The Best Home Vacuum Cleaner
The ideal home vacuum cleaner is a multi-functional tool that is simple to operate and use. The right model will also be light, quiet and efficient.
This model offers great suction for a low price. It also comes with an anti-hair wrap floorhead which is efficient as well as an odor neutralizing puck. It also has a large bin and is extremely easy to empty.
1. Power
A powerful vacuum cleaner will effectively manage household debris, making it easier to keep mess under control. If you're dealing with a heap of pet hair or a clogged kitchen drain, it must be able to suck up the mess with little effort. It should also capture fine dust and inhibit bacterial growth, for clean, healthy air quality. The ideal model will depend on your budget as well as your flooring type and size of your household. The most popular types include uprights, portable handhelds, lightweight sticks, and convenient robots.
The Black+Decker Flex Vac is a lightweight handheld vacuum that has an impressively high-quality performance. It is ideal for households with multiple pets or houses that are large. It also has an easy-to empty trash receptacle that will help avoid messy clean ups. The vacuum can be used to mop and allow users to finish two tasks at a time.
For households with lots of furniture, it's a good idea to think about a more robust full-size corded upright or canister vacuum. These models typically have more powerful motors and a floorhead with a motorized design to take on the toughest dirt and carpeting. These vacuums are also available in various powers to offer various suction strengths and a longer life battery. If anyone in your family suffers from allergies, it's a good idea you to pick a vacuum that has an HEPA filtering system.
2. Flexibility
The best vacuum cleaners are capable of tackling various tasks around the house, from dusting to deep-cleaning carpets. They're typically lightweight and easy to move around, and should also offer a range of attachments that will meet your requirements.
Look into a vacuum designed specifically to handle hair from pets if you own pets. These models typically have a separate power brush that sucks pet hair from the main floorhead, directing it into the dust container so that it doesn't block or get caught in the brush roll.
Some of our top-rated vacuums also have clever features that connect to your home's systems, or adapt to different flooring types and levels of dirt. This is particularly crucial for people suffering from allergies, since these features keep dust particles from getting recirculated in the air.
Vacuums can be pricey, but the best ones go on sale at least once a year during major events like Black Friday and Amazon's Prime Day. You can also find some great deals in the spring when sales are planned by retailers to coincide with the annual spring cleaning.
The life expectancy of a vacuum varies depending on the model and how you make use of it. However, the majority of our top picks have an average lifespan of eight years. If you want yours to outlast your other contenders, pick one that comes with a long-term guarantee.
3. Easy of Use
A vacuum cleaner should be easy to move and use, even for long cleaning sessions. This means a light, compact body, easy attachments and controls, as well as an ample bin that does not require frequent emptying. Many features make it easier of use, including motorized power nozzles that tackle carpets and rugs more effectively, a wide and tall floor head that can reach under furniture, a rotating nozzle for better corner cleaning, self-cleaning rollers and LED lighting that illuminates the way ahead.
Shark Stratos, for example is our top choice and was the simplest to maneuver. It also used the least amount of battery power in our tests. It also features automatic adjusting suction as well as it has a sleek LCD display with an indicator of battery power and the ability to switch between Auto, Eco and boost modes.
In auto vacuum , the Stratos picked up coffee grounds, kibbles, and flour easily. It also did a great job with flooring with low pile by removing the sand, rice and other debris with only a few passes. It also has a front-facing brushroll that is soft to catch tiny particles and prevent pet fur from spitting out and a rear brushroll that is hard and digs into carpeting.
Likewise, the budget-friendly Kenmore Elite sucks up wet spills and dirt from hard floors with the power of its dual brushroll design, yet it's light enough to be able to carry it up and down stairs as well as across a home without breaking a sweat. It's easier to care for than other upright models, too with a movable HEPA filter and a disposable dust bag that can be changed after filling up.
4. Versatility
The Levoit is a very versatile model that can handle most cleaning tasks. It lacks many of the features offered by higher-end models however, it does come with a number of key features that ensure it performs well for everyday use: it has multiple cleaning modes that alter suction power and battery run time (including Eco) as well as an 8-foot hose for reaching above floors, and a huge dust cup that is easy to empty.
Its brush roll is designed to collect and suck up hair without wrapping it around the bristles making it a perfect choice for households with pets who shed hair or even people who shed often. 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 took out sand, rice, and Cheerios.
The Miele Flex Vac is a multi-purpose cordless vacuum that has a powerful motor. It was particularly effective in sucking up pet hair and also removed larger particles like cereal, although it did struggle with more caked-on debris such as car dirt. It comes with a variety attachments including a motorized power-nozzle that can swiftly remove pet hair and dirt from upholstery.
5. Battery Life
A good home vacuum cleaner should run for at least one hour without needing to recharged. For a cordless model that's important because it allows you to tackle cleaning sessions without having to stop and start again.
Shark Stratos cordless vacuum is our top choice. It comes with an extended battery life as well as a powerful debris picker. The three cleaning modes it has - Eco, Auto and Boost - allow you to control the power level so that you can keep cleaning longer without taking too much of your battery. The vacuum features an elegant LCD display that lets you know whether there's a blockage or blockage, how long you've got left and the battery's status.
This model is perfect for families with pets as the no-tangle brushroll works well to remove pet hair. It is also very effective in tackling dust and dirt. However, it has a difficult time to pick up fine particles such as flour from hard flooring and cannot get coffee grounds from carpeting.
If you're looking to deal with wet spills as well then the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro is a great option. It is a bagged model with features such as an iLoop sensor which detects dirt, spills, stains and dirt. It also features self-cleaning, which dry out the brush roll. It also offers more effective edge cleaning that can reach corners and baseboards. The battery can last for 40 minutes - more than any other model we tried.
6. Ease of Cleaning
The top vacuum cleaners make it easy to clean up messes. The Levoit LVAC-200, for example is compact and lightweight however, it is incredibly powerful. In our tests, it took in everything from kibble and ground coffee to dog hair. The dual brushrolls snatch pet hair and other particles without spitting them out or wrapping them around the cleaner's head. This makes it less susceptible to blocking. Its motorized tool is able to pull pet hair embedded in upholstery, even in hard-to reach places.
Another standout is the Shark Stratos Cordless, which easily handled pet hair and other debris in our tests. The main floorhead is equipped with a soft brushroll designed to catch dust and other debris. The second floorhead that has bristles that are rigid, can penetrate deeper into carpeting to tackle more difficult messes. The dust cup is large and easy to empty.
If your home is carpeted, you should consider an upright or full-size vacuum that has a beater bar for deeper cleaning sessions. Choose a wet-dry vacuum cleaner that can handle both flooring and the mess caused by food or water. Examples include the Miele Cat & Dog, or the Henry Hoover. These machines can handle an array of household debris from small dust to large-scale messes. They may come with more advanced features than handhelds on this list.