Not a bad machine

Sorry to hear that jennmarieh. We have had this vacuum for six months and it works well. Good price, 20ft cord, good suction (if you clean the canister properly) haven't had an accessory fall of the bracket, good flex in the hose if you take care pulling it, all around better than others I've had.

The Cons: Cord sometimes retracts a few feet on its own (have a friend who has same problem), five part filter system needs to come apart before or after each use or suction drop drastically plus an exhaust filter occasionally (don't forget this filter or you may begin to smell dust). This takes practice but might explain why some people claim low suction. You really have to read the manual first or you will hate it's performance.

All in all, once we learned the filter system and put a close pin on the fully extended cord, it hasn't let us down.

And then there's always: "What do what do you expect for $100 bucks"

Don't even waste your money on this bulky piece of garbage. The hose sucks (pun not intended haha), the head nozzle part sounds like it's grating against the floor like thank goodness i have laminant cause if it was real wood i'd be concerned about scratches, barely any suction, bulky canister....just an awkward vacuum with no redeeming qualities other than it being cheap.

I purchased this vacuum on sale as a replacement for an older Bissell model which lasted me close to 10 years and was of great quality. I thought this would live up to the same standards but after about a month using it, I have to say I was wrong. Here is a breakdown of it's features:

Pros:
- You don't need to purchase bags, so that will save you money in the long run.
- The canister is easy to remove from the vacuum's body. Also easy to open for emptying.
- It comes with interchangeable tools.
- You can switch from carpet mode to floor mode with the flip of a switch.
- You can turn on the machine and flip the mode switch by pressing it with your foot instead of bending down.
- Retractable power cord.
- Affordable price - under $100 on sale.

Cons:
- Cheaply made. The main black hose is made of plastic and doesn't feel very sturdy. I sometimes fear I'm about to break it and it gets twisted easily as I'm vacuuming. There was one instance where I had to rush to straighten it out because I thought it was going to snap.
- The vacuum's body is on the heavy side, so if you want to lift it to better position yourself, it could get cumbersome. The suction also lessens in strength once lifted, so you can't really vacuum while you're holding it.
- Even at it's full strength, the suction isn't that powerful. I need to pass the vacuum over the same spot a few times before I'm sure it's clean. Even at that, I'll still find spots here and there that weren't well done. Works better on floors than on carpets. It doesn't give me the deep carpet clean I was looking for. I still need to pick off pet hair or debris afterwards.
- If you suffer from allergies or asthma, this is not the vacuum for you! I can actually smell the dust while I'm vacuuming, which means it's just going back into the air.
- Emptying the canister is actually a nightmare! The dust and debris clumps up but doesn't completely fall into the trash can. Dust accumulates on the inside part of the lid which needs to be scraped off. Pet hair, human hair and thicker dust gets wound up around a compartment in the middle of the canister and gets stuck there. I have to pick it manually. Not very hygienic! Again, the dust travels everywhere, so when you're done dumping out the contents, you're breathing in dust. There's also a painted on layer of dust on the exterior of the canister after you close it up again. This means extra work, since you'll be wiping it with a damp cloth after every use.
- The interchangeable attachments can be placed on a special holding piece attached to the extension tube. However, they keep falling off.
- The vacuum itself is difficult to manoeuver as the wheels are pretty big and clunky. They keep getting stuck against the furniture, which needs me to stop vacuuming and reset it's position.
- There is a metal extension tube, however, even at it's full length, I still find myself bending down to vacuum. Not great if you suffer from a bad back and/or neck.
- The power cord isn't as long as I'd like it to be. I find myself switching outlets often in order to finish the entire area. If you're not careful, the retractable feature can coil the cord too quickly, mangling it. I can see this feature not working as well in the future.

Although the idea of a bagless vacuum at an affordable price was great, I would skip this model completely. Too many negative features to worry about and it doesn't live up to expectations. I would gladly spend more on any other vacuum to not have to deal with this one again.