When you think of Bissell, you think traditional and reliable. The name Bissell is practically a mainstay of the American home. Founded in 1876, Bissell changed the way people in North America and Europe cleaned their homes with its unique carpet sweeper.
Over 100 years after Bissell’s inception, another heavy hitter made a name for itself – Shark. From vacuums to irons, Shark offers a multitude of innovative household appliances that are meant to make life easier through their streamlined designs.
To see how Bissell, a brand steeped in history, and Shark, a quickly growing leader, compared to each other, we took a look at two of their top-selling upright vacuum cleaner models – the Bissell 9595A CleanView Bagless Vacuum and the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E.
Related post: Best Shark Upright Vacuums
Why Buy an Upright Vacuum?
There are many reasons that make upright vacuums a great choice. These vacuum cleaners are robust and powerful. Uprights are equipped with motorized brushrolls, making them ideal for use on carpets. In comparison to sticks and handhelds, they have a much wider cleaning path. Plus, many of them come with attachments that allow you to detail your home.
The Bissell CleanView Versus the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Pro
Here are two excellent upright vacuums, each with a unique feature to offer. The Bissell 9595A CleanView boasts the brand’s OnePass technology, which increases the vacuum’s pickup prowess to save you time and effort. On the other hand, the Shark Navigator’s claim to fame is its ability to transform from an upright to a canister in an instant for all your above-floor cleaning needs.
Both vacuums are able to thoroughly clean a multitude of surfaces thanks to the Bissell’s height adjustment dial and the Shark’s suction adjust collar and brushroll switch. With either vacuum, you get several attachments that help you clean within all those nooks and crannies around your house. Plus, each upright offers an extensive vacuuming radius, and both of them are equipped with a great filtration system.
Suction and Brushroll
When performance matters, you need the best suction method that current vacuum cleaner technology offers, which is cyclonic suction. A vacuum with cyclonic suction is able to separate motor-damaging fine particles from larger debris, preventing the fine particles from reducing the vacuum’s performance.
As you would expect from a brand like Bissell, the CleanView uses cyclonic suction to protect the powerful 12-amp motor. In addition, the brushroll in the floor head digs deep into carpet fibers, so no debris is left behind. Between this amazing brushroll and its cyclonic suction, you don’t have to make multiple passes on one section of flooring.
The Shark Navigator’s floor head also contains a brushroll. However, when you need to clean bare floors, you have the option of turning off the brushroll, so you won’t risk scratching the floor’s finish. You can also control the flow of suction by turning the collar on the handle. If the brushroll becomes clogged by an object, the vacuum automatically stops it from spinning. Therefore, you’ll never have to replace the Navigator’s belt.
Floor Nozzle
Bissell designed the CleanView to cover a wide surface area. The floor head measures a width of 13.5 inches. With its pair of side brushes, the nozzle is a pro at cleaning baseboards and wall edges. To protect the vacuum and your furniture, it’s equipped with a soft bumper.
You even get the benefit of a small viewing window on the brushroll’s cover, so you can immediately detect obstructions like string. Additionally, you can alter the floor head to one of five heights by simply turning the dial on the nozzle, allowing you tackle messes on any surface.
The cleaning path on the Shark Navigator isn’t too shabby either. At 9.5 inches wide, the floor head captures plenty of debris on a single pass, and it swivels for optimal maneuverability. This upright also comes with the Hard Floor Hero, which is a special head designed with bare floors in mind.
Attachments
Like all other high-quality vacuums, the Bissell 9595A CleanView and the Shark Navigator come with their fair share of attachments. Each one has a motorized brush for cleaning upholstery and stairs and a dusting brush for vacuuming lamp shades and blinds. Both vacuums also have a crevice tool with the Navigator’s measuring 8 inches long, and Bissell throws in an extension wand to lengthen your reach.
Unlike most uprights, the Navigator’s canister detaches from the vacuum itself. With just the press of a button, you can remove the 8-pound canister, giving you more mobility than the typical upright can offer. Thanks to a looped handle on the canister and the hose, the canister is a breeze to lift.
Maneuverability
Heavy and cumbersome? Not these two upright vacs. The Bissell CleanView only weighs 15 pounds, making it easy to push and carry. At 13.7 pounds, the Navigator is also lightweight. To help you reach into awkward spaces, the CleanView’s hose measures 6 feet long while the Navigator’s flexible hose measures 5 feet in length. The CleanView and the Navigator also have a long power cord at 25 feet and 30 feet, respectively.
Filtration
Both vacuums are capable of holding a lot of debris. On the Bissell CleanView, the dirt cup offers a 2.2-liter capacity while the Shark Navigator’s cup boasts a 4.2-liter capacity. No matter which vacuum cleaner you choose, you get multiple layers of filtration with the CleanView’s filters lasting for 6 months and the Navigator’s filters lasting a lifetime. Plus, the Navigator contains a HEPA filter, which is a must-have for allergy sufferers.
What an Upright Should Be
If you’re tired of weak suction, look no further than the Bissell 9595A CleanView Bagless Vacuum and the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E. Both uprights offer superior performance in a lightweight, easy-to-handle package, and each vacuum is versatile in terms of what types of floors it can clean.
The CleanView is a timer-saver thanks to its OnePass technology, and the Navigator allows you to clean every above-floor surface in your home due to its ability to transform into a canister vac. Both uprights come with several attachments, and the vacuums are excellent at filtering the dust and debris they collect. When you need more than the average upright can provide, the CleanView and the Navigator are two can’t-go-wrong choices.
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