If you’re a pet owner, the Bissell PowerGlide Upright Cordless is a good vacuum to consider. This vacuum cleaner for home was one of the top performers in our pet hair removal tests. Its swiveling head and light weight contribute to impressive maneuverability.
This Bissell upright vacuum was also one of only two vacuums in our lineup to get a perfect score for portability and storage. It’s a cordless vacuum that weighs 11 pounds, so carrying it from room to room and floor to floor should not be a problem for most people. When you’re done using it, it can tuck away nicely in whatever space you have available in your closet.
One problem with this vacuum is the canister is hard to empty despite the bagless design. The cylinder releases nicely from the unit, so it should be easy. However, the canister is awkward to hold once it’s released. We had to press down on a button and open the latch at the same time while balancing the canister itself. In the process of that some of the dust spilled on the floor that we had to clean up after the fact. For a vacuum that is easier to maintain, consider the Hoover Wind Tunnel.
Once we got it open, emptying out the debris from the canister wasn’t a problem, but there was a lot of residual dust around the filter and in the crevices inside the canister. While you don’t have to clean it thoroughly every time, you will want to give it a good cleaning intermittently. Keeping the vacuum clean is therefore something of a chore itself.
We tested this upright vacuum on a variety of surfaces such as hardwood and different carpets. This vacuum has a narrow cleaning path of 9 inches, so that alone makes you work a little harder with extra passes. When compared with other products in our upright vacuum reviews, the suction power on this vacuum was on the weak side as well. It took more passes than average to pick up debris like kitty litter and flour. However, it performed beautifully when dealing with pet hair. There was no trace of the embedded dog hair in our test carpet after vacuuming, and it took fewer passes than average to get the hair out.
The feature package with this vacuum is fairly basic. For instance, you won’t be able to adjust the suction level when cleaning different surfaces like delicate carpet or rugs. There is only one suction level option. It also lacks design extras like a dirt sensor to let you know when the floor is clean and a bag indicator to let you know when the bag is full.
This cleaner doesn’t have true HEPA filtration or a sealed system. These features often combine to trap dirt and particles in the vacuum and release cleaner air into your home – and as such are nice for people with allergies. However, when it came to cutting down on noise pollution this upright vacuum was one of the best. It was the single quietest machine that we tested with a decibel level of only 79.
The Bissell Powerglide Upright Cordless is a lightweight, maneuverable vacuum that does a great job of picking up pet hair. It is adequate, but less effective at vacuuming up bulkier debris. Getting all the debris emptied out of the cylinder is also a problem. However, this is a quiet machine that is a good portable option for pet owners.
