Best Handheld Vacuums

If you have a minor accident and spill something, instead of having to take out a big upright vacuum, whip out a compact handheld vacuum! They’re a welcome complement to your regular cleaning routine!

Introduction

Modern homeowners want to keep their homes spotless. But they also don’t have a lot of time for the chore of cleaning. A vacuum cleaner gets sucks up dirt quickly and with very little effort. But it may be too cumbersome to move around the house with a canister vacuum or upright vacuum. And if you (or your child) spills something, you’ll want to pick it up as soon as possible, before it gets spread all over the house. That’s where a handheld vacuum comes in handy.

You wouldn’t want to use a handheld vacuum for cleaning your entire house. It would take too long, and ithey typically won't be adequate for deep cleaning. But it’s a good backup to a larger vacuum cleaner. Today’s handheld vacuums have stronger suction than in the past. And the cordless models have a longer battery life as well. They can also be used on your sofa, or to get to other hard-to-reach places. Many have special attachments for picking up pet hair, getting into crevices, or even extension wands. While you can peruse the MSN buyer’s guides to select larger, more powerful vacuums, let’s examine some of the features of today’s hand vacs.

What are the Different Types of Handheld Vacuums?

In general, you’ll see that there are principally two types of handheld vacuums:

• Corded: These require that you’ll be near a wall outlet. That might be a bummer if you want to vacuum your car. And it’s more of an effort to untangle the cord and plug it into an outlet. But, one advantage is that, as long as you’re near a working outlet, you’ll always have power. And some models have a very long power cord, such as the Bissell 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum, with its 16-foot cord.

Bissell 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum

• Cordless: Most of the models in the MSN Top Ten handheld vacuums are cordless models. They’re more convenient than the corded models, in that you can whip it out as soon as something spills and vacuum up the spill. One model with an impressive 25-minute runtime is the CherylonPower Handheld Vacuum Cordless.

CherylonPower Handheld Vacuum Cordless

What Features Should I Look for in Handheld Vacuums?

There are certain features of handheld vacuums that are common to all handheld vacuums nowadays, and other features will make one model stand out from among the others. For instance:

• Suction power: The suction power of a vacuum is measured in the units of kilopascals, or kPa. (A Pascal is a unit of force distributed over a square meter.) One of the strongest models that we looked at is the CherylonPower handheld vacuum, with a rating of 8 kPa.

• Filter: The vacuum’s motor will suck air into the nozzle. The air will pass through a filter, which will pass clean air through the vacuum’s exhaust, while the debris falls into the vacuum dirt cup. Without a filter, much of the dust would go through the vacuum and back into your room. Two things to look for when selecting a vacuum are:

  • HEPA filter: Most devices now feature a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Absorbing) filter, which is capable of removing 99.97% of impurities that are larger than 0.3 microns. This is the best type of filter to ensure that almost all of the debris ends up in the dust bin.

  • Washable filter: It’s more economical if the vacuum’s filter can be rinsed and put back in place. Check to see that the filter is washable. It’s much better than having to buy a replacement filters all the time. One device with a washable HEPA filter is the ZesGood Handheld Cordless Vacuum. (Even a washable filter must be replaced after several months of use.)

ZesGood Handheld Cordless Vacuum

• Additional tools: Many handheld models will also feature special tools for picking up pet hair, or a crevice tool to get in between cushions or in other tight spots.

• Dry and wet spills: The hand vacs in the MSN Top 10 are specifically only for dry debris. Using them for liquid will damage the motor severely. You can safely use them to pick up dust, cat litter, dry dog food, or dry breakfast cereal. But if you spill liquid, there are handheld vacuums for that as well. An example is the Black and Decker Dustbuster (Model No. HLWVA325J21). It can be used to pull in up to 8 ounces of liquid.

The Black and Decker Dustbuster picking up a spill

• Dustbin characteristics: Look for a handheld vacuum with a large dustbin. That way, you can run the vacuum for more time without having to stop and empty it. Also, when the dustbin starts to get full, air doesn’t flow as freely in the device, and it will lose suction. Look for a model with “cyclonic action”. It is constructed so as to keep the dust away from the filter so that it maintains full suction strength. An example is the Black & Decker 20V Max Handheld Vacuum (Model BDH2000PL), with a large, 15-oz dustbin capacity.

The Black & Decker 20 V Max Handheld Vacuum, illustrating the HEPA filter, flip-up brush, and battery charger stand

What are the Advantages of Each Type of Hand Vacuum?

• Advantages of a corded handheld vacuum: As long as you have access to an electrical outlet, a corded handheld will provide you with uninterrupted service. This is as opposed to a battery-powered cordless model, where you have to keep the battery charged, and the best models give somewhere from 12-25 minutes of use before you have to charge the battery again. Even the manufacturers themselves can only give a rough estimate of how much battery time you’ll have with a particular model since it will depend greatly on the speed selected and even on the surface that you’re vacuuming.

• Advantages of a cordless handheld vacuum: A battery-powered handheld is limited in the amount of time that you can use it before you need to recharge it again. But not needing to be near an electrical outlet gives you more freedom of movement. You can vacuum your car or van, without needing an extension cord. You can go from one room of your house to another, without having to look for an outlet. And you can also get a spare battery that you always keep charged. You can then switch to the fully-charged battery, and double your runtime.

• Battery life: If you buy a cordless model, prefer a model which has a battery life indicator on it, such as the Black and Decker Dustbuster. That will tell you how much battery you have left before having to recharge. Also, people prefer models where the charging base also has an indicator light, so that you know that the battery is in fact being charged up.

Wrap Up

We have examined some of the handheld vacuums on the market, looking at some of the outstanding features of the best models. We saw the importance of the filter, battery life, the dustbin, and the vacuum’s suction power. With this information, you should be adequately prepared to select a model from among the MSN list of the top 10 handheld vacuums.