Black & Decker POWERSERIES Pro Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

Why I reached for the PowerSeries Pro

I spent two weeks running the PowerSeries Pro through my usual gauntlet: mixed hardwood and tile on the main floor, two area rugs, a medium‑pile carpeted bedroom, a flight of stairs, and a couch that seems to attract every dog hair in the house. I wanted a cordless that could pivot from quick daily maintenance to a deeper weekend clean without dragging out a full-size upright. On paper, the PowerSeries Pro checks a lot of boxes—automatic suction adjustment, a handheld mode, a dust compactor, and pet‑focused tools. In practice, it’s a capable everyday cleaner with a clear sweet spot and some limitations you’ll want to know about.

Design, controls, and ergonomics

This is a 2‑in‑1 design with a removable canister that converts the stick into a handheld. As a stick, it’s heavier than many cordless units at about 12 pounds. The weight lives higher up the body, so it feels top‑heavy compared with motor‑in‑head designs, but the swivel steering and low‑profile floor head help it snake under chairs and beds. The LED light across the head is bright enough to flag crumbs and hair you’d otherwise miss under a couch or along kickboards.

Controls are intuitive. The touchscreen lets you switch suction, and AUTOSENSE will ramp power when it detects carpet. I like the simple BatterySense gauge—clear, not optimistic—and the FilterSense reminder is useful if you tend to forget maintenance. The jack‑plug charger connects directly to the unit; there’s no rapid charge dock. Expect about six hours for a full charge.

Build quality is mid‑range. The plastics don’t feel premium, but the major latches engage positively. The handle and canister connection has a little flex if you torque it, and while that never failed on me, I wouldn’t treat it roughly. The brush bar detaches easily for cleaning, which I appreciated after a few sessions with long hair and string.

Accessories and setup

Out of the box you get a practical kit: a 3‑in‑1 nozzle/crevice/upholstery tool, a 9‑inch pet crevice tool, a 5‑inch pet brush, an extension wand, and a 4‑foot hose that turns the handheld into a mini canister vac. That hose is the secret weapon—suddenly ceiling vents, light fixtures, and the top of door trim are reachable without gymnastics. The pet brush has firm rubberized bristles that work well on fabric without snagging threads. There’s also a scented tablet; I tried it once and removed it—some will love the freshened exhaust, others will prefer no fragrance.

Cleaning performance: hard floors and edges

On hard floors, this vacuum is at its best. Pickup of fine dust, crumbs, and grit is assertive on low and standard power, and the head seals well enough to pull debris from the seams in hardwood. Larger particles like cereal don’t snowplow; they get drawn up cleanly. Edge pickup along baseboards is decent but not perfect—I still needed the crevice tool in tight corners. The LED is genuinely helpful on wood; it reveals the stuff you thought you got but didn’t.

Cleaning performance: carpets and pet hair

Carpet performance is more nuanced. On low‑pile rugs, AUTOSENSE correctly bumps suction and the anti‑tangle rubber brush bar digs in without wrapping as quickly as a bristle bar would. For routine maintenance and surface hair, this is fine.

On my medium‑pile bedroom carpet and on a shaggy runner, I had to step up to max power to get satisfying pickup, and even then the head occasionally felt choked when confronted with embedded pet hair. The intake slot isn’t huge, and the airflow path is tighter than on a full‑size upright, so heavy shedding days left hair bridged inside the head, forcing me to pause and clear it. The “anti‑tangle” design does help—hair wraps less around the bar itself—but long strands can accumulate at the bar ends and around the bearings over time. If your home is all carpet or you’re battling thick, embedded hair in medium‑to‑high pile, expect to make multiple passes or reach for a corded backup for true deep cleaning.

Handheld and above‑floor work

As a handheld, the PowerSeries Pro is excellent. The removable canister balances well, the 4‑foot hose gives you reach without contortions, and the pet tools shine on upholstery, stairs, and car seats. The rubber pet brush pulled hair from my couch seams better than most mini motorized heads that rely solely on bristles, and it didn’t get snarled on throw blankets. Crumbs in kitchen drawers, dust on blinds, and cobwebs in corners were low effort jobs with the 3‑in‑1 tool.

Runtime, charging, and battery behavior

Black+Decker lists up to 60 minutes of runtime, but that’s with the canister only on low. With the powered floor head in play, my real‑world averages looked like this:
- Auto/standard on mixed floors: roughly 25–30 minutes
- Max power for carpet: 12–15 minutes
- Handheld with non‑motorized tools on low: 45–50 minutes

The battery indicator tracks these draw differences accurately, so you’re not surprised. Six hours to recharge is long by today’s standards. There’s no extra pack to swap, so if you drain it and still have more to do, you’re waiting until later. Planning sessions around the charge cycle makes this a better fit for daily touch‑ups than for marathon house‑wide cleans.

Dustbin, filtration, and maintenance

The bin capacity is generous for a stick, and the dust compactor lever is more than a gimmick. By tamping light debris down, I extended the time between empties during hard floor cleaning. Pet hair, however, is bulky—on hair‑heavy passes, the bin reached practical capacity sooner than the spec volume would suggest, and hair can bridge at the inlet. Emptying is straightforward and relatively clean, provided you don’t overpack the bin.

The filter is washable, and the reminder light nudges you before a power drop becomes noticeable. Rinse, air dry completely, and you’re back in business. Replacement filters are easy to source if you prefer to rotate (model CUASF10).

Noise and comfort

Noise is moderate on low and standard; on max, it’s loud enough that a conversation in the same room becomes shouty, but not out of line for cordless sticks. Vibration through the handle is minimal. Because the unit is top‑heavy, longer floor sessions on carpet can fatigue your wrist and forearm sooner than lighter competitors. For handheld tasks, balance is comfortable.

Reliability notes and warranty

Nothing failed during my test period. That said, the locking joints and the handle‑to‑canister interface deserve mindful treatment—click them into place fully and avoid leveraging the vacuum by the wand alone. The 2‑year limited warranty is welcome, and it’s one reason I’m comfortable with a convertible design that has a few more moving parts than a bare‑bones stick.

What I liked

• Strong hard‑floor pickup and useful headlight
• Versatile 2‑in‑1 design with an excellent hose/wand setup
• Pet tools that actually work on upholstery and stairs
• Simple, readable battery and filter indicators
• Dust compactor extends usable capacity with fine debris
• Easy brush‑bar removal and washable filter

What gave me pause

• Mixed carpet performance, especially with embedded pet hair
• Top‑heavy feel; heavier than many cordless sticks
• Long 6‑hour recharge and non‑swappable battery
• Intake can clog/bridge with long hair; frequent bin emptying on hairy days
• Edge cleaning and corners still need the crevice tool

The bottom line

The PowerSeries Pro is a practical, easy‑to‑live‑with cordless for homes with mostly hard floors, area rugs, and plenty of above‑floor cleaning needs. Its handheld mode and accessory set are standouts, and the automatic suction, indicators, and dust compactor add real convenience. Where it falls short is deep carpet cleaning and sustained, heavy pet‑hair pickup on thicker piles—places where airflow and head design matter most and where a corded upright still has an edge.

Recommendation: I recommend the PowerSeries Pro for small to mid‑size homes or apartments with predominantly hard surfaces, light‑to‑moderate carpeting, and pets that shed more on furniture than into high‑pile rugs. If your primary need is deep cleaning wall‑to‑wall carpet or tackling heavy, embedded pet hair in thicker piles, I would not recommend it as your only vacuum; pair it with a more powerful carpet‑focused machine or look for a cordless with stronger carpet extraction and a faster charging system.