Bissell is a big name in the vacuum cleaner industry. Bissell vacuums are known for their high-quality and practical functionality.
The true test of any vacuum cleaner, though, is how it handles stairs. Stairs are notoriously tricky to clean using a vacuum because of the tight corners and, often, the inaccessibility of plug sockets. Plus, since stairs get a lot of foot traffic every day, they tend to get dirty quickly.
Luckily, Bissell has several vacuum cleaner models that are ideal for stairs. We will be reviewing five of them in today’s guide, and offering some tips on how to select the best Bissell vacuum cleaner for the staircases in your home.
The Best Vacuum Cleaners From Bissell
Bissell Featherweight Stick Vacuum
A lightweight build is one of the most important features in a vacuum for cleaning stairs, so the name ‘Featherweight’ is reassuring from the outset. However, the Bissell Featherweight Stick Vacuum doesn’t just have an encouraging name – it also delivers to a high standard.
Weighing a meager 2.6 lbs, the Bissell Featherweight is easy to carry up and down multiple flights of stairs without tiring yourself out or risking injury.
Since this vacuum cleaner works as both a handle vacuum and a stick vacuum, it’s very versatile in terms of the ways in which you can use it to clean various surfaces and spaces in your home. It’s suitable for both carpet floors and hard floors, and thanks to the floor nozzle, it’s perfect for getting into those tight crevices in your stairs.
If you’re wondering how well the Bissell Featherweight performs when it comes to actual cleanliness, it scores highly in this area, too. The suction is powerful, and the floor nozzle means you won’t be left with dirt stuck in the corners of your stairs.
The only downside to this vacuum cleaner is that it’s not cordless, which can be problematic if you don’t have a convenient plug socket near your stairs. However, if you do have a power outlet close by, you’ll get to enjoy unlimited run time, which is not something cordless vacuums can offer.
Pros
- 2.6 lbs – Easy to maneuver
- Includes floor nozzle – Ideal for stairs
- Works as stick and handle vacuum – Versatile
- Powerful suction – Effective cleaning
- Suitable for hard floors and carpet – Multipurpose
Cons
- Not cordless – Requires nearby plug socket
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Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lithium Ion Cordless Hand Vacuum
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lithium Ion Cordless Hand Vacuum might be designed specifically to get rid of pet hair, but it’s a great choice for cleaning your stairs regardless of whether or not you have pets.
This is a cordless vacuum, which is ideal for stairs because many staircases don’t have strategically-placed power outlets nearby. Admittedly, the run time isn’t the longest at just 17 minutes, but if you only want to clean your stairs and maybe a couple of small areas of your home in one vacuuming session, it should be absolutely fine.
Additionally, this is a lightweight, handheld vacuum model, so it’s perfect for carrying up the stairs without too much effort. It only weighs 3 lbs, so it’s not a struggle to carry, even with one hand.
The cleaning performance of the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is excellent thanks to the triple-level filtration system and the cleaning tools that come with the model. When you purchase this vacuum, you’ll get a motorized brush, which is ideal for getting rid of embedded dirt and hair, and a crevice tool so you can get into the creases and corners between each step.
Pros
- Cordless – No movement restriction
- 3 lbs – Easy to carry
- Comes with crevice tool – Good stair cleaner
- Includes motorized brush – Removes embedded hair and dirt
- Triple-level filtration – Cleans to a high standard
Cons
- 17-minute run time – Not for extended use
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Bissell 1984 AirRam Cordless Vacuum
We were very impressed with the performance and practicality of the Bissell 1984 AirRam Cordless Vacuum, and in our opinion, it’s one of the best vacuum cleaners on the market for stairs.
This is another cordless vacuum cleaner, so your movement won’t be restricted when you’re trying to do a thorough clean of your stairs. Plus, the Bissell Air Ram has a longer run time than most cordless vacuums, providing 40 minutes of uninterrupted cleaning time.
This means you’ll have time to clean several flights of stairs, or other parts of your home in addition to the stairs if you wish.
Bissell’s 1984 AirRam vacuum cleaner isn’t the lightest on our list of Bissell vacuums for stairs, at 7.75 lbs, so some of our readers might prefer a lighter model for carrying up and down flights of stairs. With that being said, this is still a fairly lightweight vacuum in the grand scheme of things.
Whether your stairs, or any other surfaces in your home, are hard or carpeted, you can use this vacuum to clean them because it’s compatible with various surfaces.
The cleaning performance is also optimal thanks to the LED lights, which illuminate the floor and show any areas of dirt you might have missed. The included brush roll also helps to remove stubborn dirt and hair.
Thanks to the collapsible handle, this vacuum is also easy to fit into the smallest of storage spaces, which is great if your goal in purchasing a new vacuum cleaner is to maintain a neater, tidier home.
Pros
- Cordless – 40 minutes unrestricted run time
- LED lighting – Shows dirt on surfaces
- Includes brush roll – Deep cleaning
- For hard floors and carpets – Multi-surface use
- Collapsible handle – Easy storage
Cons
- 7.75 lbs – Not the lightest
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Bissell AeroSlim Lithium Ion Cordless Handheld Vacuum
Cordless, handheld vacuums are the most popular choice for cleaning stairs, so it’s a good thing that Bissell has a wide range of these types of vacuum cleaners.
Another handheld, cordless vacuum by Bissell that comes highly recommended by satisfied customers who have used it to clean their stairs.
The compact design of the AeroSlim vacuum means it’s very portable, so you can take it with you anywhere, including in the car (it’s great for cleaning car seats as well as stairs)! Plus, since it only weighs 1.3 lbs, it will never feel cumbersome when moving up and down flights of stairs.
As a cordless model, this is a vacuum cleaner that won’t restrict your movement, although it is a bit restrictive in terms of cleaning time. You can only use it for 12 minutes at a time before it needs recharging, although the USB charging function makes charging the vacuum easy and convenient.
We love that a crevice tool is included with the purchase of the Bissell AeroSlim because it means you won’t struggle to get hair, crumbs, or any other debris out of the cracks at the base of each step.
Pros
- Compact design – Portable
- Cordless – No limitation on movement
- 1.3 lbs – Very lightweight
- Crevice tool included – Thorough stair cleaning
- USB charging – Easy and convenient to charge
Cons
- 12-minute run time – Only suitable for short cleaning tasks
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Bissell Adapt Ion Pet
The final vacuum cleaner model from Bissell that we recommend for stairs is the Bissell Adapt Ion Pet. This is another vacuum cleaner designed primarily for removing pet hair, but it’s highly effective at removing all forms of dirt and debris and the design lends itself well to cleaning stairs.
Bissell’s Adapt Ion Pet vacuum is cordless, so you can maneuver it easily without being tied to a plug socket. You only have 15 minutes before the battery runs out, though, so it’s only suitable for short bursts of cleaning.
While this vacuum does have a handle, the vacuum can be transformed into a hand vacuum so that you can use it on stairs or any other difficult-to-reach surfaces in your home. The swivel steering function is also great for stairs, especially more awkwardly-shaped ones like spiral staircases.
A brush roll comes with the vacuum so you can clean any surface in depth, lifting away any embedded dirt or hair easily.
When it comes to putting this vacuum in storage, you won’t have to worry about accommodating the full height because the handle is collapsible.
Just bear in mind that the Adapt Ion Pet only has a capacity of 0.45 liters, so you’ll need to empty the bin on a very regular basis.
Pros
- Cordless – Effortless maneuverability
- Removable hand vacuum – Perfect for stairs
- Swivel steering – Ideal for awkward spaces
- Includes brush roll – In-depth clean
- Folding handle – Easy storage
Cons
- 15-minute run time – Needs frequent charging
- Holds 0.45 liters of dirt – Low capacity
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Choosing Bissell’s Best Vacuum For Stairs
It’s clear that Bissell offers many different vacuums for cleaning stairs, and all of the models we’ve reviewed in today’s article will do an excellent job. However, you now need to pick just one vacuum, which is where things can get tricky. To help you out, we’ve broken down the selection process by features and functions:
Vacuum Type
Firstly, you will need to decide what kind of vacuum you want for your stairs. Vacuums come in various different types, including stick vacuums, handheld vacuums, and canister vacuums.
Canister vacuums are not ideal for stairs because they are cumbersome and the 2-part nature of the design can compromise your balance on the stairs. So, the two types of vacuums we’ve focused on in this guide are stick vacuums and handheld vacuums.
Both stick and handheld vacuums are typically lightweight, which is a huge bonus when it comes to stair vacuums, as we’ll discuss further in a moment.
The main difference is that stick vacuums have a long handle, allowing you to vacuum while standing upright, and handheld vacuums are smaller and designed to be used lower to the ground.
A lot of this comes down to personal preference. If you suffer from back pain, a stick vacuum might be the better option since you won’t have to bend down as much. However, handheld vacuums are more maneuverable and lightweight, so many people find that they make the cleaning process easier.
Bear in mind that many stick vacuums, including some of the models we’ve talked about in this guide, can be transformed into handheld vacuum cleaners by detaching the body of the vacuum from the handle. This is a great option if you want to use your vacuum to clean floors as well as stairs.
Weight
Carrying a heavy vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs is no fun, so when you’re choosing a vacuum to clean your stairs, you should make sure it’s on the lighter side.
The vacuum cleaners we’ve reviewed today range from 1.3 lbs to 7.75 lbs. The lighter vacuums are usually also smaller and have lower capacities, though, so bear this in mind and don’t choose a vacuum solely based on its weight.
Cord Status
Choosing between a corded and a cordless vacuum cleaner model can be tricky because there are benefits and disadvantages to both.
A cordless vacuum might initially seem to be the better choice because you’re not limited by lack of plug sockets. If you don’t have a plug socket or extension anywhere near the stairs in your home, you may have no choice but to go with a cordless model. This will provide you with a lot of maneuverability and freedom of movement.
However, the drawback of using a cordless vacuum is that you have to rely on the battery for run time. This means that you only get a certain amount of time to do your vacuuming before you have to stop and recharge.
Depending on the model you choose, you might get a longer run time of 40 minutes, which is enough to do a fair amount of cleaning.
On the other hand, some cordless vacuum cleaners only run for about 15 minutes at a time before you need to charge them again, which may not be a big deal if you only want to use the vacuum for your stairs.
However, if you want to be able to clean your whole house in one session, such a short run time may be a problem.
Cleaning Tools
Many vacuum cleaners from Bissell come with extra cleaning tools to help you clean to the best possible standards.
One of our favorite vacuum cleaner tools from Bissell is the motorized brush, which is highly effective at removing embedded dirt and hair. If you have a pet, you should definitely consider this.
Any brush roll, motorized or not, is ideal if you have carpets because hair, dirt, and debris can easily get trapped between carpet fibers, and you might not even notice without the help of a brush to dislodge it.
A crevice tool is also especially useful when it comes to cleaning stairs because there are sharp corners and creases to get into, and a crevice tool can help you to do so efficiently.
Capacity
The capacity of a vacuum cleaner’s bin is something that often flies under the radar compared to other, more exciting features, but it’s worth considering. After all, it can be very frustrating to have to stop in the middle of vacuuming your stairs because the bin is full and needs to be emptied.
Like run time, vacuum cleaner capacity can vary a lot, but you can usually tell which models will have a larger capacity simply based on size. Small, handheld vacuums might be ideal for maneuverability, but they tend to fare less well in terms of capacity.
A compact vacuum might only have a capacity of about 0.45 liters, while a larger model can have a capacity of several liters.
Additional Features
Extra features such as LED lights to show dirt on flooring, and swivel steering to get into awkward spaces, can really elevate the ease of use and cleaning performance of a vacuum cleaner, so look out for features like these.
We also recommend prioritizing models with collapsible handles if storage is likely to be an issue.
Final Thoughts
Bissell offers a wide range of high-quality vacuum cleaners in various designs, so no matter what kind of stairs you have in your home and what specific cleaning needs you have, Bissell has something suitable for you.
If you have pets at home, consider one of Bissell’s pet hair removal vacuums. For ease of use, look for lightweight, handheld models without cords. On the other hand, if a short run time is likely to be a problem, consider one of Bissell’s corded vacuums or a cordless model with a longer battery life.
Bissell’s extensive vacuum range proves that cleaning your stairs doesn’t have to be an uphill task.