Bissell Steam Mop Reviews

If there’s one thing in this life I can say for certainty I absolutely loathe, it’s mopping the floor. I’ve never had a traumatic experience while mopping, so I can’t actually account for my horrid feelings about this household chore, but – nonetheless – it’s something I dread from week to week.

I’ve tried everything to make it easier, but with an older floor (that I’m trying not to replace for a few more years) mopping gets all the more dreadful.

I’ve been having to use Magic Eraser mop heads on my traditional mop because they were the only things that would get the “old” look off my floors. They work, but are slightly abrasive so I hated to use them repeatedly on any floor, much less an aging one. Plus, that wasn’t any quicker or neater than a traditional mop bucket, chemicals and mess.

So, when I saw the Bissell 1867 steam mop, I was very intrigued. I started investigating the best price on the Bissell steam mop because I wanted to at least give it a try and see if it would do the job.

Thanks to overwhelmingly favorable Bissell steam mop reviews, I decided to buy one. Here’s what I thought after using it.

Pros

It assembled very quickly, with just two screws. It is sturdy and had a nice weight to it… not too heavy, but still solid enough to stand up to repeated use. You fill the water tank with tap water or distilled/filtered water (recommended) and insert the tank into its slot. Put the mop head (you receive two in your package) on the end, plug the cord in and in just 30 seconds, the Bissell 1867 steam mop is ready for use.

All you need is water. No chemicals are required, no messy mop buckets and no dirty, drippy mop heads to deal with. The water converts to steam which quickly penetrates the surface of the floor and around the baseboards to clean. NOTE: From what I’ve read, the steam does not penetrate the entire floor and is not harmful to the backing. It won’t cause wood or vinyl flooring to come unglued. Since mine is not very old, I can’t back this up… at least not yet.

The mop pads are permanent. This is an important fact when looking for the best price. Bissell steam mop heads can be machine washed for repeated uses which will save a great deal of money over the life of the unit. After mopping, just rinse the pad. Every few uses, toss the pad into the wash then into the dryer on the low or air-dry setting.

The swivel head of this Bissell model goes wherever you want. It’s small enough to fit beside toilets, yet big enough to cover a good portion of the floor when mopping. Its shape fits well into corners and up against baseboards, too.

The floor dries almost instantly. No turning on ceiling fans or shooing your family out of the kitchen until the water evaporates. Almost as soon as you’ve finished wiping the surface of the floor, it’s dry.

The Bissell 1867 steam mop is also convenient. Shaped like a stick broom, it can easily be carried to bathrooms, laundry rooms, mud rooms or any other room of your house to clean floors.

And this little wonder cleans! My floor was shiny and beautiful once I was done. It got out drips and dried-up spills. Some stains (where food splattered on the floor during cooking then dried) came up with a single pass. (Normally would have required my thumbnail digging into the floor to get those up!) And it took far less time, effort and mess than anything else I’ve tried… and worked better, too.

Cons

There were a couple of items I would like changed on my Bissell 1867 steam mop. The cord could be a foot or so longer. Half of my downstairs is vinyl flooring. The cord wouldn’t allow me to reach every room I needed to without unplugging and re-plugging the mop into different outlets. Not a huge problem, but a bit inconvenience just the same.

At times the mop head was slightly hard to push. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because my mop head is new. And, if I pulled back too far on the handle (so that the handle was more parallel to the floor), the mop head would sometimes have a tendency to tilt back instead of lying flat on the floor.

Best Price on Bissell Steam Mop

I’ve found the Bissell 1867 steam mop (green tea) online ranging from $78.88 to $109.00. At places like Target and Kohl’s. When you shop around, be sure to include shipping in the final price. With Amazon.com, you can buy it for $78.88 with free shipping, which is about the best price I’ve found. Keep in mind that Bissell makes several models of steam mops so you’ll want to compare apples to apples when you buy.

Overall, I love mine!

Recommended? Absolutely!

Do you have questions about this Bissell 1867 steam mop? Ask! Do you own one? Tell us what you think.

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Kirby Ultimate G Review

It all started when I moved into a different house and had new carpet installed.  While I wouldn’t consider myself to be a picky person in general, I admit I am VERY particular about carpet.  I hate carpet where every little thing shows up on it.  Even more, I hate having to vacuum and shampoo constantly in order to keep my carpet looking clean.

So when it came time to pick out new carpet, I went all out and bought a Karastan frieze shag that combines flecks of different colors.  The result is exactly as I had hoped – a carpet that looks clean even when it isn’t.

Much to my dismay, however, my Hoover vacuum did not work well on my new carpet.  The carpet was too thick for it to handle.  The roller brush was too low and would grind against the carpet, causing it to fray.  Not good.

That’s when I began the lengthy process of researching for a new vacuum.  My list of must-haves included a vacuum that:

• Adjusted in height so that the roller brush wouldn’t grind against the carpet.
• Had the potential to last 20 years or more.
• Is easy to use.
• Has excellent suction.
• Comes with a variety of attachments, including an attachment for hard floors.

I finally narrowed it down to two choices – a Dyson model or a Kirby.  I initially decided on the Dyson, because it was more affordable, and I also didn’t want to have to deal with a salesman coming out to my house to hard sell me a Kirby. The Dyson was selling for around $400 – $500, whereas the Kirby was selling for $1200 – $1500.

Before I was able to make my purchase, however, I discovered that I could get a used Kirby for a decent price on ebay.com.  I was a little hesitant at first, but I watched the listings for awhile and found one that was next to new.  I won the bid on it, and the total amount, including shipping and handling, came to $389.00!  That’s quite a savings over buying brand new and was even cheaper than the Dyson I was going to buy.

Pros

I was thrilled to find my Kirby Ultimate G vacuum in perfect condition when it arrived Christmas Eve 2007.  It looked like maybe it had been used a couple times at the most.  It came with all the standard attachments, and included the never-used before shampoo system.   I was pumped!

While the Kirby is nothing special to look at in comparison to the sleek designs of the Dysons and Hoovers, I love the fact that is mostly made of metal parts rather than plastic.  The plastic designs might be prettier, but my experience is that they don’t hold up over time.

The height of the roller brush is easily adjusted with the tap of my left toe.  No more grinding against my new carpet!  It has excellent suction and unlike other vacuums, the suction doesn’t decline as the bag fills up.  It does a great job of picking up the fur shed by my golden retriever.

It comes with a long cord, so I can easily move from room to room.  It has a hose attachment for cleaning hard floors and for using the many attachments it comes with.  Some of my favorite attachments include the upholstery nozzle, duster brush and crevice tool.  The two extension tubes help me to reach high enough to clean my ceiling fans and vacuum cobwebs off my high ceilings.

My last two Hoover vacuums had canisters rather than bags.  While I appreciated the money I saved by not having to buy bags, I found that the canisters were hard to clean and dust would fly in all directions when emptying them into the trash.  My Kirby Ultimate G uses bags and I must say I like how everything stays contained and nothing escapes, even while changing them.

As a person who suffers from allergies, I especially appreciate the Kirby’s filtration system.  The manual claims it captures and retains 99.97% of household dust, pollen, dust mites and other particles and 99.5% of other particles.

Two years later, I can say without reservations that I love my Kirby!  I’m absolutely thrilled with the deal that I got on ebay and it’s one of the first things on my brag list when I have guests in my home.

Cons

The Kirby Ultimate G is heavy to carry up and down stairs.  It takes a bit of effort to switch from using the floor vacuum to using the hose.  Overall there’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to use some of its features.  It’s worth taking the time to sit down with the Kirby and the owner’s manual – it will save you time and frustration in the future.

Recommended: Yes

Have questions about the Kirby Ultimate G Diamond Series vacuum?  Leave them in the comments section and I will be happy to answer them.  Already have one?  Post your review below.

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What a surprise!  I bet it’s been 10 years ago or more since I was originally introduced to ABC Distributing.  I couldn’t believe the extremely low prices they had on very good quality merchandise.  I ordered from them for years.  In fact, sitting here at my desk, I can quickly spot a wooden desktop organizer, a basket set, some knick knacks and several other items I received from ABC Distributing.  But then, for some reason, I stopped getting their catalogs.

Just the other day, I got an email that mentioned ABC Distributing and I sat straight up in my chair!  I want to share this incredible shopping resource with you.

Pros

As you can easily tell, I’m a big fan of ABC Distributing.  This company offers similar merchandise to Lillian Vernon and other such sites, but with much lower prices.  It’s a hodge-podge of kitchen wares, electronics (including Wii accessories for cheap), furniture for your home and home office, toys, apparel, handbags, accessories, home décor, hardware and home repair, food items, gifts… you name it.

The prices are what hooked me.  The inventory changes regularly, but just as an example, the Wii Play and Drive Sports Kit is $29.95 at Toys R Us and Home Shopping Network.  It’s only $16.95 at ABC Distributing.  A set of four black diamond glasses is $24.99 at Target and only $10.95 at ABC Distributing.

With such a huge selection and the constantly updated inventory, I always found myself immediately hitting the couch as soon as my catalog came so I could order at deep discounts before all the best items were sold out.

You can elect to receive a catalog by mail or add your name to their mailing list (form is at the bottom of the page) to get updates by email.

Cons

Way back when, you had to be a business to order from ABC Distributing.  As a wholesaler, they only sold to other businesses.  You also had to order at least three of each item.  But, looking through their site just a few minutes ago, I saw that you can now order any quantities you want. I also noticed you can pay by credit card with either a business or a personal account. Good news!  Problems solved.

Recommended? Yes

Have you shopped with ABC Distributing before?  Tell us about it!

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Sonic Scrubber Review

The Sonic Scrubber is a cleaning tool that looks like an oversized electric toothbrush. It’s designed to clean hard to reach/hard to clean places where dirt and grime have a tendency to build up, such as around faucet fixtures, door tracks, sink drains, toilet hinges and grout. The Sonic Scrubber comes with one removable brush. Four additional brushes of various shapes and sizes are sold separately.

Pros

It really works! So far, I’ve used my Sonic Scrubber to clean and remove buildup from around the tight seams and edges of my kitchen and bathroom faucets, to remove the ugly rings around the drains in the sinks and the bathtub, and to clean the grout around the tile of my countertops and flooring.

I’ve also used it to remove stubborn stains that I haven’t been able to remove using other methods, like rust stains on my kitchen countertop and burn stains in the burner trays of my gas stove. It’s also works wonderfully for cleaning a shelf in my shower that has a lot of grooves and edges that are hard to get to.

For extra cleaning power, I often use my Sonic Scrubber with Soft Scrub cleaner. The packaging says that you can use it with any cleaning solution, so you can confidently use it with all of your favorite cleaning products.

The Sonic Scrubber comes with 4 AA batteries which ended up lasting me about 4 – 5 hours. I bought a 4-pack of rechargeable batteries to use exclusively for my Sonic Scrubber so I never have to worry about losing battery power while cleaning.

The Sonic Scrubber is very reasonably priced – almost underpriced – in my opinion. It’s water resistant and the brushes are easy to clean, either manually or by tossing them in the dishwasher.

Cons

While the Sonic Scrubber did a great job of cleaning the grout, it was very tedious and time consuming. The brush on the Sonic Scrubber is round and uses a circular motion to clean. I think it would be faster and more effective for cleaning grout if it came with a special brush especially designed for that purpose. A rectangular shaped brush that cleans using an up and down motion might make grout cleaning faster and more efficient.

Tips

Sonic Scrubber Optional Brushes

The additional 4 Sonic Scrubber brushes that are sold separately are worth having, in my opinion. The cone shaped brush comes in handy for getting in tight corners and the extra large brush is a great way to get a larger area cleaned in less time.

Also, there are 2 versions of the Sonic Scrubber – one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom. As far as I can see, they are both the same. There really is no reason to have both. Just clean the brushes thoroughly after each use and they can be used in the bathroom, the kitchen and any other room in your home.

Recommended: Yes

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Bissel Total Floors Velocity Upright Vacuum

We live in a two-story house. The vacuum I’d been using was a Kirby that’s about 10 years old. It still works fine, but it’s heavy and bulky and does a rotten job on stairs. While it’s got a lot of power, it’s difficult to maneuver and has this weird shutter when used on carpet sometimes. The hoses are time-consuming and complicated to attach and aren’t contained on-board. Anyway, this isn’t a Kirby review… back to the Bissell.

I wanted another vacuum to use upstairs and on the stairs, so I shopped around for a while. I found the Bissell Total Floors Velocity vacuum cleaner and it looked like it had all the features I would need so I bought it.

Pros

Assembly was hassle-free. Only a couple of clips to snap into place and 3 screws and I was done. Less than 10 minutes. I turned it on and immediately wondered if it had any suction at all. It was very quiet! I pulled the hose out and held it to my hand. Yep! This thing definitely had suction.

Next, I noticed that it was practically self-propelled. It almost took off on its own and vacuumed the carpet when I turned it on due to the force of the brushes turning. I didn’t hardly have to push at all. It did most of the work.

I watched it carefully as I vacuumed my living room. It picked up all the little bits and pieces as well as the big stuff. We have 4 pets so I was particularly interested in how it would do on pet hair. Worked like a charm.

Next up, bare floors. There is a foot switch that controls whether the brushes rotate or not. It is a little hard to push, but my guess is it will loosen up as it is used more. The flip of one switch and a quick adjustment to the height (another foot pedal lets you easily click through 7 heights) and I was off to the kitchen.

Again, no problems. The front is sloped low enough to easily get underneath the cabinet doors and up against the baseboards. Sometimes vacuums will throw bits and pieces of dirt across hard floors… not this one. Everything got sucked right up into the cup. It’s bagless so you’ll never have to pay for bags.

Last, I tried the stair/upholstery tool that has a rotating brush. It attaches to the hose for use as a hand tool. I really questioned if this would do any good. The only thing causing the bristles to rotate is the suction power from the hose. I was very impressed! While it couldn’t get into the crevices, it did an excellent job on the tops and fronts of the stairs. I just popped the brush tool off and used the crevice tool to get into the folds of the stairs. Finished the entire flight of steps in about 10 minutes.

Cons

The Bissell Total Floors Velocity is a little heavier than I wanted it to be, but still lighter than my Kirby. Like most upright vacuums, it’s a trick to balance it on the stairs while vacuuming the steps. I found it’s best to put the vacuum in front of me and stand behind it, pressing my hip up against the handle so I can have both hands free to do the stairs.

It is also is a bit top-heavy and tends to fall forward when I’m using the hose attachments. No big deal… it doesn’t have to stand upright to do its job with the hose. But to some, it might be an annoyance.

The cord is plenty long enough to reach from room to room, but this also means wrapping it around the hooks takes a bit of time. I’ve always wished someone would find a way to include a pull and wrap cord feature on an upright. Seems you only get that with canister vacs.

Overall, it’s a great vacuum for its price range. Over the last few days I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to put the Kirby upstairs as the secondary vacuum and move the new Bissell downstairs where it will get more use.

Recommended? Yes

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2. Bissell 1867 Steam Mop (Green Tea) Review