Best cordless vacuum cleaners UK 2023: great handheld vacs
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Many of today’s cordless vacuums are equipped with powerful motors and long lasting batteries that make them perfectly suitable for any size of household.
Stick models, especially, are the most versatile since they can be transformed into handheld vacs for cleaning shelves, hard-to-reach areas and car interiors. However, the undeniable appeal of the cordless vacuum cleaner is that it’s just so effortlessly convenient, mostly because cordless models don’t have an awkward cable to unravel and drag around from room to room.
Cordless vacs: what to be aware of
It has to be said that cordless vacs do come with a few disadvantages. They usually cost more than their mains-powered brethren and they’re sometimes not quite as powerful, though companies like Dyson have certainly addressed that issue with a range of stick vacs that truly excel on the suction front.
Keep them plugged-in when not in use
Cordless vacs also need to be fully charged most of the time. It’s not a major inconvenience, it just means you’re best advised to plug it in immediately post use.
Some models are not especially well suited to dealing with large houses since the batteries may run out of puff after about 60 minutes. That said, if you live in a large house with three or more bedrooms, a cordless vac is still an excellent supplement to a mains-powered model since they’re much more practical for quick whizzes around the abode.
Cordless vacuums are very versatile
Most stick models also come with a set of hand tools for cleaning stairs, sofas, shelves, car interiors and hard-to-reach areas.
We’ve also rounded up the best carpet cleaners for when you need to give your carpet a deep clean.
Read on to find out which model is best for you
Key specs: Weight: 3.08kgs; Bin capacity: 0.77 litres; Running time: 60 mins
Despite all the weight being in the hand, the handsome Dyson V15 Detect Absolute feels surprisingly light and incredibly manoeuvrable.
Aside from an assemblage of titchy hand brushes and nozzles, a handy reach-under adaptor for cleaning under low furnishings and an amazingly effective mini motorised ‘hair screw tool’ for sofas and pet beds, this high-tech super vac comes also comes with two main powered brush heads.
Unlike other vacs that use LED headlamps to show dirt on the floor, the V15 Detect’s velveteen hard-floor head is equipped with a bright green laser beam that highlights literally every particle of dust in front of it. The system is so effective that your eyes may pop out on stalks when you first use it.
Moreover, it’s testament to the cleaner’s superior suction power and head design that the moment you run over the highlighted dust, there is zero evidence of it on the return stroke. This innovation alone is one of the most revolutionary game changers in vacuum cleaner history and it will keep your hard floors spotless.
The supplied carpet-specific Digital Motorbar is equipped with a single bar of bristles and anti-tangle technology to ensure a deep clean on all types of carpet. However, you may need to flick the suction reduction slider when using it on deep pile carpet because the suction even in Auto mode is so great it can make the head difficult to push.
There’s a raft of clever tech systems, including a system monitor that delivers scientific evidence of how well it’s cleaning to a small rear-mounted LED monitor. A simply tap of the mode button, meanwhile, changes the power from Eco to Auto to Boost.
Auto’s the best mode since it automatically switches from low suction to high as soon as its sensors detect the resistance of carpet. You can safely expect around 45 minutes of use in Auto mode, a full 60 minutes in Eco and 15 minutes or so on Boost.
Like most Dyson vacs, the V15 Detect Absolute has a fabulous bin emptying system that is remarkably dust free and very easy to use – its bin will hold a commendable 0.77 litres of floor matter. The V15’s filter system is designed to capture ’99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns’ so this is the vac to choose if you suffer from allergies.
If you’re in the market for a high-performance cordless vac that is superbly built, easy to use and outrageously efficient, then make this model your first port of call.
Key specs: Weight: 3.3kgs; Bin capacity: 0.8 litres; Running time: About 40 mins
If you have hairy pets – especially of the moulting variety – and are looking for a quick-and-easy cordless vac that will genuinely impress, then the highly efficient AirRam Mk2 is the model for you. This writer has quite a few cordless vacs knocking about and this is the model I always grab first.
Its efficiency on both carpets and hard floors is truly exemplary. Indeed, try it on any floor area where your pet has been sleeping and you’ll be astonished by the amount of hair it manages to compress into its larger-than-average 0.8-litre dust cylinder.
The AirRam has only one power setting – full bore – but provides enough juice for about 40 minutes of multiple floor cleaning. You will also come to love the bright LED headlamp which highlights all dust and dirt in the AirRam’s path.
This vac feels light in the hand and effortless to push around; a low profile body is also very handy for reaching under shallow furniture. It can also stand up on its own and be collapsed for easy storage – a major bonus in our book.
The AirRam’s bin-emptying system is a master stroke. Simply slide the ejector arm across the dust cylinder’s entire length and everything is forced out of the side hatch and into the bin. The filter system, meanwhile, is easy to clean and includes a scent stick to make things smell, well, less carpet-y.
Warning: this vac is that it doesn’t like thin rugs. Since the fast-spinning rotor brush is positioned very low, it can tend to snatch the edges of some thinner rugs, causing the motor to stop dead for a few seconds before resetting.
Also bear in mind that it doesn’t come with any detail attachments for cleaning shelves and down the side of the sofa – Gtech’s handheld Multi Mk2 vac is a worthwhile supplement in this regard. Those two small inconveniences aside, this is a cracking vacuum cleaner that performs exceedingly well for the price.
Top buy.
Key specs: Weight: 3.1kgs; Bin capacity: 0.6 litres; Running time: 90 mins from two batteries
The newish Blade 5 Dual Pet & Car puts in a very decent innings, whether on carpet or hard floor. Being of the ‘stick’ variety, it won’t be as easy to store as the upright Gtech – or even the Shark below – but everything else about this vac is worth shouting about.
For a start, it comes with two 4Ha batteries, each capable of running the Blade 5 for up to 45 minutes. That’s a full 90 minutes of precious vacuuming time in suction-only mode, which is more than can be said for the competition. A handy onboard display keeps you up to date on the state of the battery charge.
Furthermore, aside from the main 22cm powered floor head, this model also ships with a tranche of hand tools, including a flexible powered hose, a Mini Motorised Pet Tool – brilliant for cleaning sofas, pet beds and car seats – a dust brush and the obligatory crevice tool. The main brush head is also equipped with an LED headlight.
Vax prides itself on the suction power of its vacuum cleaners and sure enough this one sucks big time, in a good way; it passed both the hard floor and carpet cleaning tests with distinction.
This model has three power modes: Carpet, which uses the motorised brush to impressive effect; Hard Floor which disengages the spinning brush; and Plus, which boosts the power to full pelt. Be aware that the Plus mode chews through the battery’s reserves much more rapidly, but not disastrously so.
The Vax Blade 5 Pet & Car is a very worthwhile contender that is ideal for larger abodes, especially those with hard floors. It boast excellent suction, is relatively cheap to buy and it performed exceedingly well in our tests.
Key specs: Weight: 4.1kgs 3.75kgs; Bin capacity: 0.7 litres; Running time: About 40 mins
This particular cordless model is one of the most innovative on the market.
Aside from its anti-hair wrap technology, the very best thing about this model is that the Flexology suction tube can be articulated for easier access under low furnishings and beds. This is an ingenious innovation that’s as simple as it is effective. Even better, if the hand unit is folded over completely, the Shark can be stored upright in a small cupboard.
The Shark’s DuoClean floor head features two rollers that work in tandem. The front towelling roller snatches larger floor matter like cereals and broken biscuits while the roller directly behind it uses its stiff bristles and rubber paddles to dig deep into carpet pile.
The vac gets its Anti Hair Wrap moniker from the row of prongs buried just behind the rear roller and it’s this row of teeth that help prevent strands of hair and cotton from wrapping around the brush bar. It’s a clever little innovation that works well.
This vac performed very well across the board, collecting pretty much everything we threw in its path. At 0.7 litres, the Shark’s dust collector is of average size and easy to empty, too. On the running time front, this writer got about 40 minutes of vacuuming out of a full charge.
In the pantheon of cordless stick vacs, the Shark IZ201UK Anti Air Wrap is a commendable candidate that’s equipped with some very clever design flourishes that set it apart from the competition. It’s also very keenly priced.
Key specs: Weight: 3.6kgs; Bin capacity: 0.5 litres; Running time: About 60 mins
Where the vast majority of cordless stick vacs have the motor housing and dust collector in the handle assembly, the three-in-one HX2 from high-end German appliance brand Miele can be used with the main housing either in the hand or at ground level.
This is an exceptionally useful innovation, especially for those who don’t have strong enough arms to hold the weight of the motor and bin (3.6kgs) in the hand for long periods of time.
It also means the HX2 can stand up on its own when in this configuration. When it comes time to do the shelves or inside the car, simply remove the suction tube, fit one of the three supplied detail attachments and you have a very decent hand vac.
The HX2’s Electrobrush Multi Floor tool is equipped with a powered brush and bright LED headlights to illuminate debris and dust in its path. It works impressively well on both carpets and hard floors and will even recognise the type of flooring it’s on and switch brush power accordingly.
It The HX2 comes with three levels of suction: the most powerful setting is way far too powerful for most standard cleaning duties and besides, it will exhaust the battery in about 17 minutes. We found it performed best when used on the medium setting which gave us around 60 minutes of cleaning time.
Being of Miele origin, you can bet this vac will go on running for years. Yes, it’s very pricy but it’s also superbly built, and it performed all tasks we threw in its way with consummate aplomb.