The Upright Vacuum We Picked up

We already talked about how much we enjoy the Kurv (we are not paid by them or otherwise perk’d in any way, we simply truly enjoy it) and now we are even more excited because the day has at last come that we have discovered a full sized vacuum cleaner that we enjoy simply as much! Truly, it sucks like a champ. And when we pair the carpet-friendly nature and the sheer power of our new addition with the especially portable and wood-floor-friendly Kurv, the dust bunnies and compact puppy hairs on our floors do not stand a chance. Seriously, our house has never looked (or felt, because that is essential too) so clean.

We realized we needed to replace our sad excuse for a full sized vacuum known as the Dirt Devil Vibe Swift Vac (more like a leaf-blower as it in fact blew out more dust than it sucked in) before the baby came, especially because it tried to kill me whenever I cleaned up during allergy season (seriously, I am not kidding when I say that it blew things up and out into the air). It was truly our fault when we chose it was a good idea to invest all of forty dollars on a vacuum cleaner. I mean what did we expect? So this time around we did some research and in fact went into vacuuming shopping with a list of things we hoped:

1. A HEPA filter (which helps keep allergies and other airborne pollutants at bay)
2. A bagless variety (also strong for allergies and simpler to operate for un-bag-coordinated people like me)
3. A reasonably light-weight model (anything over 20 lbs, no matter how much power it has, is a bit much for a 5’2″ gal)
4. Significantly more power than our previous model (which only boasted 8 amps)
5. More settings for distinct jobs so it can effectively clean multiple surfaces (some area rugs in the house need extra suction while the hardwood floors need something geared for that purpose).

Your list might not be the same as ours at all (distinct strokes for distinct folks) but we highly recommend the idea of walking into any big household purchased like this with an idea of what you want from the get-go. It truly helps to keep things from getting overwhelming since you can immediately whittle down all the options since they cannot all possibly meet your previously established criteria. It is a pleasant little filtering method that allows you to hone in on a few models that seem to fit the bill and then you can do additional research or ask any questions about those few contenders to make the final decision.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is what we ended up whittling down as our winner, the Bissell 82H1 Cleanview Helix Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner:

And since that name is such a mouthful, let us simply call him the newest member of our family. This guy has 12 amps of power and multiple settings (five to be exact, so you can add extra carpet suction or turn it to a more hardwood floor friendly setting). He also comes equipped with something called a Helix Dirt Separation System for deeper and more powerful cleaning. Of course he’s bagless (and has an straightforward-empty dirt cup) and has a HEPA filter as well. Plus he even has extra perks (like adjustable height settings and also comes with a slew of extra fittings like a TurboBrush, crevice tool, extension wand, and upholstery/dusting brush). Plus he’s simply 15 lbs so he falls under my 20-or-less rule. And after reading many many customer reviews on a number of sites (thanks to our iPhone we could do that right in the store on the spot) we were confident that it was a strong choice (it had over 40 five-star ratings on Amazon).

Perhaps the best news of all was the price. Our new friend happened to be on sale at Target (down from $80 to $69 simply for the weekend) so although we walked into the store intending to spend around $200 for something that would last, all the high-ratings and the fact that it met and exceeded all of our previously set requirements had us feeling like we’d struck gold.

But back to my story. When I got home I broke it out on our grubbiest carpet (the yellow one in the living room was full of grime from plenty of indoor-outdoor snowy-and leafy-foot traffic traffic as of late) and it seriously lifted every last bit of dust and dirt (John watched as the carpet literally got yellower and less brown before our quite eyes). It looked brandy new again. Oh glad day. And it worked simply as well on the hardwood floors (I got giddy when I got to change the setting from carpeting to hardwood- it felt so custom and fancy). I even took the upholstery brush for a spin on our sofa (it picked up every last hair, fleck of dust, etc).

Who knew cleaning could be lively? I was perma-smiling like a stepford wife with my new vacuum cleaner by my side. So that is the story of our latest housecleaning weapon that I am relieved downright psyched to have on hand before the bean arrives in May. After all, one of my resolutions this year is to simplify things and keep our house running more efficiently and easily. And this guy will certainly make cleaning stuff up much simpler than our former leaf-blower ever did. And I bet I will not go to sleep with a runny nose every time I vacuum during allergy season anymore. Somebody stop me before I lift this machine up in the air and start singing “for he’s a jolly good fellow.”

Oh and simply to be totally clear, Bissell did not pay us or otherwise perk us (nor did Target, Amazon or anyone else) to mention this vacuum. It is in fact the one that we researched and paid for ourselves because we thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and we hoped to share our find. So this post is not one big ad as much as one big weird enjoy-fest for a new vacuum from an extremely appreciative homeowner. But let us talk about your lean mean cleaning machines. Any other Bissell lovers out there? Any fancy Dyson peeps (I ogled the white pet-hair model for what felt like hours)? Anyone who does not believe in vacuum cleaners and peacefully coexists with dustbunnies? Let us talk about what sucks at your house.

Psst- Wanna know more about how we clean our whole house? Click here. And for the original suckie vacuum post about our beloved Kurv, click here.