The Best Home Vacuum Cleaner
The best vacuum cleaner for the home is a multi-functional, user-friendly tool. The right model will also be quiet, light and efficient.
This model offers great suction for a very low cost. It also has an anti-hair wrap floorhead which is efficient as well as an in-built odor neutralizing puck. It also boasts a large bin that is easy to empty.
1. Power
A powerful vacuum cleaner can efficiently handle household debris, making it simple to keep mess under control. No matter if you have a pile of pet hair or a clogged kitchen drain, it must be able to clean up the mess with little effort. It should also collect fine dust and inhibit the growth of bacteria, ensuring clean, healthy air quality. The best model is determined by your budget as well as the floor type and household size. The most popular types are uprights, portable handheld vacuums light sticks, and practical robots.
The Black+Decker Flex Vac is a hand-held vacuum that is lightweight and has an impressively strong performance. It is ideal for families with pets that are multiple or houses that are large. It also features an easy-to-empty debris receptacle that prevents messy cleanups. The vacuum can also be used as a mop in order to allow users to complete two jobs at the same time.
For households that have a lot of furniture it's a good idea to consider a more robust full-size corded upright or canister vacuum. These models typically have stronger motors and a motorized floorhead to tackle the toughest dirt and carpeting. They're also available with different power modes to provide different suction and longer battery life. It's recommended to choose an appliance with an HEPA filter if someone in your home suffers from allergies.
2. Flexibility
The best vacuum cleaners can tackle a range of tasks in your home from quick dusting to deep cleaning carpets. They're usually lightweight which makes them effortless to maneuver. They will also come with a variety of attachments to suit your requirements.
If you have pets, consider a vacuum designed to handle hair from pets. They usually come with a brush specifically designed to remove hairs from the floorhead and redirects it into the dust container so it does not clog the brush roll or wrap around it.
The 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 especially crucial for people suffering from allergies, as these features stop dust particles from getting recirculated in the air.
Vacuums can be a bit pricey, but the best ones go on sale at least once a year during major events, such as Black Friday and Amazon's Prime Day. There are also great discounts in spring when retailers schedule sales to coincide with the annual spring cleaning.
The life expectancy of a vacuum can be different, depending on its model and the type of use it is put through. However, the majority of our top-rated picks last an average of eight years. If you're looking to outlast the competitors, select a model with an extended guarantee.
3. User-Friendliness
A vacuum cleaner should be simple to operate and use, even during long cleaning sessions. This includes a lightweight, compact body, convenient attachments and controls, as well as a large bin that does not require frequent emptying. This user-friendly design is made possible by many options, including motorized power heads that clean carpets and rugs with a tall and wide floor head to reach under furniture and a rotating nozzle for corner cleaning, and LED lights which illuminate the walkway.
Shark Stratos, for example, is our top pick and was the simplest to move around. It also utilized the least amount of battery power in our tests. It also features an automatic adjustment of suction, a sleek LCD display that has an indicator for the battery and the ability to switch between Auto, Eco and boost modes.
The Stratos also sucked up kibble, ground coffee and flour with ease in our tests. It handled low-pile carpet well, removing the sand and rice in only a few passes. It also has a front-facing brushroll which is soft to hold small particles and stop pet fur from spilling out and a rear roll which is rigid and digs into carpeting.
The budget-friendly Kenmore Elite also has a dual brushroll design that can pick up wet spills and messes from hard surfaces. It's light enough to carry up and down stairs, and across the home, without breaking the sweat. It's also easier to maintain than most upright models, with an HEPA filter that is easily removed and a dust bag that can be changed when it's fully stuffed.
4. Versatility
The Levoit is a versatile model that can handle a variety of cleaning tasks. It might not come with all the features of higher-priced models, but its key features ensure that it is an excellent choice for everyday 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 to collect and suck up hair without wrapping it around the bristles which makes it a great option for households with pets who shed hair or even humans who shed a lot. Its performance during standardized tests proved that it was able to take on a variety of debris, including carpet with low pile and hard floors. It even removed sand, rice and Cheerios.
The Miele Flex Vac is a versatile cordless vacuum that boasts impressive power. It was particularly effective at sucking up pet hair and also removing larger particles such as cereal. However, it had trouble with more caked-on debris like car dust. It has a variety of attachments like a motorized power-nozzle which can quickly remove dirt and pet hair from upholstery.
5. top robot vacuum should run for at least an hour without needing to recharged. This is important for cordless models, as it allows you to clean without having to stop.
Our top pick is the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum, offers a lengthy battery life and impressive debris removal. The three cleaning modes - Eco, Auto and boost, allow you to control the power to allow you to clean for longer without draining the battery too quickly. The vacuum comes with an elegant LCD display that displays if there's a clog or blockage, how long you've got left and the status of your battery.
This model is a great option for families with hairy pets, as its brushroll is non-tangle and does an excellent job of picking up pet hair. It's also very effective at cleaning dirt and dust, although it struggled to pick up fine particles such as flour from hard floors, and could not remove coffee grounds from carpeting.
If you want to tackle wet spills as well it is the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro is a great choice. This is a bagged model that has features like an iLoop sensor that can detect spills, dirt, and stains. It also has self-cleaning which dries out the brush roll. It also provides more effective edge cleaning that can reach the corners and baseboards. The battery lasts for 40 minutes - longer than any other model that we test.
6. Cleaning is a breeze
The most effective vacuums make cleaning up spills easy. The Levoit LVAC-200 for instance is compact and lightweight however, it is incredibly powerful. In our tests, it took in everything from kibble and ground coffee to dog hair. Its dual brushrolls catch pet hair as well as other large particles without spitting them out or wrapping them around the cleaner head. This helps it avoid blocking. The motorized tool is able to remove embedded pet hair even from areas that are difficult to reach.
Another standout is the Shark Stratos Cordless, which easily dealt with pet hair and other large debris in our tests. The main floorhead is a soft front brushroll, which captures small particles and dust, while the secondary floorhead with hard bristles is able to penetrate deeper into carpeting for tougher mess. And the dust cup holds plenty, and is easy to empty.
If your home is carpeted, you should consider a full-size canister or upright vacuum that comes with beater bars for more thorough cleaning sessions. Select a vacuum cleaner that is wet dry that can handle both floors and messes resulting from food or water. Examples include the Miele Cat and Dog or the Henry Hoover. These vacuums can handle a wide range of household debris, from tiny dust to large-scale messes. They might come with more advanced features than the handhelds listed on this list.