Vacuums

REVIEW The Black & Decker 20V MAX Lithium Pivot handheld vacuum has a good performance and convenient rotating head for reaching difficult places.

Review The Hoover FloorMate Deluxe is an affordable hardwood floor vacuums that uses water, cleaning solution and spinning brushes to clean hard surface floors.

Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it is no longer available.

The Dirt Devil Accucharge handheld vacuum cleaner runs for a long time, has a great warranty and weighs little, but it did poorly in our tests. This is one of the worst portable vacuums we tested for picking up pet hair.

The MetroVac Vac N Go handheld vacuum is designed differently from every other small vacuum cleaner, with a long steel tube for the dustbin instead of plastic. It's one of the lightest of all the vacuums in our lineup and has a couple of convenient attachments.

The Shark Cordless Pet Perfect II is made specifically for pet hair on upholstery and carpet. It offers a decent level of suction, a rechargeable battery and several attachments. The charging stand doesn't take up a lot of space and has slots for all the tools.

The Dyson V6 Trigger handheld vacuum is the signature hand vac of the Dyson brand and has the price tag that goes along with it. It has a nice design, with a rechargeable lithium battery and a modern trigger-style handle that's comfortable to hold.

The iLife V3s Pro turned in a perfect performance on suction tests and it is the least expensive of all the units we tested, making it a great value. This robotic vacuum was not perfect in every way but it is very impressive for the price.

The Ecovacs Deebot N79S has strong suction and a collection of features that make it easy to use. One of the most noticeable things about this robotic vacuum is its quiet operation.

The Shark Rotator NV800 is a compact, versatile and efficient option for cleaning floors and other surfaces. It is an upright machine that doubles as a canister or handheld vacuum with its pull-apart design.

If you’re a pet owner, the Bissell PowerGlide Upright Cordless is a good vacuum to consider. This upright vacuum was one of the top performers in our pet hair removal tests.

The Kenmore Intuition is a sleek, stylish upright vacuum that comes with several specialized accessories for cleaning up pet hair and hard-to-reach soil. In our hands-on testing, this vacuum cleaner had very respectable cleaning and suction performance.

Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it is not widely available.

The Eureka AirSpeed Unlimited vacuum cleaner offers some appealing features: good suction, a retractable cord that works well, a relatively light build at 15.5 pounds and a canister that is easy to remove and empty.

The Dyson Ball Animal 2 does not look or maneuver like other upright vacuum cleaners, but in this case different is good. It outperformed all others in our upright vacuum cleaner reviews by clearing many different messes from all types of surfaces with very few passes.

The Dirt Devil Razor Vac is an upright vacuum with few extras, but it performed well in our tests. It is lightweight and maneuverable and has good suction that effectively sucked up debris of all kinds, including pet hair. This is an affordable machine that is portable and easy to use.

Don't let the avocado green shade of the Hoover WindTunnel T-Series bagless vacuum fool you – this is not a relic of the '70s with clunky technology.

The Miele Dynamic Maverick is a high-quality, maneuverable upright vacuum that can rid your home of pet hair and cut down on allergens.

The Hoover Tempo WidePath Bagged Upright is a budget vacuum that comes with a wide range of attachments, a powerful motor and a brush roll that works deep into carpet to release embedded dirt and pet hair.