The Popular Vacuum Brand That Always Gets The Same Complaints

While spending a relaxing evening comparing consumer views of vacuum cleaners, as we do, we noticed something odd. In spite of the generally positive reputation Bissell seems to enjoy — certainly historically — people in certain corners of the internet seemed determined to be quite negative about the brand, including reviewers who actually bought the vacuums.

It's not hard to find opinions online, of course, but rarely do they seem so unanimous. The negative comments about Bissell were concentrated in online forums and on a consumer news and reviews platform. The gist of the comments were very broad: The company's vacuums are unreliable, Bissell changes models with the changing direction of the wind, and, supposedly, they don't support their old products. This doesn't apply to all of Bissell's products. Their niche lines, like pet vacuums, are praised, and they seem to have some of the best handheld vacuums on Amazon.

Bissell is an old company with an inspiring history. Not long after inventing her "carpet sweeper," Anna Bissell became what is probably America's first female CEO, and Bissell pioneered such important worker benefits as pensions and workers' comp. She expanded the business to Europe and, as a result, Bissell once claimed, Queen Victoria required that her palace be "Bisselled" weekly. Is it possible that such a company could have, as the internet claims, fallen so low as to basically introduce disposable vacuums to the marketplace by the dozen? On the other hand, a major consumer advocacy organization generally found the Bissell products it has rated passable (four stars ain't what it used to be). Not great, but not terrible. And certainly not disposable.

Just because some people had bad experiences and came unglued on the Consumer Affairs website doesn't mean the company makes only worthless products, any more than Bissell's proud history means that today's company is ignoring the pressures of a competitive marketplace and only ever making the most consumer-friendly choices. It's a fact of internet life that users of certain websites self-select, in the sense that they go there solely to complain. So, to get an accurate sense of which products perform well, one must seek out information from a variety of sources.

To see what a broader selection of buyers think about Bissell's products, we analyzed reviews of the top 10 featured vacuums from four major brands — Bissell, Hoover, Dyson, and Shark — to see how Anna Bissell's company stacks up today. Of the four, Bissell vacuums had the highest ratings in terms of stars, with 4.39 stars, on average. Dyson clocked in with 4.15 and Hoover with 4.05 average stars across those 10 products. It's not easy to unpuzzle actual consumer opinions on products. We tried examining the ratings for Bissell products in Google Shopping's vacuum categories, weighting them according to the number of reviews. We found that Bissell vacuums got between 4.2 and 4.5 stars. So, overall, they seem to rate fairly well. But, looking at more specific information about their vacuums' various functions, we found evidence that Bissell may be up to some cleaning tasks more than others.

There are complaints we noticed again and again in customer reviews, including some fairly serious problems. Vacuums designed for carpet often didn't work on hard surfaces, and vice versa. Purchasers often noted that Bissell vacuum attachments are prone to falling off and that filters, hoses, and other parts clog easily. As a result, owners have to frequently take apart Bissell vacuums. Battery-operated models were often panned for poor battery life. "Claims to last up to 45 mins but in reality only lasts about 10ish minutes before it's gotta charge again," one owner wrote. And many purchasers find they can't order replacement parts from Bissell.

The overall impression of the negative reviews is that the company hasn't lived up to its history. "I don't know why I keep buying Bissells," one wrote. "They never last more than a year or so and every time I replace one, they are more cheaply made and have less and less suction power." On the other hand, most reviewers didn't experience any problems at all. Ultimately, it's probably a good idea to proceed with caution and thoroughly research any model (from any maker) that you're considering.