Bissell 3990 Total Floors Velocity Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
by Bissell
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: BissellBrand: Bissell
Model: 3990
Product features:
- 12 amp, multi-surface upright vacuum cleaner with cyclone technology for better suction
- Foot-activated brush off pedal and scatter shield for superior bare-floor cleaning
- Total floor cleaning-rotating brush action for deep down cleaning,
- Multi-stage filtration keep filters clean longer for continuous suction power
- Colors may vary, green or blue
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Bissell 3990 Total Floors Velocity Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Customer Review: Need a love-hate relationship with your Vacuum? Read on...
Summary: 2 Stars
Tech Note: What to do if you've lost suction over time or get flaccid suction after clearing a clog and if that red green indicator thing stays mostly on red- skip to ****'s at this review's end. HONESTLY,TO KEEP SOME BUCKS IN YOUR POCKET, DO NOT SEND IT IN FOR REPAIR BEFORE CHECKING THIS!
--
I purchased this Bissell 3990 for my mother for Christmas 2007 for her home after tons of extensive research and reading many positive and not so positive but fair reviews here at Amazon- comparing it with several other vacs. I think we paid around $250.00 for it. I have used it mainly once a week for about an hour for rooms with wall-to-wall carpet and also on large throw rugs and carpet mats here for almost 2 years.
First and foremost, this thing does have great suction! You will be amazed, if you have pets (and my cats are guests here) that it really does pick up seemingly every hair and more (whew!)- the attachment also works as well as the beater bar in this regard! Truly top notch. Love!
However, it sucks up EVERYTHING ELSE TOO! I used it for about 3 weeks with no problems, then it sucked up a satin pillow sheet unseen under my mother's bed - right through the beater bar up into the sweeper and into the middle of a hard to reach hose. And after taking everything apart, it wouldn't suck as well (see ****'s below). And after that the motor - began to permanently get a little bit louder. The beater bar housing at floor level has NO discipline as to what it will suck up!! In another session it gobbled up its own cord so easily and the first belt broke! Note to self: first thing out of box, tie the cord to a high post part on the back of this sweeper!
This thing is great for folks who struggle with expressing themselves - especially negative feelings - a couple months with the Total Floors Velocity and you'll find yourself throwing it down the steps expressing your deepest frustrations and feelings and you'll proudly say "See, I did that! I threw it down the steps!". You'll feel good and your therapist will be delighted! But then, and you know you have to go down there and pick it up, you'll look in the plastic canister, and feel sorry that you did that - because you will see an amazing amount of hair and dust in there it sucked up for you - yes, like in all the reviews! And you'll fall in love again...until...
until...the suction hose, yes, "randomly comes loose" from the back of the vac- again! - after earnest vacuuming (it'll fool you because you know you firmly pressed the black plastic nozzle back on last time). You discover this because the room you just swept as fast as you could just before guests arrive will have bits of dirt all over it, and you'll go "@#XX$%& - I can't believe I didn't catch this - again!"
You'll love the unadvertised self-propulsion thing mentioned in other reviews until it pulls you into a snag. It snags easily and FIRMLY with even light passes over any throw rugs with loose edges or fringe! The beater bar stops - the belt runs in place and then fills the room with that awful pervasive burnt rubber smell - really. This thing turns passive-aggressives to aggressive-aggressives as they change belt after belt over a year. And that's good for the rest of us, because we don't wander around with vague guilty feelings anymore after being stabbed in the side by these folks - we know they've been conditioned by this Bissell to now be reflexively up-front-mean and so we can react accordingly!
However, love will blossom again as you say "yes, okay, but those belts are amazingly inexpensive in those 2-packs at Target". But you bring them home and try changing them. You need a gorilla's grip to both release and re-insert the belted beater bar. Really. Also - you'll think - "the belt is relatively flat and should easily go around that flat piece and over the metal dowel to hook up", but you'll be ready to hurl the whole thing again when this little step turns into an impossibly long process.
Back to motor noise - it began as a bit louder maybe than other vacs but now - use after use - it is so loud I use ear plugs. Oh yes, I dismissed some of the reviews back then warning about the motor getting louder because yet other reviewers did not have this issue- and so I thought - "yes, it happened to them, I'm one of the lucky ones"...but after a couple of months - freight train sound.
My purchase experience with this appliance and using Amazon reviews really shook my faith in the reviews here. Do some appliances have qualities that truly elude the review process? A thing mentioned here or there, but equally offset by positive things mentioned here and there? I am a mechanical person - and can take apart anything - and was amazed that though this Bissell was solidly reviewed in many ways, only your experience will matter - long after you've paid good money for it. I imagine many of the good reviews were from those who have model homes where nothing ever winds up on the floor in places that can't be seen and all rugs are wall to wall and no mishaps of any kind have or will ever occur, or you never actually have to vacuum under anything.
So here it is: Should you buy a Bissell Total Floors Velocity? It depends. Check with your therapist first. And for others who own this vac and somehow wound up with a therapist - now you know what to trace your problems back to - no need to scour childhood memories - get rid of this vac and bid adieu to your weekly sessions! You can re-marry.
As for me, today, it caught some fringe again. I unraveled a 2' long striped piece of yarn from the beater from some past sweeping on the way to replacing the belt that had burned. And after some inspection, I realized this yarn came from the welcome mat on the carpeted porch outside and I had to really relaxedly laugh! Hilarious proof that it wasn't my cats that shredded it! This has been a transformative experience for me! I see how far I have come in just 2 years, Wow! Relaxedly laugh!
**** That clog tech tip: In case you get a clog and you get no suction (indicator stays red or gray not green): After you've checked every crevice and hose of the vac, and pulled out the original clog, and no other clog exists, and all filters are clean, and still little or no suction - there is a hidden clog area to check!! Pull out the filter drawer under the removable canister on the front containing the sponge filter. Reach your fingers inside the compartment the drawer comes out of, reaching up to each unseen upper SIDE corner slots and pull out all the junk. I've had to reach in and pull it out with my fingers without seeing the clogs. But you'll know. Check both right and left sides in the drawer casing. This usually happens after you've clogged the vac by running something over and suction was prevented completely for some moments. You'll get your suction back but again remember, honestly, keep it away from any heirloom rugs with fringe and also small Yorkies!
P.S. Also beware, however, gorilla glue and super glue will not repair cracks in the plastic housing that are caused from injury to the vac from...well...
Description of Bissell 3990 Total Floors Velocity Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner
The Bissell 3990 Total Floors Velocity offers patented multi-cyclonic technology and provides continuous suction power for ALL floor surfaces. The vacuum offers 12 amps of maximum cleaning power resulting in powerful suction with an exclusive DirtLifter brush system for superior cleaning. This vacuum features total floor cleaning with rotating brush action for deep down carpet cleaning, easy floor activated brush off pedal and patented ScatterShield for superior bare floor cleaning. The Multi-Cyclonic cleaning technology has a multi-stage filtration which keeps filters clean longer for continuous suction power and is ergonomically designed to make cleaning easier. This vacuum features a wide cleaning path, Optimum air flow indicator, Easy to Empty Dirt Cup, 35' extra long power cord, scuff resistant bumper, powered rotating TurboBrush, easy assembly and an easy change belt system.Upright Vacuums
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