The Best Home Vacuum Cleaner
The ideal vacuum cleaner for the home is a multi-functional and easy-to-use tool. The ideal model will be quiet, light and efficient.
This model offers excellent suction at a low cost, with an effective anti-hair wrap floorhead and an odor neutralizing puck. It also comes with a huge bin that is easy to empty.
1. Power
A powerful vacuum cleaner will efficiently handle household debris, making it easier to keep mess under control. If you're dealing with a heap of pet hair or a blocked kitchen drain, it must be able to clean up the mess with minimal effort. It should also be able to remove dust particles and stop the growth of bacterial, for a clean, healthy air. The best model to meet your needs will depend on factors like the type of flooring, the size of your household and budget. The most popular types include uprights, portable handhelds lightweight sticks, and convenient robots.
The Black+Decker Flex Vac handheld vacuum is a lightweight device that delivers remarkable power. It is perfect for households that have multiple pets or large houses. It also has an easy-to empty debris receptacle to prevent messy cleanups. The vacuum can even be used to mop, allowing users to complete two tasks at once.
For vacuum robot with lots of furniture it's a good idea think about a more robust full-size corded upright or canister vacuum. These models typically feature more powerful motors and a motorized floorhead to tackle the toughest dirt and carpeting. They are also available in various power modes that offer different suction capacities and a longer life battery. It's an excellent idea to search for the vacuum that has an HEPA filter if someone in your home suffers from allergies.
2. Flexibility
The best vacuum cleaners are able to tackle a range of chores in your home that range from quick dusting, to deep cleaning carpets. They are usually lightweight and easy to move. They should also have various attachments that suit your needs.
Consider a vacuum designed to handle hair from pets if you have pets. These vacuums typically have an exclusive brush that takes hairs from the floorhead and then directs it to the dust container so it does not block the brush roll or wrap around it.
Some of our top-rated vacuums also have clever features that connect to your home's systems or adjust to different flooring types and levels of dirt. This is especially important for those with allergies, as these features stop dust particles from circulating back in the air.
Vacuums can be a bit expensive, but the most effective ones are available for sale several times per year during major events like Black Friday and Amazon's Prime Day. There are also great deals in the spring when retailers schedule sales to coincide with customers' annual spring cleaning.
The lifespan of a vacuum varies, depending on its model and the type of use it is put through. Most of our top-rated vacuums last on average eight years. If you want to make sure yours will outlast the competition, look for one with an extended warranty.
3. Simple to use
A vacuum cleaner must be easy to use and maneuver, even during a long cleaning session. A lightweight, compact vacuum cleaner with easy controls attachments, as well as a large, non-emptying bin are all essential. This convenience is made possible by many features, such as motorized power heads that can clean carpets and rugs, a large and tall floor head that can reach under furniture and a rotating nozzle to clean corners and LED lights that illuminate the path.
For instance our top pick in this category, the Shark Stratos cordless vacuum, was a breeze to maneuver and utilized the least amount of battery power during our testing. It also features automatic suction adjustment as well as it has a sleek LCD screen with a battery indication, and the ability for users to switch between Auto Eco and Boost modes.
In our tests, the Stratos sucked up kibbles, coffee grounds and flour with ease. It also did a great job with flooring with low pile, removing sand, rice, and other particles with just a few passes. It also has a soft front brushroll to capture tiny particles and prevent pet hair from spitting out and a rigid rear brushroll that sinks into carpeting.
The budget-friendly Kenmore Elite also has a dual brushroll design that picks up wet spills and messes from hard surfaces. It is lightweight enough to be able to be carried to and from the stairs and even across the house without breaking a sweat. It's also easier to maintain than upright models, with the HEPA filter that's easily removable, as well as dust bags that can be changed when it's fully stuffed.
4. Versatility
The Levoit is a highly versatile model, able of handling most cleaning tasks. It might not come with all the features of higher-priced models, but its essential features ensure that it is an ideal choice for daily use. It has an 8-foot hose that can reach above floors, and a large dust container that's easy to empty.
Its brush roll is designed for capturing and sucking up hair without wrapping bristles around it making it a good choice for households with hairy pets or people who shed a lot. Its performance during standardized tests showed that it could take on a variety of debris, including carpets with low piles and hard floors. It also removed rice, sand and Cheerios.
The Miele Flex Vac is a multi-purpose cordless vacuum that has a powerful motor. It was particularly effective in sucking pet hair and also removing larger particles such as cereal. However, it struggled with more caked-on debris like car dust. It also comes with a broad variety of attachments, such as an electric power nozzle that makes short work of dirt and pet hair on upholstery.
5. Battery Life
A good home vacuum cleaner should run for at least an hour without having to recharged. This is crucial for cordless models because it allows you to clean without having to stop.
Shark Stratos cordless vacuum is our top pick. It has an extended battery life and a powerful debris pickup. The three cleaning modes it has - Eco, Auto and Boost assist in regulating the power level so you can continue cleaning longer without running out of battery. The vacuum has a sleek LCD screen that shows the battery's status and the amount of time remaining, and if there is a clog.
This model is an excellent option for families with pets that shed hair, since its brushroll is non-tangle and is very effective in getting rid of pet hair. It also is very effective in tackling dirt and dust. However, it has a difficult time to remove fine particles such as flour from flooring that is hard and cannot get coffee grounds from carpeting.
Tineco Floor One S7 Pro can also handle spills that are wet. This is a bagged model with features such as an iLoop sensor that can detect dirt, spills, stains and dirt. It also features self-cleaning, which dry out the brush roll. It also offers superior edge cleaning that allows you to get to the corners and baseboards. The battery can last for 40 minutes, which is more than any other model that we tried.
6. Ease of Cleaning
The best vacuums make cleaning up mess a breeze. The Levoit LVAC-200 is a lightweight compact vacuum cleaner that's also powerful. It was able to take in everything from ground coffee to kibble and dog hair in our standardized tests. Its dual brushroll design catches pet hair and other large debris, without spitting it out or wrapping it around the cleaner head which helps keep it clear of obstructions. The motorized tool can be used to remove embedded pet hair even from areas that are difficult to reach.
The Shark Stratos Cordless is another outstanding model, since it was able to handle pet hair and large debris easily in our standard tests. The main floorhead features a soft front brushroll, which captures fine dust and debris, while the second floorhead with stiff bristles penetrates deeper into carpeting to catch larger messes. The dust cup is large and easy to empty.
If your house is carpeted, you should consider an upright or full-size vacuum that has beater bar for longer cleaning sessions. Choose a wet-dry vacuum cleaner that is able to handle floors and messes caused by water or food. Examples include the Miele Cat & Dog or the Henry Hoover. These machines can handle a variety of household debris, from small crumbs to larger messes, and may have more advanced features than the handhelds listed in this list.