 My carpet looks so pretty! What an amazing machine... |
| Review Date: July 28, 2007 |
| Reviewer: sparqle, Orem, UT USA |
A review or two of this machine would have helped me a lot, so I'll leave one hoping it might help someone out there who's trying to decide which carpet cleaner to buy.
We moved into our house four months ago. The previous owner had the carpets cleaned for us, but they already looked awful. She was very tidy and clean--no children at home--and we just really aren't. The carpets on the main floor are a very light Berber, so you can probably imagine how they were starting to look with an eight-year-old constantly in and out. And we aren't shoe removers.
My only previous experience with a deep cleaner was a 5-year-old Bissell that served my mom faithfully until it finally stopped working when I tried to use it a few days ago. I am convinced the water shooter thingy only quit because it was left filthy by the last person who used it and is probably clogged up with some nasty glob of disgustion.
Anyway, I needed my carpets cleaned and I needed it done soon because my in-laws are due for a visit in just over a week. I didn't have time to wait for Amazon to ship me a carpet cleaner, and I didn't want to pay someone half what this cleaner would cost to do it for me.
After reading many reviews, I was wavering between the Bissell 9400, the 9500, and the Hoover SteamVac Agility. I probably would have gone with the Agility just for the sake of price and the separate dirty/clean water tanks, but none of the local stores had it, and like I said I needed it now. Finally I wandered into a Linens `n Things and saw the Bissell 9500. It was priced higher than Amazon, but with a 20% off coupon it actually came out a little lower, even after paying sales tax. So I took it home.
I had absolutely no problems with assembly. It took all of maybe 5-10 minutes and a Philips screwdriver.
My first impression was Wow! Bissell has sure made a lot of improvements since my mom's machine rolled off the line.
The water tank is much easier to clean and use. The piece of plastic on the top where the suction takes place on the old Bissell was difficult to clean because it was attached to the main assembly, but the new one has the suction part on top of the water tank, so you can easily run water through it to get the gunk out. I'm a believer that you have to clean these things after using them if you want them to last. I also like that the water tank is made with Microban so I don't have to worry about bacteria building up in a damp machine.
I also like that this has a separate tank for the cleaning solution. I believe that with the Hoover Agility you have to mix the solution with the water, which would make it difficult to switch between cleaning and rinsing with water only. Rinsing helps get the extra soap out so you don't feel like you're walking on chemicals. I appreciated being able to choose between `heavy traffic', `normal clean', `light clean', and `water rinse' with the turn of a dial.
The `Clean Shot' feature, which I didn't think would be a big deal, actually turned out to be quite useful. Often I would go over a spot, expecting it to disappear, only to find it was still there. So, I would just hit it with a wallop of pure cleaning solution, clean another section for a few seconds, then go back over the spot. It really seemed to help get the peskier ones out.
On the old Bissell, the nozzles and hose were constantly falling out when you weren't using them because there was no way to secure them properly. I can't imagine that happening with the 9500; everything is secured with very tough plastic and nothing fell off while I was cleaning.
The attachments worked very well, by the way. One of the reasons I wanted this machine was that I wanted to be able to clean stairs myself. The TurboBrush was great. There's a switch that you can adjust between `brush'--an actual revolving brush--and `suction.' All the tools I used seemed to suction very well, another improvement over the old Bissell. The wide stair tool is nice for larger fields and the narrow tool is good for places like stair edges, where a wider tool might lose suction. There are a few tools I didn't use (crevice tool, squeegee, medium brush tool) because I didn't need them, but I might need them for instance when I clean the carpets in my truck, or when I clean my hard floors.
The only feature I am undecided on is the `Dry Aire' in which hot air blows out the bottom, supposedly to speed drying time. I didn't notice quicker drying and it makes a warm job warmer. But who knows, maybe it really does help.
My carpet looks wonderful. I'm convinced that if I spent more time on it, especially pre-treating, it would look even more wonderful, but who has unlimited time these days, especially with an 8-month-old? It definitely looks as good as when we moved in, maybe a little better. Like I said, the previous owner was very clean, so there wasn't a ton of dirt built up other than what we've brought in during these last four months. Nevertheless, there were plenty of times during my cleaning of high-traffic areas that I would see a distinct line between clean and dirty after the very first pass.
Overall the Bissell 9500 was easy to use, a pleasure really. It's not too heavy for me and I'm quite small. All the plastic on it seems very thick and durable, and it's even kind of pretty--an amazing machine.
I'll update this review if I have any problems with it in the future. |
I'm happy with this purchase
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| Review Date: August 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Allen Bretschneider, Middleton, WI USA |
I bought this before any reviews were listed, because I liked the reviews of the previous model (9400) and I found this model online at ABC Vacuum Warehouse, which also offers a manufacturer's [...] and free shipping, making it the same price as the 9400. They shipped standard UPS ground, so it arrived quickly.
When I first opened the box, I noticed how sturdy this product is even though there is a lot of plastic. Assembly is simple enough. It has more than enough attachments for any need. It came with a 16oz bottle of cleaning solution (as well as a 16oz bottle of tough stain remover and an 8oz bottle of bare floor cleaner), which is enough to fill the solution tank one time. Make sure you buy more cleaning solution right away before starting to clean, because you're going to need it. The only tool you will ever need for assembly, removing parts for cleaning, or replacing a belt is a Phillips screwdriver. From what I could tell, there were 3 additional features (Clean Shot, Dry Aire, and Edge Sweep) this model had over the 9400, as well as an additional attachment and a mesh bag.
Believe it or not, the mesh bag is convenient because not all of the attachments get attached to the machine. By far, the best of the new features is the Clean Shot! I tried it on one stubborn stain, and it worked beautifully. I must admit, it's a very nice feature! As for the Edge Sweep, at first I thought it was pointless because the bristles are stationary. But what I realized is the Edge Sweep is truly what gives your carpeting the well-groomed look to it, so it's nice for that. But it doesn't do anything for cleaning puproses. The big clunker of new features is the Dry Aire. It's useless, other than to warm up the room more and add more noise. It doesn't help dry the carpets, runs even when using the attachments, and there is no way to turn it off. The only other "negative" is cleaning this machine.
It's not difficult to clean, but it needs to be cleaned often. Even with thorough vacuuming, it just picks up a lot of carpet fibers that will clump up and get spit out onto the carpeting or get trapped underneath the rollers. There is a black and white indicator that spins on the base when using. If you ever run out of clean water, solution, or the machine needs to be cleaned, this indicator will stop spinning. If the indicator stops spinning, and you have enough water and solution, you need to stop to clean the unit underneath. I noticed the carpet was dryer to the touch when it needed to be cleaned, even though there was plenty of solution and clean water. So stop and clean it underneath for best results, and also rinse out the suctioning part.
Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. My carpets look great, feel great, and smell great! My allergies are improved. It's no louder than a regular vacuum cleaner. The Clean Shot is awesome! While the Dry Aire feature is a gimmick - maybe it works best on hard floors - and it does require frequent stops to clean, it's sturdy, easy to assemble and clean, and simple to operate. Most importantly, it does what a carpet cleaner should do well and that is clean the carpets. I would purchase this again.
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Hoover vs Bissell
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| Review Date: December 18, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Herbert Arthur Rideout, |
Which is best the Bissell 9500 or the Hoover All Terrain SteamVac F7452900, they are both priced about the same. To find out I read all the reviews on both Amazon and Best Buy and here is my analysis.
Both units have their plusses but on Amazon 68% of the reviewers gave the Bissell the highest five star rating while those reviewing the Hoover only 49% gave it a five star rating. Clearly on Amazon the Bissell is favored.
On the Best Buy web site they ask " would you recommend this product to a friend." In the case of the Bissell 90% said yes but in the case of the Hoover only 55% said yes. So The Bissell is again a winner. The next question is why are people dissatisfied with the Hoover and the answer is that they often leak and the components easily break.
Next question, where is the best place to buy a Bissell 9500 and that answer is Best Buy who at this writing has them on sale for $254.99 with free shipping. |
Makes a tough job a bit easier
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| Review Date: November 25, 2007 |
| Reviewer: ShadySprings, Los Angeles |
For those of you considering buying this carpet deep cleaner, this should help. First of all, even with this machine, it's a lot of work. If you're ready to spend 1-2 days working your butt off, then keep reading.
After the first time you clean your carpet with this machine, it's more than paid for itself compared to a professional carpet clean. This machine cleans BETTER than the professionals.
I've been using "professionals" for 20 years. Everytime, the carpet dries out hard and rough. After using this Bissell, carpet dried out much faster and was soft and CLEAN!
Here is how the cleaning went. I'll divide into 2 parts, floor and stairs.
Floor -
The floor was pretty easy to do. Just fill the solution bottle up in the back. Fill up the front bottle bladder with hot water. Turn on both switches in the front, power and heater. Wait 60 seconds and start.
You basically pull the spray trigger making a forward stroke, continue to pull on trigger making return backwards stroke. Then let go of the trigger and make a forward and backward stroke, this will now suck all the solution out of the carpet. You can do this as many times as you want to dry out the carpet. I usually did it 1-2. You can see if water is still being sucked up by looking at the clear plastic on the front of machine.
That's it. In couple hours, yes only a couple hours, the carpet is dry, clean, and soft. Much better than the "pro's" ever left it.
Stairs -
This is where the job got tough. For the stairs, you can't take advantage of the machine weight and cleaning rollers doing the work for you. You need to use the hose and tools. Basically need to spray solution onto the stairs and scrub with the tools like a brush. Then Suck all the solution out of the carpet using tools.
All and all, this machine is amazing. The carpet looks brand new, dries fast, and the whole house smells clean. The 9500 is well designed and easy to clean. Really not much to clean up. Just empty out solution bottle, suck some clean water through the hose, empty and rinse out water tank in front, and you're done.
One of the most satisfying purchases I've made for the house. |
I love this machine
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| Review Date: September 10, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Jennifer Royston, |
| I am so pleased with this machine., There are two features I especially like. It has only one tank that serves two purposes. It holds the clean water and collects the dirty water, so you only have to empty/fill one tank. My old Hoover had two tanks and it was a lot more work emptying and filling them plus they always seemed to drip all over the floor when I was taking them to the sink. This tank is easy to open and close too and does not drip at all. The other thing I love is that you can switch to a rinse cycle directly from a clean cycle without having to empty or fill the tank, which is a real plus in my eyes. I clean my carpets a lot as I have a large house and 10 dogs (and 2 cats) so it gets dirty very quickly. This machine did a fabulous job of cleaning and my carpets look great. I also found (as did the other reviewers) that it seemed to collect a lot more fuzz than my old machine, and I can only suppose that means it is going a better job of deep cleaning than my old machine. If anyone is trying to decide between different machines, I think this is the best. I have had several because I shampoo all the time, and it is far superior to any of the others. Also I am not sure that the dryer does much of anything, but again, it's not that important to me. [...]. |
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