BISSELL 1161 — Budget Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
The low-cost BISSELL 1161 Hard Floor Expert Deluxe canister vacuum corded model is an air-driven and bagless device that can also handle soft coverings and thin rugs. The small and lightweight appliance comes with enough extra heads to reach the most problematic areas in a room.
Dimensions
It’s 19.2 inches long, 12.9 inches wide, and 15 inches tall. The weight is 9.3 pounds. The dirt container’s capacity is only 1 liter that makes it necessary to interrupt cleaning for emptying it nearly twice. The cord is 16.5 feet long that still forces the user to change plugs. The telescoping metal wand is under 4 feet from the floor to the handle in a fully extended position.
Features
The BISSELL Hard Floor Expert 1161 is based on the cyclonic cleaning system, meaning that the unit sucks in dusty air and spins it around at high speed to separate dirt from the air and to pipe clean air back into the room.
The 7-amp motor does its job for hard coverings, but it lacks suction to cope with thick rugs. However, it’s capable of removing dirt from low-pile carpets, as long as the user will replace the pleated filter periodically and clean the clogged brushes. The adjustable suction adapts the device for flawless cleaning upholstery and other furniture’s soft surfaces.
The BISSELL 1161 Hard Floor Expert is convenient to use since it works quietly, and its container opens from below not to release too much dust in the air. It helps avoid allergy to some extent, but still, it would be great to fit this device with a HEPA filter for more efficient protection instead of a paper one installed.
Design
The BISSELL 1161 has a retractable power cord in the back to hide it by a single press of a cord rewind button. The unit also has a suction control button with indicators on the base of the device. The identical button is located on the handle to change the suction, but the latter needs batteries for this purpose.
The dedicated nozzle allows toggling between hard floors and low-pile carpets. It has protective pads for delicate surfaces and a lever on the head to activate bristle brushes. However, it doesn’t work well for deep cleaning.
The flat floor attachment allows getting underneath furniture well. It has spinning brushes for collecting debris and pet hair. The brushes feature 10 inches across, making it possible to capture larger areas by a single pass.
Besides, there is a dusting brush tool in the package. The rubber wheels prevent the machine from scratching sensitive to damage hard floors.
Conclusion
The BISSELL Hard Floor Expert Deluxe 1161 comes with useful add-ons to clean either a living room or a kitchen, but if a versatile device is needed to remove dirt from numerous carpets, this unit can hardly be the right option. It’s compact, mobile, and maneuverable enough to vacuum fast with no specific efforts. Still, a small dust canister makes maintenance a bit disappointing.
