Bissell smartclean pet review: A super-sucking vacuum for busy households

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These days, in the world of vacuum cleaners, the word “pet” is thrown around with abandon, often added to model names as an afterthought, despite the absence of any features designed specifically with pet owners in mind. So is the Bissel smartclean pet any different?

To start off with, it’s got plenty of power (770W, slightly higher than the average vacuum), which is a major bonus for a machine that is going to be tasked with sucking up not just regular dust and dirt, but also pet hair and dander, which often works its way deeper into the carpet pile and is harder to extract.

But we all know that pet dirt comes in all forms, which is why we were also pleased to see the mention of automatic floor recognition, because, in our experience, vacuums without this feature will often struggle when it comes to removing pet hair from thicker carpets.

When it comes to tangle-free rollers, which Bissell says this vacuum has, the jury’s still out on whether they actually make a device more pet-friendly. In reality, we’d like to think all rollers are designed to be tangle-free – humans shed hair too, after all – so this is a feature which we never get over-excited about.

What we were excited about however, was the cord. The Bissell smartclean pet is a corded vacuum, but it’s got a whopping 9m long cable, so covering a large area in a single session shouldn’t be a problem.

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We’d say that this vacuum’s pet-friendly status stems mainly from its versatility, which is no bad thing. In our experience, this is a key aspect of vacuums for pet households, as well as enhanced versions of standard features, whether that’s more power, tighter seals on the bin, or a wider hose, to minimise the risk of clogging – all of which the Bissell smartclean pet has.

Without blowing our own trumpet, we were born to test this type of product. As self-confessed neat freaks, we get through our fair share of vacuums. We’ve got handheld ones for smaller areas like the car, and dedicated ones for upstairs areas (not because we live in a sprawling country pile – it’s a two-bedroom Surrey semi – but because, quite frankly, we’re lazy), and we’ve got a guilty habit of insisting on quick vacuum-related whip-arounds when we visit certain close relatives.

In short, we know our vacuums. Our testing ground was also ideal – both carpets and areas of wooden flooring, and a generous scattering of pet hair, courtesy of a Bedlington terrier called Honey.

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Our first impression was that the Bissell smartclean pet looks incredibly futuristic, with a high-gloss finish, supersized but flush wheels and silver accents. We were sceptical about the fact that this was a corded vacuum, but this is definitely one of the most stylish models of the sort we’ve come across.

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There’s a certain amount of assembly involved initially, but nothing too taxing – you’ll need to attach the hose to both the main body of the vacuum and the roller head. Thankfully, this is ridiculously simple to do, and it took under a minute. It’s worth noting that the vacuum comes with a bin filter pre-inserted, although a spare is also provided, and opening the top of the bin to insert and remove it is a breeze.

There’s also a second filter on the main unit – press the two buttons on the base simultaneously to reveal this square-shaped filter. Other extras include a compact crevice tool – using it provided a reminder of how powerful this is – and a brush tool with a round head. As with the other parts, connecting these was easy.

One other aspect which sets this vacuum apart is the controls, which are at foot level, on the vacuum’s main body, rather than above the bin, close to the vacuum’s hose. We actually prefer this – being able to nudge the controls with our feet left our hands free for other tasks, such as shooing dogs out the way or moving furniture around. We also loved the size of the buttons, which were some of the largest we’ve seen.

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That said, it’s possible to make minor tweaks to the power using buttons at hand height. There’s a slider-style button on the top of the shaft which allowed us to turn down the power, and this is also where you’ll find a button to stop the rollers, for times when we just wanted to rely on suction alone.

When we turned it on, it was immediately clear that this is an incredibly powerful vacuum – you can feel from the power required to push it along that this is one serious sucker. Further proof that this vacuum sucks up the dirt other models can’t reach came when we examined the barrel, which had filled with much more dirt than we expected, given that we’d vacuumed our entire house the day before (see? We told you we love vacuuming).

We loved how pressing a button on the main shaft allowed us to extend the hose in one streamlined movement, and the ease with which the bin could be removed – press the release button on the top of the bin and simply use the handle. An additional button near the base of the bin prompts the lid to open.

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As testers without a huge amount of storage space, one of our favourite features was the clip on the rear of the main body. A second tiny clip near the base of the shaft allowed us to attach it to the bin in an upright position, transforming it into a relatively compact unit which stowed away easily. Another clip on the front allows the shaft to be stored in the front of the bin, too, although we found this particular attatchment came in most handy when we wanted to pause our vacuuming session temporarily, but didn’t want to simply leave the shaft lying on the floor.

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There’s no denying that this is a vacuum which is incredibly easy – we’d even say a joy – to use. All of the surfaces are smooth and high gloss, and it’s got an incredibly ergonomic design, which includes a supersized handle on the shaft and a large handle near the bin, which makes it even easier to stow away. Finally, although we’ve been sceptical about lights in the past, we wish more vacuum lights were similar to the ones on the Bissell smartclean pet – four ultra-bright beams which did a fantastic job of highlighting dust and dirt we’d otherwise have missed.

It’s not just the extra oomph (and trust us, there’s a lot) which makes this vacuum a great option for pet owners – it’s the sheer ease of use, courtesy of a wide range of features designed with pet owners in mind. All too often so-called pet-friendly vacuums simply have a few extra watts or an anti-tangle brush head, but with the Bissell smartclean pet, other features come into play, too, whether it’s the chunky foot-level controls – a godsend when you’re steering a vacuum while also clearing dogs (or their toys) out the way – or the sheer ease with which the various processes, from bin emptying to filter changing, can be carried out.