A Passionate Post About a $50 Vacuum

Every time Derek and I have moved in the last 5 years, we've switched church congregations, and each new congregation has had a Facebook group where the women can connect with one another, ask questions about local schools, parks, doctors, ask for help when needed, etc... These groups have always proven to be really awesome at getting information or help when you need it, and have generally proven to be a really valuable resource to me over the years. 

A couple years ago, one of my friends had posted on one of these Facebook groups that her vacuum cleaner had just broken, and that she wanted recommendations on a new one, and then specifically mentioned that she did not want to spend an arm and a leg, and was really trying to stay under $100 or so on this purchase. 

What ensued in the comment thread of that post was about 5-6 women convincing her that she did in fact need to just spend the $300+ on the almighty Dyson vacuum and that it would increase the longevity of the carpets in her home, that it would clean them better than any other machine, and that the vacuum itself would last longer than any of the cheaper alternatives that she would find elsewhere. 

I'm going to probably enrage a few people with my next statement but: I've used several Dyson vacuums from either using one when I go to someone else's house, or when someone has let us use theirs when ours was packed up on a moving truck, and I'm just not impressed. This is also coming from the same person who HATES Costco (post for another time perhaps?), so take all of this for what it's worth. I just personally felt like they were bulky, hard to maneuver, and didn't suck as well as the $50 Bissell that we'd purchased from Walmart. (I'm also willing to admit that maybe we just had two bad experiences with a Dyson, they are obviously very popular and must be for a good reason, purely just my experience from the two I've used.)

When we moved from Utah to North Carolina in 2013, we'd gotten rid of a lot of our possessions, our vacuum cleaner being one of them. When we got to North Carolina though, we were tight on money since Derek was out of work for a month before his new job started, so when we needed to get a vacuum before the first paycheck came, we grabbed this Bissel Powerforce Helix for $50 and called it good. It was our best, viable option for our budget, so we went for it, and it has been a trooper for us for over four years now. 

One thing I've thought a lot about over the last few years when people talk about how much they hate their lower end vacuum cleaners is that  I don't think people really maintain their vacuums as well as they should. All of the pieces in our vacuum come apart really easily, and every six months or so  I take out all the inside parts, wash them in the sink, dry them, and then put it all back together. I also make sure to get the hair out from the track about once a month, and from doing those things on a consistent basis, I really think it's helped to increase the longevity of our machine. 

There was a moment a few months ago where I was vacuuming and then all of a sudden our house started to smell like burning Doritos and I thought that it was the end of my beloved and well defended vacuum cleaner, but it turned out to just be a broken band. So I bought a new one on Amazon for $12, replaced it myself, and have been happily vacuuming again ever since. 

I also firmly believe that that vacuum does an outstanding job at getting our carpets cleaned. Each week Em's OT comes to our house with various sensory bins filled with rice, beans, and all sorts of things that I don't really want in my carpet, and my house is usually always trashed by the time he leaves. I take out my vacuum, and within minutes you cannot find a single bean or grain of rice anywhere in the house. He did get blue silly putty stuck in the carpet which is now there for life... but to no fault of the vacuum of course. 

I will say that my friend's mom used my vacuum once when she was staying with us and complained that it had the shortest cord of any vacuum that she's ever used, but in our current house we can plug it in and vacuum the entire main floor without having to switch the outlet. Our old place in North Carolina where she used it was a 1200 square foot apartment with lots of walls and turns in the floor plan, and you did need to change outlets about three times to get the entire place done. But I personally think a shorter cord is a small price to pay for a vacuum that in my opinion is amazing. 

Obviously since we purchased this vacuum cleaner four years ago, the exact same one is not on the market anymore, but I'm pretty sure this one from Walmart is the current day predecessor to our vacuum cleaner. I cannot say enough good things about the Bissell Powerforce Helix line, and will purchase a new one, should our current vacuum ever die. This post is not sponsored by Walmart, or Bissell, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I just happen to really love vacuuming, and find joy in using the one that we have and thought I would share that with you! Also, if you have a Dyson vacuum, (or love Costco), I promise we can still be friends. I'm sure that there are many valid reasons as to why people love them so much, I'm just sharing my personal experience, and am recognizing that not everyone can spend that kind of money on a vacuum, and am sharing a great alternative.