BISSELL Flip-!t Bare Floor Cleaner, 5200
by Bissell
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of BISSELL Flip-!t Bare Floor Cleaner, 5200
Customer Review: VERY disappointing item
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought the Flip it the day it came out before any reviews had been posted on this item and boy am I sorry. I looked everywhere for the floor cleaner and finally had to call Bissell to have some sent as it was not available anywhere.
I just received the cleaner and could not wait to try the Flip It out. It could not have been easier to assemble (just screw in the handle and you are ready to roll) but the instructions were pitiful as it did not really explain how to use the product nor how to insert the soft mop (this was only difficult as I did not see the insert in the package when I first took it out of the box).
I began by using the vacuum function but it just blew the dirt, dust and pet hair around the room. The suction was beyond terrible as I had to go back and forth over objects numerous times and even then it did not have the suction to pick things up.
When I used the wet function I was even more disappointed. The machine was heavy to push and pull and made a lot of noise - squeaking and so forth. The floor was still wet and the machine leaked dirty water back onto the floor when it was standing still. The wheels also left marks on the floor after having to run it back and forth over the still wet sections of the floor. The Flip It was also unable to clean the scuff marks off of the floor - things that my Swiffer Wet Jet easily removed. Once I was finished using the machine and was storing it upright as Bissell said it should be stored, it again leaked water/cleaning solution.
I was sure I had a lemon and was planning to exchange it but after reading the reviews here I think the machine is seriously flawed. I called Bissell and the only thing they had to suggest was to take it to a repair place - this after the item is BRAND NEW! I am planning to return this and buy another Swiffer Wet Jet. I have numerous Bissell products and can't believe that they would bring such a defective product to market unless it was rushed to consumers early to compete with a competitors product and they are planning to bring out an updated model soon.
This Flip It is a great idea but not ready for prime time yet. I give this product a BIG thumbs down.
Customer Review: Bissell Flip-it review and Bissell Flip-it v. Hoover Floormate
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently bought a second hand Bissell flip-it. Once I experienced the new found freedom from hours of mopping floors I was sold. I have a dog and several cats. I like a clean house. For years I have cleaned my hardwood floors and tile floors every other day and sometimes every day. Most of my cats are Persian so you can imagine the hair problems. My five pound Chihuaha is no big deal.
The Bissell Flip-it is very sturdy, light weight and well made. I am confident that it is worth the money. I believe it will last a long time.
The only draw back is that it is not the easiest to push because the brushes don't move but on the other hand it will give you a good workout. Don't we all need some exercise?
The suction is strong enough to get the job done that it is made for but it's not tops for deep cleaning carpets or rugs. I don't think it was designed for that purpose anyhow so don't let this discourage you.
I like the feature that I can flip the machine over and dry vac my scatter rugs inbetween washing the floors. This saves me a lot of time.
If you are looking for an easier life so that you have more time to do more important things rather then clean, clean, clean then do yourself a favor and buy a Flip-it!.
Now I have more time pray, pray, pray and read, read, read my bible. Hope you will too! I'll add in a little evangelism here...Jesus is the way the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father but by Him.
The next step up is to buy a Hoover floormate. It more expensive but easier to push because it has rotating brushes. I am not unhappy with the Bissell flip-it but my first preference is the Hoover floormate H3000 It's worth paying the extra money if you can afford it. Actually I own both and alternate using them.
My friend bought a Hoover H5000 recently. I have examine and tried using both. In my opinion the H3000 is lighter weight and better made then the H5000.
Customer Review: Stopped sucking up the water
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this and returned it the next day. When I brought it home, I discovered that it had obviously been used by someone else and then returned. I guess that should have been my first clue.
It did a great job of cleaning the floors at first. I did not have any trouble with the dry vac suction like some are having. It left the floors very dry after the wet vac as long as I moved slowly. The problem was that all of the sudden I realized that it had stopped sucking the water up off the floor. It left my floors extremely wet. I had to go around with a towel to dry them. I thought maybe I put the container in wrong, so I took it out and put it back in and tried again. It worked great for about 2 minutes. Then I heard a small pop and it lost suction again. I tried one more time and the same thing happened. I went ahead and took it back to the store. I am going to try the Hoover floor mate next.
I am dissapointed that it stopped working because I think it really did a nice job of getting the floors clean. It did not get the stuff that was stuck to the floor though. I have a baby and her food ends up stuck to the floor quite a bit. I still had to get down and scrub that up by hand. I also noticed that it was better to dry vac first. Then empty the container before wet mopping. The machine did a great job of flipping back and forth between wet and dry mopping, but then the hair and dust was hard to clean out because it was wet. Also, the filter was wet after I mopped and it was a pain to clean out. It had to be cleaned after each use unlike my vaccumm cleaner's. And becasue it was damp it was harder to do.
If the wet vac hadn't lost suction, I would have kept this product despite its flaws.
update: I bought the hoover floor mate, and I like it much better. The dry vac is horrible, but the wet mop gets the floors clean, and it leaves the floors dry. It is faster and easier to use than the flip it. Of course it costs quite a bit more too.
Customer Review: I have 3 shedding dogs and a tough floor to clean.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have 3 large dogs that drool any water left in their mouths after a drink, and a large textured ceramic floor that collects dirt in the grooves of the texture. I bought a Hoover Floor-mate in hopes of eliminating the mop and bucket, and because I felt that after a while I was pushing around dirty water. The Floor-mate did pick up a lot of dirt, but it is too large to get under cabinets and the brushes are too soft and too high to get into the crevices of the texture in the ceramic.
I decided to try the Flip-It because it is supposed to vacuum and wash the floor. First of all, you really have to vacuum first and clean the receptacle before washing. Otherwise, you will end up with a yucky mess to clean from the receptable and filter. I didn't find that the vacuum blew the hair as one other buy had reported, but I agree that it doesn't vacuum very well. It picked up some hair and small crumbs, but didn't get all of it. This was obvious when I washed the floor. More hair was picked up in the washing process.
With the rubber brush and a little pressure, this cleaner did get much more of the dirt out of the floor texture. I still had to scrub some with the brush on the unit, but I would have to do the same with a sponge mop. At least with this cleaner, the dirty water is vacuumed up and clean solution is dispensed for the next section. Even with my uneven floor, the unit did pick up the water, and the floor dried quickly.
The first floor bathroom, hall, kitchen, and foyer are pretty large, kitchen alone is about 12' x 18'. I had to refill the cleaner 3 times. I filled the unit with hot water from the tap. So maybe that helped. I don't think this is too bad because I had to refill the Floor-mate as many times and it didn't get the floor as clean.
I wouldn't use this unit as a vacuum again, but as a hard floor cleaner, I think it works well on floors that need more scrubbing than a soft brush.
Customer Review: Bought it, tried it, returned it
Summary: 1 Stars
One might imagine that the whole concept of vacuuming-flip-mopping is progressive in some way, but it really does not make the job of cleaning the floor easier. Especially when the product is heavy and hard to maneuver with poor pickup. I'd much rather go over the floor with a good vacuum, and then follow with a functional, well-designed good mop (like the old SteamMop they discontinued). These things function better as seperate units, which is why there's no washing machine that's also a dryer.
The Flip-It is a very loud machine--so loud, that I didn't hear my phone ring in the same room. This makes it difficult to listen for my 3 children, too. It's difficult to push and feels like it's gripping to the floor. It doesn't fit into any tight places or under any low chairs/cabinets with it's big fat part-vacuum head. And, when you're finished, it's a pain to clean out the nozzle and the filter(which you're supposed to keep dry somehow) so you can look forward to a second job once you've finished the job of cleaning your floors. And, because of the "flip it" back and forth design, the thing has no equilibrium...it fell to the floor at least 3 times, even when I was so careful to rest it against something...once when this happened, the "dirty water" recovery tank hit the floor, fell off the machine and spilled the dirty water all over my just-cleaned floor. A true nightmare. I bought this product because I could no longer buy replacement filters/pads for my Bissell SteamMop, and I thought I had better give the latest and greatest a try, but, sadly, I was disappointed. I don't review things often, but I felt a responsibility to warn others out there who are shopping for a good mop to keep their homes clean. This contraption is not your answer.
On a side note, I wrote to Bissell to bring back the SteamMop (what an excellent product), so I'm hoping that they will one day.