A perfect 100% carpet-deep-clean score and sealed HEPA for $159, the budget pick built for carpet-heavy homes.
Bissell PowerClean 4173
The PowerClean 4173 does one thing better than vacuums costing five times more: it deep-cleans carpet. In Vacuum Wars' test, which embeds sand in medium-pile carpet and measures how much comes back out, it scored a rare perfect 100%, against a category average of 93%, one of the strongest carpet results they have recorded. If your home is mostly carpet and your priority is pulling embedded grit out of the pile, this $159 Bissell punches absurdly above its price.
It also gets the health part right, which budget vacuums usually botch. Bissell calls it a HEPA Sealed Allergen System rated to capture 99.97% of dust and dander, and it passed independent fog testing with no visible dust escaping the machine, meaning the air leaving it is genuinely filtered. Paired with a tangle-free brush roll, bright LED headlights, and a body that stands upright on its own, it is a lot of the right features for the money.
The compromises are real and worth taking seriously. At around 7 pounds the handle feels heavy over a long clean, the bin is a small 0.4 litres so you will empty it often, and the brushroll body is bulky enough that it struggles to clean flush into corners. Bissell also sells no extra attachments beyond the two in the box. Most importantly, reviewers including Vacuum Wars flag a noticeable pattern of long-term reliability complaints in owner reviews, which is why it did not make their top rankings despite the test scores.
So this is a targeted recommendation, not a general one. If you have carpet-heavy floors, a tight budget, and you value deep-clean power and sealed filtration over versatility, the PowerClean is a genuine bargain. If you want longevity you can count on, a bigger bin, or a do-everything vacuum, the Levoit is the safer budget buy and the V8 Cyclone the better all-rounder.
$159.99$199.99−20%
