Side by Side Comparison of: Electrolux vs Bissell

UPDATE: 07/27/2017OK. I can now say this wholeheartedly. I LOVE MY Electrolux UltraSilencer EL6986B.It didn't look it at the beginning but this vacuum is the best thing that happened to my housekeeping skills in a long timeIt IS silentIt IS powerful (with adjustable power)It IS the working woman's (with kids and pets) best friendI left my initial review below just to show how sceptical I was and how wrong I was!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UPDATE: 3/29/2017So far, no problems. Works well (don't wanna jinx it). Raising to 4 stars----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2/27/2017First off let me say that I LOVE the Electrolux brand. My 80s brown canister Electrolux is still going strong. The reason why I decided to get a new vacuum is because a cleaning lady broke the on/off switch and I have to constantly plug and unplug the machine to use it. So I decided to venture into getting a new vacuum. Electrolux, of course!Well...The quality difference between this new vacuum and my old one is shocking! The new one looks really cheaply made, flimsy plastic hose (was actually wrinkled!!!), plastic head that does not have enough weight to keep steady when you are pulling it over a carpet, just a low quality looking product that I would have never bought, if I had seen it in a store.I couldn't believe that this junky looking piece of machinery was the same brand as my other vacuum. It is indeed very light and very quiet. So light and quiet it might not even disturb the dust. Can it handle a place with kids and cats and hair and crumbs and life itself on a daily basis? I am having strong doubts but time will tell...In the meantime, I will try to get the old one fixed. I never thought I would say this for Electrolux but they definitely don't make their products like they used to. In fact this cleaner gives a "made in China" kind of vibe... not good!

Ok, so I have severe arthritis and so I needed something light. Perfect, super light, I can even fit it on a step. Suction, unbelievable. Have been looking for one with the suction my old one had...a kenmore. The brush attachment looks like it's made with boar hair...great. The hose is good, but the wand is great! It extends so far, I love it. Cord is just as long as my kenmore, so that's great. It's perfect for us! Don't hesitate...it's a great little vacuum

I've been using this vacuum for a few weeks now. It's definitely not perfect, so why did I give it 5 stars?The hose is pretty flimsy, and where it connects to the unit itself doesn't feel 100% secure. When I'm pulling it behind me, I feel I have to be very gentle in case it pops out.However, it's quiet, as vacuums go, the suction is excellent, and I love the pet hair option, because my dog sheds a LOT. I only have bare floors and some area rugs, but his hair would be stuck in the rugs causing major build up. I was having to vacuum every day to keep it under control. With the UltraSilencer pet hair setting it REALLY gets it all. Now I only have to vacuum twice a week:)Bottom line, for the price it is totally worth it. I'm very happy.I should add that that one of the parts was missing, and when I contacted customer service, they responded and rectified the problem immediately.Update.Perhaps I was a little premature with my glowing review. I've had the vacuum for about 4 months now and the plastic clip that attaches the floor accessory to the wand has snapped. I can't get it off, so if I want to use any of the other accessories I have to use them without the wand. When I had an issue of a couple of missing accessories after delivery, customer service was immediately responsive. I'm hoping they will be now, also. If they are, I won't deduct any stars from my review. When it works, it works well and I'm happy with it.

I had an Electrolux Harmony vac for a bunch of years but it broke and now I needed another. After extensive research all over the net, I stumbled upon this. It is EXACTLY like my old Harmony, except in green. Since that one was, for me, the perfect vacuum, I just bought another one. It's feather light, quiet as a church mouse (for a vacuum), and follows you around like a puppy dog. I have hardwood floors with the occasional carpet throw, and it's hard to imagine a better vacuum than this one for that.

We have gone through multiple vacuums over the years - the cheaper ones. I finally decided to go over the $200 mark and I wholeheartedly agree that you get what you pay for. We've had it for over a month and love it. The Electrolux is all that it says - quiet, good suction, easy to maneuver around. We have all hard floors throughout our house (ceramic, stone, laminate) so it's perfect. It's done really well with our pet hair (2 dogs that shed like crazy and 1 cat). I've used the tools to clean household items and high up shelves. The tools have good storage places on the vacuum so they can't get lost which has long been a problem in our house. I can't compare this to the pricier vacuums out there because I've never bothered to get one but a friend who cleans houses used mine and he said it's great. He would like all of his clients to buy one. That speaks volumes to me. You can't go wrong with this vacuum.

It's said that 3's the charm and after trying two other vacuums that were both too noisy, this one does provide good suction without making the user feel she/he's standing next to a jet engine.Previously we tried one of the Miele's that was said to be quiet and could be a stick or a handheld, but it was both too heavy as a stick and too noisy. Then we tried the inexpensive route of a bissel standup vacuum. After about 10 minutes, the deafening noise was enough to send the unit back.This unit is a bit clunky and if you have high pile carpet it may not be the answer for you. But we have mostly wood and tile floors with a few area rugs. We decided to prioritize quietness. Between this and a dry swifer for touch ups, we'll keep our floors clean.One note if you're buying from Amazon. Amazon let us return the first two vacs we tried even though we had used them once. We did our best to fully clean and pack as new those units, but it's not possible to get every piece of lint and dust out and it's even more of a challenge to put one of these products with hoses and attachments back into the back in the exact same way as originally packed. When I opened the box of my Electrolux UltraSilencer, I had the distinct impression that someone had tried it before me. For example, the bag was already in the unit even though the instructions say to start by inserting the bag in the unit. Also, the bottom of the unit had some lint. In our situation, we'd benefited from two earlier full returns, so I wasn't about to complain if my new vacuum was also a return. If you're truly buying for the first time, I'd insist on a truly brand new unit.

I have a cat and a tiny studio apartment in Queens. Not the best mix lol. My floors are hardwood and the other vacuum I had just wasn't cutting it. This one is AMAZING. Gets in every nook and cranny pretty much and is super easy to use and walk around with it trailing behind you. The only thing is some larger pieces of dirt, like individual bits of cat food or litter (I use pellets) can be a little tricky to get up as you have to really make sure it's at the right angle if you have it on the standard brush attachment. But I would just take that off and suck up anything else if it didn't come up. Pretty quiet too compared to my other vacuum. Love it!

Great vacuum for cheap ($130+tax). We were a little worried switching from a stand-up to a canister but this thing works awesome. I have two dogs that shed a ton (80 lbs and 50 lbs). And this sucks up all the hair versus spreading it out like my old vacuum. You can go over hair forwards or backwards. The wand does extend if you use the gray plastic thing in the middle and pull on the two ends. I am 5' 11" and can use the vacuum fine with it fully extended. My wife is 5' 0" so she uses it on close to the shortest setting. The buttons on the handle are kind of useless as the batteries die fast. The cord is a hair short and the container is a little on the small side but these things are easily dealt with for the performance you are getting. Way worth it for the price to take the extra 30 seconds to dump it out or switch wall plugs.

Oh my gosh! I love this hard floor vacuum! I recently moved into a renovated 1956 home with the original hardwood floors throughout that had been beautifully re-finished. I wasn't sure how to care for them since I had never had wood floors before. Not wanting to scratch them, and after doing some research, I decided on this vacuum. I'm glad I did! It did a great job picking up dust, dog hair, and leaves that the dogs brought in on their hair. Not to mention that the brush on the hard floor head is very soft and the canister wheels are rubber, not hard plastic. My only complaint is the cord is very short. You won't be able to move from room to room easily without changing outlets. In my opinion, that is a small inconvenience to get such a great hard floor vacuum!

This vacuum has GREAT suction, which I was really worried about. I have many cats and lots of cat litter, and hard floors. The hard floor attachment has a rotating brush which my old (very old) vacuum did not. That rolling brush in combination with the great suction does an amazing job picking up everything! Cat litter, cat hair, etc. I was afraid it would suck the "wood off the floorboards..." You'll love this vac, I do! (Nobody is paying me to say that!) It doesn't spread the litter around at all, which some people asked in the questions section. I researched a lot of vacs and finally decided on this one. Even tho some reviewers said that the dirt cup is too small (true) and the cord is too short (I find it fairly sufficient), I was willing to compromise on those things for other features that I was looking for. Good luck!

WOW. I am so happy that I got this vacuum after doing a lot of research and reading a lot of reviews.I am attaching lots of pictures of this Hard Floor canister vacuum so that you'll see the wonderful features it has to offer.First of all, I didn't read the product specs when I bought it, and I discovered them as I was taking the vacuum and its parts out of the box. I expected a regular canister vacuum, nothing fancy. One thing that caught my eyes was the 2 AAA batteries. I have never had a vacuum that uses batteries. So I read the quick 3 step instructions on putting the batteries in the handle which has a built in remote that allows the user to control the amount of suction and to temporary turn off and on the vacuum. Impressive!! In order to use the remote in the handle, you will need to first turn the vacuum on by pressing the ON button on the canister. Then you can adjust the suction and turn the vacuum off/on using the remote in the handle. When you press the ON/OFF button in the remote to turn it off, you'll noticed that a light going back and forth on the canister, indicating that the vacuum is on, but in like a pause mode. This is the same light used to indicate the suction setting.Another thing that I really like is the canister for the dirt/dust. I thought it was going to use a disposable bag or one of those canisters that require me to scrap the dust off the filter in the canister, which is very messy. Well, this one is very well designed, and the dirt/dust is trapped in one side of the canister, and once the door opens, I can easily dump the dirt into the trashcan without having to touch the dirt, and no dirty filter to scrub either. Very nice!The first thing I noticed during set up is that the parts can be attached and unattached very easily. It is so user friendly. I don't have to push and pull the parts part. They click into place, and by pushing the button on the side, the parts can be slide apart with little effort. When I turn the vacuum on, WOW... so quiet! It makes me naturally handle the vacuum more gently. I turned the suction setting up to a 5. I can feel the suction on my hard wood floor, sucking up the dirt/dust/fur.I used the carpet part to vacuum the rug, and it seemed to do a pretty good job. I don't have any carpet in my house to really test it out. I used the hand tool with the brush to vacuum the runner on the staircase, and WOW, it sucks up all the pet fur with little effort. I have 3 cats and 1 little dog, and they shed a lot. I am really thankful that I found this vacuum, because it really sucks up all the fur, and my house looks and feels so clean.Although I have only used it once and only vacuumed 2 of the 3 floors and 1 of the 2 flights of staircase, I am amazed by how much this vacuum sucked up. Not sure where it found all the fur! LOLI hope this vacuum will hold up. I'll update this review if I ran into any problems. Until then... I am so happy with this vacuum, and the price is so reasonable for the performance I'm getting. No, I can get rid of the old canister and the new handvac that is underperforming.

So me and my wife live near a central shopping hub, you name the store we got it, from mom and pops to the big box stores. We bought 1 vacuum claiming it would do hard wood and area carpets tried it all it did was push the dirt around, back it went. Got a second one tried it and it would struggle on our tile to pick things up in the groves yet do ok on the hard wood floors, back it went. So I did some serious shopping and found this. I was not expecting much and just hoping it was a bit better from those others. Wow ot put those others to shame! My main level is 1200 Sq ft I have areas of tile and areas of hardwood and this thing handles it all. So with a normal vacuum you hear the head spinning with this the head is powered by suction now it is not like those you get on a vacuum for furniture powered by suction this works through everything. I have 2 german shepherds and this vacuum handles the enormous amounts of hair no problem. From dirt tracked in to dogs hair to flour it got it all without an issue. The baskets easy to empty and clean. With the area rugs it does clean them but obviously due to the tickets it doesn't use the head but at least you can pick up the stuff on the surface. I love that it has a holder in the back specifically for holding up the handle when your storing this. It also has controls for suction and power right on the handle without any cords running to the handle as it communicates through IR without an issue. The cord winds up ok as well no issues. Wouldn't trade for any other kind of vacuum for my hard floors. This is a must if you are have a place you hate sweeping and tracking the left over dirt.

If you've previously owned an Electrolux Harmony and loved it, then this is your vacuum. It's the Harmony in a different color. I've always liked the small Electrolux canisters because of their ease of use and the variable speed motor. I have no complaints and hope that Electrolux doesn't quit making the small, reasonably priced canister.

I was searching for a canister vacuum after being unhappy with multiple upright vacuums due to being heavy. I read most of the reviews for canister vacuums on Amazon and decided this was the one I was going to try. I have used it several times and it works well and there is suction for use on both hardwood and carpet with the turbo floor attachment that was included in the box. The only point that prevented me from giving it 5 stars is the length of the hose. I wish Electrolux had extended it 1-2 feet, but it works well when you get used to the current length. I do tend to pull it by the hose as I move around the house, so I am hoping it will withstand the use. The bag is easily accessible to change and the cord-rewind feature is great. I recommend this vacuum to those looking for a multi-purpose canister vacuum for household use.

Quiet, easy to use and change from hard to carpet floors, and my kids love vacuuming with me (see picture). However, when I went to vacuum one night, I saw that the hose was split in half!! I had only had the vacuum for a few months. I called customer service and they said that the hose was not on warranty. However since I just purchased the product so recently, I was informed that they would send me a new one for free.

Received this wee green unit the First of April and was a fool not to have ordered it sooner! Have had several real cheapo units via limited selection box store ChinaMart. None of which could handle the dust puppies my two All American mutts manufacture on a daily basis or the EPA illegal wood stove residue we mass produce trying to beat Global Warming November through March. This vacuum SUCKS... the hide off of a rhino and without the beast so much as blinking a blind eye to an African poacher. Remarkably let sleeping dogs lie quiet! I can now clean house the way God intended... WHILE SOUND BLASTING THE HOUSE WITH 70's ROCK!!! AND REAL COUNTRY!!! And dance, as it partners with Fred and Ginger talent around the early attic furniture Does extremely well on hardwood and tile, but nothing to exceptionally email home about just OK on rugs and carpet both of which we incorporate VERY little of in our pet loving home. Even with the Turbo Nozzle.Was also a bit disappointed in the tool caddie attachment as it was totally useless (Banished to the box it shipped in.) and the problem child dust brush which frequently M.I.A. (DOESN'T. LOCK. ON.) when cleaning upholstery. And the abrasive red material the floor nozzle and the combination nozzle brazenly sports... what is... was its purpose? It made a dust bag exit after five company is coming the house is on fire uses.All in all I would purchase this mini appliance again for the $183.99 price I Visaed for it (March order / April arrival 2015), but noticed that it now lists for $299.99 (July 2015)?!? Did the one and only one included S dust bag increase in price 30+- fold (Replacement bags are MUCH cheaper at Lowe's.)??? WOW! Are they White House banned and secretly black market available now?This gadget is indeed silent and does the as advertised job of removing day in day out life filth from of the corners of our lived in home. Only because of the marginal quality but not an epic fail of the tools do I award it with only a four star rating. IT CLEANS GOOD HERE IN SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE!!! Thank you!

I give this vacuum 4 stars because you will need to buy a couple of additional parts to make this a great vacuum. I purchased a similar vacuum 10 yrs ago (called "Harmony" by Electrolux at the time) and have used it a lot over the years. I did have to replace the the cord (yanked from wall by pulling the cord once too often!), but otherwise no issues with the vacuum or hose (the floor/rug tool is a different story). The plastic cover finally just broke, so I needed a replacement. Because of pro's (see below), this was a quick and easy choice.Pro's: Very light weight and easy to move around the house. Very quiet. Excellent suction power. Replacement bags easy to find (S - bags). Does have a replaceable HIPPA airfilter (although I only changed it once over the years). Rolls easily. The new unit comes with a turbo head (powered by suction) that really does a nice job on my low carpet. It also comes with a regular head for floors and thick carpets. The price is good and it arrived in 2 days via free delivery.Con's: The tools that come with the unit (small wand and brush) and the holder that attaches them to the handle look and feel cheap. I don't use them. Rather, I use the wand and brush from an old electrolux canister vacuum that are much better constructed (you get what you pay for). The same goes for the floor/carpet head (non-turbo) - the cloth glides seem to just drag across the floor and I don't like how it rolls. This being said, I use the wand and electrolux floor brush/carpet tool (Google search: Electrolux Combination Rug and Floor Tool Epic) from my old electrolux canister vacuum. With my old electrolux wand and vacuum head (floor brush/rug combo), this whole things works wonderfully with a nice, solid feel, easy to move around, and quiet.

After my $500 Kenmore died after someone who will remain nameless used to to vacuum wet cat litter, I desperately needed a new vacuum to deal with all the pet hair from 2 dogs and a long haired cat. My house was covered in hairy tumbleweeds. I did a lot of research, saw the good reviews, loved the price and took a chance.It's great. Quite, light, great suction and compact enough for my tiny house. Easy to maneuver and really does a fantastic job getting the pet hair off the couch. The floor attachment feels a little flimsy, which cost it a star, but for the price it's worth it.

This vacuum is very light and easy to move around. We were replacing a vacuum we had for many years - and some of the modern changes were to the negative, some to the positive. The cord is not as long as I would like - I am sure that is a safety feature added. The hardwood tool is not as 'fuzzy' on the bottom as I would like, but does the job well.I love the ease with which you can dump the vacuum - and change the filters. It is easy to carry up the stairs and the attachments are handy.

This vacuum is really lightweight. I had a Kirby Generation 3 before and was not expecting to be so happy with such an inexpensive vacuum. The suction on this vacuum is actually pretty good. We have hardwood floors throughout with a few rugs and this vacuum works very well for our needs. My only complaints would be the short cord (I have to plug it in in each room), the hose attachment is a little short for cleaning up high but the canister is really light and lastly the brush attachment is a little course. I would be worried about it leaving scratches. Thankfully I kept my old brush attachment.All in all I am very pleased with this vacuum.

Great bare floor vacuum. The turbine-driven floor brush is much more effective than the bare floor attachment on my other canister vacuum and the suction is very strong. I would not recommend this vacuum if you have a lot of carpets. The only reason that I am not giving it a 5 star rating is that the cord is at least 6 feet too short which means you have to frequently change wall outlets.

There's only one thing about this vacuum that is not good, and to me, it's a big one, when any part of the rotator of vacuum head comes off the floor (flat surface) the rotator stops turning and air suction stops. Therefore, if you have a hard to get to stop and need to angle the head you have no suction. In my opinion this is a big flaw. If someone knows how to change this setting, please advise me.

I just got this vacuum today and had to try it immediately. My first impression is that the cord is very short. I had to unplug it several times and move the plug to reach other areas. The vacuum is very small lightweight and easy to handle. It gets in tight spaces and has different suction power levels. However it did not pick up bigger solid debris very well. The rubber grip is a little rough on my hands so you have to grip it lightly. It definitely picked up all of the dirt and debris on my hardwood floors. It was really good against corners and against the wall. The retractable cord is very useful and has powerful retracting. It took me a while to get a handle on twisting the tube to get under furniture's but it works good under furniture. I have long hair and just like most vacuums my hair got caught in the brushes and now I have to remove the brush to get the hair out and it does not look easy to do that. Overall I am happy with the vacuum it's lightweight and gets the job done. I vacuumed the majority of the house in no time at all it is way easier than sweeping. I haven't tried the carpet yet but that's next. The carpet accessory doesn't have a rotating brush so I don't know how powerful it's going to be. The value is good for the money. This vacuum had good reviews in most places I researched that's why I bought it.

Does a decent to good job on floors, the floor attachment seems to be picking up all the dirt and debri on the floor with no problems. Small and compact but will cause tall people abit of bending down as another reviewer mentioned. I didn't mind it as much for a 850 ft apartment. I do feel the cord is abit shorter than standard ones as I had to connect it in various outlets throughout the apt to finish the floors completely. Suction seems good with all attachments. The carpet attachment worked fine in the bedroom as well as on a living room square rug.The stand bye button on the grip is nice and I found myself using it alot when i needed to move furniture and chairs around. The retractable cord is nice for storing. Speaking of that, upright storage is convenient but I can possible see the hose craking once its upright after afew month. I may just unplug the hose from the main canister when storing.Overall I'm happy with this sleek non cheap feeling canister vac :) Only real con is the length of the tube attachment (I'm 6' 2"). Wish it was at least 8-10 more inches.

I really like this vacuum, and yet I wish it were made better. The quality does not seem like Electrolux. # 1. Within a couple of weeks after buying this brand new, the red stripping on the bottom of the floor piece had already peeled off. (Electrolux did replace the piece when I sent a complaint.) #2. You're supposed to be able to switch between a hardwood floor piece and a carpet brush, but the "clip" on my wand (cheap plastic) broke off inside, so I couldn't remove one a switch any more. #3 The worst part by far is that in the one and a half years I've had this, I've already needed to replace the hose TWICE! It keeps getting splits all over. Now it's completely split in two. What's going on, Electrolux? This vacuum is not worth spending another $100 to replace the hose every year!

It is quiet and fairly lightweight and that's what I was looking for. The suction is almost too good: there seems to be no way to achieve really low-power suction for drapes, for instance. The plastic body is a little cheap-feeling, but it will probably hold up fine - just not the quality I expected from Electrolux. There is a silly attachment intended to hold the upholstery brush, but it is useless, just gets in the way and won't hold the brush anyway. It is definitely not built or designed by the people who built my old Electrolux, but as I said, it is quiet and a lot lighter than the old one. It was $200 cheaper than the Meile I wanted, so I got what I paid for.

I got this because I was tired of an upright that didn’t do right by my floors. Although it doesn’t have some sort of energy cord that makes the carpet attachment work (I guess it works on suction) and it is lightweight; the cord length stinks and the retractable function is sketchy at best. If you are elderly and have limited carpet in your house, it’s ok. I have to suck up mothballs in order for the output not to stink up the house. The hose shouldn’t be used to haul it around as it appears to be weak and may go at any time—use the handy handle. The brush is good at getting below the floor next to cabinets. The power is weaker than I’d like, but I guess ok for the price. The sound loudness is better for my cats. Overall, I think I’d spend more for a better machine. I have to use it twice as often to get what carpets I have left in my house as clean as my old Kenmore upright. I wish I could find a vacuum that goes between carpet and floors without the fuss of changing the attachment, but changing out these is not much of a problem.

The vacuum is wonderful for hard surfaces, but the floor attachment is bulky and overly difficult to use. After a few months the release tab broke, and it would have cost $70 to replace. I instead bought a generic floor attachment for $13 and it is far superior. Those who complain about the rug attachment not being adequate are expecting too much from this vacuum. The rug agitator is driven by the suction, and does not work well with high pile carpet. This is a machine for a house with mostly hard floors.

quietest vauum ever !!! I can vacuum right beside the cat and outside the door of someone sleeping, even around people watching TV without causing trouble. Excellent color, lightweight, easy to use, and the dust cup holds and amazing amount. I read the reviews complaining of the attachments coming off, and they are right, but a simple strap of velcro and all is well. The main head for flat carpet cleaning is disappointing: the slightest pressure or lump and the spinning head gets jammed, meaning multiple stops to clear it of things as small as pieces of cat food or popcorn kernals. However, I didn't get it for either its noise level or its power on basic carpet. I chose this for its quality of attachments, ease of use, and a certain amount of nostalgia. I grew up riding on my mother's canister vac, and I have never owned an upright i loved. The hose on this and the main wand are plenty long to reach with, and the tools are plenty, for cleaning details: moldings, ceiling fans, the tops of the window frames, door frames and doors, between appliances, and that kind of thing. So far, for those jobs this vacuum has been perfect. It rolls obediently behind me even if I am straddling the arms of a chair to reach the chandelier, it doesn't fall over on me like my old upright would even if it was just the force of the suction pulling on it, and it is super lightweight so carrying it over obstacles, like the piles of Christmas boxes or other things my on-the-verge-of-hoarding family can't let go. Also, from a purely artistic perspective, I love the purple, the shades of grey, the shape and the feel of this product.

I am on my second unit as the first one I received died after the second time we used it! First off though, I want to praise Amazon's CS department. As soon as I reported the problem they overnighted me a replacement before I was able to return the defective unit. My CS rep made the situation as painless as possible. Now on to the issue's. The off/on switch on the first one stopped working and that is why we had to replace it. After having the second one for three weeks now I have noticed some quality issues.The cord retractor feels flimsy and cheap and I anticipate some type of problem with it down the road.The bristle brush and curtain cleaner accessories are clipped on to the underside of the vacum's handle and keep falling off during vacuming.There is some red material on the underside of the vacum head that is designed to remove hair/lint from carpet. This material is in two separate strips and is already begining to peel off.All in all the unit just feels CHEAP. It does however, do a decent job on our hardwood floors and is VERY quiet. I just feel the unit will have some QC issues down the road. We replaced our Dyson Animal vacum for this one and I probabaly should have bought another Dyson. The Dyson we have is seven years old and has had zero issues, it is now retired to garage duty.

so-so. i loved it at first, but after a couple months there are 2 issues: 1, you have to move the cord way too much and i don't have a big house at all. 2, the wheels on the bottom of the hard floor attachment tend to leave marks on my hardwood. if i scrub really hard they come up, so i guess they aren't scratches per se, but its a pain in the butt no less.

I like the machine for my new hard wood floors but be aware that the warranty does not cover brushes and other parts. After only 8 months of use I have had to pay for an entirely new hard wood tool and the brush that goes in it because those parts stopped working. This entailed 2 separate phone calls to Bissell because the first person, who spoke poor English, did not understand what my issue was with the first call. Nice enough guys, but makes it hard for me to recommend a Bissell product. Also the company should stand behind it's product for at least a year.

The Bissell 1161 Hard Floor Expert does a good job vacuuming my hardwood floors and tiled kitchen and bathroom. I was a little upset at first when I noticed the Hard Floor head had brushes and was worried they would scratch my 90 year old floors. However, they are made from a soft nylon and seem to be very gentle.Pros:1. Lightweight2. Easy to change out heads and attachments3. Telescopic wand arm4. Adjustable suction control5. Takes up little space to store, especially compared to other canister vacuumsCons:1. Not very durable - battery cover keeps popping off2. Vacuum tips over if you try to drag it with you - found it is much easier to carry3. Small debris tank - have to empty after each room4. Minimal results on carpets and accent rugs5. Automatically turns on when plugged in (I would prefer to push power button first)Bottom Line:This vacuum does a good job on my hardwoods and tiled floors. However, I find it relatively useless on area and accent rugs. I have had success in using this to dust blinds and other surfaces. Not sure I would recommend to anyone unless they are on a tight budget. Not sure this vacuum will last very long and it doesn't seem to have great suction right out the box.

Seems like a good vacuum but disappointed in the lack of safety features for the battery cover on the handle. My small children like to try and vacuum as well, and when my 1-yr-old was pushing it around he dropped the handle and the cover popped open, shooting an AAA battery across the room. Yikes! Unfortunately I'll have to add electrical tape or something of the sort to keep the batteries secure and out of curious hands. Additionally, the cord is not very long. I can't even make it across our living room before needing to plug it in to a different outlet.

Works fine but creates a sort of suction on the floor so it only picks up what is directly vacuumed over. (Not a problem, just an observation.) The very, very short cord is mildly irritating. I have to plug it into 3 different outlets just to do the living/dining room area - and as mentioned by other reviewers, the dirt canister fills up very quickly.

This vacuum is fabulous for hardwood and tile floors, but it's absolutely terrible for rugs (even the flat, low wool ones). One major complaint we have is the size of the canister. We find ourselves having to empty the canister and empty the filter every single time we vacuum the house. It doesn't seem like that should be a big deal, but it's actually very inconvenient when you just want to vacuum a rug and can't get the vacuum to suck anything up. Another complaint is that the cord seems very short compared to other vacuums. We can't even make it across our living room or bedroom without having to change outlets. Such a pain! Just a couple feet more would make a huge difference.The long and short: this is great for smaller rooms with wood and tile floors, but I'd recommend an alternative if you have even the slightest amount of carpet, rug space or any larger sized rooms.

First one worked like a charm: I bought one of these in '06 when I lived in a wood-floored apartment with two shedding dogs. It was quiet, it was light, it sucked up all the hair, I used it almost every day for six years and it never let me down! So I told everyone else to buy it, and when I moved across the country in '12, I bought another one.The second one, obviously a later model, worked just as well, but after a year the plastic tab that keeps the head attached broke and stuck inside the neck. Which meant it still worked as long as I didn't need to change the head. I am an extremely chill customer, maybe to a fault - I didn't call to complain or get replacement parts, I just figured, welp, it's like that now...Then I bought this one for my mother - a '13 model, so I thought it couldn't possibly break in the same way. She barely used it, and guess what? It broke in the exact same way yesterday. The tab stuck, and since my boyfriend valiantly unstuck the tabs on both, I have no pet hair/bare floor vacuum anymore. You guys, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.Bottom line: Don't buy this unless you plan to never change/remove the head.

We ordered in October 2015. I am used to european style cansiter vaccuum cleaner coming from Europe. I was thoroughly disappointed with Electrolux's vacuum cleaner. As mentioned before the quality is cheap, a lot of plastic and the red velvet finish which should protect the hard wood floor so that there will be no scratches fell off after 4 months of use. In addition the suction is much less even if the bag is only 2/3 full. The hair which is sucked in consistently is trapped in the nozzle since the nozzle is divided into a right and left sucking hole. This is a flaw of the design in my opinion. Having bought this vacuum cleaner exclusively in the hope to get a good European style quality vacuum cleaner, we are very, very disappointed. .

Had to have the telescopic wand and nozzle replaced since the PLASTIC release button wouldn't release the nozzle. That was on 7/15. Same problem, button broken again and it is only 9 mo. later. Also, deep cleaner nozzle only rotates going backwards since very little suction! Lost all faith in Electrolux, don't make them like the old metal canisters.

Extremely disappointed that after less than one year of use the plastic hose developed a hole and then began to unravel. Fortunately it is under warranty or the replacement hose would have been over eighty dollars. We took the hose to an authorized dealer and weeks later are still waiting to receive the replacement part.

Unfortunately this vacuum has not lived up to the hype of the Electrolux brand name. It is decent on hard floors, though the whole contraption feels cheaply made. I kept thinking that I would learn to love this vacuum and sadly I am well past the return window now.It says it should work on low-pile carpet- this is not the case and it will not work well on ANY setting on my low-pile area rugs. I have to lug my Shark upright downstairs just for two area rugs.What compelled me to review this item today was the final straw last night when I was attempting to vacuum and the wand kept coming undone from the handle! It would not stay attached. Again, this is cheaply designed.$300 for something that breaks in a matter of months? Keep saving and go for the Miele!

After researching vacuums that best suit non-carpeted floors I settled on this one. It's quiet even without activating the quiet button. It sucks great, heh heh, and picks up all the dust bunnies on the floor. We only have a couple of rugs and it is serviceable when it comes to cleaning them. Having said that, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for a house that is all carpets. I don't feel the brushed head that rotates is powerful enough as it uses the suction to spin the brushes and I've noticed that they come to a halt on our area rug.Regardless, if you have minimal carpeting this is a great vacuum. It's been six months and we haven't had to change the bag yet, despite having two cats. The bag and filter work great and there's no extra dust flying about as exhaust. The extensions and add-ons are helpful as well.UPDATE: February 5, 2014I'm removing two stars from this product due to quality. The same piece broke for a 2nd time on the machine. It's the connector neck piece used to connect the hard floor head to the metal extension pole. The spring switch broke and now I can't get it off. Additionally my customer service experience has been poor with long call wait times and no response in 4 days to a service email I sent. Electrolux seems to be falling.

Save the money and put it towards something better. Suction is subpar at best, I find myself having to pass several times to pick up debris if it doesn't then taking off the floor head and using the open pipe to get it. The powerhead attachment, or whatever they call it, is useless. Never picks up on the first pass...or second...third if I'm lucky. Canister is light and so you have to hold it down to pull cord, if not it will follow you to the socket. And the power cord needs another few feet to avoid having to unplug it so frequently. The hose is a little too short but it's not terrible. The handle controls only work while it's plugged in, and you power it on with the foot button on the canister–once you disconnect it, you default to having to turn it on with the physical switches again. The power level buttons on the handle, in my opinion, are backwards. The increasing of power should be on top, and the decrease on the bottom. I often find myself mistakenly pressing the closer button (power down) and having the vacuum lose a bunch of the already minimal suction. Would make more sense the other way.I will probably give this one away sooner rather than later.In all, I bought this in the hopes of finding a bargain, but no avail. If I had to do it over again, I would save up and buy a better product. But if you need to clean very small spaces and don't want to spend a lot, then maybe try it out. But look for other options first.

Initially I thought it was the best vacuum cleaner I had ever purchased however, a few months later it is working at about half power even though I keep the head and the filter clean. Unfortunately the filter is not one that you can take out and rinse you have to actually buy a replacement so unless you want to buy a new head and filter every six months I would recommend purchasing something else. I'm now in the market for yet another new vacuum cleaner

Pros:Quiet, decent, adjustable suctionBag-free canister easy to emptyCons:Cord too shortThe bare floor vacuum head has to be kept at an awkward angle in order to function.Does not store well, i.e., the wand/head falls down unless it is leaning against something and in a particular way.The carry handle for the base is awkward and makes it difficult to carry one-handed.

SCRATCHES the Hard Wood Floors. They claim it doesn't, and it has felt wheels which is why I bought it. Well, sorry 4 wheels are plastic and two tiny ones are felt. That's six wheels that make indentations and marks in the floors.:/Suction- It couldn't pick up a small pebble, dragged it across the floor making a huge scratch.:)Quite operation sound! Seriously, is it on?! This is its only plus!:(Small container which is hard to clean out all the dust and dirt due to the compact design.$$Want to return but too far past the purchase date:( Waste of Money.

I returned this vacuum after several weeks using it every couple of days. Although it has many nice features described in more positive reviews, my main reason for returning it was that it scratched my floors in several places (both recently refinished red oak and older hardwood floors). This vacuum sucked up more fine dust than any other I've used. I found the cup too small to hold all the dog hair from two dogs over about 1100 square feet (every two days), though I didn't mind emptying the cup halfway through the job. I did like that most of the cup is washable except for the paper filter. Finally, it is a bit heavy and awkward to use in part because of the big handle and the attachments clipped to the hose.

The electric cord is short.The accessory attachment holder is in the way when you disconnect the vacuum tube and want to use as a short hand vacuum.The vacuum foot is larger than my other vacuum and does not fit in spots that my old vacuum did, hence the short hand vacuum problem.The rotor brush only works when on solid floor so to pick up larger debris the suction hole needs to be over the debris. The vacuum foot will not suck it up because the brush is not rotating and gets in the way.It does have good suction and the reduced suction is needed for carpets.I have used it 4 times and it still smells like toxic fumes are being emitted when the motor heats up.I wish I had put more research into this before I purchased.

I bought this vacuum after Christmas and it is horrible. The vacuum might be ok if it had attachments that worked. The floor/carpet attachment is coming apart and doesn't work either. It scrapes the floor and leaves dog hair behind. I wish I had returned it before too late, it's going to Goodwill and I'll use my 20 year old Kenmore.

It's quiet, but for dog hair I think I have more outside, from static, than it picks up. I have to vacuum the vacuum. It's very poor quality, cheap plastic parts and are definitely not made to last, and there is no beater brush, although I have two attachments, that basically do the same thing. The felt has already come off one of the brushes, that I assume is supposed to help pick up hair maybe?? The extra attachment that clips onto the handle also clips onto the handle for storage, does not stay on, nor do the attachments stay in.

I loved this vacuum when I first used it. I didn't even mind so much that the red strips under the head came off. But most recently, after only 8 months of use, the plastic tab that keeps the head attached broke and stuck inside the neck. Now I can't remove the head to change attachments. Parts are too expensive to replace - half the cost of the vacuum.

If you want to pick up dust bunnies on hard surfaces, this vacuum works fine. Otherwise, its performance is woefully inadequate. I begin vacuuming by bending over and picking up every little bit that I can see. Then I vacuum. I finish by bending over and picking up every bit that I see! The suction is weak and the brush clogs easily. Cleaning the brush requires a screw driver. My area rug is never really clean. I chose this model because it is billed as being quiet. This is partially true - the volume is low, but be aware that it emits a high pitched whine. My husband can't hear it, but it really bothers me. By the time I had tried and tried to use this vacuum effectively, the return window had closed. I consider it a waste of money and will be replacing it.

I've always had an Electrolux vacuum and never had any problems. This vacuum is awful. I've only had it a few months and already need a replacement part (the part that clicks to connect the arm to the hose needs a new spring to snap in to place. I wish I could just replace the spring, but the whole piece must be replaced). The brushes are cheap and I feel I'm doing the hardwood floors more harm than good scratching back and forth. Also, this machine is not quiet, if shrieks!

I am very unhappy with this product. Although it is not as loud as my regular canister vacuum, the rug attachment makes a horrible noise if you slightly lift it from a rug or go off the edge of an area rug onto a hard floor. The suction is good on hard floors but very poor on carpets. I have to go over the carpet 3 or 4 times to pick-up any pet hair or dirt. If there is sand trapped in carpet, it will not pick it up. The vacuum is a little hard to maneuver, the cord is on the short side, the bags are very small and there is no compartment in the canister for the attachment or 2nd head attachment. I purchased this vacuum in May 2014 and held onto this vacuum hoping that I just needed to get the hang of it, but should have returned it right away. I am very disappointed with this purchase.

This is the worst vacuum I ever used. I vacuum every one to 2 days and have mostly hardwood and ceramic floors. It picks up the dirt, but I have to clean the filter at least twice during vacuuming and I also have to use a skewer to reach the dirt that gets trapped between the filter and the side of dirt tank. If I don't stop and do this, there is no more suction. Also, the cord is way to short. I have to use an extension cord. To cut down on the frequent cleaning of the filter and dirt tank, I now use by black and decker handheld for some of my vacuuming. It does a much better job than the bissell for half the price!

Fairly useless. It's quality on hardwood floors can best be described as "meh", and it doesn't clean up a damn thing on rugs with the attachment. I have to empty the cartridge every five minutes it seems because it's so small, and the filter has to be cleaned with every use, because if you have a pet it will get covered in hair almost immediately. Not a fan.

the roller quit working after the 2nd use. would love to return or exchange it but too late now. don't buy

While the vacuum can clean, the handle is not designed well. The buttons are placed such that one repeatedly turns the power down while one is trying to vacuum. Also, it is very clumsy to handle. Further, it is IMPOSSIBLE to clean the filter and other removable insides. I wanted to like this vacuum, I tried. For 6 months I tried to like it. I DON'T LIKE IT AND I DON'T RECOMMEND IT.

This broke after 3 months of use! Just took it out for my weekly vac, and after plugging her in she won't start. I've just checked the Amazon site and unfortunately it seems unable to be returned since the return window has closed. Anyone with any suggestions please reply. After almost 6 years of deliveries this is the FIRST product that has failed it's reviews.

The suction on this vacuum is extremely weak. I had to go over spots which had cat littler 20 times before it picked some of it up. For the most part, I have to use the hose directly against the pieces of dirt to get it to pick it up. I empty the dirt container and clean it out every time and it still doesn't help. I wish I realized it soon ( I wasn't using the vacuum for a while) and now it's too late to exchange it for something better.