SurfaceSense Allergen Lift-Off Pet Upright Vacuum, 3418 | SurfaceSense automatically adjusts; LED headlights; lift-off detachable canister; tangle-free brush roll

* UPDATE of February 2026 * I use 2 Bissell SurfaceSense units everyday. I use both the non-Lift-Off and Lift-Off models. Bought 1st non-Lift-Off in January 2023 and 2nd in April 2023 – both still going strong! Bought the Lift-Off model in January 2026. BTW, the "Top Review" has the most Likes - that is this review. I tell you what you want to know! WEIGHT: 16 lbs (this is the correct weight with attachments in place) HEADLIGHTS: Very bright and close to floor to reveal dust on hard floors. CORD WRAP: On unit body, not on handle (handle is the extension wand). EXTENSION WAND: Fast and easy to remove and use. FILTER CLEANING: Easily accessible and easy to clean. Pad Filters located in top of Filter Canister. FILTER CANISTER: Holds a lot and it's clear for fast visual of status. Comes apart easily for quick washing. 'HEPA' FILTER: Cartridge Filter is under the Filter Canister. Quick and very easy to replace. AUTO BRUSH-ROLL: Turns off Brush-Roll (beater-brush) when in full upright position. OBSTRUCTIONS: If Brush-Roll gets blocked, the Headlights will flash on/off to warn you - super nice!! SURFACE SENSE: Works very well. Automatically slows down brush-roller after about 1 sec on hard floor. SUCTION HOSE: Solidly held in place, but fast & easy to release for extra reach extension wand use. ACCESSORIES: All are firmly secured and easy to access on unit. Not in way of operation. SUCTION POWER: Very good. MANEUVERABILITY: Very good - better than Dysons. COMPACTNESS: Much better than Dyson Animal Ball 2 (DC41). LIKEABILITY: From Hoovers, Dysons, Sharks, and now to the Bissell. We like this Bissell best of all. CLEANING PATH: Larger than Shark. Just right IMHO. QUIETNESS: Wheels have hard rubber outer ring so very quiet on hard floors unlike Dyson which is loud. QUIETNESS COMPARISON: Quieter than Sharks and Dysons I have used. COST COMPARISON: More affordable than Dysons and top Sharks. BONUS: Before we donated the Dyson, we discovered its attachments fit the Bissell well. Sweet!! COMMENT: (April 2023) My family would not trade our Bissell for any other vac on the market. Have read about some problems others have had but we haven't had any of them. Zero problems. Yes, we would buy Bissell’s SurfaceSense again and we did! One upstairs, one downstairs - super convenient! UPDATE 1: (May 2023) Due to everyday use, we replaced the HEPA filter at 4 months. You have to remove it (easy) and look at the ‘underside’ of the filter to see the dirt. Replacing that filter restored its suction power to brand new! Yes, some micro-dirt gets to the HEPA filter and builds up over time. Here are NEW links for 3packs. *Non-Lift-Off*: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHDH2Y83?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2 Note: Bissell discontinued the non-Lift-Off version of the SurfaceSense. *Lift-Off*: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DZGZ6V92/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A2DAZS6OM0DWKY&th=1 UPDATE 2: (September 2024) New kitty! Now we have 5 who get hair and litter everywhere. Cleaning everyday (sometimes twice) is a necessity. Thank goodness for Bissell! Being easy to use and a powerful cleaner is absolutely required. This is the best of all we have tried! The SurfaceSense is the best since it slows down the beater-brush to not sling kitty litter everywhere. Slinging litter around on hard floors means it does go everywhere. Hope you find this helpful. UPDATE 3: (January 2025) At 2 years of use, I could see some debris in the belt area that turns the beater-brush. So I laid the unit on the floor with the front of the unit facing down. There are 6 gray screw-heads that hold the beater-brush cover-plate on. Turn each screw counter-clockwise 1/4 turn. Don't worry, Bissell has markings on the cover-plate to guide you. I lifted the cover-plate off and removed some tangled hair and debris from inside the belt compartment. I reattached the cover-plate, turned the screws clockwise, and that was it! All clean again after 2 years of daily use! Super easy! (BTW, with the cover-plate off, the beater brush and belt are easy to remove and put back.) I recommend cleaning out the beater-brush compartment at least once a year to avoid problems! UPDATE 4: (January 2026) The 1st unit I bought in January 2023 is now my workshop vacuum. That justified my purchasing of a new SurfaceSense Lift-Off unit to be the new downstairs vacuum. Yes, the Bissell SurfaceSense vacuums are still my family's favorite vacuums and this will be our 3rd one. UPDATE 5: (February 2026) Well, I encountered a small quirk with the new Lift-Off unit. When transitioning from hardfloor to carpet, it is necessary to do so in a quick manner so that the SurfaceSense sensor can quickly increase the turning rate of the beater-brush to full-speed. If you transition slowly, the beater-brush can slow down enough to activate the Obstruction sensor. If that happens, the Obstruction sensor will turn-off the beater-brush and begin flashing the LED headlights. That requires turning the vacuum Off and then On. It is a minor quirk that only occurs occasionally. I still believe the SurfaceSense is the best vacuum for most homes on the market today. UPDATE 6: (February 2026) I have just cleaned the Filter Canister and Filter Pads of the Lift-Off unit I purchased last month. I do like the Lift-Off unit with its larger cleaning path and greater Filter Canister capacity compared to the non-Lift-Off unit. That said, I do have a gripe. The Filter Canister on the *Lift-Off* unit has a top Filter Pad compartment that is hinged and is not removable. I will tell you what that means. It is a real pain in the ‘you-know-what’ to keep the top and bottom of the Filter Canister open while trying to spray it out with water for cleaning. If I could, I would take off half a Star for that goofiness! Yes, it is annoying to say the least. UPDATE 7: (February 2026) For the mechanically inclined, I have a *fix* to make the Filter Pad compartment of the Lift-Off model removable from the Filter Canister! The clear plastic pin holding the hinge together is removable and can be replaced with a nice metal quick-release pin available here on Amazon. Step 1: Order the 1/4” x 1.5” quick-release pin 2-pack (www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSK6SSP6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1). Step 2: When you have the QR pin, remove the hinge plastic pin using small, narrow-nose pliers as follows. In the middle of the length of the plastic pin, there is a hollow zone that is visible to the eye. If necessary, rotate the pin a little using the pliers to see it. Squeeze the middle of the plastic pin with the pliers to collapse the hollow zone while pushing one end of the plastic pin as far as it will go – about 1/8”. Use the pliers to grab the end of the plastic pin and pull it from the hinge. Step 3: Although the QR pin will fit into the hinge hole, it is very tight. Use a 1/4" drill bit and drill to make the hole an actual 1/4". Step 4: Insert the new, metal Quick-Release pin into the hole! You can use it like that or remove the metal ring from the QR pin so it doesn’t flop around. That’s it!

I have been using an 8+ year old (not exactly sure when I got it, maybe 10 years ago) Kmart special. I tell you this to understand what I'm comparing this machine with. We have a golden retriever, two cats and several little dirt trodders in our house. Did I mention we live in the desert where you always have a thin film of dirt on your floors? It took my husband using our vacuum to realize how badly we needed a new one. Some looking and price assessing led us to this one. Read many reviews right here on Amazon as well as Google searching and decided to give it a go. I am not disappointed! The suction is wonderful! It pulled pet hair and even some cat claws right off of the living room rug (that had just been vacuumed the night before, twice). I think the length of the cord is fine, but I've never had a vacuum that could go through my entire house on one plug. It differentiates between my tile, carpet and rugs quickly! You can hear the change and there is even a suction adjuster right on the handle. *Pay attention to this adjuster as it may cause you to not have suction and think it's not working very well if you accidentally have it on the plush carpet setting instead of bare floor. Since I'm not used to this feature, I thought my vacuum had issues on the second use. It will get right up along the wall and pick up cat litter whether you push it alongside the wall or right up to it from the front. The crevice tool also has an led light that is bright! The lights in the front of the main vacuum are also bright and really show the dirt. It's not a heavy machine, in my opinion, but it's not super light either. It maneuvers with a smoothness I've never felt before in a vacuum. I do not have any cons for this machine as of yet. It's exactly what I was hoping to purchase. Maybe my expectations are lower than others, but it's a huge improvement upon my upright vacuum and my robot vacuum (which we really only use to try to help keep down the dusty dirt layer and pet hair from the tile). I wish any potential vacuum buyer luck in finding what works for their house. Edit: I found a small con, for me. The canister empties from the bottom. The top of the canister also opens up for cleaning with a slight twist. I was used to twisting and shaking my old canister piece to get everything out and accidental loosened the top part. Hubby accused me of trashing the new vacuum. Also, if you pick up a ton of hair, it does stick towards the top of the canister, but pulls out easily.

Works great! I have three cats and a mix of tile and carpet, this does a good job of cleaning both. This is my first bagless vac, I usually clean the entire house once a week, and dump the dust bin and wash it and the foam filter afterwards. Then it is clean and dry for the next week or if we need a mid-week spot clean. Suction is strong as long as you don't accidentally move the adjustable slider on the handle, which I've done more than once. My only real complaint is the design of the hand brush, which is at a 90 degree angle to the wand, often a 45 degree angle would be easier to use and that is usually what vacs provide. The suction-powered rotating hand brush is good for cleaning carpeted stairs, although the vac is light enough that I usually just use the upright brush by picking up the entire vac.

UPDATE . It stopped working properly. Customer service from Bissell is fantastic. I’m more loyal to this brand than ever And the roller doesn’t work anymore . This is an expensive vacuum to last less than a year Adulthood is : being so excited about a vacuum you have to review it . I was torn between a shark and a bissell , but I’ve always owned bissell and even the cheaper models last me at least a couple years or regular use. I am very happy with this purchase. The light on the front is the best as it shows me EVERYTHING I missed before MANEUVERABILITY : It’s not too heavy for me to carry up stairs ( but it is heavy) and it rolls smooth. I appreciate the feature that allows the tank to detach from the base but I don’t use it really. SUCTION: Actually the suction is great. I was thinking I would get a shark because I heard they are better on hard wood floors . But this vacuum does the job as well as I could want it to. My floors are so much cleaner than they were with my old vacuum TANK: I empty my tank after every vacuum. It’s super quick and easy so tank size is not an issue for me ATTACHMENTS : I had no idea but the narrow attachment for the hose has a LIGHT on it . You guys …. I am ashamed to admit the joy that small detail gave me . The spinning turbo brush is GREAT too. My last vacuum had one and I used it until it broke CONS : Here’s what you really came for lol So far I only have a couple. Most vacuums have a pedal or something to unlock the bottom from the body of the vacuum while you use it . This one doesn’t have a pedal- you just hold the bottom down with your foot and tilt the handle back. Whatever mechanism locks it back into and upright position is too sensitive and I find myself having to release it often Neutral: the surface sense means the brushes turn off if something gets tangled in it . I love this because it protects the vacuum from breaking!!!! But it also turns off if you vacuum a flimsy rug ( you know, the kind you have trouble going over with pretty much any vacuum anyway) Not a problem for me really

I am extremely impressed with this vacuum cleaner. It exceeded my expectations by far. I felt like the model on the video they have on the website the first time I used it LOL. - The lift-off option paired with the wand is my favorite feature! I was finally able to vacuum the stairs carpet without hurting my lower back. It is also very convenient for narrow spaces, like behind the furniture. - It has excellent maneuverability! Cleaning underneath the dining table was so easy because the bottom part swivels around the table legs smoothly. - I liked that the features are clearly labeled on the vacuum itself, so I didn't need to find the user manual to remember how to use the lift-off option. - I think it's light-weight for an upright vacuum cleaner, at least a lot lighter than the one I used to have. My arms didn't hurt after vacuuming the house, including carrying it while vacuuming the stairs. - It has excellent suction power! It did an amazing job cleaning the carpet on the heavy traffic area in the living room. - I love the tangle-free brush-roll. I have long hair and a tangled brush was the main problem I had with my previous vacuum cleaner. - It was very easy to remove and reinsert the canister. You only have to press a button to empty out the canister. - The noise level is slightly lower than my hair blower (T3 professional air hair dryer - around 70's dB in low setting). My teenager son thinks it's quiet, I'd say it's moderate. My dog didn't run away when I was vacuuming near him but he's still weary of it.

Honest review after using for 1 month, 1x a week. Looks good, and that's it. Oh wait, I haven't cleaned pet hair off the roller brush. There you go, that's it's only positive point. Now the important stuff. - No edge suction power on the side. Front end edge suction is minimal. This is important when doing perimeter of walls, especially kitchen cabinet toe kicks. - Large 'Dirt tank' but only 1/4 of it is usable. the rest of the space is dedicated to the cyclone spinning pre-filter. - Clean up of the cartridge is the worst I've seen. The pre-filter is screwed together, not an easy disassembly like other vacuums. Requires deep reach brushes to pull the dirt out unless I unscrew it. - The lower dirt lid, while it does function and seems like a good design, has it's own flaws. I wash my cartridge with soap and water because otherwise dirt trapped onto the seal will prevent a good seal for next usage. A large amount of dust/dirt gets stuck around the seal. I end up cleaning the area around the seal with a microfiber tower and am shocked at how much dirt still comes off. - The Sensing technology is a joke at best. All it does is spin up or spin down the roller brush. Looks good on paper, but in reality, when cleaning a kitchen with linoleum floor, also cleaning the small area mat by the sink, the vacuum acts like it's having a seizure. - The roller mechanism is also auto shut down if using on carpet and the vacuum senses it's drawing too much power. Only way to reset it is by turning the vacuum off and back on. Between the useless sensing technology and the auto shut down safety feature, it's why giving it such a low review.. Will keep it until it breaks only because I'm outside of the 30 day window and it wasn't cheap.

I'm in love ,I have four dogs three which are shorthaired and a poodle but I also have four grand puppies which two are long haired and a poodle mix and a shorthaired so lots of fur when there all at my home and I also have a African Grey. I had a Dyson years ago that I absolutely loved but my hubby dropped something heavy on it and that was that so I had gotten a Bissell pet lifter vacuum a few years ago but after about a year it needed a new belt so we got one and replaced it as per instructions and soon after that it started having clogging issues not sure if it was due to the belt but all of a sudden it just kept getting clogged so it was more of an issue to vacuum and then stop and unclog and start again . So I thought many a clog where I can't get to without taking fully apart so I just looked for a new one and seen this I read all the reviews and watched lots of videos and really liked the eye feature since I have heavy throw rugs which I normally would pick up and shake off outside then vacuum but with this the eye detects the different floors /rugs all by itself. I love it I have wood floors mostly and tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom so lots of what is considered bare floors and a few throw rugs and a bathroom runner rug . It was very easy to assemble and I the on/off button is on the top and to use it you just hold the vacuum head down and pull the unit back to recline it and while it is upright the eye is turned off the eye doesn't come on until you start to vacuum which is awesome since by my dog's water fountain the wood floor is buckled a bit from the dripage from my dog's mouths but the vacuum did awesome with that area it didn't get stuck and I assume it detected it as a rug in because it increased suction,I love how you don't have to twist a dial for making sure you have the right length it does it itself. As for my parrot he is on a pellet diet which is thick hard pieces for food and he gets seeds as a treat but the seeds he doesn't like he just throws out of his bowl so I'm constantly sweeping those up but I do miss some and this vacuum is ad no issue with the pellets or the seeds even while corn kernels and peanut shells from time to time I haven't used it as the lift off feature yet because I have a hand held vacuum use for areas that the vacuum can't reach but I did use the hose which did awesome for corners. The only issue I have with this vacuum is the front is to big to go under my furniture,but weekly I pull out my furniture and vacuum anyways but for a quick vacuuming it is awesome. I'm living it

This is the third Bissell Pet Allergen vacuum I have bought. The first was for a cabin; I loved it so much I bought another for our home. When we discovered a severe mold issue and sensitivity, I used the one we had to vacuum and decontaminate our items but decided to purchase a new one when we moved to start fresh. Having a sealed HEPA system was very important! This was an upgraded model, and while I missed the retractable cord, I was thrilled with the lift-off system. Pros: I have intermittent back issues that keep me from using a heavy vacuum. While this is not the most lightweight vacuum, it pushes with such ease that I wondered if it was self-propelled. When the pod is removed for detachable, canister vacuuming it is light. This is such an upgrade, as we previously had to have one person move the base of the vacuum with the hose while another person used the attachment, or else the vacuum would tip over. Great design upgrade! The headlight on the front illuminates every dust, crumb, and hair, so I get as much picked up as possible. This light was much stronger than the previous model I had. The Sealed HEPA Allergen System is the most important for us at this time. This means it has a HEPA filter that captures and holds 99.97% of the dust and particles inside without blowing them back out, up to 0.3 microns. The power of this vacuum far surpasses any other vacuum I have used. It is incredibly easy to maneuver and almost feels as if it is helping propel itself. The surface technology that automatically shifts from carpet to hardwood is a huge bonus. The canister is easy to empty from the bottom. It removes with a push of a button, and the bottom opens to empty debris with another push of a button. Cons: The only thing I miss from the previous model is the retractable cord. On the other hand, my kids do not miss it as sometimes it would retract unpredictably and wildly.

Died after 6 months. Followed all maintenance and filter changes but it started to smell like a burning weird smell and it died and i used it maybe once a week if that. It never sucked the dirt from the edge of the walls either. The second one to pack it in under a year. Going to purchase Miele again as that one I had lasted me over 12 plus years and it is still in use.

Very powerful vacuum and very good on carpets and hard floors. But it is awkward, heavy and not user friendly. Would be good in a big area! Easy to clean out but so heavy. I am sorry I got that. I was looking fir a lighter thing for quick sweeping!