And weighing in at just 3 pounds, this vacuum is super compact, making it ideal for those with arthritis or other mobility issues. All the cordless vacuums we’ve tried have been strong enough to suck up small crumbs and tufts of hair off bare floors, at least when they’re new. But we don’t know which ones will continue to perform well irobot vacuum cleaner over time. Most models in the range of $150 haven’t been out long enough for us to know one way or the other, and those that have been out for a while don’t have as good of a track record as the Linx did. At the GHI, we put 52 stick vacuums to the test to find the best for tackling pet hair, cars, carpets, hard floors and more.
If you determine that you received an item you did not order, please return your product to the nearest BJ’s Club location or initiate a return online (see “Returning an Item” above for instructions). Replaced Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV with Shark Cordless Vertex Pro Powered Lift-Away as ‘Best Shark Vacuum For Carpet’ pick. Article restructuring to better align with user expectations. Recategorized Shark Cordless Vertex Pro Powered Lift-Away as ‘Best Shark Vacuum’ pick.
Using different suction settings (when they’re available), we test how each vacuum performs on all types of rugs with several kinds of debris. The main tests we run measure performance on both a loose, low-pile rug and a dense, plush, medium-pile rug by weighing how much of a 45-gram mixed batch of sand and baking soda each vacuum can pick up. Battery life is hard to measure on this, as, in CleanSense mode, power fluctuates. To get an idea, I vacuumed continuously around my office, which hadn’t been cleaned in over a week.
It must be something about the cleaning head, which felt like it gripped the floor in a way that’s uncommon among cordless vacuums—and totally unique at this price. The downside is that the Black+Decker works just okay on bare floors, where it struggles with debris that’s very heavy or very light . But the Black+Decker is also one of the minority of stick vacs that let you shut off the brush roll so that it doesn’t scatter hard debris like cat litter. It also has a headlight, which is always helpful for spotting fine debris, though this lamp isn’t very bright.
They are the perfect gadget to clean small spaces and spills, compact enough to store in a pantry or coat closet, and reach areas that larger vacuums can’t. Whether you want one to use in your car, on stairs, or in the kitchen, handheld vacuums work well as an addition to regular vacuum cleanings or on their own, depending on the task. This model has a long track record of okay reliability, but its suction is weak. One of the most common complaints from owners is that it tends to get jammed with fur . The Shark Freestyle doesn’t work very well on rugs at all, but at least it doesn’t snowplow on bare floors as badly as the Black+Decker Powerseries Extreme or Hoover OnePwr Evolve. Some variants of the Dyson V7 and V8 also come with the soft-roller cleaning head, which is excellent for cleaning all types of debris off bare floors.
The good news is that as of 2021 plenty of models have better weight distribution and standard toggle-type power switches. You can now buy a great cordless machine that’s relatively comfortable to handle, like the Tineco Pure One S11, if that’s your priority. Based on how well this vacuum cleans, that amount of time is more than enough to clean an average-sized house, and you wouldn’t need a plug-in cleaner.