A powerful tool for helping your floors stay clean
When I saw the price for this vacuum, I was skeptical that it would be good, but was willing to try it. Its powerful suction took me by surprise. In my home, we use it only for dry vacuuming. We vacuum our floors prior to mopping. I have also used the crevice tools to clean drawers, corners, and tough to reach spaces, like the tracks of sliding glass doors or hard to reach crevices of my car's interior. The vacuum is excellent. I highly recommend it. Approximately twice a year, it is necessary to wash the filters. Once the filters are clean, the machine operates like new. I purchased a second set of filters, so that I can use the vacuum right away while the first set of filters is being washed.

The only thing that I would re-design in this machine is the size of the opening into the vacuum "bag". The hose is 'L Shaped' when it enters the canister. This creates a problem if you are vacuuming larger items, like packing peanuts, etc. If such items are picked up by the vacuum, they will get stuck prior to entering the canister/vacuum bag, and will create a blockage inside the hose. You simply have to shut off the vacuum, remove the hose, dislodge the items that are blocking the entry to the canister, re-install the hose and then its up and running with great suction again. In our home we describe this vacuum as The Robot, because it reminds us of R2-D2 from Star Wars.

Sanitaire Commercial Three-Speed Air Mover with Built-On Dolly Electrolux Ergorapido 2-in-1 Cordless Vacuum - Charcoal (EL1012A) Bissell 799APet Odor and Stain Removal Formula 32oz. Bissell PowerGlide Platinum Upright HEPA Vacuum Cleaner Dirt Devil M088915V Vibe Swivel Glide Vision Vacuum - Free Shipping Bissell 21R9 Versus Cordless Bare-Floor Vacuum Cleaner VacMaster Detachable 12 Gal Blower Vac 5HP Bissell 5288 Flip-Ease Floor Cleaner - Deluxe Kit Master Blaster Dryer (2-Speed) with Wheels! (2-Speed) MB-3 110V (Oversized) Bissell 3282 Style 15 HEPA Filter Cartridge, White

Great for Carpet
I bought the Bissell Velocity 3950 when my last Bissell's motor blew up (I had had that one for four years). I really like the air filter light that lets you know if you need to change the filter. I'm not very good at doing that (which is why my last one blew up) and this has a nice warning light to remind me.

I LOVE what it does for my carpets. My husband says they have not this good since we moved in. I like in Oklahoma and we have that nasty red clay that gets everywhere. With two kids, my husband and my dog we put good wear on the carpet and this brings it back to life.

I cannot, however, give it a 5 star because it IS NOT A HARD FLOOR CLEANER. If you want something that can do both, this is not the machine to buy. The brush does not turn off when you put it on the "bare floor setting." So it kicks more of the dirt up on your feet than it does suck it in.

Hands down this is a great vacuum for carpet, but I am now in the market for something for my bare floor areas.

Dirt Devil M110000 Reaction Dual Cyclonic Upright Vacuum SHARK STEAM MOP BISSELL VACUUM POST MOTOR FILTER GRILLE 3570 BISSELL 2080 BRUSH BELT Bissell Style 1,7 Vacuum Bags Microfiltration with Closure - 3 Pack Bissell 32076 No. 7 Vacuum Cleaner Filter Shop-Vac 9840310 4.0 HP / 55 Gl. Industrial Super Heavy Duty Wet / Dry Vacuum Eureka 3684F Boss HEPA Canister Vacuum Bissell 32071 PowerGlide Ultra 3M Bags 2 Pack Euro Pro Ultra Shark 700 Watt Turbo Hand Vacuum

If you have hard surface floors, buy this vacuum!
My place is mostly hardwood floors with some area rugs. I got sick of dragging a canister behind me, banging into stuff, tipping over, etc. This fits over my shoulder, and with the long cord, it makes vacuuming so much easier. I kept my big vacuum for occasional beater bar cleaning of my rugs, but I routinely vacuum the rugs with this little gem as well. I really like this vacuum -- it does a great job and is a real time saver.

Pros:
- Great suction
- Sturdy but lightweight metal wands that don't accidentally come apart
- Attachments that don't fall off the wand
- Really long cord -- I can vacuum my entire condo from the same outlet
Reusable and washable bag with an option for using paper bags

Cons:
- No cord reel -- adding one would make the unit bigger and heavier -- they give you a handy strap to hold the cord on the vacuum for storage
- No on-board attachment storage -- again, adding one would make the unit bigger and heavier -- I just keep my attachments in a small tote bag
- 1970's styling -- this is either a "pro" or a "con" depending on how you look at it.

Dirt Devil Featherlite Bagless Vacuum - M085845 Bissell 6900 DigiPro Canister Vacuum Dyson Ball All Floors Upright Vacuum Dirt Devil 110009 Reaction with Soft Touch Upright Vacuum Cleaner Bissell PowerForce Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner, 65792 Factory-Refurbished Electrolux Oxygen 3 Ultra Canister Vacuum EL7020B Bissell BISSELL 010-4675 VACUUM HOSE Metro Vac N Blo 500 Watt Hi Performance Hand Vac/Blower - Made In USA! Shop-Vac 586-06-00 Quiet Delux Wet/Dry Vacuum 6-Gallon, 3-HP Bissell 32076 No. 7 Vacuum Cleaner Filter

Gets the odors and stains out
I recently had a rather disastrous experience - one common to all homes with pets.

The other night my dog got into the cat's litter box (I use Fresh Steps crystal - those crystals don't sit well in a dogs stomach) and she must have had a really fancy feast. I awoke to her vomiting all over my freshly dry cleaned comforter, and when I got up saw piles of diarrhea and more vomit in two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I'm thinking to myself, "This girl planned this," because just three days ago I had my carpeting professionally cleaned.

I didn't have time to do anything more than wipe up as much of the diarrhea and vomit as I could (and to tend to Joon's stomach, of course), as I was running late for an appointment. While I was out, I remembered seeing a commercial for Bissell 1200A SpotBot Pet Hands-Free Compact Deep Cleaner, so on the way home, I picked it up. (See my review for that product for how it worked for me - it worked VERY well!)

The SpotBot Pet unit came with a trial bottle of this solution. Using the two together was terrific. The stains and the odor were gone. How much of that to attribute to which product, I'm not really sure. But I've used other pet odor and stain removal products with steam cleaners in the past, and haven't been satisfied. I was *very* satisfied with this product.

Metro Vacuum OV-4BCSF Professional 13-Amp 4-Horsepower Compact Canister Vacuum with Quadruple Hepa Filtration and Inflator Adaptor Dyson DC14 Drive Vacuum Hoover Platinum Collection Linx Cordless Stick Vacuum Bissell 3910/82G71 Momentum Cyclonic Vacuum EUR6001 - Sanitaire Model SC6001 Compact Commercial Floor Machine Mr. Nozzle Vacuum Hose Replacement Kit - 12 Feet Eureka Airextreme Canister Vacuum Shop-Vac 586-06-00 Quiet Delux Wet/Dry Vacuum 6-Gallon, 3-HP Shop-Vac 586-10-00 Quiet Delux Wet/Dry Vacuum 10-Gallon, 4-HP Eureka 008324-CV1820G The Boss All-in-one Central Vac Kit

Definitely worth the money
I love mine! I use another item with rotating brushes for my deep mopping, but we use this little thing for daily clean-ups and have had no problems with things spilling. I've washed the pads and have found them to come out of the wash clean. I really only have two complaints. One, sometimes a little(I'm talking about drops here, definitely not a lot) of the mopping solution leaks out during the vacuum cycle. This is not a problem for me because I plan to mop after I vacuum anyway. The other complaint is that you need to remember to change the pad after vacuuming if you plan to mop. Otherwise, you mop with a dirty pad. Anyway, we love ours and are thrilled to have found it.

Hoover V2 SteamVac handle for clean water tank Part# 39457044 - Free Shipping Eureka 2997AZ Uno Bagless Upright Vacuum Dirt Devil Rechargeable Broom Vac White SHOP VAC MICRO-CLEANING Bissell DigiPro Vacuum Cleaner Hose Shop-Vac 9255010 2.0 HP / 6 Gl. Commercial / Professional Wet / Dry Vacuum Bissell 3750 Lift-Off Bagless Vacuum with Free Bonus HEPA Filter Bissell 799APet Odor and Stain Removal Formula 32oz. Dirt Devil CE7900 Platinum Force Carpet Extractor OdorOut-222 Premier Natural and Safe Pet Odor and Organic Stain Remover (4 - 16oz Spray Bottles With 2 Sprayers)