Introduction

I had been using my Hoover Windtunnel Bagless Upright for the last six years with excellent performance. The front wheel assembly broke on me twice due to an unevenness in my slate flooring downstairs, which is what finally prompted me to look into upgrading. My particular Hoover was the made in the USA model that came out prior to the overseas model. The motor worked flawlessly during the six years I owned it, even after getting caught up in some carpet fiber in my garage. I was always curious about the newer Dyson models and the advantages they offered, but the price wasn't justifiable in my eyes. Fortunately for the consumer, patents expire, which led me to research some of the Dyson competitors at a more reasonable price point. . .

Research

I was initially intrigued by the Infinity Deluxe, which was the first Dyson competitor on the market, but after reading quite a few negative reviews about the thermal overload sensor shutting the vacuum off for an extended period of time, I reluctantly gave up on that idea. As I was looking at that particular model at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, the manager tipped me off to the overload problem and indicated that he personally owned the Bissell Healthy Home and it really impressed him. I told him that I wanted to go home and do my due digilence before jumping into anything or simply taking his word for it. He understood and off I went.

After getting online and reading countless reviews about a countless number of vacuums, I quickly began to realize that there is no pleasing anyone when it comes to a vacuum and all of its moving parts. Regardless of what model I researched, I found a guaranteed ratio of positive to negative opinions. At that point, it occurred to me that I had been very happy with my Hoover Windtunnel, so it made logical sense to see if everyone that reviewed it felt the same way, which would reassure me on the world of reviews. Quite the contrary. The particular site I took a look at had my beloved Hoover at 19 five star reviews, some in between, and 23 one star reviews. Unbelievable! After reading some of the negative arguments, I quickly realized that when it comes to a product with moving parts that requires routine maintenance to ensure prolonged performance, the average person isn't overly attentive, which can lead to a long list of problems to complain about. Essentially, if a reviewer is not going to "pay his dues" when it comes to upkeep to maintain his/her purchase, then I certainly don't want to compare my forthcoming experience with theirs. After coming to the conclusion that vacuum reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt for this specific reason, I looked back upon the Healthy Home vacuum and found that at the very least, it had a very good ratio of positive to negative reviews, which is about all I can ask for going into the initial purchase. Off to Bed, Bath, & Beyond I went with my 20% off coupon in hand.

Initial Impression

After getting the vacuum home, I unpackaged it and realized that it does have some weight behind it, as several reviewers had commented. I don't mind this, as everything nowadays seems to be getting lighter, more cheaply made, and less dependable. It's a good workout pushing around a heavier than average vacuum anyway.

Assembly was simple with one phillips screw to drive into the handle and some attachments to mount on the vacuum itself. About 5-10 minutes altogether.

I really like the fact that this vacuum has a standard mounting system for the electrical cord. The models that have automatic rewinding doesn't appeal to me, because it seems like only a matter of time before the mechanism gives way and you're left with x amount of feet of cord hanging out of the vacuum with no place to store it.

The Bissell Healthy Home feels durable and has a quality feel to it. It certainly doesn't convey the "this is only going to last 2-3 years" feeling that quite a few vacuums give off these days.

I also like the design of this model. It has an attractive look and nice styling. Not overly important in a device that will be used once or twice a week, but appealing nonetheless. The blue color is attractive and the collection bin is see through with a relatively large capacity.

Performance

After firing up the Bissell Healthy Home, it became quickly apparent that the suction exceeded my expectations. The relatively quiet sound of the motor is deceiving, as it would lead one to believe that this unit doesn't deliver like it does. Holding the hose up to my shirt and hand to judge the suction impressed me. Significantly better than my Hoover Windtunnel, and I was always impressed with that model.

There are about six or seven different height adjustments. It recommends in the manual to keep the setting slightly higher than normal for berber carpets like mine to prevent "fuzzing" or premature wearing. I can see why they recommend this with the amount of suction this vacuum produces. I initially had the height setting at a much lower level and it was almost difficult to push the vacuum due to the large amount of suction. After making a few passes with it, I noticed that it brought my berber carpet into an upright position that I haven't seen in years. Not unevenly so, just enough to notice that it really is putting some serious suction on my carpet.

I was also very impressed with the turbo brush attachment. When my hoover's HEPA filter was perfectly clean, it would spin the brush in the handheld attachment fairly well, but a fair amount of pressure on the carpet would cause the brush to stop spinning. Not so in the case of the Healthy Home. As soon as I attached it, that brush began spinning with the same ferocity as the powered brush in the main unit. I cleaned all of my stairs with it and it did an excellent job.

The brush attachments are nicely designed, as they're in one unit and the looser bristled head slides off of the more stiff bristled head when it's needed. These are great for dusting lamp shades, computer keyboards, electronics equipment, televisions, stereo equipment, blinds, etc.

The attached hose is long enough for me to vacuum ten stairs at a time without any problem. I read some negative reviews about the hose causing the vacuum to tip over, but I'm fairly certain that these people didn't read the manual properly, as it recommends keeping the hose looped around the bottom hose hook to prevent tipping. This places the hinging point of the hose about eight inches above the ground, which makes it very bottom heavy and resistant to tipping over. You lose about a foot of hose extension by looping it in this fashion, but for those concerned about tipping, I'd say that's a small price to pay.

I picked up a great deal of debris after vacuuming with just one pass on all of my carpets. It's very easy to see how much you've collected in the dust collection bin. Fine sediment falls to the bottom, while lighter debris such as dust bunnies collect above that.

When it came time to empty the container, I was eager to be the one that did it, as the Hoover was somewhat messy if you wanted to clean it out thoroughly. The Bissell is a breeze. I would never recommend emptying the filter of any bagless vacuum into an indoor trash can, particularly for those that have dust allergies, such as myself. I go out to my green yard waste bin out by my garage to empty the collection cup. By using the green container, it also prevents dirt from being stirred up while emptying household trash like it would be if I dumped it in the blue or black cans. Strategic planning to keep my allergies happy. I held the collection bin down in the green can, pressed the release button, and watched 90% of the contents drop into the can. A few taps on the side of the container and the remainder fell out, all while holding my breath. Closed the lid to the can, and it was a done deal. I'll probably put a dust mask on once a month and use my air compressor to blow out the honeycombs further up in the collection bin to maintain maximum airflow, but after just emptying the collection bin as I described, the suction seemed every bit as good as it was initially. I'm a big believer in keeping any filters and the collection bin in a vacuum as clean as possible at all times. When you're dealing with the airflow in a vacuum, any build up at all begins to diminish your flow rate. As a matter of fact, you're probably only ever at a 100% suction right after the unit is purchased and turned on for the very first time. Understanding this will lend itself to regular cleanings and dumpings of the collection bin after every vacuuming and potentially a time or two during a vacuuming if the square footage is large enough. The stronger the suction, the more dirt, dust, sand, and debris you'll pull out of your carpets, and isn't that the whole point of vacuuming to begin with?

Additional Thoughts

I like the idea of the lifetime belt assembly. This particular feature will be a matter of standing the test of time. I only had to replace the belt on my Hoover once in six years and that was entirely my fault by letting some loose carpet strands in the garage wrap around the belt assembly, causing the belt to break. I wouldn't mind changing the belt in the Bissell on occasion, but perhaps the lifetime belt will live up to its name!

About the only "gripe" I can come up with has to do with the automatic brush shut off mechanism that causes the brush to stop rotating when the unit is moved into an upright position. This one's a double edged sword though. On one hand, it's very nice, because when you move from vacuuming to dusting, the automatic shutoff ensures that you're not going to be roughing up the carpet in one place while the vacuum is stationary. On the flip side, it can be a negative in isolated situations when you're vacuuming in a narrow space, such as the landing on my stairs. In these tighter areas, your natural tendency is to pull the handle upright as you pull back towards the wall, which shuts off the brush mechanism. The unit doesn't have to be perfectly vertical to shut off the brush, it seems to engage at about the twenty degree point. Again, this is somewhat of a moot point, because there are obvious advantages to having this design incorporated into the vacuum. There is a separate brush shut off switch near the power switch, but how often would people forget to turn off the brush when dusting? I'm already training myself to keep the handle at lower level while vacuuming and not bringing it near the angle that engages the shutoff, so this "problem" will probably correct itself with time anyway.

Another advantage of the brush shut off mechanism (which my Hoover model didn't have) is the quietness you experience while dusting. You quickly realize how much of the noise of a vacuum is the brush motor and not so much the suction being generated.

According to the manual, the HEPA filter needs replacing every six months, but obviously that varies depending upon usage. At my once a week vacuuming on limited carpet square footage, I'm sure I can go longer. The filter is deemed to be "non-washable", but I may give it a go before replacing it the first time. I was able to wash my Hoover HEPA filter after every other use for years and it held up great, so we'll see on this one. If I remember, I'll post an update letting everyone know how that turns out when the time comes.

There is a washable pre-filter mounted beneath the collection bin. It's easy to remove and rinses under cold water.

Bissell includes both a powder and a liquid version of their Acarosan dust mite control. The powder can be sprinkled on carpets and the spray used on mattress pads and mattresses. I just got a new mattress pad, so I'm holding off on using them for a while. I would provide a future update after using them, but these are essentially "good faith" products that are hard to judge if they are actually performing as indicated. You just have to take a company's word for it I suppose.

Conclusion

At this point, I am impressed with the Bissell Healthy Home vacuum. If it maintains the suction level I've experienced thusfar and remains solid and durable, I can't imagine asking for anything else in a vacuum. Bissell has recently extended the previous two year warranty to a five year warranty, which adds to my overall peace of mind. Bed, Bath, & Beyond is very good about servicing customer satisfaction, so that's even furthering my confidence in the product. Overall, I would highly recommend this vacuum to anyone in search of a powerful vacuum that maintains its suction and certainly to anyone that suffers from dust/environmental allergies like I do!