Review: Bissell 37601 Lift-Off Revolution Turbo Upright Bagless Vacuum

A few years ago after moving into a shiny new house I decided it was also time for a shiny new vacuum cleaner. I took myself to the local electronics store to scope out all of the options and was immediately drawn to the Bissell 37601 Lift-Off Revolution Turbo Upright Bagless Vacuum. Its bright, cheerful cherry-red finish drew me in like a bee to honey. “How cute!” I thought to myself, having the typical female appreciation for aesthetics, and wandered over to get a closer look. The first thing that I noticed was that the vacuum offered not only an upright vacuum feature but also a fun and convenient feature: the part of the vacuum that catches the dirt – the canister – detaches from the main body of the vacuum to become a hand-held vacuum! Perfect for stairs and hard-to-reach areas! I was sold, and the vacuum went home with me that same day.

Upon getting home, I inspected it and actually read the included directions and description of the vacuum. Here is a rundown of the vacuum’s features: It is a bagless, upright vacuum, so you do not have the hassle of changing out bags. There is a canister that you can routinely empty. The process of removing and inserting the canister is incredibly simple. The vacuum has a 15-inch cleaning path, which means that more floor gets cleaned with less work. The HEPA filter is said to suck up as much as 99 percent of the yucky stuff in the air like dust mites and other allergens. This was important to me as I have a son with a dust mite allergy. The vacuum has a 12-amp motor which gets very impressive suction; I haven’t had any problems with this machine not doing its job picking up everything in its path. Also, the vacuum is not particularly heavy and the detachable handheld canister in particular is quite light. I was able to maneuver it around and up and down the stairs easily.

One of my favorite features of the vacuum is the fact that there is a dial on it that you can use to adjust the height of the vacuum, which means you can vacuum everything from bare floors to the plushest shag carpet with this thing. In my home that contains two messy toddlers and two equally messy cats and one fairly messy husband, and surfaces ranging from ceramic tile to laminate to wood to numerous area rugs to wall-to-wall carpet, it is a very convenient feature. Also, there is a switch you can flip to turn the spinning brush in the head of the vacuum on and off. If you are vacuuming a bare floor the brushless suction will probably work better.

Another great feature of the vacuum is that it has a handy-dandy headlight that illuminates any dirt in its path. I find this especially helpful when I am vacuuming in tight spaces like under the living room side tables. The vacuum also features a collection of attachments so you can easily reach areas like ceiling fans or cobwebs or window blinds. My favorite feature, however, is the removable, portable canister. It is incredibly simple to attach and detach the canister; you simply have to press down on a button to unlatch the canister from the vacuum body and you’re ready to vacuum stairs or your car! It has a nice big handle and the vacuum cord is very long and in my home reaches all the way down the hall and up the stairs. Speaking of the cord, another pleasing aspect of the machine is that the hooks on which you wind the cord are nice and big so that the cord doesn’t slip off constantly as you’re winding. The top hook also rotates down so that it is easier to pull the cord off of the hooks when you are ready to use the machine.

The vacuum’s collection canister is incredibly simple to detach from the body and clean. Basically you flip a lever on the back of the portable canister that sets loose the collection cup. Just pull the cup out, and take it to the trash. You will have to pull out the dust cup, which is a circular piece of foam designed to do exactly what it sounds like: catch dust particles. And it does indeed get very dusty. Usually I tap it a few times against the side of the trash can to knock loose all of the dust. Then you simply flip over the collection cup and let all of the yucky stuff you’ve collected slide out.

I’ve had this vacuum cleaner for a few years now and I can happily recommend it to anyone in the market for a new one. If you’re looking for an upright, bagless vacuum that can clean almost any floor surface and has the added benefit of a detachable, handheld canister, the Bissell 37601 Lift-Off Revolution Turbo Upright Bagless Vacuum may just be the one for you!