In an era dominated by uprights and robot vacuums, good old canisters may seem out of fashion.
Or, are they?
In every little house with kids littering the kitchen, pets shedding to their heart’s content, and dust particles settling anywhere they feel comfortable, thorough cleaning sessions are a must for survival. And who can do that better than a canister?
Ergo, if your house has deep pile carpets matted with dirt, drapes, and stairways greyed with dust, while the heavy air gives the kids allergies every once in a while, it’s time to change the way you clean your space.
Going back to a heavy-duty canister vacuum cleaner seems like the first step in the right direction. And if you are wondering which one to bring home, skim through this Kenmore Vacuums Review.
Here we introduce you to the Kenmore Progressive Blueberry 21614 – the budget buy that does all it’s supposed to do.
Kenmore Blueberry Summarized
The Kenmore Progressive 21614 Blueberry is a canister vacuum cleaner with all the attachments for thorough home cleaning.
This unit can clean bare floors, carpeted surfaces, stairs, upholstery, and drapes with a powerful suction mechanism and specially equipped tools.
Value for Money:
The Blueberry comes at a fraction of the price of some of its contenders in the market. While the overall demeanor of the product is not top-notch, the performance and durability make up for it. User ratings have persistently named it an excellent value for the bucks.
Effectiveness
Blueberry by Kenmore is highly rated for cleaning carpeted surfaces, especially high pile rugs. It is a powerhouse that specializes in picking up pet hair.
Support:
A limited 1-year warranty backs a purchase of the Blueberry.
Thumbs Up Features:
- Great suction power
- Excellent at picking up pet hair
- Handy attachments
- Comes with everything you need for a thorough cleaning
- Affordable price point
- Small footprint
- Comes with Asthma and Allergy Association certified HEPA filter
Thumbs Down Features:
- Hard to maneuver
- Does not impart a premium look
- Noisy
If your house is a literal mess and in dire need of a heavy-duty canister vacuum, the Kenmore Blueberry could be your affordable go-to. This unit sucks up dust, pet hair, dander, and allergens like a typhoon with handy accessories and powerful suction.
Smooth operation, long and retractable power cord, small footprint are some of the many benefits that you get. There are certain hitches, though. Skim through the entire review to help you decide if you are bringing the Blueberry home.
Kenmore Canister Vacuum Cleaner Progressive Blueberry 21614 Review
That was just a glimpse into the Kenmore Progressive Blueberry. We know, if you are planning to invest in an appliance, you need thorough analysis. That’s what you are here for.
So, let’s dive down and see what the Progressive 21614 has in store for you.
The Design:
The Progressive Blueberry is a budget buy that can give its pricier counterparts heavy competition. But to keep the price at a pleasant and affordable range, the manufacturers might have toned down on the looks.
The unit comes in only one color- blue (duh!), and looking at it may make you feel that this is cheaply made. It does not affect the durability of the product, though.
Users have been using this product for a while.
Coming back to the appearance, the Progressive is a medium sized canister with a somewhat heavy handle. Many users identify the weight of this handle as a design flaw.
The Kenmore Blueberry comes with a handful of handy accessories, all of which can be mounted on the unit. They are attached pretty firmly to their place, so different parts will not be falling apart when you work with them.
The power cord is a 26 feet long cable. It is retractable. It means you won’t have to feel tangled amidst a pile of cords.
The handle has push buttons on it and the bottom of the unit has a catch that keeps the Blueberry from rolling off.
Overall, when it comes to design, the Kenmore Blueberry 21614 is a classic canister vacuum cleaner. Nothing extraordinary, but a sturdy piece with all the equipment you need to give your home a thorough clean.
Accessories:
The Kenmore Blueberry is equipped with:
- A crevice tool
- A telescopic wand
- A bare floor brush
- 2 special attachments for pet hair
While all the Kenmore canister vacuum accessories are pretty functional, the pet attachments steal the show.
The Pet PowerMate is specifically designed to remove pet fur and human hair from rugs, high pile carpets, and upholstery. And when it can do this flawlessly, picking up pet hair from the bare floor is a cakewalk for this attachment.
You can also attach the Pet Hair Catcher Tool to the dusting brush and give your drapes a nice quick clean.
You can use the Pet Hair Catcher Tool during regular cleaning chores and reserve the Pet PowerMate for heavy-duty cleaning.
The bare floor brush deserves a few words too. It is a smooth tool that we can recommend for all kinds of bare surfaces, including sensitive ones.
Suction:
The only time we look for excellent suckers is when we are shopping for a vacuum cleaner. And trust us when we say this, the 21614 Blueberry is a real sucker.
The suction capability of the Kenmore 600 series is simply outstanding. The Blueberry exerts a strong and uniform inward force that can quickly suck up fine to medium particles in a single swipe.
You can also adjust the suction strength according to the surface you are working on and the cleaning you are looking for.
However, having a strong suction also means that the unit creates a strong resistance when you push it around. It affects maneuverability.
Maneuverability:
As we already said, a strong suction creates resistance when you move the vacuum cleaner around. But according to Kenmore bagless canister vacuum reviews by users on Amazon, suction isn’t the only thing that makes this unit hard to navigate.
At around 23 pounds, the Blueberry is a bulky unit to work with. The handle is also heavy and hard to navigate. We must admit there are bulkier canisters out there.
The Kenmore 21614 600 series bagged canister also has a wide turning radius. So, overall, this unit struggles with maneuverability.
Height Adjustability:
You can adjust the height of the power brush tool of your Kenmore Blueberry vacuum. If you are unsure which size is ideal for your flooring, the manufacturer provides recommendations for height setting. So you are covered here.
Storage:
Canister vacuums are usually bulky units and often take up a lot of space. The Kenmore Blueberry is different.
Kenmore Canister Vacuum reviews always chime about Blueberry’s small footprint. Firstly you can keep all the accessories attached to the central unit, even when at work. Ergo, the extra tools will not be scattered all over the house like horcruxes.
Secondly, the power cord is retractable. It saves you from the trouble of folding your vacuum cleaner’s leash into neat spirals every time you are done cleaning.
Therefore, you have a compact canister vacuum cleaner taking up the least possible space.
Performance:
We tested the 21614, which is often considered the best Kenmore canister vacuum, against three kinds of surfaces- high pile carpet, traditional rug, and bare floor. We spread out fine dust and hair and pet hair over the test surfaces. Later we repeated the test using coarse grains, particularly rice.
We also gave our drapes and upholstery a thorough cleaning. And just to let you know, we have a cat in the studio.
In a single sweep, the Kenmore Progressive Blueberry picked up about 25% of fine dust on the high piled carpet. We believe it picked up all the cat hair ( it’s tough to count pet hair in a high pile carpet, so we don’t know for sure. But we didn’t see a single strand of our Ginger’s fur there.)
The Progressive 21614 sucked up about 65% of fine dust and 80% of pet hair on the regular rug.
The unit picked up about 15% fine dust and all the hair in a single swipe on the bare tiled floor.
On the kitchen floor littered with our premium brown rice ( we spilled them by mistake ) the Blueberry struggled a bit with the mass of the grains but eventually picked them up.
Noise:
Progressive Blueberry by Kenmore generates about 75 dB of noise. It is enough to let everyone in the house know that you are cleaning.
Ergo, your Blueberry won’t be a quiet operator. But hey! Canisters are like that! They are generally loud members of the cleaning clan.
Pros of Kenmore Blueberry 21614 Canister Vacuum:
- Great suction power
- Excellent at picking up pet hair
- Handy attachments
- Comes with everything you need for a thorough cleaning
- Affordable price point
- Small footprint
- Comes with Asthma and Allergy Association certified HEPA filter
Cons of Kenmore Blueberry 21614 Canister Vacuum:
- Hard to maneuver
- Does not impart a premium look
- Noisy
Kenmore 21614 vs 81414: Which is the Best Kenmore Vacuum?
Maneuverability, noise level, and some minor design hitches are undoubtedly issues Blueberry needs to work on. If this gets you worried, let us introduce you to Kenmore 81414 Pet-Friendly Lightweight Bagged Canister Vacuum Cleaner
The Kenmore 81414 is quieter than the Blueberry and more flexible to navigate. Both models’ product specifications are almost identical, so with the bright red 81414 you can expect a performance similar to the Blueberry.
The power cord of 81414 is a bit shorter, though, and the overall unit is heavier.
When it comes to which of the two Kenmores has won more hearts, we would say it is the good old Blueberry.
According to reliable Kenmore elite canister vacuum reviews and sears canister vacuum cleaners reviews, Blueberry has better user appreciation. Amazon user ratings to this date also incline more towards the Blueberry.
Final Verdict on Progressive Blueberry 21614 by Kenmore
Here is the brick by brick performance report on the Progressive Blueberry:
- Design: 7/10
- Accessories: 9/10
- Suction: 9/10
- Maneuverability: 6/10
- Height Adjustability: 8/10
- Performance Test: 9/10
- Noise: 7/10
- Storage: 9/10
- Maintenance: 9/10
- Price: 10/10
The Final Score: 8.3/10
In the world of canister vacuum cleaners, the Progressive Blueberry is a fantastic player. In these trying times of the pandemic, when everybody is at home and doing their fair share of littering ( and shedding ), you can count on the Progressive Blueberry.
Thorough cleaning with this unit will let your carpets breathe again, make your upholstery look brand new, and get rid of allergens and dander from your atmosphere. This canister vacuum cleaner will come as a blessing if you are a pet mom or dad.
The overall appearance of the unit may not be the most premium, and it will let everyone know when it is at work.
However, we think the benefits and the fantastic value for money make the Kenmore Progressive Blueberry a worthy purchase.
So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments here.
Until next time, adios!