Comments on: Bissell 89Q9 Lift-Off MultiCyclonic Pet Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Detachable Canister

By: HootieM

HootieM — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:11:30 +0000

I purchased a version of this from a local box store (their’s is red). I purchased it today and am returning it! I was really taken with the idea of the attachment with a brush for steps, etc., but I did one set of steps (5 steps) and when I attached it to try it on an area rug it wasn’t getting enough suction to even spin the brush. Maybe mine is defective, but I won’t be exchanging it to find out….I’ll just move onto my next choice.

Liked:

* The light…LOL..my old Dyson didn’t have one..somehow it made me feel like I got under furniture better!

*Vacuum flattens to go under furniture, bed, etc.

* The bottom of the vacuum is a rubbery material unlike my Dyson if I nick my baseboard there’d be no marks.

* The idea of vacuuming my dog with this! He on the other hand didn’t like this idea….didn’t even try it though.

Disliked:

* Attachments not working properly, which is the deal breaker for me (brush not spinning in attachment).

* The way the bagless canister pulled out to empty was messy. It wasn’t full, but everything clogged in the back and when I pulled out the canister 1/2 of it was stuck above and went everywhere!
Rating: 1 / 5

By: LoLoMac

LoLoMac — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:09:21 +0000

The cord on the vacuum is located down on the right side below where you coil up the cord. Since I’m left-handed I am always tripping over the cord, it’s a pain in the ass. The hose that is used with the attachments is too short and it tips over every time I try to use it on a chair or the stairs.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: kayakesva

kayakesva — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:32:27 +0000

i bought this vacuum based on some reviews (which were mixed) on another site. i talked myself into this vacuum because it seemed to have everything i would ever need in a vacuum. i have NEVER been more wrong about a purchase. i would give this vacuum negative stars if it were possible.

first, let’s start with the weight. i am a 39 year old male who is in good shape. this vacuum is a struggle for me to carry up the stairs- i have no idea how an older or less strong person could handle carrying it up stairs, unless they took it apart (the “lift off” feature) carried the lift off up, and then went back for the base/ chassis part, which would necessitate two trips up the stairs. completely ridiculous.

next, let’s talk about the marvel of “bagless”. this, in my opinion, is one of the greatest scams ever perpetuated upon the consumer. we are led to believe that bagless is better, and (ha!) cleaner. NOTHING could be further from the truth. you have to practically carry this thing outside to dump the cup (again, meaning you’ve got to carry it outside) because when the cup is removed, inevitably dust and dirt fall out of the unit and onto the carpet you’ve just cleaned. pointless. THEN, you’re not done with emptying just the cup. if you don’t empty the filter chamber above it every single time, the dust/ dirt/ pet hair will quickly build up in the filter area, meaning you’ve got an even BIGGER mess to clean up and spill on your floor. thus, you pretty much have to carry it outside every single time.

also- if you don’t empty the cup every time, you will quickly fill it up with dog hair, and then clog your unit the next time you start it.

so- to review so far— it is insanely heavy to carry up a flight of stairs, and you have to make sure the cup is empty before you use it every time and dump it after you’re done. every time. this should already talk you out of it, but i’ll continue.

IF you have the misfortune of letting your unit clog in the filter chamber (which is very, very easy to do), when you turn the unit back on, a cloud of debris and dust will be blown out of the back filter of the machine. this has happened to me twice. i can definitively say that this is the messiest, dirtiest, heaviest, and worst vacuum that i have ever had the displeasure of purchasing. if i hadn’t thrown the box away, this piece of junk would have gone right back to the store the next day. if this review hasn’t dissuaded you from buying this vacuum and you decide to buy it anyway, i promise you that you will know first hand the things that i have said here within weeks of having your vacuum.

i have just attempted to vacuum my house (again), and once again i experienced the horrible cloud of dust and crap coughed out through the back filter. i decided that before i go dust my living room to get rid of the mess, that i was going to sit down and tell the world what a horrible piece of equipment this is and try to save someone else from throwing their money away.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Barry Holsinger

Barry Holsinger — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:37:32 +0000

The Bissell 89Q9 Lift-Off MultiCyclonic Pet Baglass vacuum cleaner's spec sheet boasts an impressive list of features, but the actual product implementation really bites the big one. Hopefully it will bite the dust before more people are fooled into purchasing it.

Immediately after unpacking the vacuum and perusing the assembly instructions I knew there would be trouble. The only major assembly step is attaching the handle to the top of the vac, which requires a Philips screwdriver (that by itself is a minor quibble). The instructions state to slide the handle into place, and if there is a gap where the parts meet just "keep pushing". The handle does not fit well, period. Don't bother trying for a flush fit, just install the two screws and be done with it.

Like most upright vacuums today, the Bissell uses a "slinky"-style tube to connect the vac motor to the floor piece. As usual, to clean upholstery, blinds, ceilings, etc., just unplug the hose from the floorpiece and connect the appropriate extension wand and accessory. However, there are several problems with the Bissell design. First, the hole where the tube plugs in to the floor piece is way too tight. Inserting the hose is not a problem, but removing it took more strength than I ever imagined could be necessary; there is no way my wife would be able (or perhaps not willing) to remove this tube to use the extension wand. Second, the other end of the hose plugs into a "twist and snap" connection on the motor unit. The fit is also very tight, but this end of the hose should rarely need to be unplugged, so by itself that's no biggie. The problem is, the hose juts out perpendicular to the motor body and needs to be bent sharply up and to the side to route the hose down to the floor piece. Technically I suppose this connection works okay but the way it looks just screams of sloppy design work, and I worry the hose is more likely to be snagged and damaged.

One of the more unique features of this upright model is its ability to detach the vacuum body from the upright frame, and use it as a canister-style cleaner. In theory this makes it easier to clean stairs and car interiors, for example. In reality, the so-called detachable "cannister" lacks some key features that make a real cannister vacuum useful. First and foremost, a cannister vac must be able to lie down horizontally and remain stable when in use. This Bissell pseudo-cannister is designed to stand upright ONLY which makes in woefully unstable on stairs. If you try to lay the cannister on its side, it will still wobble and roll, dangerously -- all the while the motor's hot outlet air is blowing directly on you. Removing the cannister from the upright frame is easy, but I found that putting it back was difficult -- actually impossible until I removed the extension wand from its parking spot on the frame. (Doesn't anybody at Bissell R&D test this stuff?)

Another failure of this poorly-executed product design is the "extension wand". Almost all vacuums, whether upright or cannister, provide several extension wand tubes, which are tapered at one end, that can be connected together to reach high spots or behind or under furniture. Bissell decided to be clever and discarded the tried-and-true multi-piece tapered tube design, replacing it with a single integrated "tube within a tube" and twist-lock ferruled nut. This type of collapsible pole design is great for use in paint-roller extension poles, but it's wasteful and inefficient for use in a relatively short vacuum cleaner tube. Bissell's extension wand/tube is heavier than conventional tapered extension tubes and doesn't extend as far. And it just seems like a much more complicated and expensive solution to a problem that's been resolved for decades.

Finally, perhaps the most infuriating aspect of the 89Q9 is its use of a non-standard hose/tube size! None of my other generic accessories (nook-n-cranny wand, drapery & upholstery nozzle, shutter & blind brush, etc.) will fit. If you're used to swapping accessories among multiple vacuums, forget it. If you have a bunch of accessories from previous vacuum cleaners which you'd like to keep using, forget it. Or if you want to buy third-party accessories, forget it. They will not work with this Bissell. There are two or three standard sizes used throughout the world on different makes and models of vacuum cleaners; why Bissell decided to utilize this non-standard size is beyond me. (Also, relative to every other vacuum cleaner in the world, the "wide end" of the extension tube is on the wrong end. Why? Why?)

In closing, I'm very glad that I bought this vacuum... from Costco rather than Amazon, so I can RETURN the darned thing easily!

Rating: 1 / 5

By: Mindy Schmitz

Mindy Schmitz — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:42:24 +0000

I have had this vacuum for over a year now and I keep thinking I’m doing something wrong that doesn’t make it work right. I constantly have to take the hair out of the brushes and clean all the filters. I have to go over and over the same areas to pick up dirt and hair. Today was the day I finally gave up on it. Works like crap! I hate it! Don’t buy it.
Rating: 1 / 5