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We love our pets. We don’t love the hair that comes with them. A small price to pay for the unconditional love they fill a home with. Pet hair management tools are a real life saver to help with allergies, hair on furniture, beds and clothing and of course carpet.
Many brands of pet specific vacuum designs claim superior hair removal design but is it all just words? Does spending more money mean a machine will remove more hair than a lesser priced machine? Let’s talk about it.
Shark vs. Bissell
The models I am comparing are not two off brands but the price difference warrants an appearance on this website.
Off Brand Better only recommends products personally after trying and is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
#1 Shark Rocket True Pet ultra light stick-style vacuum. This is a bagless lightweight model that comes with changeable parts to use as a handheld style, floor plates for hardwood floors, and a cord that is manually wound onto the unit after each use. It has a light at the base so seeing under tables and furniture (low profile makes it easy to get under the sofa and bed).
Currently, it can be found for about $200.
#2 Bissell model 2254 Clean View Pet Bagless Vacuum. This is a full-size bagless vacuum. All of the components are stored on the unit, unlike the shark model. The cord retracts at the push of a button. This is a full size bagless vacuum. All of the components are stored on the unit unlike the shark. The cord retracts at the push of a button.
Buy it here.
It’s less noisy than the shark. No headlight and it’s not streamlined enough to go far under beds and sofas, at least not most styles. There is an attachment that can be fitted to a stick hose to clean steps, furniture, etc. It also has several settings that adjust for how thick carpeting is. Currently, this model is about $129.
User experience: The shark is light and easy to move around. The cord being hand-wound isn’t fun but it is long and can go from room to room in a small to medium apartment or home without changing outlets. Switching to the handheld mode doesn’t take more than two steps. Storing all the accessories is a nuisance especially if you don’t use any of them more than once in a while. It’s nice to have the options though.
Bissell is quite a bit larger, light for its size and the ball inside makes the base move around easily for something this size. It is less noisy than the Shark. The retractable cord is a delight.
Which vacuum gets up more pet hair?
This is where the two really stand apart. The shark does a decent job of picking up day to day dirt on floors and carpeting but the issue is the roller brush in the base gets clogged up with hair very quickly thus limiting how much it can pick up during a session. The Bissell has very little hair on the brushes and with the adjustable carpet sizes dial located at the base it can bring carpet back to life. High traffic areas are restored (temporarily) to their former glory, hair removal from carpet is superior to the Shark model and the collection tank is larger making it better suited to heavy pet hair homes or larger homes.
Both have easy empty tanks however the Bissell has a considerably larger tank. Images below show ONE use of shark after 4 days of no vacuuming and TWO uses of the Bissell each, session used 4 days apart. You can see how little hair is on the Bissell brush head vs. the Shark.
Final thoughts on the two vacuums
The Bissell gets a purple dot. This model gives tremendous bang for the buck if your first priority in choosing a vacuum is how much pet hair it removes from your floors.
