Bissell Cleanview XR Review

While the Bissell Cleanview XR doesn't boast many standout features and is underpowered, we appreciated its straightforward maintenance process. Cleaning the filters, dustbin, and brush roll was a breeze.

Carpet Performance

We tried hard to go slow on this test to give this vacuum a fighting chance, but it clogged easily at any movement that wasn't at a snail's pace.

This XR vacuum seriously struggled with these tests, clogging on 5 of 6 test attempts. These clogs occurred both at the bottom of the cleaner intake and at the intake hole in the bin. Based on our experience, we believe this vacuum has internal openings that are too small to allow Cheerios to pass through quickly enough. It's hard to imagine what bigger Fruit Loops might do to it.

To put this performance in perspective, a 24% pickup in this test is far below our 83% test fleet average and easily the worst result we have recorded by a wide margin. If you buy this vacuum, you'll likely need to use your foot to spread out any mess first so that you can slowly attack it to prevent a clog. We can't say this enough: Go slow with this vacuum.

The Bissell didn't clog as often on thicker carpets, but that may be due to the fact that it couldn't suck up a lot to begin with. Overall, the vacuum doesn't lend itself to being a reliable cleaner, the most important aspect of a vacuum.

Hardwood Performance

During our tests, the Cleanview XR continued to clog on hardwood. Badly. Frequently. Quickly.

While high-end cordless vacuums crush our hardwood test by sucking up more than 90% of debris with ease, most midrange-priced options still manage to contain over 80%.

For a budget comparison, the similarly priced Black + Decker Powerseries+ 20V earned a much higher 5.8 hardwood ranking and collected more than 62% of the mixed debris.

“I dread using this vacuum because it clogs every time I use it. And de-clogging just makes more of a mess than I started with!” A frustrating note from one of our testers.

The Cleanview XR did a much better job with the head-on edge test, successfully sucking up all the coffee grounds. We were so excited. Then, on the parallel run, it barely sucked up any coffee grounds at all. If you consider the distance between the sides of the head to the interior brush roll suction area, it should be no surprise that this Bissell struggled to suck up coffee grounds when running along the wall. The distance, along with the side bristle seals, indicates that edge debris will have a hard time getting sucked into the vacuum. You'll need to use a crevice tool for most close-to-wall cleaning.

Pet Hair

The biggest issue with pet hair wasn't how well it sucked it up, but how to empty it from the dustbin.

It performed comparatively better with pet hair than with large cereal, collecting 62% of the hair on low-pile carpets and 46% on high-pile carpets. However, to remove the pet hair from the dustbin, we had to remove the filter, which was a gross task. Many of us at GearLab have pets, and knowing we'd have to do this every time, it would get old pretty fast.

Filtration

A spike of just 267 small particles is good in terms of the Dylos air quality chart.

However, if you or your family members are concerned, we recommend an alternative that has reduced the amount of small particles in the air to 70 or fewer. Where every single particle can become hazardous, it's worth exploring alternatives to help mitigate the risk of health problems.

Ease of Use

With a handheld weight of under 4 pounds, the Cleanview XR is easy to maneuver and can glide across various surfaces, effortlessly transitioning from hardwood to carpet.

Navigating around table legs and furniture was easy. We were delighted by how smoothly the head swiveled around the coffee table legs. Because it's relatively lightweight, it was easy to slip under couches despite having to bend over. Overall, we ranked its maneuverability as above average, making it good for kids or aging adults who might lack the strength to push a vacuum around the home.

We tested the Cleanview XR on upholstery, using the included dusting brush to clean up coffee grounds. While it successfully removed many of the coffee grounds we spread across pillows and an ironing board, it left behind more than we would've liked.

With some extra effort, however, this model can eventually get the job done with these hand tools; it just may take you a few more passes than the elite devices in this category.

The package deal also comes with a wall mount for storage convenience, but you can also lean it against a wall, and it will stay put if you want to avoid the mount.

Battery

The low-power battery life gave us a wince when logging a time of 31 minutes, as you may need to pause for a recharge during longer cleaning sessions. In our experience, you can vacuum a few rooms at a time, but not an entire multi-room home.

The 11 minutes on high isn't impressive either, especially since we found ourselves needing to use this mode to clean up bigger spills.

Should You Buy the Bissell Cleanview XR?

Due to its sensitivity to clogging, we don't believe this vacuum is worth your time and money. Many of our frustrations during testing can be linked to this product in our cleaning tests. The poorly designed pathway into the dustbin means it's limited to only sucking small-sized debris at a slow rate to do its job. That doesn't leave much versatility when it comes to cleaning.

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