Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet 2254 Review

 

The Bissell CleanView 2254 is one of the better performing CleanView vacuum on bare floors, but even still we don’t recommend it for homes with mostly bare flooring.  It’s just not meant for that.

If you’re looking for a Bissell upright that can handle bare floors, check out the Bissell CleanView 1819 or the Bissell PowerGlide Lift-Off Pet Plus.  The PowerGlide has a brushroll on/off function that lets you simply turn off the brushroll when you’re on bare floors.  The CleanView 1819 was the only CleanView model that we tested and found that no debris was thrown behind the vacuum on bare floors.

What about the “Dead” Zone?

The CleanView Series vacuums all have the same cleaner head design where the brushroll belt occupies about an inch of the cleaner head’s width and sections off a portion of the brushroll from the vacuum’s suction.  This is just part of the design.

Now, we have found that during normal use it’s not too noticeable as we tend to push and pull a vacuum a few times over an area while making small adjustments to the path.  That’s just how most people vacuum.  So any debris under the belt housing that wasn’t picked up on the first pass will usually get picked up after a second pass.

It does start to get noticeable when vacuuming against a wall base when using the side of the cleaner head that’s sectioned off by the brushroll belt.  You can just use the other side of the vacuum if you notice this is an issue.  However, we find we usually need to get the hose out and use the crevice tool or extension wand to really get debris picked up next to wall base for just about any vacuum.

 

Design

The Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet is on the higher end of the price range as far as CleanView vacuums go so you might be wondering…

What are the key differences between the Bissell CleanView 2254 and the lower-priced CleanView 1831 and CleanView 9595 Series?

• Swivel steering
• Cord rewind
• Improved Pet Turbobrush Tool that resists hair tangles
• Longer Hose (8′ instead of 6′)
• Smooth Wheels
• Smaller dustbin (1.0 L instead of 2.0 L) – we suspect the dustbin size had to be reduced to make room for the cord rewind system
• 4-year Warranty (2 years longer than the 1831 and 9595 Series’)

These are some great improvements, although losing the liter from the dustbin isn’t so great.  The swivel steering makes for a more fluid vacuuming experience as you don’t have to try to awkwardly fight with the vacuum to get around furniture.  The wheels seem to have a rubber coating that is a huge improvement over the hard plastic wheels on the 1831 and 9595 Series.  Small abrasions quickly start building up on the hard plastic wheels which makes them rough and loud when pushing the vacuum on bare flooring, but the wheels on the CleanView 2254 are much better.

Specifications

Automatic Cord Rewind

The cord rewind is a very convenient feature, but you’ll still need to help feed the cord in slowly to avoid the mechanism spinning too quickly and jamming up.  It remains to be seen how well the cord rewind system will continue to work as the vacuum ages.  We haven’t seen any significant number of complaints about the cord rewind system on the CleanView 2254.

Cleaner Head

For an upright, the cleaner head is the most important part when deciding if the vacuum is right for you.  You can’t swap it out like with a canister vacuum; you’re stuck with what you’ve got.  

Our experience with vacuums, in general, has been that if you can’t stop or slow down the brushroll, or there aren’t design decisions made specifically for bare floors, then you should not buy the vacuum if you primarily have bare flooring in your home.

Bissell advertises the CleanView 2254 as having “Scatter-Free Technology” that allows it to easily clean hard floors with less debris scatter.  Just looking at the cleaner head of the CleanView 2254 next to the less expensive CleanView 1831 and 9595 models, the inclusion of a plastic flap behind the suction area seems to be one of the improvements made.  This is something we’ve also seen on many other vacuums we’ve reviewed and it seems to be a common tactic to reduce or prevent debris from getting thrown behind the vacuum.

The CleanView 2254 has more brush rows on the brushroll and there is a gap between the front of the cleaner head window and the belt housing, which in theory might help some debris make it into the suction channel instead of being scattered around.

Of course, instead of just theorizing, we put the CleanView 2254 to the test and you can see how it went in the Performance section below.

What is Dual Edge Cleaning?

Corners and around wall base are usually always problem areas for vacuums.  Bissell has included small brushes on the side of the cleaner head to help agitate debris stuck at the wall base into the suction area of the vacuum.  This does help some, especially for larger debris, but we’ve found the best way to deal with cleaning wall base to be using a crevice tool attachment on the hose.

We’ve yet to be 100% satisfied with any vacuum cleaning around wall base with the cleaner head alone when on carpet.  Bare flooring is very different as it takes less suction and minimal agitation to pick up debris.  Too much agitation (brushroll spinning really fast) means debris gets thrown around instead of making it into the suction channel.

Now, the problem with the CleanView 2254 is that is just doesn’t handle bare flooring well, but it is better than the CleanView 1831 and 9595 Series.  Can it remove debris from around wall base while on bare flooring?  Yes, but some of it will likely get thrown around on the floor instead of suctioned into the vacuum.  You can then try to vacuum it up.

Here’s another important question.

How does the belt housing affect the suction and performance in that area of the cleaner head?

To test this we put hair on medium-pile carpet to see how the suction and carpet agitation in the area immediately below the belt housing and the section of the brushroll separated by it are affected.

You can see this test in the Performance section below.

Spoiler:  It creates a “dead” zone where suction is weakened and agitation on the carpet is nil, which isn’t surprising.

For everyday vacuuming, it’s not too big of an issue, but if you’re trying to vacuum around your wall base or along furniture using that side of the vacuum, then you’ll find it just doesn’t pick up very well.  You’ll want to position the vacuum such that the other side of the cleaner head is over the area you’re trying to pick up debris.

If you’re just vacuuming a large open room, then it’s no big deal.

Dustbin

The Bissell CleanView Series dustbin design is very similar among the different models.  The CleanView 2254 has a 50% smaller dustbin than the CleanView 1831 and 9595 models, which seems to be to make room for the cord rewind feature.

The total volume up to the “Fill” line is 1.0 liters for the CleanView 2254.  Even though it’s half the other models, it’s still a lot of room.  You might be surprised to find that the Dyson V10 cordless stick has a 0.75-liter dustbin capacity which is surprisingly close the CleanView 2254.  Cordless vacuums have come a long way, for sure.

The filter is housed in the dustbin lid and the center cyclone component can be removed for cleaning just like the other CleanView models.  You simply open the bottom hatch of the dustbin and twist the center cylinder clockwise.

Filters

The design of the filter system is different on the CleanView 2254 than that on the models that don’t have the cord rewind feature.  For example, on the CleanView 9595 Series, the post-motor filter is housed just under the dustbin where the vacuum exhaust is located.  However, with the CleanView 2254 there is no exhaust filter that is removable by the user, that we are aware of.

The CleanView 2254 exhaust vent is below the cord rewind mechanism on each side of the vacuum where the main body joins the cleaner head’s axle.  It’s possible there is a filter that isn’t meant to be serviced by the user, but we did not want to tear down the vacuum.

Attachments

All of the attachments are used with the CleanView 2254’s lengthy 8-foot hose.  This is the longest hose among the CleanView vacuums, as the 1831 and 9595 Series have a 6-foot hose.  All of the attachment can be stored onboard the vacuum, so you don’t have to go digging around your closet to find attachments when you need them.

Remember the name of this vacuum is the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet.  This is a similar naming convention to Shark as they add another word to the name that corresponds to each new feature beyond what the base model includes. 

The “Pet” in the name refers to the inclusion of the Pet Turbo Eraser Tool which can be used to clean furniture, stairs, pet bedding, or whatever you like.  The difference between the Pet Turbo Eraser and the standard Turbobrush is that the Pet Turbo Eraser doesn’t have a brushroll at all, but instead it has rows of soft rubber-like teeth.  

If you’re not familiar with “turbo” tools, then you should know that it usually means the brushroll is driven by airflow alone, not an electric motor.

The rubber teeth on the Pet Turbo Eraser do not appear to protrude from the bottom of the tool itself any significant amount.  As you press the tool into the carpet or other fabric, you will get some light agitation from the spinning soft teeth.  If you press down too hard, then you will stop the spinning action completely.  This isn’t unusual with air-driven attachments.  Some canister vacuums, such as the Miele Classic C1 Turbo Team, only use an air-driven cleaner head.

We tested the Pet Turbo Eraser on low-pile and medium-pile carpet, and it worked just like you might expect and provided a comfortable amount of agitation to pull up our test debris.

Overall, the Pet Turbo Eraser seems to be a better option as hair doesn’t easily cling to the flexible teeth as it does with a standard brush. 

 

As we mentioned before, all the attachments can conveniently be stored onboard the vacuum.  

1. Pet Turbo Eraser Tool
2. Dustbin Brush
3. Crevice Tool and Extension Wand (Crevice Tool fits inside the wand)
4. Pet Hair Corner Tool

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Performance

We tested the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet (model 2254) on four types of flooring: bare floor (tile or concrete), low-pile carpet, medium-pile carpet, and high-pile carpet.  Additionally, we tested the vacuum on medium-pile carpet with hair pressed into the carpet.

Medium-pile carpet is common in most homes in the U.S. along with bare floorings such as tile or hardwood.  Rugs can vary between low-pile and plush, which can be a problem for some vacuums that can’t handle thick carpet.  The design of the CleanView 2254 isn’t substantially different such that we expect a significant change in performance from the other models.

There is no option to stop or slow down the brushroll, so as you will see, debris does get thrown behind the vacuum during that test.

Test Debris

Testing the Dead Zone with Hair

In addition to our standard vacuum test debris above, we also test the CleanView 2254 vacuuming hair on medium-pile carpet.  We pressed the hair into the carpet to see how well the brushroll and suction performed in the area of the cleaner head around the belt housing.

Of course, there is no agitation under the belt housing as there isn’t any brush bristles in that area.  As you can see in the image below, there was some hair remaining after two passes, without changing the orientation of the vacuum.  The carpet in the area under the belt is noticeably less disturbed than the carpet around it.

Do we think this negatively affects the performance of the CleanView 2254?

Not really.  

We naturally tend to push vacuums back and forth many times and easily pick up debris that would be left behind after a single pass under the belt housing area.  

With that said, it could be a problem if you’re vacuuming around your wall base with the side of the cleaner head separated by the belt.  So if you can, you should vacuum with the wall base to your right for the best suction and brushroll performance.

Another thing to note is that there wasn’t any hair remaining on the brushroll at all after this test.  Not even on the side separated by the belt.  That’s reassuring.

Bare Floor Test

Now, we came into the test with low expectations.  Our experience with the CleanView 1831 and 9595 models has been abysmal on bare flooring.  The CleanView 2254 still threw some debris in front of and behind the vacuum during this test, but it was noticeably less.  

The vacuum did struggle picking up the large dog food pieces, which is consistently an issue for the CleanView Series.  The best way to pick up debris this size is to use the extension wand attachment on the hose.  If you want to keep making passes with the vacuum, you can usually pick everything up, but it will take more effort than it’s worth.

Low-pile Carpet Test

The CleanView 2254’s performance on low-pile carpet is on par with the other CleanView Series vacuums we’ve reviewed.  None of the test debris got thrown behind the vacuum, and some of the dog food got pushed forward instead of getting suctioned up.  We were able to pick up all the dog food by making a few more passes.

If you have trouble picking up larger debris with this vacuum, then the easiest thing to do is use the hose in those situations.  The extension wand is stored on the vacuum so it’s easy to attach it to the hose and get the job done.  With that said, we’ve been able to continue vacuuming and pick up the larger pieces of dog food after several passes.

Medium-pile Carpet Test

Our medium-pile carpet is on the thicker side, so we did this test with the vacuum on a couple different floor settings.  First we tried it on the notch just below the highest carpet setting and some of the dog food was pushed forward instead of being suctioned up.  Switching to the highest setting fixed this problem and we were able to get up all of the debris with no problem.  There’s such a variety of carpet styles and thicknesses within the medium-pile carpet range, so it may take a few tries to find the right setting for your carpet.

One thing we wanted to try to demonstrate with this test is how the “dead” zone created by the belt housing affects the performance of the vacuum on that side of the cleaner head.  Above is the debris left behind after the first pass.  As you can see the debris directly under the belt and under the brushroll sectioned off by the belt, there is a significant amount of debris left behind relative to the other side of the cleaner head.

At times this can be frustrating if you are vacuuming against furniture or a wall using that side of the vacuum.  You have to be aware of this and adjust how you vacuum accordingly.  The brushroll does knock stuff around enough that it will eventually get picked up anyway with a few passes, but the effect of the dead zone under and just past the belt is real.

While vacuuming an open room, it isn’t really noticeable since we tend to make several passes anyway.

As for pushing and pulling the vacuum, it was comfortable on this carpet even with the uncontrollable brushroll.  The swivel steering works really well, and you can quickly turn the vacuum by twisting the handle with minimal effort.

High-pile Carpet Test

In terms of cleaning ability, the CleanView 2254 did reasonably well on this high-pile carpet, but the major issue is that it’s fairly difficult to push and pull the vacuum on carpet this thick.  The brushroll spins blazingly fast and you have no control over it.  On thick, soft carpets this could potentially damage your carpet after extended use.  

For high-pile carpet, we recommend a vacuum with at least the ability to slow down the brushroll.  However, Shaw and Mohawk, the largest carpet manufacturers in the world, recommend using a vacuum that doesn’t have a brushroll at all for soft plush carpet.  Our high-pile carpet is certainly pushing the limits of this vacuum as it’s just over 0.75″ pile height, which is on the upper range for high-pile carpet.

Another concern is the strain put on the brushroll belt when vacuuming thicker carpet and rugs.  Using this vacuum on carpet or rugs with a pile height over one inch is not recommended.  It could damage your carpet and will certainly cause the belt to wear out much faster than it should.

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Bissell CleanView 2254 Compared to Other Cleanview Vacuums

In terms of price, the CleanView 2254 is on the low to mid range relative to Bissell’s other uprights.  It’s a good budget choice vacuum, but lacks some of the more sophisticated features like brushroll control and Lift-Off capability.

The Bissell PowerGlide Lift-Off Pet Plus is a great upgrade choice that includes the Lift-Off feature and brushroll control.  The Lift-Off feature is handy for vacuum stairs, above the floor areas, and even vehicles.  You can detach the vacuum canister from the rest of the vacuum’s body and use the hose along with the attachments for cleaning anything you can reach.

If you’re familiar with Shark’s Lift-Away feature, it’s essentially the same thing.  The one catch is there isn’t any motorized cleaner head you can attach to the hose; you can only use the turbobrush tool or the other standard attachments.

We’ve also tested the Shark ION P50 cordless upright vacuum and found it to be the best execution of the Lift-Away concept.  The vacuum’s standard cleaner head can be used while in Lift-Away mode, which gives you incredible versatility and maneuverability.

If you have pets and struggle with hair building up on your vacuum’s brushroll, check out the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off.  

Final Thoughts

1Swivel steering is such a common feature on most newer vacuums these days that it is easy to take for granted.  After testing a few CleanView vacuums that don’t have swivel steering we highly recommend the Bissell CleanView 2254 if you’re looking for a budget vacuum that’s a step above the more basic CleanView models.

The cord rewind system is, of course, very convenient.  We have had experiences in the past with cord rewind systems that eventually fail, but since there aren’t complaints about this from other customer reviews, we feel like it should hold out for the life of the vacuum.  You can’t just hit the button and let the cord go in by itself.  You at least have to guide it in gently to avoid it jamming.

The filtration is somewhat disappointing with this being a “Pet” vacuum.  There are 2 filters that go in the filter housing, but it’s not clear that the thinner disc offers comparable filtration to the typical replaceable exhaust filter we saw on the Bissell CleanView 9595 and 1831 Series’. The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser does have the SmartSeal Allergen System, which we highly recommend if you have pets.