When people browse for some of the best vacuum for car detailing, they take a lot of things into account. One of the most important features that people are after, though, is portability. Wall-mounted and canister models just don’t cut it when it comes to putting the vacuum in your car and driving away. This is where options like the BISSELL Lightweight Cordless Handheld Car Vacuum come into play and are exceedingly tempting to anyone looking for a lightweight portable vacuum for his car’s interior.
Our Verdict: If you are after a cordless, practical option, this BISSELL vacuum cleaner is quite ideal for you. Not only is it cheap, but it offers a surprising amount of performance for its small form-factor. The motorized brush at the front easily rubs off any stuck particles or dirt and the plethora of attachments is going to ensure that you have a tool for every occasion. One of the few downsides of this model is that it might struggle with harder dirt or dust stuck deep within your car’s cloth upholstery. It also isn’t appropriate for wet cleaning.
In this review we will go through some of the main features of this vacuum, show its pros and cons, and discuss what’s it like to own this relatively small model for the sole purpose of detailing your car on the inside.
Overview & Features of Bissell Car Vacuum Cleaner
There is no getting around this vacuum’s main appeal – its small size. BISSELL had the task to create something powerful but small enough to fit in your car trunk organizer. Still, they kind of failed on the powerful part since this is the main issues we and everyone else is having here. The lack of power is adequately compensated by the well-thought-out brushes, though.
Power had to be compromized here, though. One of the reasons for that is that this vacuum is cordless and it relies on its battery power to keep it running without any hiccups when you are using it. It has a 15-minute power window between recharging if you aren’t using the cord. That isn’t great if you think about it but if you plug it into your car’s 12V socket, it will be good to go for as much as you want. A full battery recharge takes up to 5 hours, so be careful how you use this when away from a handy power socket.
Product Rating:
- Ultra portable
- Lightweight
- Durable construction
- Comes with a lot of attachments
- Excellent for car cleaning
- Fits in any car trunk
- The motorized brush helps with stuck pet hair
- Great price to value ratio
- Up to 15-minutes of fade-free power
Best Vacuum Cleaner For Detailing
When it comes to detailing, this vacuum has a few great advantages and a few other equally bad disadvantages. One of the pros of having it for cleaning your car is that it is really easy to work with and carry around. This means that you can take it on a road trip with your dog in your car and not have to worry about your car turning into a hairy mess.
On the other side, the short battery life and lack of a lot of suction power make it unfit for some harder cleaning tasks. Overall, if you keep your car in a good condition, this might be the perfect option to maintain that but you will still have to visit the detailing shop every once in a while your dog decides to jump the seats while still muddy from the walkie.
The overall ergonomics of this car vacuum cleaner allow you to move it around the car’s interior without spending too much energy, although it might get tiring for your hand since you have to carry the whole weight
Apart from detailing, you can use this throughout your home without many issues except the fact that it will struggle with the hardest most dirty spots and will also make you clean it up at least a few times until you are done with your home. For an occasional couch cleaning, though, this guy is perfect, especially with the multi brush.
Accessories
The accessories included here are quite good for the price. You get:
- An extension hose
- A motorized brush roll
- An extension want with a brush at the end
- An on-board crevice tool suitable for the areas between your seats
- On-board dusting brush
The only complaint we have with these accessories is that the extension hose isn’t crush-proof and easily stops working when you twist it at an awkward angle.
If you are looking for something a little bit more powerful that is also capable of handling wet and dry cleaning check out my Vacmaster VF408 Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum Review! Now, let’s see the ups and downs of owning this car vacuum cleaner…
Advantages & Disadvantages
Pros
- Ultra portable
- Lightweight
- Durable construction
- Comes with a lot of attachments
- Excellent for car cleaning
- Fits in any car trunk
- The motorized brush helps with stuck pet hair
- Great price to value ratio
- Up to 15-minutes of fade-free power
Cons
- Can struggle with some harder dirt or dust that is stuck deep into your car’s seats
- Not suitable for wet cleaning
If you are struggling to get some stains from your car’s seats, check out our article on that topic. There, we will discuss the steps and tools you need in order to remove different kinds of stains.
Conclusion & Rating
Product Rating:
As a conclusion, we can say that the Bissell Lightweight Cordless Handheld Car Vacuum Cleaner is an excellent choice for people looking for something small, practical, and also on the cheaper side of the scale. It is a vacuum that you can use to clean your seats from dirt and your dashboard from the fine dust that sticks to it over time. Thanks to the various brushes you can also tackle pet hair. The power is good although it might seem lacking at certain points. The dirt tank capacity is quite small but if you plan on using this for your car only it will be more than enough to get you through a single detailing session. We gave this vacuum a score of four and a half out of five stars rating.