And if you’re a pet owner with allergies, this vacuum is definitely for you. The Rocket Pet Pro’s sealed system, with a HEPA filter, means that small, airborne debris are filtered and trapped inside the vacuum. The cleaning bissell crosswave cordless head also has lights on it, making it easy to see (and therefore clean) dust, pet hair, and other debris that you’d otherwise miss. Even if you don’t love cleaning, your vacuum should make you hate cleaning less.
Notably, battery life from the 20V Max XR Lithium Ion was not as impressive as the Milwaukee M18’s, but it was still good enough for a comfortable second in our testing. Due to its design, the small intake channel gets clogged with large particles quite easily as they try to get around the filter. Be prepared to empty it a few times if you’re tackling big chunks. Despite its relatively short battery life and high-pitched whine, the trusty Dustbuster really aced our floor-mat test. Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails.
We then started through the same rotation a second time and noted when each vacuum died. For both Sharks and the Dyson v10, we ran them on the low setting on the hardwoods and low pile carpet and the next highest setting on the medium pile carpet. The Dyson v11 has an auto sense feature that detects the type of surface it cleans and increases or decreases the suction accordingly so no toggling to different settings was needed. In our tests, which consisted of carpets, hard wooden floors and some high piled rugs you were able to clean the whole house on a single charge, but there wasn’t much battery left after a single pass.
(We should know!) Our showroom floors are a testament to how often we test different vacuums. In today’s day and age, it’s no longer necessary to wrestle with a long cord or change outlets as you move around your home. Because of this, we’ve observed an outsized demand on best cordless vacuums, rather than a traditional upright or canister vacuum. What should you not do if you want an under $400 cordless vacuum? Don’t buy one of the “bargain priced” older Dyson vacuums such as the v7 or v8 (the lower the “v” number, the older the Dyson model). You can often find the Dyson v7 and v8 for under $400 but honestly their suction is crappy.
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So it’s no surprise that it finds itself at the top of this list as well. A powerful, ultra-lightweight cordless hand vacuum for carpet, upholstery, bare floor cleaning, and more. Includes rechargeable 15.6V battery and a rubberized hand grip for comfortable handling. Use the Motorized Pet Brush to pick up embedded pet shark cordless hair, and then store the vacuum on the convenient wall mount. However, the Shark vacuum does feature a flexible wand that is a real game changer for reaching under furniture. You can stop ignoring the dust bunnies under your sofa because Shark designed this vac with a hinge that gives the floor head greater reach.
The swappable battery sits in this section, too, with three LEDs that indicate the remaining power. The last time we updated our list of the best cordless vacuums, we pointed to the Tineco A11 Hero as an outstanding midrange option. Now, in 2023, it’s available for $260 or less, if you catch it on sale (we’ve seen it fall below $200 pretty regularly in recent months). That makes it more of a value pick — and as value picks go, it’s one of your best options.
Her writing has been published in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Women’s Health, Refinery29, and others. She currently splits her time between New York City and Washington, dyson robot vacuum D.C. Follow Mekita on Instagram, where you’ll typically find a mix of her snapshots from fashion week and various editor travels. If not, you’ll need to purchase an M18 battery and charger separately.