Bissell 1974 SmartClean Robot Vacuum

Amazing product. For the last 4-5 months I've researched robot vacuums, had them in my cart (both in stores and online) and at the last moment I would chicken out and not buy one. This one was on sale at Target and I found it just a few dollars cheaper on Amazon, so here we are.I have two dogs but when I'm watching my brothers dogs my dog pack increases to 4 so the Bissell bot had its work cut out. Prior to he purchase I was vacuuming every day just to keep up with the dog hair and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I needed some help!I used the 1hr cycle initially for my hardwood, large kitchen and dining area (approx 12'x33') it did very well. I have high bar stools it navigates around/through, I have a doormat by the kitchen door that it navigated up and onto, cleaned and then returned to the hardwood with ease. It cleaned around the dogs' food bowl without tipping it over and it cleaned along the baseboards well.The ONLY thing it got stuck on (and maybe it would have figured it out had I waited an extra 30 seconds) was a thin vinyl placemat I have on the floor under the dogs' water bowl to prevent splashes and damage to the wood floors.Pros:Great price for the product functionsCleans very well and has a large dirt binPicked up dog hair with easeNavigates beautifullySaves me timeCleaned carpet without issueFYI:-It's not as loud as people say it is. Yes, it makes noise but it's a machine. I would compare it to the noise of any other vacuum, so an hour of "noise" sounds like clean floors to me.-It has to charge for several hours before the first use, so if you're like me and want to use something right out of the box, just plan on waiting a bit.Cons:Why didn't I buy it sooner?(Seriously, I have no cons)Pictures- the carpet and bar stools it navigated around and cleaned (yes, it cleaned under the table!)

The Bissell 1974 SmartClean Robot Vacuum suffers from a number of design issues.The dust bin does a poor job of compacting what is picked up. If you have pets, the dust bin can "fill" with pet hair midway through a single run, stopping the robot until the bin is emptied. When you go to empty the bin, there really isn't much in there, With the Roomba (652), the dust bin in designed so that pet hair balls up and compacts, allowing it to run much longer, even several days.The battery life is quite short and the ability to find it's way back to the charging station once low on battery is poor. The system will sense a low battery and start to look for the docking station, but 9 times out of 10, it will run out of juice before finding the station. When it runs out of juice, it's completely out of juice. You have to recharge by unplugging the charging station an plugging directly into the Bissell. There is no docking button on the Bissell, so you can't just charge it enough to get it moving and have it dock itself - it just goes back into cleaning mode when activated. The docking station has no battery backup, so every time you unplug it, when you plug it back in you have to set the time and the cleaning schedule (you program the cleaning schedule into the docking station rather than the unit itself). This happens essentially every day. If you just pick up the dead Bissell and stick it into the docking station, the charging doesn't activate. It needs to dock itself for it to recharge from the docking station. If the Roomba is unable to find it's docking station it will eventually shutdown, but it still has some power in the battery. You can pick up the Roomba and place it near its docking station and then just hit the "dock" button and it will dock itself.

We have a dog who lives inside. He sheds and he brings in dirt from outside. I could sweep once a week or more in a never ending attempt to keep the laminate and tile floors in the front room, dining room and kitchen clean. I could, but now that we have Rosie the Robot Maid, I will never have to sweep again. We have her set to run for 90 minutes at 1 am every night and the floors are always clear of dog hair!Only negative for me is that it is a bit loud.We have not tried running the unit on carpets. It did well on a few low rugs, but sometimes had issues going from laminate to rug and back.Note - you will need a clear wall space about 5 feet long (can be under a table) for the unit to sit in and that space needs to be near a plug.

Save yourself the headache and get a Roomba. I have a Roomba 650 and love it. Got this to help with the entry level. I regret every part of that decision.First, the dust/dirt collection is unnecessarily complex. The Roomba has one central container. This has a collection container, a spin wheel, and a filter that all get clogged quickly because they are small.Second, Bissell should have printed a label on the device to help decode the error messages. This thing has so many errors, I find myself reading the instruction manual more often than the news.Third, the battery life is pitiful. I give it maybe 20 minutes, or enough for half a room.If the price is what entices you to this device (that is what got me), just stick with the good old broom and dustpan - your sanity depends on it.

It works pretty well on hard wood or tile floor. It sucks up all the dog hair on the ground and small dirt too. It seems to not do so well with bigger pieces of dirt but it's fine. It navigates well and I love its ability to go back to its "home" to get charged.