Chances are, you probably don’t need a wet/dry vacuum every day. But if you want the option of cleaning up wet spills as well as dry (we’re looking at you, parents), the Dirt Devil QuickFlip Wet/Dry Hand Vacuum is an excellent choice. —and is cordless, so you can use it around your place with ease.
You can also count on standard features like ergonomic grips, a variety of speeds speeds and dust cups that are easy to dump out and reattach. “I have four animals and recently [moved] into a new house with all hardwood floors. This vacuum has been a game changer!” one reviewer wrote. “I can use the handheld for quick kitchen messes, use the stick vacuum for baseboards and corners, and vacuum the rug with one tool.” In our exclusive CR surveys, more than 40 percent of battery-powered stick vacs owned by our members developed problems with the battery within the first five years of ownership. Corded stick vacuums do not have this issue, which is why we give separate reliability ratings for cordless and corded stick vacuum brands. The Dyson V8 is better than nearly all other cordless vacuums (besides other Dysons) at deep-cleaning rugs.
For a mix of bare floors and rugs, the surest bet is to get a vacuum that lets you turn the brush roll on or off. An aggressive brush can scatter certain kinds of debris on bare floors, or even scratch certain types of flooring, so it’s helpful to be able to switch it off. Most plug-in vacuums (including the upright and canister models we recommend) have this option, though it’s less common among cordless vacuums. The best cordless stick vacuums are lightweight and maneuverable without sacrificing the cleaning power of a corded model (and without costing too much, either). We experimented with the three attachments when cleaning stairs and found the crevice tool to be the most helpful, as the other two attachments are really designed with upholstery and drapes in mind. While cleaning the stairs was a bit time-consuming, since we opted to use the extension hose, rather than the motor head, the vacuum’s suction was still plenty powerful through this alternative mode.
It comes with a charging base so you’ll need to sit it on a shelf or counter to charge and it tops off in under four hours. You don’t even have to limit yourself to models that have the words pet or animal in their names. That just means they come with a tool for getting pet hair off of upholstery, or (occasionally) that a vacuum’s brush roll won’t tangle easily. But plenty of vacuums with names that don’t include animal or pet have these features, too. But if you don’t want a bot, then any decent vacuum cleaner will work fine.
If you live in an apartment with a small dog or cat and you don’t have room to store a large upright vacuum, this convertible hand-and-stick vacuum from Shark is a great option. While we initially had a few issues when first testing this model, it did impress us with new technology like a self-emptying base and a self-cleaning brush roll. irobot vacuum cleaner The setup process is a little complicated for this model, as the individual vacuum pieces are not labeled, which makes the directions slightly confusing. However, we still managed to assemble this vacuum in just 10 minutes. When it came time for testing, our first two rounds of testing on carpet and hard flooring did not go smoothly.
We also tested cordless vacuums in a range of prices to see how much of a difference you can expect when you opt for a pricier model over a budget pick. How to clean a Shark vacuum
In order to keep your Shark vacuum running smoothly for years to come, you want to make sure to care for it appropriately. First, open and dump the dust bin to keep it from becoming too full. Although many of the newer models have self-cleaning brushrolls, you’ll want to keep an eye out for any long strands of hair that need to be removed from the cleaning head. Whenever you have time, we recommend placing the filter under running water. However, we do tend to prefer the Shark ION F80 because of its impressive battery life.
And rather than replacing an entire machine, you also have the option to replace things like blocked filters, jammed brush rolls, frayed hoses and broken accessories yourself. On an average, a well maintained handheld vacuum from a quality brand should last you a minimum of 6 years. You can use one of three different attachments, including a powerful motorized brush roll to really get into carpet and upholstery, making it a solid choice for pet owners in homes with at least two floors.
They’re lightweight, easy on the back and run on rechargeable batteries, meaning no more irksome plugging and unplugging as you move around the house. Sticks tend to come with a range of useful attachments, such as a crevice tool for awkward areas like cars, an upholstery tool for de-crumbing sofas and a motorised brush for collecting stubborn pet hair. Features vary between models; some have far more power than others, better attachments and, crucially, longer battery life.
In her spare time, you’ll find her planning her next trip, reading historical fiction, and seeing as much art as she can squeeze into a weekend. From tackling pet hair to cleaning your whole home, Dyson has a cordless vacuum for every need. Take our quick vacuum finder quiz to find the right one for you. According to the research firm Gap Intelligence, only about 1 in 4 stick vacuums on the market is a corded model and the rest—more than 100 models and counting—run on batteries. As their capabilities have increased, so has the toughness of our tests.
Our overall favorite vacuum, the Shark Navigator Lift-Away, had some of the best cleaning performance of all the vacuums we’ve tested. What we weren’t so enamored by was the noise – it’s one of the loudest vacuums we’ve tested, with our decibel meter registering 88db when using the vacuum on its most powerful setting on carpet. The vacuum cleaner also proved cumbersome to use in handheld mode, as a result of its weight. It made our arms ache when we cleaned up high, so we wouldn’t recommend using it in this way for very long periods. The Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner is certainly a powerful vacuum. During testing, it sucked up fine dust and larger debris on both carpet and hard floor with ease on all power settings.