Many of us have the memory of having to lug a 30+ lb vacuum cleaner around and still having to work around the power cord. Thank goodness for cordless vacuums! But with so many brands and features available, how do you know which cordless vacuum cleaner is worth the money?
Below, we’ll take a look at a few of the highest-rated cordless vacuum cleaners to help you determine which is the best fit for you and your home.
How to Choose the Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
With battery technology becoming more powerful and available, cordless vacuum cleaners have entered the fray of the vacuum market. These devices are light, powerful, quiet, and easily capable of cleaning all manner of flooring and home surfaces. They make reaching above your shoulder to clean corners and drapes much easier than traditional upright and canister vacuums.
While shopping for a new vacuum for your home or apartment, there are a few things to consider when purchasing one of these cordless vacuum cleaners:
- What is the size of your home? Not all cordless vacuum cleaners have the same amount of runtime, and nothing can be more frustrating than to have your vacuum die and then have to wait hours to finish cleaning.
- Do you have pets? There are specific challenges that come with having to clean up after pet hair and dander. You will need a model with both a powerful vacuum and battery to ensure that you get a deep clean.
- What type of flooring do you need to vacuum? Different types of flooring have different requirements from their vacuum. For instance, if you live in a home with all hard flooring, getting a vacuum cleaner model designed for thick carpeting would be overkill, as well as potentially damaging to your flooring.
Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Overall
The convenience of a handheld vacuum cleaner simply can’t be beaten. Whenever small messes or spills occur, handheld vacuum cleaners beat out their larger full-sized counterparts in ease-of-use, accessibility, and maneuverability. With battery technology incorporated into the handheld form factor, these vacuum cleaners have gotten even better.
When it comes to cleaning out your car or cleaning a mess under a couch or low table, the utility of these vacuum cleaners really begins to show. The use of these cordless and battery-operated handheld models really shines when trying to access corners or tight spaces to clean, such as cup holders or the crevices of a couch.
These small handheld vacuums can run anywhere from 10 to over 30 minutes on a single charge. With vacuum technology improving, a handheld vacuum can be a powerful cleaning tool in the ongoing conflict against untidiness.
Black+Decker Dustbuster Chv1410L
The Black+Decker Dustbuster CHV1410L is a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner that manages to impress all those who purchase it. This bad little dude gets rave reviews from multiple sites. With Black+Decker having made the Dustbuster model for 40 years now, you can expect that their engineers have tinkered with the little handheld vacuum to reach its maximum efficiency.
- This handheld vacuum cleaner boasts a lot of vacuum power for such a small device. While it doesn’t come with attachments, it does have built-in tools for getting into crevices, as well as a brush for working with upholstery and low pile carpeting.
- The lithium-ion battery charges incredibly fast, ensuring that even after a short 4-hour charge that the Dustbuster will be ready for work.
- The cleaning head of this model sits on a swivel, ensuring that the user always has a comfortable hand position when cleaning.
- In this model, the dust collection bin comes with a washable filter that captures the dust from being exiting via the exhaust, while the bin itself is translucent and easily emptied.
The Black+Decker Dustbuster CHV1410L is affordable and hovers around$50; check current Amazon prices here.
Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for Hardwood Floors
Cleaning hardwood floors with a traditional vacuum used to be notoriously difficult. Often a vacuum would simply spread the debris around instead of cleaning. Resorting to a broom and mop was the only way to ensure a hardwood floor’s thorough cleaning.
With vacuum cleaners improving their battery technology and features every year, finding a model to clean the hardwood floors of a house has become increasingly easy. Models that are available today have a smaller size, lighter weight, and have a much higher suction power.
When using a vacuum cleaner for bare floors like hardwood, it is important to have a model that allows you to turn off or remove the brush in the vacuum’s powerhead. This feature will prevent the scattering of debris and dust and avoid scuffing up the floors.
Some vacuum cleaners are designed specifically to tackle the challenges provided by hardwood flooring by incorporating engineered heads to enhance suction. Some of these vacuum models also have incorporated sensors in the model to minimalize the effort required by the user to prevent damage to your floors or to keep a powerful model from throwing debris around.
Dyson V8 Absolute
The Dyson V8 Absolute is a model that is engineered to tackle hardwood floors with ease.
- This vacuum cleaner has a unique woven nylon and carbon fiber brush that is very soft and runs no risk of ruining a hardwood floor’s finish.
- This brush is also anti-static by its design, meaning that dust and debris will not stick to it.
- The Dyson V8 has a wall-mountable docking station that stores and recharges the vacuum for use whenever it is needed.
- The V8 Absolute has two modes of operation, Powerful and Max; in Powerful mode, the vacuum has a runtime of 40 minutes, more than long enough to clean most hardwood rooms. In Max mode, the vacuum runtime is 25 minutes, so the battery usage depends on the settings.
- The additional benefits of the Dyson V8 device allow the vacuum to be easily converted into a handheld device to get to hard-to-reach places. The model weighs in at 6lbs, making it easy to clean in high places such as the corners of a room.
- The V8 has a filtration system that exhausts air that is certified allergy-friendly, meaning the V8 expels air that is cleaner than what you breathe.
The additional attachments provided for the Dyson V8 with the vacuum allow the model to easily and quickly switch between different surfaces and clean into crevices. The debris is collected in a bin that is easily emptied by holding it over a trash receptacle and pressing a button, which releases the bottom of the bin and the trash.
The price of the Dyson V8 Absolute is about $300 to $500 or so on Amazon for a used model (although sometimes there are steep discounts offered), and considering what the features and power of this small vacuum have, it is set to be well worth the price. This Dyson model will ensure that your floors will be kept clean of dust and debris for years to come and never run the risk of scuffing the finish.
Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for Pet Hair
Anyone who has pets knows the pain of having to vacuum practically every day, especially with long-haired dogs. There is nothing quite like watching a tumbleweed-like ball of fur roll across the living before realizing that it is time to pull out the vacuum and get to cleaning.
Aside from just the shedding, there are all other sorts of messes pets can make, from your average puppy having an accident to a cat staring you in the face while it knocks your drink off the counter. Pets have been known to give children a run for their money when it comes to turning a home into a disaster area.
The problems caused by pet hair are particularly difficult for vacuum cleaners to tackle—the hair itself, particularly because it gets lodged, or rather woven, into furniture. To make matters worse, this hair is statically charged, further reinforcing its grip on your carpet or furniture.
Fortunately, there are vacuum cleaners that are engineered to tackle such problems. These, like many of the vacuums on this list, have been specially designed to address the kinds of messes that pets can make, including that fur tumbleweed I mentioned earlier.
Dyson V11 Animal Cordless Vacuum
The Dyson V11 Animal Cordless Vacuum is one such engineered machine. Dyson is known for its premium vacuum cleaners, and the Animal is no different. This vacuum boasts many features and incredibly powerful suction for a cordless model, with a powerful battery, whether you are cleaning pet hair and dander from hard floors or carpet with high pile.
- The head of this vacuum is a Dyson motorized high torque head, meaning that with the degree of torque this head produces, it has no issues loosening the hair and dander. Coupled with a seal created with the floor and rubber inserts along the underside of the cleaning head, the suction created by its powerful motor is more than enough to clean even deep carpets.
- Another feature of this vacuum cleaner’s cleaning head is its electronic sensing system. Patented as Dyson’s Dynamic Load Sensor, the sensor can detect what kind of surface you are cleaning, which determines the torque produced by the cleaning head. This keeps the vacuum from throwing debris all over a hard surface floor or damaging a hardwood finish.
- Since pet dander and hair are the number one cause of allergies for many folks, and nothing is worse or more embarrassing than having a home that your friends can’t visit because of their allergies, this device contains a HEPA graded filter. It is so effective that it manages to capture particles as fine as .3 microns, up to 99.97% of them.
- The Dyson vacuum cleaner has three modes, Eco, Auto, and Boost, and each of these settings can be monitored and changed by the LCD screen integrated into the handle. With Eco-mode giving the device approximately 60 minutes of runtime, the amount of power and time left of the battery is indicated on the handle and the modes of operation.
To put that dust capturing ability into perspective, a red blood cell is the equivalent of 5-6 microns on average, whereas a skin cell can be around 25-30 microns in diameter. Talk about clean air; that’s a Dyson product for you. The dust collector on this device is a simple point and shoot time system; simply remove the suction tube and head, place it in your trash receptacle and pull the release trigger.
The Dyson V11 Animal Vacuum comes with your typical Dyson price tag, $599.99, but being a premium vacuum loaded with additional functionality, it is well worth the price.
Best Cordless Robotic Vacuum
One of the boons of the increasing technology available in the vacuum cleaner industry is the incorporation of automated features. Robotic vacuum cleaners are great for those who simply just don’t like to vacuum. This once weekly or daily chore is now relegated to a robotic assistant that cleans and sweeps for you.
These robotic vacuum cleaners can be set to vacuum regularly, easily managing this task, and its schedule can even be set from your phone no matter where you are.
While these cleaning assistants may not be as effective as more traditional vacuums for carpets or cleaning upholstery, when coupled with a handheld vacuum like the Black+Decker Dustbuster CH1410L, most people would be able to keep their home clean with minimal effort. And, while they may not be the best for high pile carpets, they do clean the best under and around furniture due to their form factor.
Needing to move your furniture around every week to ensure a deep clean is a thing of the past with a robotic vacuum cleaner. Also, most of these devices charge themselves, and while they also need to have their collection bin emptied often, they can alert you to when this needs to be done.
iRobot Roomba 690
The iRobot Roomba 690 is one of the best robotic vacuum cleaners. Everything about this vacuum cleaner screams smart.
- It has wi-fi capabilities with an accompanying application that allows you to control the vacuum cleaner from your phone.
- The Roomba 690 has a smart navigation and mapping system that not only learns your home but plots and map and can show you what it has cleaned.
- The Roomba 690 has three separate brushes that all work together to provide maximum cleaning over multiple types of surfaces. The edge cleaning brush is specially designed for the vacuum to sweep loose debris into the remaining two brushes’ paths. They work to loosen debris and dirt from the floor and direct it toward the vacuum itself.
- With the suite of sensors onboard the robot, it can make its own decisions, differentiating the model from vacuum cleaners in the past. This model can detect areas in higher need of cleaning and direct its cleaning towards these spots to ensure a deep clean across your home’s floors. Also, it won’t fall downstairs as it is aware of the distance underneath it.
- The smart little robot also returns to its own charging station whenever it notices that its battery is getting low on power, and if your floor isn’t clean by then, it will return to finish its job when it has reached enough charge.
The iRobot Roomba 690 is one of the pricier models offered by iRobot, at $348.99, but it is easily one of the best models for your money. It won’t necessarily break your bank like other robot vacuums, and the time you get back from investing in it is ultimately priceless.
Just to put this out there for my fellow futurists, iRobot also produces another robot to handle mopping as well. Managing both time-consuming chores while at work is great; I must say, the extra time is a great trade-off.
Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for Multiple Types of Surfaces
The previous vacuums have been selected because each one tackled a very specific problem when it comes to vacuuming. But what if you have a more general cleaning issue, such as having a mixture of hardwood, hard surfaces, low and high pile carpets, and pets?
Shark ION MultiFLEX Cordless
The Shark ION F80 MultiFLEX Cordless Stick Vacuum with DuoClean is the answer to that question. This vacuum has all the necessary features and the longest runtime of all cordless vacuums on the market. So, no matter how stubborn that spot you are trying to clean is, or just how dug in all the pet hair can be, this vacuum has to ability and endurance to get the job done.
- The Shark ION F80 comes with a multipurpose cleaning head, making it adaptable for whether you need to clean a hard surface floor, rugs, or a carpet with a high pile. The multipurpose cleaning head has a soft brush for hardwood flooring and is coupled with a bristle brush roll to agitate the larger particles stuck in carpet or a rug.
- The head also has a flexible neck, allowing it to stretch underneath the furniture to clean those hard-to-reach places. It can also swivel to maintain a comfortable hand positioning.
- The head comes with LED headlights for you to see the debris in those not-so-well-lit areas of the home.
- The Shark ION is also capable of reducing the amount of pet dander and dirt that escapes back into the air by 99.99%, which benefits people with pets. With different modes of power settings, all at the control of your fingertips, there doesn’t seem to be a problem this Shark vacuum can’t tackle.
If you do happen to discover a cleaning problem in your home. Shark has a solution. There is a whole series of attachments available online that will help solve your problem. Even though this model has an 80-minute runtime and comes with an additional battery, you can easily purchase an additional one online if you really need it.
The Shark ION F80 MultiFLEX Cordless Stick Vacuum with DuoClean is $399.99and comes with a 5-year warranty. So as far as needing a multipurpose vacuum cleaner, this Shark vac should have all your needs covered in one fell swoop.
A Clean Home is a Happy Home
I have heard it said once that the home is often a reflection of the mind. I believe there may be a degree of truth to that since nothing feels quite as nice as coming home or waking up in a clean home. It is thoroughly energizing and invigorating to have a nice and clean, and squared away residence.
The cordless vacuum cleaners on this list are some of the most powerful, easy to use, and efficient models on the market. I have included vacuum cleaners from leading manufacturers such as Dyson, Shark, and Black+Decker to provide a well-rounded list. I hope that whatever your cleaning needs are, you have found something either intriguing or, better yet, a solution to your vacuuming needs.