Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly Review

The Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly is our go-to anytime high-pile carpet is involved. We love how easy it is to steer this canister vacuum, especially considering how heavy it is. It did well on just about every surface, though its suction isn't the strongest.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Performance

Our carpet tests were split between low and high pile. Low pile refers to anything under half an inch. While high-pile carpets are typically more than a half-inch and above. To see how well each vacuum performed, we spilled a cup and a half of Cheerios, rice, and sand over them. Then we put the vacuums to work for 24 seconds. Finally, we weighed the debris caught and compared it to the original weight. We took the average after a series of trial runs.

Low Pile

We were continually impressed with the Kenmore Elite as it sucked in debris on carpet. On low pile, it cleaned up 91.3% of the spilled debris. The roughly 9% left behind was mostly rice. As we approached an area with a high concentration of rice, the roller brush sprayed it around. That said, we needed extra time to clean the area fully. If you aren't in a rush, this vacuum actually does exceptionally well with just a few extra seconds. While you likely won't get 100% of the debris cleaned, you can get fairly close with the Kenmore.

High Pile

On high pile, it picked up 68.7%. While the high pile performance might not sound the best, it is actually very good for a canister vacuum. Canister vacuums tend to struggle on high-pile carpet, along with most other styles. Still, none other in our lineup could compare with the Kenmore Elite in our tests. It mostly picked up the Cheerios, with sand and rice left behind.

Before Testing After Testing

The Elite Pet Friendly has a roller brush head, much like a traditional upright vacuum cleaner. Occasionally, this got stopped in our high-pile tests, which required a push of the overload protection reset button. However, the rolling brush head somewhat propels the machine forward, so there isn't much effort required to vacuum. As it glides forward, it gently tugs on the canister which follows without trouble.

Hardwood Performance

Our hardwood tests were split into three subtests: hardwood cleaning, crevice cleaning, and edge cleaning. The first, hardwood cleaning, was conducted much like our carpet tests. We sprinkled a cup and a half of our Cheerio, sand, and rice mix over our hardwood test floor. After vacuuming, we weighed how much was picked up. For our crevice cleaning test, we put 21 grams of bright red sand into a bamboo-slatted mat. This represents tricky gaps in flooring that can be tricky to clean. Finally, we sprinkled two tablespoons of coffee grounds along a wall edge. We approached it from two directions, noting how much of the grounds were picked up.

During our hardwood cleaning test, we were able to clean up an impressive 99.3% of the mess we created. All Cheerios were picked up. Only a small amount of rice and sand were left behind. We switched to the bare floor tool during this test. It has channels in the bristles that allow larger debris to pass through. Once it does, it quickly gets sucked in.

In our crevice test, we were able to clean 90.48% of the sand from the slat. We used the normal rolling brush head to test this, as this is more realistic for what users will do. You can always switch out the tools to a crevice-specific option that can likely do even better. However, the roughly 90% performance isn't terrible.

We were impressed with the above-average results when cleaning coffee grounds from along a floorboard. When we approached the grounds head on, we got all of the grounds cleaned up very quickly. None were pushed into the wall. We even tested this twice with the PowerMate tool, and the same was true. When we cleaned moving perpendicular up the wall, we had some left behind, especially with the PowerMate head. The grounds were plowed by the brush head, but if we waited an extra second before turning off the machine, we could pick the small pile up.

Ease of Use

To test ease of use, we created three subtests. These were maneuverability, ease of cleaning, and upholstery and attachments. Across the board, the Elite scored above average. Read on to see how it did in each subtest.

Maneuveratbility

As we traversed our testing floor, we were impressed with how smoothly the Kenmore Pet Friendly handled the transitions. We only needed to tild the head back slightly when moving from hardwood to the bamboo slats. The PowerMate head is bulky, but has great swivel left and right. On carpet, the brush roll propels the head forward with little effort. Given its total weight is 25.3 pounds, this is nice as you don't have to tug the bulky canister yourself. Though heavy, it somewhat effortlessly glides along. However, should you choose to life it to head up or down the stairs, it isn't the lightest of the bunch. The vacuum has a telescoping handle, which can be adjusted for your height, or if you need to reach something high up.

Ease of Cleaning

This subtest doesn't refer to how well the Kenmore cleans. Instead, we wanted to know how easy it was to clean and care for the Kenmore. The bag is easy to change. The cardboard flad edge slides in and out of the holder. When ready for a new bag, there is an indicator light on the outside of the canister, so you won't need to guess. However, be sure to check you have a bag in place as the light won't indicate a missing bag, and the vacuum works without it. We accidentally used it without the bag in place, which caused a large mess to clean up. The HEPA filter needs to be changed occasionally. It isn't washable, so you will need to buy replacements for this. It isn't fully exposed, so a little jiggling is required to pop it out. All in all, it was a fairly straightforward process to replace these key parts.

Upholstery and Attachments

The Elite Pet Friendly includes the Pet PowerMate head, crevice tool, dusting brush, and bare floor tool. The canister has internal storage for the attachments, so you won't need to worry about losing these or storing them elsewhere. We used the PowerMate attachment to clean coffee grounds off of a throw pillow and it quickly sucked it all up. We also used the dusting brush on a second round of tests, which was just as effective. The bristles are long and soft, which allows the grounds to pass through. However, we had some grounds get stuck in the bristles and needed to clean those out before storing the attachment.

Pet Hair

We collected real pet hair from our furry friends at home and brought it to the lab. We weighed it out and massaged it into our test carpets, both high and low piles. Then we set the Elite Pet Friendly to work, seeing how much it could pick up.

Though the vacuum has “pet friendly” in its name, it wasn't the most successful at cleaning pet hair. It wasn't necessarily terrible, but we found the longer hair got wrapped around the brush roll, trapping some of the shorter hair with it. On low-pile carpet, it cleaned 68% of our deposited hair. On high-pile carpet, it performed better, with 76% cleaned. Still, this isn't great, and if too much hair gets caught in the roller brush, it stops and needs assistance. If you don't have a pet or your pet sheds short hair, this might not be such a deal breaker.

Before Testing After Testing

Filtration and Suction

For our final tests, we assessed the filtration and suction of every canister vacuum. To test filtration, we used a Dylos particle counter to see how many small and large particles escaped the vacuum. Ideally this number is as low as possible, especially with machines that have multiple filters.

Filtration

The Kenmore Elite has an enhanced HEPA filter system that proved to be very effective in our tests. The average peak of small particles was around 57, while the average peak of large particles was around 27. This is among the best in the lineup. Keep in mind the HEPA filter cannot be washed, so you'll need to switch that out with a new one when needed.

Suction

To test suction, we created a simulated hard floor with a hole in the center. This was attached to a monometer, and as we passed over the hole, we were able to get an unsealed suction pressure. We converted this reading into Pascal and compared the lineup. The Kenmore ended up on the lower end, at 547 Pa. We used the bare floor tool to take this, at is was more consistent with the others in our lineup. However, the roller brush was tested and didn't provide any more suction.

Should You Buy the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly?

Though the Kenmore Elite has fairly unimpessive suction strength, it still does well in many aspects. Specifically, this canister vacuum is great on carpet, and it was the only one in the lineup to handle high-pile carpet. If you have any amount of shag or high-pile carpet in your home, this vacuum is worth your consideration. However, we suggest checking out some other models if you have a pet that sheds a considerable amount of long hair.

What Other Vacuums Should You Consider?

For pet owners, we suggest looking into the Eureka Mighty Mite or Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction Powerline. The Eureka is a fraction of the price of the Miele and Kenmore, however it tackles pet hair with ease. The Miele C1 also does well with cleaning pet hair. It is also one of the best across the board.