While the dust brush attachment isn’t the best at picking up dust, that’s a minor drawback that is easy to forgive. This proven bagged model has great suction power and excels on bare floors and (most) area rugs. The Halo capsule X cordless vacuum boasts an impressive combination of power and lightness. Thanks to its carbon fibre construction, it weighs a mere 2.6kg, making manoeuvring a breeze.
We appreciated how all we needed to do was flick a switch to change the suction power and transition from hard floor to carpet. We did find it more effective on tile or concrete floor—it can scratch vinyl, so keep that in mind if you have vinyl flooring in your home. After we narrowed down some top picks, we brought them home to use with our furry companions for six months.
With one click, you release it directly into a bin and then fit another one. Each standard purchase of the vacuum comes with 26 Henry pods which are made of up to 65 percent recycled material and are carbon offset, so you can go through them relatively guilt-free. Shark’s Detect Pro Cordless Vacuum (£199) might better suit anyone who enjoys Shark’s technologies but wants something a little more lightweight. All in all the vacuum feels sturdy and, although I’ll have to report back on this front, feels like it will last a long time. We still rate the Vax Blade 4 (£159) highly, which is slightly lighter at 3.1kg and comes with an extra battery for double the run time.
She is an active member of the ASTM Committee on vacuum cleaners and chairman of the consumer information sub-committee. The short answer is that cordless vacuums run on batteries while most uprights need plugged in. Ever-improving tech means many models are now just as powerful as many uprights, but there are still some crucial differences. Numatic’s first ever cordless stick vacuum, the Henry Quick is a very powerful vacuum and cleans very well.
A corded vacuum offers an unlimited run time and is a good choice for whole-house cleaning. Pay attention to the length of the cord to minimize how often you’ll need to stop and switch outlets, though. For context, shark stick vacuum our best overall pick, the Shark NV360 Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe Upright Vacuum, has a 25-foot cord, and our best upright, the Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away Upright Vacuum, has a 30-foot cord.
Reach for the Shark Rocket Pro Cordless Stick Vacuum to clean up pet hair and so much more. The Shark pet vacuum works for up to 40 minutes on battery power and features a self-cleaning brush roll. The Dyson takes up less room, has a much longer battery life, has a wider array of attachments, has a substantially more powerful suction motor, and is easier to maneuver. However, the Shark has a higher-capacity dustbin and feels a little bit sturdier. Our best stick pick, the Shark WANDVAC with Self-Empty Base, has a self-cleaning brush roll that’s also detachable, so the vacuum can easily convert into a compact handheld tool.
If you want good power and long life from your robot or stick vacuum, you’ll likely have to spend at least $400 for a robot vacuum and at least $300 for a stick vacuum. For robot vacuums, our top value pick the Dreametech D10 Plus costs $400. The dropoff in performance for robot models under that price was significant. Stick vacuums are typically cheaper and you can find serviceable options in this category for around $150 to $200.
And until there’s a robot vacuum mop that works as well as the upright mop vacs, I’m quite happy to push mine around the house for a few minutes a few times a week. Because a mop vac effectively and efficiently mops a floor while also sucking up dirt and debris, it cuts cleaning time in half. So if you have a substantial amount of flooring not covered by carpet, and you would like to spend less time cleaning those floors, a mop vac is for you.
Just like in robot tests, the width of the test bed is proportional to the vacuum’s nozzle width. We also use nozzle width, plus the flooring type, to calculate the soil density for each test, per IEC guidelines. Despite having come down in cost since their inception, quality robot vacuums tend shark stick vacuum to be far pricier than their stick and upright cousins. Our top-rated budget robot vacuum is $400, but most good bot vacs will cost you $500 or more, and some as much as $1,000 or more. These premium models often include a wet-mop feature, intelligent home mapping and powerful suction.
Two models didn’t make the cut, but the three that did offer show-stopping performance and dust busting abilities that wowed. The large, square cleaner head has a brush roll that effectively lifts and removes small and large debris, passing all of our cleaning tests with flying colors. From whole Cheerios to fine flour, the vacuum cleaned up the particles quickly and worked well with pet hair.