Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off 39883 Review: A New Value Leader

Introduction

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off 39883 was clearly designed to rival one of the best-selling vacuums of all time: the Shark Navigator Lift-Away. After testing many Bissell uprights over the years, this is the first one that has really impressed us in terms of value and performance. After buying one and testing it over several weeks, it is clear that Bissell has finally beaten Shark, at least in this low-cost category.

Who This Vacuum Is For

This vacuum is for households that need a reliable upright for mixed flooring, especially homes with pets. It handles hard floors and carpets well, and its anti-tangle brush roll makes it a strong choice for homes where hair is a constant issue. It also suits buyers who want a sealed filtration system and a detachable canister for above-floor cleaning without spending a premium.

Main Strengths

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off had really solid pickup scores on both hard floors and carpets. It has a tangle-free brush roll, a squeegee to prevent debris from scattering, and three relatively large front gates for letting in large debris. None of those features are found on the Shark Navigators. The Sharks do not have a squeegee, so you really should turn the brush roll off when vacuuming hard floors. They also lack anti-tangle features on their brushes, so they get tangled easily with hair. The Bissell did quite well at resisting hair tangles in our tests, on the 7-inch hair test, and moderately good with the 14-inch hair test. Certainly much better than the Navigators.

The front gates mean that its hard floor pickup performance was quite a bit better with larger debris, something the old Navigators just could not do. On carpets, the Bissell also performed well in surface debris pickup. The larger gates allowed it to handle everything we tested, from small particles to extra-large debris, without issue. The Shark Navigators, with their low-profile heads and lack of gates, tended to snowplow anything medium-sized or larger.

The Bissell was also great at deep cleaning carpets. We tested this by embedding sand into medium-pile carpets and weighing the bins before and after. The Bissell got a perfect score of 100%, which is not all that different from the Sharks, which did well here too. As far as the basics of vacuuming, hard floors and carpets, the Bissell was rock solid, especially for a vacuum in this price range.

The Bissell also did well in all the areas that originally made the Shark Navigators a hit. It has a sealed filtration system, which passed our fog test perfectly. It has a nice, responsive swivel floor head, which can get in and out of tight spaces easily. And it has an answer to Shark’s Lift-Away feature, which Bissell calls Lift-Off. At the press of a button, you can detach the canister and carry it around without the floor head. Great for stairs or above-floor cleaning. It also has an easy detachable wand for ultra-quick deployment, which is incredibly useful for large debris or on-the-fly above-floor cleaning.

Things to Consider Before Buying

One notable difference is that the Bissell only detaches with the wand, whereas the Sharks can detach the handle from the wand as well, giving you extra versatility. The Lift-Off mechanism on the Bissell was also a little more awkward. It worked fine, but the button placement and handle design were not quite as easy to use as the Sharks. A small nitpick, but worth noting.

In terms of specs, features, and test results, the Bissell and the Sharks were all pretty similar. Both had similar sealed suction scores, all above average. The Bissell did outperform the Sharks on the unsealed suction test, however, getting more than double that of the Shark Navigator Deluxe. The Sharks were better in two areas: dust bin capacity, where they were slightly bigger, and overall weight, where they were about half a pound lighter. Though all were below average in weight, which is a good thing.

Buying Advice

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off is the first time Bissell has made the top upright list, currently ranking in the top five. That is impressive considering it sells for about $150, slightly cheaper than the Sharks at the time of recording. It is better at surface debris pickup on hard floors and carpets, equally good at deep cleaning carpets, and it has great filtration, good swivel steering, a useful Lift-Off and wand system, and a decent anti-hair wrap feature. In terms of value, it seems like a no-brainer over the Shark Navigators.

That said, there is still something to the Shark Navigators. They remain solidly built, and there are plenty of replacement parts available online. But for most buyers, the Bissell offers more for less.

Conclusion

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off 39883 is a strong value pick for 2026. It delivers better surface debris pickup, solid deep cleaning, useful anti-tangle features, and a lower price than its main rival. If you are looking for a capable upright vacuum that handles pet hair and mixed flooring well, this model deserves serious consideration.