Product Description

Bissell 20Q9 Cleanview II Bagless Plus Upright Vacuum - maximum power and convenience to thoroughly clean your home. This model replaces model number 35766. It has many features including a TurboBrush on the handle, 7 height adjustments, bright headlight, easy empty dirt cup, HEPA media filter, wire reinforced hose, 27' power cord, and a wide 15" cleaning path. There is also an extension wand, crevice tool, and combination dusting/upholstery brush included for all of those hard to reach areas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79935 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Color: Black/Dusk
• Brand: Bissell
• Model: 20Q9
• Dimensions: 42.00" h x 15.00" w x 13.00" l, 19.50 pounds

Features

• Bagless technology extends suction power for more thorough cleaning
• HEPA media filter captures 99.9 percent of dust mites, pollens, and ragweed
• Powerful 12-amp motor; extra-wide cleaning path with side brushes to reach more dirt
• On-board tools include TurboBrush for pet hair, stairs
• 7 height adjustments; 27-foot power cord; 1-year warranty

Amazon.com Review
This cleaning machine tackles it all, from wood floors to carpets and from furniture to drapes, and its lightweight construction makes it easy to push from room to room or carry upstairs. Employing the maximum possible power of 12 amps, this vacuum has excellent suction that pulls in microscopic dirt particles as well as heavier items such as spilled nuggets of dog food or peas. The vacuum cleaner's head adjusts to seven different heights, depending on the surface it is cleaning. An extra-wide cleaning path gathers more dirt in one push and additional side brushes on the edges ensure that the perimeters of the room are not missed. A carpet sensor glows red as it passes over a dirty section of carpet and turns green when it detects that a section of carpet is finally clean.

Other potential allergens from the air are captured in the HEPA media filter, which has a track record of collecting 99.9% of dust mites, pollens, and ragweeds. All particles are deposited into this bagless vacuum's plastic dirt container, which has a lockable lever to prevent spilling and saves a ton of time and hassle in locating replacement vacuum bags. In addition, this bagless system makes it easy to spot when the dirt container needs emptying so the CleanView II Plus constantly provides effective suction; whereas, it is difficult to know if vacuum bags are full and a stuffed bag can cause a vacuum to operate at less than capacity. Onboard tools that come with this vacuum include a crevice tool, dusting brush, extension wand, and a TurboBrush, which has a rotating brush that is more accurate in picking up pet hair or cleaning stairs or drapes. The CleanView II Plus has a 27-inch power cord, a stretch hose, and is covered by Bissell under a limited one-year warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde

Customer Reviews

A Review after 1 year of use
The Bissell 35766 CleanView II is a great vacuum. It did what was advertised. I based my decision to buy this from the reviews on amazon.com

I bought this vacuum for my apartment in NYC with two other roommates. I have wood floors throughout the apartment. And I found that this vacuum is a little too much for this. I learned that this type vacuum is great for carpets and rugs. It still did its job well on bare floors. All the components worked well, and the attachments are pretty useful.

MAINTENANCE:
You have to clean this vacuum regularly. There are about 5 parts that needs to be cleaned thoroughly. These are the plastic reusable filters separates the dust from the larger chunks crumbs that the vacuum might pick up. In order for the vacuum to operate properly these filters have to be cleaned by washing it in soapy water, scrubbed, and dried. If poor maintenance clogs the filters it WILL damage the motor.

In a roommate environment, in our apartment this proved to be a problem. Because lets face it, who likes to clean? We have a cleaning schedule to keep all the roommates do their part in cleaning. But the problem arose to who cleans the vacuum, and the vacuum was never maintained and eventually overheated the motor and broke.


CONCLUSION
This is a great vacuum and I recommend it to those who have carpeted apartments. For those of us with wood floors or in a roommate situation, this is not the best vacuum to have. In fact it's best to avoid bag-less vacuums. Just go for the more traditional bag vacuum, you can all (roommates) split the cost for the bags.

I went to a local authorized repair center and learned about how bag less vacuums work and the lifespan of the affordable vacuums such as this one have.
What I learned, low-end vacuums, such as this one have about a two or more years worth of use, if maintained properly before they break. It has to do with the quality of motor that they use on these things.

I also learned about the advantages and disadvantages of bag-less vacuums. The advantages are obvious--no bags to buy to use the vacuum, and less waste--it's a bit more ecological to have a bag-less vacuum. The disadvantages are the maintenance. The vacuum needs regular thorough cleaning of its own.

Oops, only lasted about 2 years.
** READ MY UPDATES AT BOTTOM **
The Bissell Cleanview II vacuum is a Quick Recommendation from Consumer Reports if low price is a main concern. Which I took as meaning, if you don't want to spend a lot of bucks, this will be plenty good. They were right and I'm pleased with the ~$80 spent on this vacuum. The 3576 model is the 3576-6 model without the turbobrush and a slightly longer cord, but are the same price. CR's Best Buy is a Eureka model at almost double the cost. If I had more area to clean, other than my living room rug and a long hallway runner, I may have considered the Eureka.

PROS:
- Picks up everything
- Long hose attachment with tools
- Easy to put together
- 27-foot power cord
- Easy to empty dirt cup
- HEPA filter
- Inexpensive filter replacements (HEPA media filter is $9.99)
- Headlight
- Soft bumper sides
- Pile adjust settings
- Easy carry handle
- 1 Year Warranty

CONS:
- Pretty loud
- Big & heavy
- Wheels make a lot of noise
- Turbo brush attachment is difficult to remove from storage slot
- 1 Year Warranty

I live in a flat that has hardwood floors. I purchased a small stick vac with a 6-amp motor to use on a living room rug, a hallway runner, and a small patch of carpet in the bedroom. After a while, I realized it wasn't working very well at all. It tended to push debris, dust, and pet hair around instead of sucking it up.

I finally decided to stop playing around with stick vacs and decided to get a full-sized one. I referred to Consumer Reports for advice and though I really wanted to get the Eureka that they recommended as a Best Buy, I couldn't justify the price for the small area I would be using it for.

My main requirements were that it actually pick up everything off of my rugs and that it had easy to use attachments. The HEPA filter was a bonus. I now realize that since the last time I bought a full-sized vacuum (1995), vacuum cleaners have come a long way.

ASSEMBLY
Couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is attach the handle with one screw and then place the hose and attachments onboard.

CLEANING
I had just used my stick vac a few days earlier. After putting together the CleanView II, I thought I'd give it a whirl. What it picked up that the stick vac didn't was amazing. The dust cup was already beyond the full line! My rugs have never been cleaner.

ATTACHMENTS
The hose is extendable and easy to to use. It is as simple as lifting it off of the unit and placing any of the onboard attachments to it. My only complaint is that the Turbo Brush, stored in the front, is difficult to remove once you've stored it. I couldn't get enough of a grip on it to pry it out without using a screwdriver to pop it out. Bissell should have placed rubber grips on the sides of the Turbo Brush so it'd be easier to remove.

NOISE
Don't run it at night if you live in an apartment and want to be considerate of your neighbors. It doesn't have a super high pitched noise, but it definitely rumbles. The cat went scurrying away and hid when I turned it on. The plastic wheels seem to contribute to the noise too. I don't know why someone hasn't come up with rubber or inline wheels for vacuums.

MISC
It's a heavy vacuum (21 lb shipping weight), but it's not so heavy as to be a burden. Granted, I don't have much to clean. The headlight is nice so I can see in areas where my flat is not well lit. The manual pile adjustment dial is easy enough to use and has seven height settings. The dirt cup is easily removeable and emptied, though slightly messy. It's also easy to turn the power on and off.

The cord is located on the right side of the vacuum. If felt somewhat awkward when I tried to guide the cord while vacuuming since I normally vacuum with my right hand and guide the cord with my left.

SUMMARY
This vacuum works and is easily the nicest I've ever owned. I thought I could get away with using one of those smaller vacs to take care of simple jobs on small areas. I was wrong and wasted nearly $50 learning that lesson. The Bissell Cleanview II is not that expensive and does a good job. What more could I ask for?

=== 16 Months Later (2/24/07) ===
I now live in a 2-story townhouse that is all carpet and still believe that this is a great vacuum. As another reviewer noted however, regular maintenance is required to keep it running well. I can attest to how gruesome a job that is too. Despite this, I am still happy at how well it works.

=== 28 Months Later (2/25/08) ===
I disposed this vacuum cleaner 2 days ago because it started to smoke from the belt area. I could not see what was happening and personally, did not trust it anymore. I'm guessing something got stuck between the belt and the friction burned something that it picked up but boy did it freak me out. I was falling out of love with it anyways because of the constant maintenance and poor attachment performance. Because you have to detach the hose from the main unit, there's a pathway for dirt, hair, and dust to fly out of the vacuum while using the attachment. I'd have to re-vacuum over an area after using the attachment and grossed me out. It worked pretty well for about a year and a half and then I couldn't wait to replace it. I finally did yesterday with a Hoover Empower model for about the same price. The Hoover seems more cheaply made, but I'm content with it so far and is another Consumer Reports recommendation.

This thing really sucks
I've owned an Electrolux for 13 years, finally the motor quit. After 1 time of using the Bissell 3576, I couldn't believe the amount of filth that I pulled out of my carpet. It costs $100 a year to service an Electrolux just to maintain the warranty on it. The Bissell only cost me $79.99. At that price, I could replace it every year for less than what it costs to maintain the warranty on the Electrolux.

Pros -
1) Great value
2) Really sucks the dirt up
3) The TurboBrush works great on the stairs
4) The attachments can all be attached to the vacuum so you're not searching for them

Cons -
1) Because of the suction power, it gives your arm a workout
2) Does not have a seperate attachment to attach to the hose for vacuuming floors (the upright models do not reach into corners)
3) The Hepa filter needs to be replaced frequently (per the owners manual and costs about $10)
4) Puts out quite a bit of heat from the powerful motor