Dyson introduced its Ball vacuums many years ago, and while the brand has mostly shifted its focus to cordless models, Dyson still has a few corded uprights in its line. Though we haven’t tested one in a while, the last time we did, it had great suction and pickup performance. The ball made it easy to maneuver, though a bit clunky to carry around and store. The Animal 3 is similar to the previous Animal 2 we tested and included in this story, but has a new de-tangling technology that works to remove hair from the brush as you vacuum. The sister model to our best cordless is this ultra-powerful Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum (AZ3000).
If you think you’ll be running your cleaner on max power all the time, it might be wise to look for a model with swappable batteries. That way when you run out of power you can pop in a second battery and pick up picking up from where you left off. We think the cordless vacuums we’ve listed above are the best of the best, but it’s essential to consider your personal needs. The Shark WandVac is a powerful handheld vacuum that’s good for small clean-up tasks such as cereal spills.
Cordless stick vacuums dominate the market, but our exclusive member surveys found that more than 40 percent of battery-powered stick vacs developed problems with the battery within the first five years of ownership. Because of their low ratings for brand reliability, no cordless model earns a recommendation from CR despite scoring well in our performance tests. Ryobi’s three-year warranty on this model is longer than the coverage on most other stick vacuums, including Dyson’s. In suction and airflow, the Ryobi 18V One+ HP vacuum performs almost as well as its most powerful competitors. We tried it on rugs, bare floors, car seats, and upholstery, and it did an excellent job of picking up all kinds of debris.
The only thing that would have made it better was having a second charged battery waiting in the wings. The Shark Wandvac Self-Empty System comes bundled with an auto-emptying station, which in our testing failed to extract all of the debris from the vacuum’s teeny dustbin. This model’s 33-ounce dustbin is much larger than those of our picks. In our tests, we were able to vacuum a fur-ridden 650-square-foot space without having to empty the dustbin once.
Since they lack wheels, some cordless vacuum cleaners pose a challenge to those of us lacking body strength. The Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab is constantly testing vacuums of all makes and models, and because there are new ones coming to market all the time, we continually update our reviews. We’ve tested the best robot vacuums, vacuums for pet hair, budget-friendly vacuums under $100 and plenty of others. Add this to the hundreds of hours we’ve spent testing uprights, canisters, robots and more, and it’s safe to say we know our vacuums.
Shark is a good household manufacturer that produces items like mops and irons alongside vacuums at different price points and styles. You can also use many Shark vacuums as handhelds, which is nice if you need to clean hard-to-reach places. If you want an easily portable model, Shark sells some cordless vacuums. However, the best cordless Shark vacuum models tend to have a few maintenance needs and can be a little more tricky to clean.
A lightweight 2-in-1 Lift-Away upright vacuum with a detachable canister for portable cleaning power. With the push of a button, Lift-Away technology allows you to lift the canister away and easily clean in hard-to-reach areas. This vacuum is also armed with swivel shark stick vacuum steering for excellent control when maneuvering around furniture, and has a completely sealed system with a HEPA filter to trap dust and allergens. Additionally, it has a Brushroll Shutoff button so you can easily switch between carpet and bare floor cleaning.
To find the best vacuum cleaner, we’ve assessed how well each model collects everything from fine dust and dirt to larger debris such as cookie crumbs and cereal. The fresh water comes from the machine’s fresh water tank and works with a rotating soft brush roller to mop the floor. In the same pass, the mop vac sucks the used water back into a separate dirty water tank where it filters out any solid debris.