Bissell vs Vax

[Oneeyedvic]

Hi there,

am looking to clean my carpets - have a dyson which is fine for day to day stuff, but there is a lot of ground in dirt from the dog.

Am looking in the January sales for a water vacuum cleaner as I assume in the long term this will be cheaper than hiring a rug doctor or getting a cleaning company (like chem dry) in.

Any people have any advice / comments on either the Bissell or Vax cleaners?

[woofgang]

I have had had a vax wet and dry and a a hoover wet and dry, both were pants, now have a bissell which only shampoos which is excellent. I don't think that you mean a water vacuum cleaner though, these are machines that dry vac but have water in the dust catcher, supposedly to stop dust leaving ther machine again in the air outlet.

[woofgang]

I have the older version of this one

shampooer=null

[Oneeyedvic]

Hi woofgang - thanks for that - was considering that one, but most people on the on line reviews (dooyoo etc) seem to find it a bit disapointing.

Was considering getting an original style vax - most reviews I have read seem to give this a good one.

Will only use the cleaner around once every couple of months to shampoo the carpet.

[flip-flop]

We have a Bissell pro-heat which uses hot water and find it excellent - we have a couple of dogs, and the first time we Bisselled it scared the bloody life out of us.....................the water that came out was virtually black - just goes to show that the Dyson merely picks up the visible dirt and doesn't get anywhere near the ground in dirt.

We bissell every month or so and it is surprising how dirty the carpets get.

My only criticism with the Bissell is that it is damn heavy.

[woofgang]

yes it is weighty and because it only shampoos, there is also the issue of storage. I do my living room carpet about 4 to 6 times a year, hall more often as we have no back entrance, so dog, mud, everything comes in throught the hall. I don't think that any vacuum cleaner cleans as well as a shampooer and it definitely freshens (deoderises) as well.

The TV ad makes me laugh, the water they show being poured away looks like weak milkless tea!! I guess if you haven't carpet shampooed before, showing the actual mud that comes out of even clean carpets would just look unbelievable.

A big plus for me is that you don't mix up the shampoo with the bissell so any unused doesn't get diluted, you just put it back in the bottle.

If you are not in a hurry to get one, can I suggest QVC? (http://www.qvcuk.com ) you have 30 days to try it, if you don't like it, get it collected and returned, all you will be out is the p and p, it used to come with shampoo, you are allowed to use this up on the trial and still return it and get a refund!!...not sure if it will be the best price though

[Toureman]

Hi,

I have had a Kirby vacum cleaner for about TEN, yes TEN years now which has a carpet cleaning kit as well,

These do use warm water and soap which cleans the carpet as good as hire cleaners, they are also very powerfull vacums.

The Kirby Company will service these machines in your home, in the ten years I have had it it has been serviced twice the cost for these services and replacement parts has totalled �150.

The machines are very expensive, around �1000 but they do last for ever if you have them serviced.

They will demonstrate them in your home and you can get them to drop the price by at least 20% if you haggle!

I have no connection with the company but I would never have any other kind of cheap vacum.

[Oneeyedvic]

Just purchased a Bissell from Currys (who priced matched their website sosaved �30). Roll on the weekend to try it out and play!

[katerich48]

I have the Bissell Pro-Heat and a cream livingroom/hall carpet- the Bissell cleans it a treat ..Would recommend to anyone