My husband and I have been limping long with the same old, decrepit vacuums since before we moved from VA. We’ve been here in TX now for over 3 years. These vacuums both have things wrong with them. The one we use regularly is missing a wheel (can you imagine how difficult it is to push it?), and we’ve bought lots of replacement filters and belts for it in the last year. Our compact vacuum is missing the clamp that holds the canister on, so we hold it on with a bungee cord. Now, mind you, we aren’t poor, but we’re very thrifty, as evidenced by how we’ve made do with these old vacuum cleaners for so long. We weren’t in a rush to replace them since we only have 2 carpeted bedrooms in the house and 3 area rugs. But it was in the back of my mind that if I stumbled upon a deal, I should maybe get a new one.
Last weekend, I was shopping at our Ollie’s Bargain Outlet on a day when everything in the store was 15% off. I always stock up on my husband K-cup coffee pods when I have a coupon like that, so that’s why I was there. As I was walking around the store trying to think of what else we might need while there was such a good sale going on, I stumbled upon the vacuum cleaner section. Aha! Perfect time to purchase a new vacuum. They had many reconditioned vacuums, and they were super cheap. They still came with a 6-month warranty, so it seemed like a good option. I didn’t want to spend a lot since we mostly use a pet broom and dustpan for all the hard floors that we have.
I wanted to stick with a Bissell since we’ve owned that brand for many, many 
years, and we are familiar with their filters, belts, and how to tackle clogs. I usually buy one of their pet vacuums since we have 3 dogs who live in the house full-time. But as I got on my phone and started looking up the various models for reviews, I stumbled upon one that was not a pet vacuum, but it had tons of excellent reviews that said it had incredible suction and was great for pet hair. With the coupon, it ended up being about $42, so I couldn’t pass it up. It’s the Bissell Powerforce Helix Turbo Rewind (model 1797). There was only one in the store with the Rewind feature, and that’s something I really wanted…the ability to draw the cord inside automatically so you’re not left winding and unwinding a cord on the outside of the vacuum. I had that before and loved it.
I got it home, and it only took a couple of minutes to assemble…pretty simple, really…no instructions needed. It came with just a couple of basic accessories. It’s a no-frills vacuum…pretty basic in design, pretty compact, and very lightweight. There’s no HEPA filter, but the other filters are all washable, permanent filters, which is great.
It had been 6 days since my husband had last vacuumed our bedroom carpet, so it was due. I plugged it in and gave it a whirl. Holy smokes, Batman! It was amazing! I could immediately hear what sounded like sand or sediment going into the collection cup, and I could see the dog hair spinning around. Mind you, I was just vacuuming in front of the door to our patio. I kept going over and over the same area, as I could hear that sediment sound continuing. After such a short time, we both noticed the collection cup was already full! I turned it off and emptied the cup into the trash can, and we were absolutely AMAZED at how much straight dirt and sediment had been sucked up from the underpad of the carpet! It was like the bedroom had not been vacuumed since we’ve lived here, and it hadn’t even been long since we had shampooed the carpet in there!
In a bit of a shock, we started up the vacuum again, and let me just tell you that before we were through, we had emptied that collection cup FIVE TIMES in just our bedroom/bathroom suite! And most of the room is taken up by our extremely heavy wooden bed, so that carpet didn’t even get touched underneath!
I immediately went on to vacuum the other bedroom and had a similar experience in there. Then my husband took it to the 3 area rugs that notoriously have dog hair clinging to them 5 minutes after you’ve vacuumed, and they looked like new afterwards! The colors were so vibrant, and it sucked up all the hair that likes to cling to the edges of the wool. Amazing!
So I just wanted to share that this little vacuum is quite the powerhouse, and it’s worth every penny! If you live near an Ollie’s store, you can get it for about half the retail price reconditioned. But even if you bought it new, it would be worth every penny!
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