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Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet Review

While this vacuum does well with pet hair, it failed to impress with just about everything else
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Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet Review
Credit: Bissell
Price:  $120 List
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Manufacturer:   Bissell
By David Wise and Jessica Riconscente  ⋅  Jul 26, 2022
47
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#9 of 10
  • Carpet Cleaning - 35% 2.9
  • Ease of Use - 25% 4.7
  • Handling - 20% 5.5
  • Hard Surface - 10% 3.8
  • Pet Hair - 10% 9.9

Our Verdict

Overall, we can't say that we would readily recommend the Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet upright vacuum. While it is fairly easy and convenient to use, we found that this vacuum failed to distinguish itself when tasked with cleaning various messes off of carpets or hard floors. It did very well when collecting pet hair, aided by the included pet hair attachment, but is far from our favorite for overall performance. We recommend skipping over this product review and looking at some of our other favorite upright vacuum reviews. There are more reasonable vacuums that are sure to please your carpets and wallet!
REASONS TO BUY
Pet hair attachment
Convenient
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor carpet
Hard floor cleaning

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards  Best Buy Award
Best Bang for the Buck
 Best Buy Award
Best on a Tight Budget
 
Price $120 List
$135.10 at Amazon
$200 List
$179.99 at Amazon
$150 List
$149.99 at Amazon
$88 List
$79.12 at Amazon
$70 List
$69.99 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
47
75
68
54
45
Star Rating
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Bottom Line While this vacuum delivered unimpressive results in most of our tests, it did distinguish itself when it came to picking up pet hairAn easy model to push and pull, that won't give you an unwanted workoutA middle-tier vacuum that could be better. Other vacuums offer greater performance at a similar price pointIf you are trying to spend as little as possible on a new vacuum, this one is definitely worth checking outA less than useful tool for cleaning messes
Rating Categories Bissell CleanView S... Shark Navigator Lif... Kenmore FeatherLite Eureka PowerSpeed Dirt Devil Endura R...
Carpet Cleaning (35%)
2.9
6.9
6.3
4.5
3.0
Ease of Use (25%)
4.7
6.9
6.2
6.0
4.2
Handling (20%)
5.5
8.4
8.4
5.0
6.2
Hard Surface (10%)
3.8
6.8
4.3
3.8
3.0
Pet Hair (10%)
9.9
10.0
9.4
9.6
9.0
Specs Bissell CleanView S... Shark Navigator Lif... Kenmore FeatherLite Eureka PowerSpeed Dirt Devil Endura R...
Water Suction Gauge 50 inches 72 inches 71 inches 48 inches 49 inches
Model Number 2252 NV352 DU4080 NEU182A UD20124
HEPA Filter No Yes Yes No No
Vacuum Head Width 13.5" 11.25" 10" 13.25" 11"
Measured Brush Width 12.25" 9" 8.75" 10.5" 8.5"
Measured Weight 13.7 lbs 13.6 lbs 12.5 lbs 10.5 lbs 10.2 lbs
Variable Suction Control No Yes Yes No No
Brush On/Off Switch No Yes Yes No No
Measured Power Cord Length 27' 24.75' 25.5' 23.75' 19.5'
Measured Noise at Arms Length 76 dBa 73 dBa 73 dBa 76 dBa 77 dBa
Swivel Head Yes Yes Yes No No
Carry Handle Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Soft Bumper Yes No No No No
Dirt Collection Bagless Bagless Bagless Bagless Bagless

Our Analysis and Test Results

If you are only looking to clean up pet hair and are hoping for an inexpensive upright to do it with, then the CleanView Swivel might be a decent choice. However, this isn't the use case for most people, and this vacuum's mediocre hard floor and carpet cleaning performance makes us reticent to recommend it.

Performance Comparison


bissell cleanview swivel pet - the cleanview is an overall so-so vacuum in our opinion.
The CleanView is an overall so-so vacuum in our opinion.
Credit: Laura Casner

Carpet Cleaning


We started our testing process by comparing and assessing how well each vacuum cleaned up different sorts of messes from both low-pile and medium-pile carpets. The CleanView Swivel Pet delivered poor results, struggling with fine messes and leaving plenty of flour on low-pile and medium-pile carpets, even after multiple cleaning passes. It did a little better with medium-sized debris, but not too much. It still left plenty of oats on both types of carpets and struggled to pull the fragments and dust from the carpet fibers. It also struggled with rice on both low and higher-pile carpets.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - we weren't overly impressed with the carpet cleaning performance of...
We weren't overly impressed with the carpet cleaning performance of the CleanView.
Credit: Laura Casner

This vacuum also didn't do particularly well with larger types of debris either, struggling to pick up items like Cheerios. We found that it was hard to set the vacuum height to effectively pick up larger and smaller types of messes on the carpet. Cereal tended to get pushed and displaced rather than collected.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the cleanview tended to push cheerios around rather than collecting...
The CleanView tended to push Cheerios around rather than collecting them.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Ease of Use


Our next set of tests rated and scored how the CleanView performed regarding overall convenience and ease of operating. We looked at how easy it was to clean different areas and surfaces and assessed the noise level.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the cleanview includes a few attachments and is quite easy to use.
The CleanView includes a few attachments and is quite easy to use.
Credit: Laura Casner

This vacuum has a few different options for flooring types, with a knob on the front of the brush roll to manually switch between them. It isn't clear what the numerals correspond to without consulting the manual, and there isn't an option to turn the rolling brush off. Still, this vacuum isn't overly loud and does well at cleaning edges and corners, though it is a little too tall to reach very far under furniture. It can only reach about 6 inches under couches and chairs, which is 2 inches shorter than the test group average. It also doesn't have the longest cord, limiting the reach and general user-friendliness.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the manual knob is to adjust for different floor types on the...
The manual knob is to adjust for different floor types on the CleanView.
Credit: Laura Casner

Handling


Our next set of tests focused on agility and maneuverability. The CleanView has swivel steering, so it's easy to maneuver around even semi-cluttered furniture layouts, but it didn't have as tight of a turning radius as other models. It's fairly easy to push or pull across most surfaces, but it can drag a bit on fluffier carpet.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the swivel steering makes the cleanview very maneuverable.
The swivel steering makes the CleanView very maneuverable.
Credit: Laura Casner

When it comes to cleaning stairs, this model could have been better. The hose on this vacuum can only reach 5 feet, and at 14 pounds, it isn't incredibly heavy, but it isn't the lightest. More frequent carrying up and down the stairs and an average weight hurt this model's overall handling score.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the hose and pet hair attachment on the cleanview can be very handy.
The hose and pet hair attachment on the CleanView can be very handy.
Credit: Laura Casner

Hard Surface Cleaning


Our next metric assessed cleaning up various messes from hard floors, with a section of laminate serving as our test surface. Unfortunately, the performance of this product dropped a bit here. It struggled with medium-sized debris, delivering lackluster results when cleaning rice or oats. It did a little better with fine or larger items, successfully cleaning more of the Cheerios and the flour we tasked it with, but it was still far from the top-tier vacuums when it comes to cleaning power.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the cleanview didn't do too well at cleaning oats on hard floors.
The CleanView didn't do too well at cleaning oats on hard floors.
Credit: Laura Casner

Pet Hair


We pushed these products to their limits with our final metric, tasking them with cleaning up pet hair from a local groomer pressed into a section of carpet. The CleanView Pet did very well in this regard — as the name would suggest — picking up 99% of the hair we laid out. It also did a great job of getting the hair to the collection bin rather than getting tangled up in the brush roll.

bissell cleanview swivel pet - the swivel picked up 99% of pet hair.
The Swivel picked up 99% of pet hair.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Should You Buy the Bissel CleanView Swivel?


The CleanView Swivel is an inexpensive vacuum and an okay option for cleaning pet hair. However, if you are looking for a more general-purpose cleaning tool, you're better off looking elsewhere.

What Other Upright Vacuums Should You Consider?


The Bissel CleanView Swivel is a decent vacuum focusing on pet hair performance, but there are much better options for all-around performance. You can get better all-around performance at an affordable price with the Shark Navigator Lift Away. It is the best dollar-for-dollar performer unless you spend a premium on premium performance from elite models like the Shark Vertex or Shark Stratos.

David Wise and Jessica Riconscente