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Spring cleaning may be right around the corner, and what better way to upgrade your army of cleaning supplies than to add a lightweight, handheld vacuum? Whether you’re the parent of a messy toddler or a pet owner constantly picking up hair, a compact portable is perfect for a quick, easy clean. These compact machines are great for getting to hard-to-reach areas around the home, like kitchen cabinets, couch cushions, and stairs—our best example being the BLACK+DECKER 20V Max Pivot Handheld Vacuum. Various attachments make refreshing window sills, door frames, and moldings a piece of cake. They can even be a helpful tool to give your car’s interior an overdue scrub or work wonders in a cluttered garage. While even the best handheld vacuums aren’t made for deep cleaning, our picks are perfect for the small messes and dry spills that inevitably occur throughout the week.
How we chose the best handheld vacuums
To bring you the best handheld vacuums, we thought about what kinds of messes we encounter daily and the right way to eliminate them. Cat owners will need a different model than someone with kids who needs to clean the minivan. A large apartment that needs small but frequent cleaning will benefit from a cordless model. In contrast, a home that needs significant capacity at a more affordable price will thrive with a corded vacuum. We then combined personal experience, peer suggestions, critical consensus, and user impressions to narrow down our options. Beyond situational needs, we examined technical specs—including power, weight, filter type, and more—to select our top picks for the best handheld vacuums so you can spend less time worrying about clean-up and more time enjoying your favorite mess-making people, pets, and activities.
The best handheld vacuums: Reviews & Choice
We all know the frustration you can feel lugging upright vacuums around the house, especially when all you really need to suck up a handful of spilled Cheerios or clear up a couple of dust bunnies. But we also know that, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a robot vacuum can’t handle every type of spill or space. Not to mention the irritation felt when the vacuum cord is simply not long enough to reach the spot you’re trying to clean; cue the hunt for a closer outlet.
A handheld vacuum doesn’t seem like the kind of device where you need to swat the details, but it turns out there are a lot of nuances. A handheld vacuum doesn’t seem like the kind of device where you need to swat the details, but it turns out there are a lot of factors that make a great one. Between power, capacity, and attachments, not to mention cord length and/or battery life, it makes sense to take a good, hard look and pick the right one for the job. Our picks for the best handheld vacuums have different strengths and weaknesses but will be a perfect fit for the right person.
Best cordless: Black+Decker 20V Max Flex Handheld Vacuum
Why it made the cut: This cordless model from Black + Decker has amazing suction, a versatile nozzle for hard-to-reach places, and is suitable for just about any surface—it can even grab pet hair without any additional tools.
Specs
- Battery Life: Up to 17 minutes
- Dirt bin size: 15 oz.
- Weight: 3 lbs.
Pros
- Powerful suction
- Rotating nozzle
- Completely washable filter
- Easy storage
Cons
- Battery life isn’t great
The Black + Decker Pivot Vaccum is often compared to the pricey and elusive Dyson Humdinger, but it provides premium quality cleaning at less than one-third of the cost. This lithium-ion-powered handheld vac has two cleaning speeds, including a PowerBoost mode to help banish tough spills. Aside from some of the strongest suction power in its class, the 200-degree pivoting nozzle is the star of the show. Easily suck up dirt from hard-to-reach places, including underneath furniture, crevices in the car, and overhead shelving. This vac also comes with a crevice tool that helps you refresh all the inconspicuous areas in your home, like under the couch or on top of the fridge, plus a brush for tough messes.
An extra-large 75-milliliter dustbin can contain the entirety of your mess, even when you’re dealing with sizable particles like small rocks or food scraps. Both the filter and dirt receptacle are removable and washable, a huge convenience for anyone struggling to maintain their vacuum over time. The dirt bowl has a side door for hands-free disposal, eliminating getting your hands dirty after tackling the main mess. While it’s true that the battery life is a little lacking, you won’t need more than a minute or two to suck up a hefty amount of dust and dirt. Keep in mind that even the most powerful handheld model isn’t meant to supplement a full-size vacuum completely but instead be used to tackle small, hard-to-reach detritus quickly. And while 15-20 minutes of battery life doesn’t sound like a ton (a battery life indicator lets you know when it’s running low), needing to recharge is well worth it for super-power level suction.
