Bissell’s new pet vacuum vs. golden retriever: Which comes out on top?

If there is a gold medal for shedding hair, our golden retriever Maggie must be a contender, especially at this time of the year. But she may have met her match.

She’s beautiful but boy can she shed some hair. Photo: Mark Furler

If there is a gold medal for shedding hair, our golden retriever Maggie must be a contender, especially at this time of the year.

Her white hair ends up everywhere – on the tiles, under the couch and our dining table, in the back of my car from when I take her to the beach, and even on my spoon just as I am about to eat breakfast.

Our black short haired dog, Ava, is nowhere as prolific as a shedder but her fur is noticeable on our white tiles.

So when we were offered the chance to check out the latest purpose-built ‘Furguard’ PowerClean cordless stick vacuums from Bissell, we jumped up and down like Maggie does when she knows its time for a walk.

Our golden retriever Maggie really puts the FurGuard to the test. Photo: Mark Furler

With their own ‘fur finding’ headlights, the vacuums certainly make it easier to find the dirt, debris and hairs left in all sorts of places.

The first thing I noticed about the stand up vacuum was that it was slightly heavier than the mid-range Dyson that we bought, so lifting it from place to place is more arduous.

But once you are doing the vacuuming, it slides along beautifully and certainly has plenty of sucking power.

It comes with an upholstery tool which does a good job at getting embedded hair.

It also comes with an upholstery tool, which is engineered to remove up to 95% of embedded pet hair.

We tried it out on the couch, where it worked very well.

But I had a far more challenging assignment for it.

Hope you have eaten. Just some of the hair from one trip around the main living areas. Photo: Mark Furler

In our hatchback, there’s an accumulation of Maggie’s hair on the back of a back seat of the car.

Being white hair on grey, it is very noticeable and very impregnated.

But it wasn’t until I started sucking it up that I realise how much of it there was.

It took a while, and quite a few passes, but I managed to get most of it out of the upholstery, which was quite a feat given how well embedded the hair was.

The self-standing Bissell also has a HEPA sealed allergen system which promises to trap 99.7 per cent of dander, dust and allergens which should help everyone in the house to breathe easier.

The three in one device is very versatile.

My wife particularly likes the warm and cool LEDS which Bissell says illuminates up to three times more hidden pet hair, dirt and debris.

But she likes even more the fact that given I need to review the product, I’ve been doing the cleaning rounds of the house more often.

Bissell's FurGuard stick promises to find all the dirt and hair from your pets, wherever it may be.

The upholstery tool is also engineered with lights, tough bristles and a silicon de-furring strip to lift, loosen and remove embedded pet hair faster than competitors.

The self-standing design means it doesn’t need to be wall mounted and it does make it easier to stop midway through your clean.

It also converts from a stick to a handheld or high-reach in seconds, with two built-in crevice tools to easily reach tight corners.

The cut down unit is perfect for the car.

The FurGuard offers 280W suction, while the FurFinder model has 200W.

It’s also super handy in the car.

With dual batteries, the FurGuard model delivers more than 100 minutes of run-time (on economy power mode) while the FurFinder offers up to 40 minutes on a single charge.

If you put the FurGuard on full power, which is what you need to get pet hair up, the battery can be used up a lot quicker than that, but that’s the same with my Dyson, which only lasts about six minutes on full power.

The fact that there are two batteries means you don’t have to wait around for a charge, unless you have lots of mess and a big house.

Bissell says its particularly excited to offer the new models in Australia and New Zealand.

“Stick vacuums are the go-to choice for busy households, particularly homes with pets,” said Chris Egan, managing director of Bissell Oceania.

Bissell's new PowerClean FurGuard range is a good choice for pet owners.

“From breakfast crumbs to embedded pet hair, the range is designed to handle real-life messes with ease, giving families a faster, simpler clean without ever compromising on performance.

PowerClean is the first stick vacuum to carry Bissell’s Pet Proven seal and meet rigorous standards for pet mess performance.

With a recommended retail price of $449, the FurGuard model is well priced and comes from a company with nearly 150 years of cleaning expertise.

The PowerClean FurFinder has an RRP of $349.

Both can be purchased via www.bissell.com.au and electrical retailers.

Originally published as Bissell’s new pet vacuum vs. golden retriever: Which comes out on top?