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Bissell Lift-Off Deep Cleaner, 94Y2:
The Bissell Lift-Off Deep Cleaner features two machines in one: a full size deep cleaner for whole room cleaning, plus a portable spot cleaner for hard to reach areas. This 12 amp deep cleaner thoroughly removes deep down dirt and leaves your carpets beautifully groomed. The portable spot cleaner easily removes to clean stairs, upholstery, or car interiors.
The powerful cleaning system includes a Built-In Hot Water Heater which heats water and cleaning solution to maximize cleaning effectiveness, 12 row Dual DirtLifter PowerBrushes which loosen and remove deep down dirt, and Surround Suction for edge to edge cleaning. EdgeSweep brushes clean along baseboards for full width cleaning.
The convenient portable spot cleaner has a 5 foot flexible hose and two cleaning attachments. Use theTough Stain tool for removing spots and stains and use the crevice tool to access narrow spaces or tight corners.
Features:
2 Machines in 1:
Full size deep cleaner for entire room cleaning, plus portable spot cleaner for hard-to-reach areas
Powerful Cleaning System:
Built-in hot water heater, 12 row dual DirtLifter PowerBrushes, and Surround Suction
Portable Spot Cleaner:
Removes deep down dirt & stains from upholstery, stairs, and car interiors.
Built-In Hot Water:
Heater Continuously heats tap water for maximum cleaning effectiveness.
Ready to Use hose, Tough Stain Tool and Crevice Tool:
All included for added convenience while cleaning your home from top to bottom.
Product Features
- The Lift-Off Deep Cleaner is two machines in one full size deep cleaner for entire room cleaning, plus portable spot cleaner for hard-to-reach areas
- Built-In Hot Water Heater, 12 row Dual DirtLifter PowerBrushes, and Surround Suction
- Portable Spot Cleaner removes deep down dirt & stains from upholstery, stairs, and car interiors.
- Built-In Hot Water Heater Continuously heats tap water for maximum cleaning effectiveness.
- Ready to Use hose, Tough Stain Tool and Crevice Tool
They combined and improved on the Spot Bot and the Pro-Heat systems. We have pets and children, so we’ve had a few Bissell “Spot Bots” and carpet shampooers in the past. We’ve also had opportunity to rent machines from retail stores and have used professional carpet cleaning services a few times. The “Spot Bot” and Bissell Pro-Heat that we’ve used most extensively, worked well, but we looked forward to the opportunity to try this system because something that combined the portability of Spot Bot, with the power of the Pro-Heat seemed ideal.Our expectations were pretty high for this machine, and we weren’t disappointed at all. Both as a portable machine and as a full blown carpet shampooer, it does an exceptional job. It cleans carpet and upholstery even better than the previous Bissell machines, and is easy to use. I really liked having the portable spot cleaner combined with the carpet cleaner both because of the space savings, but also because of simplicity. It is really nice to only have to keep one machine clean, which is sometimes a messy job depending on what you’ve been using it for.I think that this is now the best home system on the market, especially at the sub-$300 price point. The Hoover systems were always very similar to the Bissell Pro-Heat, but the improvements in this “Lift-Off” model push Bissell ahead in our opinion. It is certainly better than the Rug Doctor rental systems that are nowhere near as good as even the Pro-Heat.The things we really like about this system are:- Combined design makes for easy storage, use, and clean-up. We really like the fact that our days of having two separate systems are over.- Power and cleaning. This system does a great job on stains and on full floor cleaning. It is a noticeable improvement over the effectiveness of the Pro-Heat, and even that did a very good job.- Price. A good Spot Bot and a good Carpet Cleaner typically each cost what this machine is priced at separately. You really are getting two machines for the price of one.- Suction. I think that the reason this machine works so well is that they have really improved the suction. It sucks almost all of the dirt, solution, and water back into its tank, leaving the carpet almost dry just a few minutes after you finish.I highly recommend that you consider this machine.
Cleaverly Converts to Portable FactorsI had an old Sears/Kenmore carpet cleaner based on a wet/dry vac and it was monstrously heavy and noisy. It did not have rotating brushes, but did remove dirt fairly well. When the water pump broke, I needed something else. The Amazon reviews for the Hoover models are better than any of the Bissells, but upon closer inspection there are a substantial number of Hoover owners who report shearing off the brush plastic drive-shaft after only a few uses. This is a $30 replacement! Consumer Reports (Oct 2010) says that all the larger Hoover and Bisssell cleaners clean equally well, but that Bissell models are somewhat quieter. They also report that Bissell vacuums are more reliable than Hoover (and I suppose carpet cleaners will be similar). Furthermore, Bissell has a 2 year warranty and Hoover has a one year warranty (although in some Amazon reviews, Hoover owners report only a 90 day warranty!). The Bissell Lift-off Deep Cleaner model 27F6 (red) was on sale at Target so I took a chance it would clean OK and be reliable.NOTE: Bissell lists 4 model numbers for this unit (94Y2, 27F6,35K3 and 73H5). They appear to differ mostly in the attachments included. The Amazon model is 94Y2, but it appears identical to 27F6 except is green, but it does NOT appear to include the “deep reach tool” I so love (see below)!The ManualYou would think that for the $$$$ I spent Bissell could have included a good manual, but no. The manual is spartan with murky illustrations. It took me longer than I would care to admit to figure out where to put in the 4 screws to assemble it. There are seemingly 4 obvious holes for the screws, but these are not correct. The actual holes are somewhat hidden even though they are “marked” with almost invisible arrows. The cleaner disassembles cleverly for cleaning and storage, but it is a challenge to figure out how to do this from the manual illustrations. The quick start guide has color pictures, but they are tiny, tiny. Larger more detailed color pictures would be very desirable. Come on – how expensive could this be?The Lift-off Portable CleanerThe unit is made so the carpet cleaner section easily lifts off the base (by pressing a pedal) to convert into a portable spot cleaner. I thought that this was just a gimmick, but I was wrong! It is the best part of the Bissell cleaner. The lift off cleaner with its 6 ft flexible hose fits PERFECTLY ON STAIR TREADS and it is light and easy to move. THIS IS GREAT! Start at the top of the stairs and slowly work your way down a stair at a time using the included “deep reach tool” (may not be included in the Amazon unit). Remember to keep the tool pressed firmly against the rug when releasing cleaning solution or it will spray all over your pants!! The results on my hard to clean carpeted stairs with somewhat matted carpeting were remarkably good. The “deep reach tool” has a brush plus hard plastic prongs to dig into matted carpet and raise the pile. I’ll admit that I only did the matted down parts of the stairs, and now these formerly dirty parts have a noticeably higher pile (about 1/4 inch)! It looks almost new (almost) and the result has so far lasted a day with light traffic. So I now may have to do the rest of the stairs so that the “clean” parts will look as good as the formerly matted parts. The “deep reach tool” itself is not easy to clean out.UPDATE 11/8/11: Stair treads still look good after 1 week. The carpet has not yet returned to its formerly crushed/matted state after 1 week of use.Water RemovalWater removal really depends on the carpet type. Deep pile carpets retain more water than others. With a ceiling fan my deep pile carpets took 2-3 hours to dry, but in areas without the fan the carpets took 8-10 hours. I can’t blame Bissell since even a potent high hp wet/dry vac was not able to get out any more water. It is not clearly indicated in the manual, but the Bissell has a overflow preventer that shuts off the vacuum suction if the dirty water level becomes too high or if the cleaning solution is empty (or close to empty – kind of annoying). If so, you will have to correct the problem and then turn the vacuum on again. All carpet cleaners (especially rentals) dribble a bit of cleaning solution (from solution left in the tubing) when shut off. The Bissell is somewhat better in this regard.Carpet CleaningConsumer Reports says that all the larger Hoover and Bisssell cleaners clean equally well and I am satisfied with the results from the Bissell. If my carpets were dirtier, the results would have been more dramatic, but the dirty water was indeed dirty. Some carpet cleaners have one water tank for the dirty water with the clean water placed in a bladder located inside the dirty water tank. The Bissell Lift-off Deep Cleaner has two removable tanks which I think is better. The dirty water tank is easy to remove and…
One fine machine! I have never owned my own carpet cleaner, to be honest. When we’ve felt the need to shampoo carpets in the past we’ve always rented the machine from our local grocery store (what a beast!) but this Bissell deep cleaner is one fine machine!Upon opening the box I was a little overwhelmed (it’s a large box and a complicated looking device), but I was quickly put to ease by the actual simplicity of operating this cleaner. Assembling was simple: take a screw driver and screw on the handle. Took me just a couple minutes (and I am NOT a “handy” type, but the husband wasn’t home and I was too anxious to wait). There were two instruction booklets, one was a quick start type with pictures and just a couple pages, the other was a full several page manual. I appreciated both. In reality, it was easy to get this cleaner up and running. Once you get to know it and learn the basics, it’s a snap.In the box was a little bottle of Bissell’s cleaner, which I appreciated since I didn’t have any on hand but I wanted to try this sucker out right away. Filling the tank is pretty easy, as well as emptying the dirty water. When I first started running the machine I was concerned that the water wouldn’t last long, and this machine would guzzle the water & cleaner. That was not the case! It seemed to push a lot of water out into the carpet, but the tank still lasted quite a while – so it is well designed in that area as well.First I tried out the spot cleaner. Can I just say I adore this cleaner’s 2 in 1 capabilities! LOVE that I can spot clean an area rug, the upholstery, and the car with ease! And YES, I’ve done all three such things already – all went off without a hitch. I’m especially impressed with how clean it got my grandparents old Ethan Allen upholstered chairs from the 1960s. It took intimidating spots out of my area rug without any hesitation, and the ability to shampoo my car out without a handful of quarters at some overpriced car wash is NICE.I was also very pleased with the upright-style cleaning job it did. At first I was concerned it got my carpet overly wet, but when it dried fairly quickly (within an hour or two, with a ceiling fan on) I was happy. With the hand-held nozzle on the spot cleaning portion the top is clear plastic, so you can literally SEE all the dirt coming up out of your carpet. You fill the tank up with clean water, plus a couple ounces of the Bissell carpet cleaning solution, but when you’re done cleaning you can SEE the filthy water. I’ll be honest, I’m a little shocked at how dirty our carpets were, but also makes me feel SO good about seeing all that dirt come right out. This machine has some powerful suction, too.I have to say, you need to be physically capable of running this machine in order to get the best use of it. Most adults can handle it just fine, I’m sure, but it is like a large vacuum. Also, in order to use the spot cleaner on rugs and carpets, you should be able to get down on your knees and be able to scrub with the spot cleaning device. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this machine for a weak elderly person or someone who is not completely physically able.Overall, while I think this carpet cleaner looked large and intimidating to start, it’s practically my new best friend. I’m serious – I have a toddler and a baby who just learned to crawl. I’m loving being able to go through my house and scrub that dirt out from our carpets. Unlike the grocery store rentable cleaners, I was surprised to find that the Bissell doesn’t seem to cause that awful “just cleaned the carpets” smell, either. I can smell a little bit of that scent, but it’s just seeming more fresh than it ever has in the past with those other machines.This is absolutely a product I would recommend to someone looking for a versatile carpet cleaner. I feel like you just get the best of both worlds with this 2 in 1 style. The spot cleaning portion is brilliant, but the upright style also gets the job done. We’re very happy with this machine!Post-edit: Since posting this review a few fellow Amazon customers have asked questions about this cleaner, please see the comments section on my review for ever more information. And feel free to ask additional questions, also!