In the end, it was the last to go. AirSwivel Lite delivered an overall poor performance. It is among the most expensive models we’ve tested. However, it was beaten by other models with lower prices that we found superior to this budget-friendly model from Black+Decker.
It’s fairly easy to operate and extremely agile and even surprised us with its remarkable ability to remove pet hair. However, it did not perform well in our carpet cleaning and test for cleaning hard floors, and different types of debris significantly affected its overall score.
It’s available for sale at a fair price, but it’s difficult to justify spending the money on a vacuum that does not remove the dirt from your carpet well.
Notice: Black + Decker Lightweight Compact Upright Vacuum is discontinued. So, here are the better alternatives:
Better Alternatives:
What Was It That We Loved ABout Black + Decker Vacuum Cleaner?
Positively, the vacuum is rated highly by owners regarding suction. Many are happy with the impressive suction. It’s also very effective for removing pet hair. Pet owners – both pets and cats – have reported they find that their vacuum performs an excellent job at taking pet hair off of flooring and carpet. The brush roll does not seem to be entangled with hair easily, which is great.
The small size of the vacuum has led to more praise than criticism. However, this isn’t often the case with smaller vacuums. Many user appreciate how easy it is to store and that it is light. The combination of its lightweight and the swivel head makes the vacuum easy to move around, which is an area where the vacuum can score big.
Furthermore, the nozzle head isn’t excessively wide and allows it to enter fairly restricted and narrow spaces. The vacuum’s lightness makes it simple to move to and from the stairs or between rooms.
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Performance Comparison
The model was in the lower part of the group. The AirSwivel is reasonably well-balanced; however, it doesn’t remove dirt very well. Although the price of this vacuum may be tempting, there are alternatives to budget models.
1. Carpet Cleaning
The most significant assessment for these vacuums is that our carpet cleaning score accounts for 35 percent of the overall score of the upright models. We evaluated each item based on its ability to clean cereal, rice, flour, and oats out of both the fluffy and flat carpet, and the AirSwivel was not able to do it well.
This vacuum cleaner was decent in cleaning rice off the softer carpet, removing most of it done in 2 passes and the majority using 3 or 4; however, it gave poor results on the fluffy carpets. It was unable to remove any rice and then crushed to such a degree that it created more mess than the one we began with.
The AirSwivel could not compete in the presence of flour, leaving a lot of debris that remained on both carpet types. There was more on the carpets with low piles than on the medium-pile carpet.
In the case of collecting Cheerios and other cereals, it was not a success, as it was below the carpet to take any of the cereals and drag the pieces around instead. In going with the trend in the past, the AirSwivel also gave a disappointing performance in our Oat Collection Challenge, which left pieces of oats on both kinds of soft flooring.
2. Handling
Then, we assessed the level of maneuverability and how agile each vacuum was. We scored and rated the general maneuverability and agility of every in addition to the ease with which it can clean up a staircase and how much effort it takes to pull or push the cleaner across the carpet. AirSwivel Lite did significantly better in these three tests than the other two.
The pipe on this vacuum will only go up to six steps. It is nevertheless one of the tiniest upright models we’ve tested, making it relatively easy to transport up and down the stairs.
It’s also relatively easy to pull or push across the carpet. However, the wheels aren’t gliding well as smoothly as other top brands. This vacuum features a swivel head but isn’t the most responsive; it’s average across our testing group.
3. Pet Hair
The last time we tested, we scored every vacuum based on the amount of pet hair it would accumulate. The AirSwivel Lite was a success on carpets with a medium pile. We laid out 5 grams of pet fur that we had donated and walked through the testing area. The vacuum gathered around 89 percent of the fur, which is better than larger and more costly vacuums.
4. Hard Surface Cleaning
Then, we ranked and assessed the effectiveness of each vacuum in keeping floors spotless. We utilized flour, rice, oatmeal, cereal, and flour to evaluate each model, and this set of tests made up 10 percent of the overall score. Unfortunately, the AirSwivel was a disappointment again.
Beginning with rice and oats, the AirSwivel collected some decent amounts of rice and was also throwing it all around. It did much or the same with oatmeal, leading us to believe that we would be better off using the help of a bristle.
This AirSwivel Lite doesn’t have sufficient clearance to grab Cheerios, constantly moving the cereal around. It did, however, pick up some flour, even though there was a layer left over due to the fact it was unable to take in.
5. Easy of Use
Following our series of soft floor cleaning assessments and evaluations, we then analyzed the level of difficulty each of our vacuums could be operating.
We evaluated the ease of use to switch between soft and hard flooring, how closely each could be cleaned around the perimeter of the room and under furniture, the most effective reach of each, and the level of noise. AirSwivel performed a little better in this series of tests compared to the previous set.
This vacuum does a fantastic job cleaning a wall and even in those corners. However, it may leave a small amount of dirt in the direction you are looking at the wall instead of moving parallel to it. It is a little better than average when it comes to reaching underneath furniture, with the ability to reach as high as 7.5″ under our fake sofa.
But, it doesn’t provide a very impressive reach, with just 20′ of cord. It also doesn’t have a way to adjust the distance it covers for cleaning different types of floors.
Value
Although this Black+Decker AirSwivel Lite is on the lower end of the spectrum, it’s not the most efficient price since other options give you more bang for your dollar.
Conclusion
The Black and Decker AirSwivel is one of the many low-cost vacuums we tried which can remove all sorts of dirt from all kinds of flooring. However, it wasn’t as fast as others. It’s nevertheless a good choice since it is easy to maneuver with its rotating head and ergonomic handles and is lightweight. It’s the most expensive model we’ve tested and is therefore affordable for the price.
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