Bissell MultiClean Allergen Lift-Off Pet Review

The Lift-Off feature that lets you detach the canister from the floor cleaner head makes this machine more versatile. By lifting off the canister — which seems to be Bissell's answer to the Shark “Lift-Away” design — we could walk around the house and use the wand to suck up dust and cobwebs above our heads, as well as clean stairs and pet beds with its included attachments. However, A major drawback is that it can't be attached to the wider floor head, limiting the area you can clean at once.

Carpet Performance

The Bissell Lift-Off Pet didn't exactly disappoint or wow us with its average performance, but we did learn how others can maximize its abilities: Try to attack every mess with a forward pass.

When pushing the vacuum away from ourselves, it sucked up debris fairly well, but back plowed miserably on the reverse, leaving a pile of Cheerios and rice that we had to turn around to get head-on. With more time than this test allows, we believe it could have sucked up more material, but it certainly is not the most efficient of the lot.

This model made a dent in the mess but couldn't get more than half of it up. Even if you vary your stroke pattern on shaggy rugs, we're not confident that this machine can collect all the small, heavy debris like sand and rice that can work deep down into the fibers.

Before Testing After Testing

Hardwood Performance

Unfortunately, the *Bissell MultiClean Allergen Lift-Off Pet is far less capable on hardwood than on carpet. It collected just 69% of our overall test debris, well below average.

We used the manufacturer-recommended setting, which stops the brush roller from turning. With this kind of approach, the vacuum has to rely solely on the suction power to jostle the material and suck it up. It's tough without a spinning roller, even one that is usually slowed down to help with the agitation of the settled debris. This showed as it left a layer of sand throughout the area. When we picked up the vacuum to weigh the results, there was a small pile of sand underneath, too. This is a sign that there was not enough suction to fully pull up the sand right away.

The edges of walls have a tendency to accumulate dirt, and crumbs frequently end up under furniture. Some vacuums are outstanding at this job, while others face challenges in accessing debris in one of the directions and sometimes both.

This model sucked up most of the coffee grounds in the head-on pass, but failed to collect coffee when running the vacuum head along the wall, only just skimming a small amount. Cleaning a long hallway with a hard floor won't work well, but if you need to nab some crumbs under your kitchen counters, a head-on approach should get them.

Pet Hair

Considering the difficulty of our pet hair tests, any machine that earns an above-average score is likely to be a workable solution for average pet hair owners and their cleaning challenges.

Before Testing After Testing

On the low-pile carpet, the Allergen Lift-Off Pet left the carpet looking nice and clean! There was some hair wrapped around the brush roller, but not all of it, which was a good sign. Pretty nice job overall.

Before Testing After Testing

Again, not bad! The “Tangle-Free Brush Roll” did allow some of the long hair to reach the dust bin, but we still experienced hair wrap, which is common across most of the vacuums we've tested. One of the few vacuums to seriously reduce and sometimes eliminate long hair wrap is the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra but it does more than twice as much as the Bissell MultiClean.

Filtration

Our monitors recorded no significant deviations from the room's baseline during testing. A poor rating by Dylos ranges from 1,050 to 3,000 small particles suspended in the air.

In general, nearly every vacuum with a HEPA filter has performed well in this test.

Ease of Use

While many uprights look very similar, their ease of use can significantly differ. Certain models may be difficult to maneuver, whereas others perform exceptionally well on carpets, glide effortlessly across hardwood floors, and navigate around furniture with minimal effort.

Our evaluations assess the usability of each model, which is critical for individuals with intricate home layouts or concerns regarding physical strength, balance, or chronic discomfort.

Maneuverability

In our laboratory, we perform a comprehensive maneuverability test on each vacuum and conduct tests in home environments. This procedure involves navigating cones, maneuvering vacuums under furniture, transitioning vacuums to and from different floor types onto and off rugs and mats, and evaluating any specific features affecting their movement.

We like the handle selection switch that lets us stop the brush roller when moving to hard floors, but it's not seamless like the Shark PowerDetect automatic system. It struggled to climb onto our bamboo test mat, and even though it had a swiveling head, it was hard to push when turning. The Lift-Off system allows for mobility with hand tool attachments and the wand, but it cannot connect to the powered floor head, preventing the canister style that makes cleaning under furniture easier.

Incidentally, Bissell also manufactures a “Slim” version of this vacuum. The biggest difference between the two is that the Slim model has a narrower, 11.75-inch-wide cleaner head versus the regular version's 13-inch-wide head. The Slim version may be more maneuverable.

Maintenance

What annoyed us the most when cleaning this vacuum was the inability to remove the roller from the head. We had to manually remove wrapped hair by awkwardly cutting and picking at it, which was frustrating.

Upholstery & Attachments

With advancements in vacuum attachments, using hand tools connected to vacuums has become a popular method for cleaning and dusting furniture.

Overall, we were able to clean off about 75% of the coffee grounds, which is about average. The suction-powered brush roller in the tool seemed underpowered to us and didn't seem to spin particularly fast. Still, a little agitation is usually better than no agitation for cleaning pet beds or carpeted stairs.

Should You Buy the Bissell MultiClean Allergen?

With extra time and attention to forward passes, the Bissell MultiClean Allergen Lift-Off Pet can likely deliver an average performance for most households on carpet. Its Lift-Off canister feature slightly extends its versatility, while its solid pet hair abilities and HEPA filter make it a suitable option for households with pets. Those who want a vacuum to clean hardwood floors should look elsewhere.

What Other Upright Vacuums Should You Consider?