BISSELL Flip-!t Bare Floor Cleaner, 5200
by Bissell
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List Price: Our Price: $79.00 You Save: $50.99 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Buy Used: from $42.00 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of BISSELL Flip-!t Bare Floor Cleaner, 5200
Customer Review: Fantastic value
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this product for the wet floor cleaning ability. I am sold; I think it is wonderful and great. I paid 75 dollars for mine at a discount retailer and have been impressed so far. We have 2 dogs and a toddler in our house which is 75% ceramic tile so there are many things that I like about this unit.
1. It is light and easy to use with one hand and truly does go from dry to wet on the fly. Of course the sacrifice for this is that the tanks (both clean and dirty) are somewhat small.
2. It picks up adequately on the dry vacuum side Cheerios and dog hair don't give it any problems and the dirt that falls in the grout comes up too. My house requires sweeping up first period. There is no way ANY vacuum could get into all the nooks and corners without a wand, but I do wish it was a little lower profile and a little wider on the vacuum side. Although it seems to pick up fine it just doesn't feel very powerful as vacuum cleaners go.
3. The wet cleaning side is great, works beautifully and does not leave much water at all. I love it! My only complaint is that as others have said, the tanks are small and the filter does clog pretty easily. But I figure you have to make sacrifices for price and compact design.
All things considered it is easy to use does a great job for everyday cleaning and I can't beat the price. It seems pretty durable too, the other day it hit the floor and both tanks and the wet vac. head popped off, I freaked out for a minute and the snapped everything back together and it ran like a champ. Although I am sure it is not recommended I did suck up and entire cup of coffee off the floor the other day with not so much as a dribble of the brown liquid left it did perfectly.
You also have to remember to leave a little time to get to know the machine. I experienced almost all the same problems as other users in the beginning too. Other users have commented about the dirty water on the floor and the fact that it doesn't pick the water back up and it leaks etc. I had all these things happen and ALL were attributable to operator error! Vacuum does not pick up= I have never met an upright that didn't blow stuff. EVER! Dirty water not picking up= filter was clogged, unclogged filter, took two minutes. Tank leaks= dirty water= not clicked in all the way. Clean water= screwed cap on wrong. Takes long time to dry= instructions specifically recommend NOT holding lever down on both forward and reverse sweeps and on the times that I have a stubborn stain I do this but I also go back over it with just the sucker and it turns out just fine. I also use my own vinegar water combo in the machine with no problem either.
All in all, you get what you pay for. I did not pay $200-$400 for a floor cleaner I paid $75, I expect and accept the limitations that affords me. It is so much unbelievably better than vacuuming my whole house with the wand of my upright and then using mop and bucket I am willing to deal with it. My back thanks me everyday!
Customer Review: Just as the box says, "Great for everyday cleaning"!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was skeptical after reading all of the BAD reviews for this product, so I was really pleasantly surprised when I used my "Flip it" for the first time. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much. I wouldn't even have bought it had it not been a special on one of the home shopping networks, but it worked so great for them that I just had to try it out.
I have 2 small children, and keeping my floors clean is next to impossible. We have ceramic tile in the entrance foyer and WHITE ceramic tile in our kitchen. I have to vacuum it at least once every day. I mop once a week, even though it needs it more often. It's just a hassel to keep lugging the mop and bucket up and down the stairs, especially over our new carpet. Besides that, it takes the floors forever to dry. Try keeping your kids (and Husband) out of the kitchen while it dries - forget it! In addition to that, we have 3 bathrooms that all have tile floors. With the exception of 1 small area between the tub and toilet in one bathroom, I have no trouble manouvering the Flip it around. Try THAT with the Hoover Floor Mate!
The day my "Flip it" arrived I opened the box immediately. Assembly was super easy, all I needed was a phillips head screw driver to tighten the handle and I was good to go. I did the dry vacumming first. I didn't experience the crumbs or dirt being "blown around" as others have complained about, it got sucked right into the machine - from bread crumbs to lucky charms, it picked it up. I then "flipped" the unit over and started to clean the floor. Using the hard brush attachment I was able to get any dried on spills with just a little bit of pressure. It took me a few passes to get the hang of how the "squeegee" part works to get the floor dry, but once I did it was a piece of cake. Is it perfect? No, but it does the job it was meant to do. Anyone who buys this thinking they are never going to have to scrub the floor again will be sadly disappointed. But then again, thats not what it was designed for. It was made for people like me, who need the convenience of being able to vacuum and spot clean quickly and easily.
Imagine the next time your phone rings, its a friend/relative/neighbor saying "Hey, we're in the area and thought we'd stop by for a quick visit". Are your floors clean? Probably not. Are you going to get your mop & bucket? Doubtful. Could you grab your Flip It and give them the once over before the guests arrive. You bet!
The box says "Great for Everyday Cleaning", and I believe that is the intended use. If you only plan to wash your floors once a week, then stick with the ol' mop & bucket. If you need something lightweight and easy to use for on the spot clean-ups and day-to-day living then this is a dream come true. I'll still need to give my grout a good scrubbing now and then, but I can live with that.
Please note: the "gasket" mentioned in so many other reviews was shipped as a standard part with my unit. Even so, I didn't replace it and my machine still had the suction power to pick up the dirt.
Customer Review: Does exactly what I wanted it to, exactly as advertised.
Summary: 5 Stars
I just learned of this product recently but due to the economy it has not been in the budget. Then today I stopped by the thrift store looking for an egg incubator and I saw this FlipIt with a 15.00 price tag, but everything in the store was 20% off. So for 12.00 I got the machine, 5 pads (4 new in the package), 2 scrub brushes, and an unopened bottle of cleaning solution. Not too shabby considering a new mop costs that much. My friend did question why someone would have given it to the thrift store, but I decided it was worth the 12.00 risk.
I am SO glad I bought this machine. I have 3 young kids, 1 dog, and 2 cats as well as a husband who is a mechanic and can't seem to grasp the concept of removing his shoes before he comes in the house. Right away I set it up and got to work. Normally it takes me about an hour to do the kitchen and dining room, not including the time it takes to clean the stray legos and socks. I asked my little guys to get down there and pick up the large objects (a french fry, some dog food) because I could see that the machine was not designed to pick up what I would normally use a vacuum hose on. Normally I sweep daily and mop every 2-3 days because its such a pain. Honestly it should be mopped daily. Well start to finish I "swept" and mopped my kitchen and dining room in less than 20 minutes and it was DIRTY today! The vacuum cleaned up the spilled potting soil and crumbs no problem though I did notice it sent the lint flying. It cleaned the hair that the mop normally pushes up under the edge of the cabinets requiring me to go over the outside edge of the room with a wet rag, and it had no problem with MY hair which seems to get all over everything. Then i switched to the wet side and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. It cleaned up the applesauce and pomegranate as well as the mystery spot and the dirty little footprints caused by my son running into the garage barefoot and then running through the kitchen. It dried in a fraction of the time and best of all every area was cleaned using fresh water that was then removed from my floors.
I am really impressed. Tonight I plan to mop my laundry room floor and THEN use this machine to see just how much dirt my mop and broom are leaving behind.
Honestly I like this product. I am not sure how much I would have liked it in my old house that was 100% wood laminate, but for an average house with average size rooms it works great and saved me a ton of time and my floor is cleaner than it has been in ages.
My only complaint would be the filter which needs to dry before I can use it again. I wish it had come with 2 filters so I could use one while the other is drying...thats how often I have to clean my floors!
Customer Review: Flip-It Flops (from a 900 hardwood & 1500 tile user)
Summary: 2 Stars
Pros: Lightweight, easy to assemble, easy to use
Cons: Clean-up is downright dirty, blows dust/hair around, way too small wash container (dump & refill OFTEN), cannot go from dry to wet w/out emptying, filter difficult to clean, doesn't scrub, not very thorough
We went from a 1500 sq ft house with less than 300 sq ft to wash (mostly carpeted), so handwashing the floors wasn't that big of a deal. But when we moved to a 2700 sq ft house in Nov. that had less than 300 sq ft of CARPET, the rest was 1/2 hardwood and 1/2 tile/linoleum, I knew I wanted some hardcore equipment to ease the burden of cleaning. I bought this from Costco because I knew if it didn't work, I could at least return it. It's getting returned.
The vents on the side blow the dirt, hair and dust around making it next to impossible to vacuum the floors clean (so I had to use my Swiffer and a broom/dustpan). Even though they say you can go from vacuuming dry to using the wet side, I don't recommend it. The hairs and dirt you do manage to get up gets gunked up in the very small recepticle. Very difficult to clean.
The wet side doesn't scrub very good, doesn't get into crevices, up along baseboards and under the toe kicks under counters. The head is a bit big (could only get it around one of the toilets and I have a total of 4). The filter is very difficult to clean and even if you let it air dry, as recommended, because the folds are so tight, it begins to mildew immediately. Says you can store it w/ water, but that's just a recipe for bacteria. The container is very small and has to be emptied and refilled often (took me a total of 10 refills to complete my entire house, so that's about 240 sq ft per container). If you don't have it set right, there's no way of knowing until the soap begins to bubble out of the "gills" on the side.
There is no mention of whether you should use hot or cool water. Common sense says hot, but even when I used scalding water, by the time it hit the floor it was lukewarm at best. You're limited to the type of cleaner you can use as well. I'm not so certain their hardwood floor solution is the best for our hardwood floor and I'd like to be able to use the manufacturer's suggested cleaner: Murphy's Oil.
I'm going to look into a more commercial type of hardwood/tile floor cleaner. I don't recommend this product at all. Given the expense and the amount of other things you have to do to get a clean floor, it's not worth it.
Customer Review: Does a more than respectable job for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
I had read the reviews on this and the Hoover Floormate. I had gone out and purchased the ($250 w/tax) H3060 model (see my review of this item) and returned it following day. I was hesitant to purchase the Flip-It but desperate. I absolutely HATE my kitchen floor (white tile with almond color grout) and have carpet only in two rooms of my house. Hardwood or laminate cover my other floors (vinyl in bath and laundry). I constantly have muddy wet footprints throughout my house due to gravel drive and guys who cannot seem to learn to wipe their feet and they certainly aren't about to remove their shoes. Then there's the doggy footprints.
I have used this machine for a couple of weeks now. I have not experienced problems with this blowing around dirt and dust bunnies and I do have a lot of them with a both dog and a cat that ought to be bald for as much as she sheds. However, I did not buy it particularly for the vacuum capabilities. But, again, I did not notice this problem.
I desperately wanted something that would clean my floors without the ugly streaking that necessitated drying with towels as I washed. And too, as soon as you get done mopping, someone has to start walking through or in and out from outside. Wosrt, with mykitchen floor, as soon as you try to mop it, all the dirty water the mop is pushing around stains the grout which I have tried to seal numerous times to no avail - still looks worse after each time I mop. With this little baby, the water doesn't get a chance to soak into the grout and therefore I will only have to do my cleaning with the toothbrush and grout cleaner infrequently.
I am ecstatic over the way it cleans the laminate and hardwood using the soft pad. Solution to avoiding the wet pad restreaking where I'm trying to dry the floor - I do a large section of floor, simply reach down and slide out the pad which removes very easily, and run it over the area. In one pass the floor is completely bone dry and streak free. Much, much, much faster and easier than the old way with mopping or on hands and knees and then on hands and knees to dry with towels.
I think this little machine is a great improvement over earlier models put out by various makers. I have bought a few in the past that went out to the dump quickly. Overall, I am quite happy with this purchase for the price.