DuoClean also makes it easy to clean up large and small particles — even fine dust. All in all, the vac turned out to be a great cleaning partner that never quits on you because it’s not powered by a battery. It was able to easily pick up all of the debris on a low-pile carpet, but we docked a bit off its effectiveness score for slightly struggling on a high-pile rug and not easily navigating the hardwood floor. Notably, at nearly 4 feet, this vacuum is much taller than expected. Because it doesn’t stand up on its own, either, you’ll have to lean it against your furniture or gently rest it on the floor if you need to pause your vacuuming session.
If you have any carpeting like that, and you want to clean it thoroughly, your best bet is to get a vacuum with an adjustable cleaning head—one that can rise or fall with the carpet height. Any decent vacuum can clean up pet hair, so don’t fret about this. After a fresh round of testing handheld vacuums, we now recommend the Ryobi 18V One+ Performance Hand Vacuum Kit and the Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean+ HHVK515JP07. It removed over 95 per cent of dust from short pile carpet and on long pile it lifted substantially more than we had laid. From Dyson and Samsung to Tineco and Shark, here are the top models that cleaned up in our tests. Despite its inexpensive price tag, it also picks up pet hair very well.
You can set a schedule for this robot to run regularly in your home and it will automatically return to the base once the cleaning session is complete. We were disappointed to learn that this robot only self-empties when in vacuum mode, so we did manually empty it after using it in mop mode (a favorite feature among our team). One of the main appeals of this vacuum is its Matrix Clean technology, which moves across floors in a grid pattern, effectively passing every spot multiple times so no debris is left behind.
It also runs for less than 10 minutes at a time, taking 2.5 hours to fully recharge between jobs. Ultimately, this machine is ideal for small, quick clean-ups that require a decent amount of power and/or anyone who’s short on storage space. This is the easiest task for a vacuum cleaner, and you don’t need anything special.
Those of us who have shared a household with fur-shedding animals know their hair can be extremely stubborn to remove, especially from furniture, rugs, and clothes. Those pesky little hairs seem to pop up even when you swear you cleaned that spot multiple times (WHERE does it all come from??). As such, you’re def gonna need a vacuum that’s (a) a convenient size to carry and stow, (b) packing plenty of suction strength, and (c) workable with your budget. The Shark CH951 is a general-purpose hand vacuum, but its design seems ideal for cleaning staircases. That’s because it’s lightweight at under 3 pounds and it has an easy-grip shape that’s comfortable to hold as you make your ascent.
The Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFins Cordless Stick Vacuum was the clear winner in our search for the best Shark vacuum—and best vacuum in general. Although we recently tested the bissell crosswave cordless Pro with Clean Sense IQ, the newest model in this specific line, it did not compare in suction capability or ease of use to the older PowerFins model. The Shark Vertex PowerFins Vacuum features powerful suction on all surfaces, a storage-friendly handle, and generally quiet operation. As we discovered in The Lab, it has the power you need to leave your carpets deeply clean and your hardwood floors sparkling. This model earned a perfect rating for its effectiveness and didn’t cause any debris to scatter in the process.
We recommend a few different types of vacuums that usually cost about $150, including an excellent bagless upright vacuum, a decent cordless vacuum, and a basic (but good!) robot vacuum. Some simple but effective robot models are about the same price as good traditional vacuums. Meanwhile, higher-end models add advanced features like smart-mapping, targeted area- or room-specific cleaning, or even a self-emptying dock. This reliable, effective, easy-to-use, and reasonably priced bagless upright vacuum cleaner will work well for most people in most homes.
This feature is especially handy when you need to clean hard-to-reach areas on the floor, like under furniture. And since this vacuum bends, it can also collapse when you need to store it. In addition, the ION F80 can snap and transform into a handheld vacuum, which helps you to vacuum hard-to-reach or small spaces.
Safety with batteries is imperative and we encourage all customers buy only genuine Dyson batteries as replacements for their Dyson machines. One note we had is that small bits of dirt and other debris sprinkled out the bottom when we powered off the vacuum. This seemed to be due to some sort of issue with the seal around the dirt-chamber-release door on the bottom. Again, it’s usable for small touch-up messes on your dashboard or seats but not much else in a vehicle. While it’s fun to point and make pew-pew noises, the Ultralight proved to be heavy on the wrist, as all of the weight is in front of the hand. At 25 feet, the cord is plenty long, but yanking it all over the car as you work gets old quickly.