If you’re looking for the powerful suction of an upright vacuum but the convenience of a cordless stick vacuum, this is the one for you. And with such a long battery life, you could vacuum your apartment multiple times or clean an entire two-story house before having to charge it. For all of these reasons, plus the easy three-minute assembly time, this is our top pick. Canister-style vacuums are less common than uprights in the US and Canada, but are popular in Europe.
If you’re willing to upgrade to an exceptionally durable vacuum that can clean the heck out of your home, buy a Miele C3 canister vacuum cleaner. Every industry expert we’ve spoken with (even one from a competing brand!) has told us that these are excellent vacuum cleaners, and a few technicians have said they’re simply the best you can buy. Canister vacuums are popular in Europe, and upright vacuums are overwhelmingly more popular among American homeowners. shark pet hair vacuum This shift probably comes down to a difference in floor plans, with spread-out wall-to-wall carpeting floorspace favoring uprights versus the bare floors and staircases of old-world architecture. Choosing a canister vacuum without a powered carpet head was tricky, since the bare-floor cleaning that these vacuums are best at isn’t particularly complicated. The Bissell – Zing offers good power at a very affordable price, and it doesn’t skimp on the details.
For about a $200 savings compared to the Elite, you’ve given up handle-mounted controls, the bigger bare-floor tool, two feet of hose length, noise reduction, dust capture performance and more agile steering. This isn’t a vacuum we’d choose above other designs unless budget were the primary consideration. If you want the flexibility of a canister vacuum for maneuvering in tight places, the Shark – Apex is a contender than also works as an upright vacuum for covering lots of floor area quickly. The soft rollers work well on all surfaces, but the hose is short in canister mode. The Shark is also more agile than other fully-powered brushroll systems, and it has handle-switched lower-power settings that will keep it from eating up area rugs. For mixed flooring types, this vacuum is just as good as the Kenmore Elite, but you can’t shed the weight of the brushroll for quicker coverage of large bare-floor surfaces.
This vacuum’s five-year warranty gives us every reason to believe it will last at least that long for most owners. Some vacuum cleaners are notorious for “snowplowing” (or pushing around) large debris, such as breakfast cereal, on a bare floor. So we used each vacuum to try to suck up a handful of Cheerios and Chex. We started our research by making a list of every plug-in upright or canister vacuum cleaner we could find—seriously, all of them, from every brand. Over the years, we’ve assembled a spreadsheet of 560 different vacuums (though a chunk of them are now discontinued).
As a corded, upright model, you won’t have to worry about running out of battery power with this pick by your side. The 25-foot cord gives plenty of reach and the lift-away canister is useful for accessing hard-to-reach areas. We did find the canister was best used from the ground, rather than trying to carry it while shark pet hair vacuum also maneuvering the extension wand. This vacuum easily collected hair on every surface we tested it on, but we did have to cut it out of the brush roll after each use. We also really enjoyed this vacuum’s brush roll shut-off feature, which made it easier to clean slick surfaces like hardwood and grouted floors.