Bissell OptiClean Product Review

Upon first glance, the Bissell OptiClean is compact yet very attractive with its baby blue exterior and transparent plastic casing that houses an easy empty dust cup and three on-board tools. With this design, you can visibly measure how much debris is inside the dirt receptacle, and you can easily determine whether or not the crevice tool, dusting brush, and upholstery tool are in there proper compartments. Underneath the on-board tools, a silver button with a power cord symbol stipulates the automatic cord rewind button. This feature allows the 17 ft power cord to easily store itself inside the interior housing of the canister. To the left of the automatic cord rewind button, you will see a min to max bar graph that denotes the levels of variable suction control available for this model. The lowest setting has a decibel rating of 63 dB, and the highest setting has a decibel rating of 73 dB. A low setting would be ideal for delicate drapes, and a high setting would be ideal for agitating carpet. You will also notice a small oval that will light up orange when the post-motor HEPA filter needs to be changed. As a rule, you should change your HEPA filter once every six months for optimum performance. Finally, to the left of the variable suction control button is the on/off switch to the Bissell canister vacuum.

To start off, we evaluated the performance of the Bissell OptiClean on low-pile carpet that lines the walls of our front lobby. With the brushroll off, the smooth floor brush glides across the carpet with little to no effort. This setting is perfect if you want to pick up small bits of dirt and debris using suction alone. To agitate this carpet, you need to gently press on the docker switch located on the head of the power nozzle with your foot. This will reveal a fine yet sturdy row of bristles on the backside of the floor brush. With a small amount of force, you can easily agitate low, medium, and high-pile carpet in no time at all. To switch over to bare floors, simply press on the docker switch once more and the row of bristles will disappear into the motor head.

To extend the reach of your telescopic wand, look for the black release button and push it in the direction of the arrow. This extends your wand by 15 inches for a total wand length of 36 inches. This feature promotes a wider cleaning radius that should help you reach up high and down low when you attach Bissell's upholstery or crevice tool. Aside from vacuuming, we noticed that this model was incredibly lightweight and that the carrying handle made it easy to transport from one area to the next. When weighed on our scale, it clocked in at around 15 pounds. This is perfect for any able-bodied user.

Once we were done vacuuming, we checked out the interior and located the various filters and the bagless dirt chamber. The exhaust filter is located on the underside of the canister when its standing up. This HEPA Media filter is not washable and should be changed every six months. The motor foam filter is located behind the easy empty dust chamber and should be changed periodically as well. Worthy to note is the cyclonic cleaning system of this canister vacuum. The goal of cyclonic technology is to increase suction and reduce the number of microscopic particles in the air flow. This is accomplished by creating powerful centrifugal forces with these uniquely shaped cyclones. By replicating forces far more powerful than gravity, dust and debris get spun directly into the canister as opposed to lingering in the air stream. This allows users to have consistent, yet powerful suction with each and every use.

Overall, the Bissell OptiClean is a great canister model that should leave your home spic and span each and every time you vacuum. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to check out our user-friendly comparison chart or dial 1-866-972-8227 and speak with a trained vacuum specialist.