick pickup; for edges or hard-to-reach spots you'll need a hand vac or regular vacuum with a crevice tool.

* NOTE: The reviews stating the battery dies prematurely is correct. I followed all instructions on this device and the battery died in less than one year. Since I only use this for spot cleaning, the battery dying in that amount of time indicates extremely poor battery quality. I really like this vacuum otherwise... but the battery situation makes this a losing purchase.

Edited March 2014:

Taking away a couple of stars, because every issue I mentioned still exists, but is worse.

* The battery is puny and must be recharged between every single vacuuming -- and our kitchen is only about 10x12. It might do our kitchen and both our small (4x6 bathrooms), but probably not much more on a single charge.
* It still picks up hair well. But nothing else. In the kitchen, it pushes crumbs around, picking up most of them only after a few passes, often dropping some again a few feet later. As a kitchen vacuum, it is quite poor. We still keep the broom in the kitchen closet, for edges of the room and for crumbs larger than a small bead or heavier than a speck of bread, or for times when we want the floor to be more than merely mostly-clean.

It would be 1-star but for the dearth of decent products in this segment.

-----

I've only had this for a couple of weeks and so far I'm somewhat satisfied. It does a terrific job of picking up hair in the bathroom, wool lint that our rugs shed and dust bunnies under the bed. It is much less useful for the kitchen. It often will not pick up the crumbs that fall on the floor. I find it does a little better if I use the carpet setting on the bare floor but I still find myself in the position of having to use a different method to pick up those crumbs. I do love how it works for the stuff under the sofa cushions. It's lightweight and small enough to fit in odd places to conveniently pick up little things of garbage. The battery doesn't last very long at all. It will barely complete one room. It would probably be a good idea to have an extra battery charging while using this so more area can be covered. If it only had a little more suction, I would love it.

UPDATE 12-18-15 : Tossed this vac out a couple of months ago. Just an absolute nightmare to take apart the powered head to remove tangled strings and to replace the belt, which comes off quite frequently...:((

When reassembling , some parts (the little roller wheels) have to literally sit in place by gravity while you try to snap the upside-down cover over them. Maybe 6 times you will try the cover, only to realize that the wheels are gone again. Two white nylon pieces that hold the roller in place are ridiculously difficult to keep in place at the same time you have to watch those wheels...%&$$^ Never saw even a full size powered head with this many loose pieces to watch out for.

Two stars instead of one, because when the machine is back together, it is really pretty good.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Original Review:

I bought this, 3 wks ago, mostly for my kitchen, which has a rough surface stone tile.

PROs: - Good battery life, considering how small...can do a 14x10 kitchen and two rooms of hardwood about 13x22, plus hardwood stairs, in about 25 mins.

- Has s switch for hardwood / carpet selection, which saves on the battery. I found that the carpet mode works well on rough tile when the hardwood would sometimes not. Does a good job on area carpets and throw rugs, (if they are not deep pile, of course). Gets people hair off carpets, but don't expect a stick vac to get much pet hair from a carpet.

- Has only a cloth cup filter, but that is fine for small bits of crumbs, dirt, and dust bunnies. Would not try picking up spilled flour, until I had gotten most of that with a broom and pan. Filter is easy to shake, but does make a bit of a mess to get completely claer of picked-up debris. It can be washed. If you cant stand to clean a filter, I would question how well you clean a house in the first place...

- assembles easily: the bolt in the handle has a recessed design that is nice - you don't see it after it is in.

- Handle comes off to make a very usable hand-vac pretty good for stairs.

CONS: - The handle wobbles a bit where it goes into the vac body. No trouble yet, but a little less quality than the recessed bolt design - looks like two different grades of engineers worked on this design!

- To get most suction from the small motor, the vac rides very close to the floor, so anything larger than a large bread crumb will just scoot along on a slick floor. Sometimes backing up over it helps, but you do pay the price for it doing a better job on what it does well. Notice I still give it 4 stars.

I bought this because of the positive reviews - should have returned it right away but thought I was just being fussy and needed to use it a while and get used to it. NOT. In a busy household this is way too small and not nearly strong enough suction. Difficult to tilt from upright position into usable position. If you have a one room apartment with little dirt maybe this will suit you. Otherwise run away!

I used this less than ten times. For no reason at all, the head broke free from the canister unit. Since this happened shortly after my return date, both my husband and I tried in vain to repair it but it's proven impossible. I am extremely disappointed.

I've owned this vacuum for a year now. I had originally given it five stars shortly after purchasing it. I've downgraded it to three. Frankly, it just doesn't pickup anything anymore -- dust, kitty litter, sand, and dirt tracked into the house. I've cleared out the filters and the suction hasn't improved at all. I know this gets great ratings still, but it wasn't money well spent. I'm looking at other options for hardwood floors.

Update 11/2016
Broke just after a year and outside the warranty repair period.

Bought this because I have all hard-surface floors and a dog and most of the reviews seemed to be favorable. At this price I didn't expect it to be great quality but it's a piece of junk -- seems like everything is cheap plastic. It's very noisy. It's bagless but it sucked dog hair up into an area above the dirt canister and it's very difficult to remove -- I had to use a little shrimp fork to reach up through a very small opening and pull the hair out! It's totally useless along baseboards and actually unusable on the stairs. Even though it's lightweight it's exhausting trying to maneuver it around the floor -- the head is sort of floppy and seems to go where it wants to go. You have to keep picking it up to shift its position. If you try to vacuum under furniture, the head usually gets stuck and falls off. When it's right on top of something the suction seems to be adequate but it also has a pretty powerful exhaust that's down low on the front (!) and while the vacuum is trying to pick up the dog hair, the exhaust is blowing it around. Do not waste your money on this vacuum.

Suction-smuction. Everyone is talking about the great suction. Are any of you paying attention to the notably many issues about the handle breaking off?
Well, trust me. The machine may pick up some dog hair, but it's a cheaply built, slipshod, weak-jointed tool and so please do not waste your time on this. I lost the handle on the second use. I have a small, light-duty bare-floor 900 sq ft area that i need to occasionally sweep. I thought this guy was going to do it. Boy, was I wrong. I am easy on machinery; nevertheless, the handle snapped right off at the screw moulding down inside the base. One reviewer said that he used duct tape after his second machine broke, but that is not good enough. Bissel, you just lost yourselves a customer --and a vociferous one at that. You stuff stinks, plain and simple. Don't ever darken my doorway with your lame products again.

As to my next move, sweep-wise? I will pick something else and let you know how it goes with that one. Hopefully Hoover or one of the other companies
understand (unlike Bissell) the meaning of "durability"

I really enjoyed this vacuum the first time I used it. Ultimately I did return the vacuum as it became defective. I will outline the pros and cons for your reading pleasure.

Pros:
Very quick and effective vacuum
Lays flat to vacuum under furniture
Really decent suction
Easy to assemble
Easy to use
Easy to empty receptacle.

Cons:
NiCad battery
Cloth filter is easily clogged and has to be washed with soap and water, then air dried before you can resume vacuuming
12 minute battery life may not be sufficient for everyone, however I have only found one cordless with a longer battery life.
My unit stopped charging after 7 uses, was returned as defective.
It is an extremely cheap product that has obviously low quality parts.

This may be a great vacuum for someone who doesn't have much dirt tracked in, it did excellent work at collecting cat hair but dirt clogged the filter every time I vacuumed my entry rug.

Please mark yes that you found my review helpful so that I know you enjoyed reading my review. Thank you.

I originally gave this vacuum 4 stars but I am downgrading to one star. I purchased it at the end of the October and the vacuum already won't hold a charge.

The charger stopped working after 1 month of light use. I can't believe it. just past the return window!!!

First of all I read all the reviews and did lots of research before I purchased this. And at first I was thrilled with this little guy. Lightweight, perfect for stairs, ability to take off the handle. After only a few months, it won't hold a charge more than 3 minutes. I can't even get to the bottom of the stairs and it is dead. The charger works fine and says it is fully charged, but it doesn't hold the charge. I am so disappointed and wish I could return it. I also bought Bissell's Pet Vacuum for Hard Floors. It is corded and I use it on the main floor of the house. It has outstanding suction and now I will have to purchase another one to keep upstairs. Twice the suction on that vacuum, also lightweight and good on stairs. Buyer beware of this Eureka Quick Up.

I bought this vacuum to vacuum up Cheerios and bits of food underneath my child's high chair and to clean up kibble that my cats spill. This vacuum doesn't have any kind of clearance underneath it, so it just pushes Cheerios, food bits, and kibble around on the floor. It only vacuums them up if I pick up the vacuum and physically set it down on the Cheerio (food bit, or kibble). I don't have time to hunt down each individual Cheerio, food bit, or kibble and suck it up. So, this vacuum cleaner is pretty much worthless to me. I'm returning it and have already ordered a DustBuster to replace it. I don't recommend it for homes that have young children or pets.