Your hardwood floors, like a repurposed old rug or an upholstered chair, are deserving of your pride and proper care. You can clean up all kinds of messes with a high-quality vacuum designed for hardwood floors without leaving a pattern of scuff marks or scratches that you’ll have to cover up before guests arrive.
Using a series of lab and field tests, we selected the best options and evaluated their suction power, agility, noise level, and overall value.
Here are the Best Vacuums For Hardwood Floor for your home.
Reviews
The performance of the Shark IZ462H Vertex DuoClean on hardwood floors, as well as every other surface type, impressed us. The vacuum’s silence, power, and portability were appreciated by our tester. This Shark vacuum did not leave any material on hard surfaces, earning it a 5-star rating for outstanding performance.
A bright LED light on the floor head identifies dust and crumbs, and when the battery is low, this LED light flashes to warn that it is time to recharge. It is remarkable, though, that this cordless vacuum can run for up to 60 minutes on a single charge.
The front roller is ultra-absorbent and contains fibres that are long enough to catch garbage from the 10.6-inch cleaning path. A second roller with flexible, rubbery fins directs any remaining particles into the vacuum’s suction stream.
This model was easy to use and manoeuvre even when reaching behind the sofa or coffee table in The Lab, giving it a 5-star rating for mobility. Our tester discovered that it guides you through a surface and requires the least amount of effort from the user when pushing and pulling the vacuum.
PROs
- Longer battery life
- Folds in half for easy storage
- In essence, the vacuum moves
CONs
- The upper portions of the structure are given special attention
- The trash can be larger
The EUREKA NEC480 Lightweight Cordless Cleaner Cleaner is a great and simple hardwood floor cleaner, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Our tester gave it five stars for its exceptionally simple installation and user-friendly design.
It also obtained a 5-star rating for manoeuvrability because it was easy to handle and weighed only 7.15 pounds, as the name says. This equipment, according to our tester, would be easy to transfer up and down stairs.
This battery-powered device easily survived the 17-minute test, with half of its power remaining at the end. The vacuum performed wonderfully on both hardwood floors and upholstery, but was less successful on the carpet, leaving hair behind after multiple runs.
When it comes time to clear up dust and debris, a button allows you to remove the full dust bin for easy dumping over your garbage can. The vacuum might be quieter, but it isn’t as frustratingly noisy as some of the other versions we’ve tested.
PROs
- Portable and manoeuvrable
- Battery life is rather long
- Excellent hard surface and upholstery performance
CONs
- Poor carpet performance
- Could be a little quieter
The Hoover Complete Performance Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner is an easy choice for our best upright vacuum cleaner. Its excellent performance in our testing and long-lasting construction are distinguishing features.
This Hoover machine cleaned hard floors, carpets, and furniture beautifully, eliminating dirt and hair in only two passes on each surface. The vac also has a 15-inch cleaning path and a 25-foot power wire, so you should be able to clean entire rooms without changing outlets.
Notably, there is a bagged vs. bagless variation. While not as smooth as a bagless design, the bagged design is beneficial for allergy patients who do not want to be exposed to what they have just vacuumed. If the idea of having to buy more bags worries you, this design might not be for you.
A potential downside is that, despite the vacuum’s effectiveness and longevity, its design is somewhat clunky and requires extra work while climbing stairs. There is no stair-specific attachment, despite the fact that it comes with handy extras such as an extension hose, pet hair brush, and crevice tool.
PROs
- Powerful sucking force
- 15-inch cleaning path
- A pet hair brush is included
CONs
- The design is bulky
We were impressed by the Compact C1 Turbo Team Canister Vacuum’s ultra-quiet operation, high suction, and manoeuvrability. Our testing team needed only one or two passes to remove dirt from all surfaces on average.
This bagged canister vacuum requires replacement vacuum bags; nonetheless, the filter bag capacity is an impressive 3.7 quarts. Furthermore, there is no risk of dust or debris seeping when emptying the canister, which is great news for allergy patients.
Canister vacuums have a reputation for being quiet due to their design, but our reviewer raved about this Miele model’s “ridiculously silent” performance. Keep in mind that the approximately 15-pound canister follows you as you vacuum with the floor head attachment. The container was far heavier than anticipated during construction and may be difficult to transfer up and down stairs.
However, it was remarkably simple to reach under furniture and into small corners. Overall, this Miele vacuum is a fantastic option for thoroughly cleaning every inch of your hardwood floors.
PROs
- Exceptionally quiet
- Inaccessible in restricted spaces
- Numerous storage compartments in the vacuum bag
- Superb suction power
CONs
- Bags must be replaced
- Not ideal for a pet-friendly home
Shark VACMOP is an efficient method of vacuuming and mopping surfaces. At the stroke of a button, this wet-dry stick vacuum sprays cleaning fluid before vacuuming any dirt with a disposable cleaning pad and a disposable mop. We did not test this model on carpeted areas because it was meant solely for sealed hard surface floors like tile and vinyl.
The vacuum’s suction captured particles and hair in less than three passes in our tests, earning it a perfect 5-star rating for cleaning performance. The debris is confined within the dirt chamber of the pad rather than clinging to the disposable mop pad. The ability to dispose of the soiled pad and all of its debris by just pressing a button on the floor head got it yet another high rating from our tester.
They just wished the dirt chamber was larger so they could clean more pads per pad. When you consider how easy this wet-dry vacuum was to assemble, how quiet it is, and how easy it is to use, there’s no reason not to acquire the Shark VACMOP as your dual technique for mopping and vacuuming your hardwood floors.
PROs
- Simple to assemble
- The weight is really light
- It has a lighted floorhead
CONs
- Refill pads are required
- To engage the vacuum, the button must be held down continuously
Buying Guide
The Vacuum Type
Hardwood floor vacuums come in a number of styles. There are full-size, upright vacuums for whole-house cleaning, as well as easy-to-manoeuvre canister vacuums and thin stick vacuums for quick clean-ups and tight spaces. Choose a hardwood vacuum that fulfils the needs of your home and your cleaning preferences.
A cordless stick vacuum, for example, may be useful in homes with limited square footage. An upright vacuum may be more suited for a home with a large footprint or a combination of carpets and hardwood flooring.
Because hardwood floors benefit from moist cleaning, a number of hardwood-friendly vacuums feature a wet-dry configuration. This type of vacuum may save you time and storage space (no more mop and bucket! ), as well as improve cleaning efficiency.
Suction Strength
While suction power is mostly determined by the type of motor used in a vacuum, there are a few other factors to consider when determining the amount of power your vacuum will have. If you have a large house or enjoy long cleaning sessions, a corded vacuum will offer you infinite power. Furthermore, some corded models have greater suction power; however, technical developments have enabled cordless vacuums to close this gap.
Cordless picks are becoming more popular, thanks to extended battery life and improved cleaning power. Many homeowners like this type of vacuum for daily maintenance of hardwood floors and cleaning up little spills because it is easier to use and store.
Manoeuvrability and mass
Weight and mobility are important factors to consider when shopping for any type of vacuum, but they are especially important when looking for the best vacuums for hardwood floors. Vacuums have come a long way since their wheels simply rolled across smooth surfaces, but you need still to pay attention to the brush heads or rolls that your vacuum is equipped with. Longer bristles and rubber rollers are required for a vacuum to take up garbage from a slick surface.
Furthermore, while hardwood flooring is easily cleaned, you should look for a lightweight vacuum that is yet powerful enough to clean your flooring.
Attachments
Your hardwood vacuum’s cleaning capability can be improved with accessories. The majority of vacuums built for hardwood floors, like other vacuums, include a crevice tool for cleaning tight spots, such as beneath your sofa or near your appliances. Some come with dusting attachments or upholstery tools to help you remove pet hair from your furniture. This wand significantly improves the vacuum’s flexibility and manoeuvrability.
Some hardwood floor vacuums come with a carpet floor head in addition to a hard surface floor head. Alternatively, they feature settings that make a thorough cleaning of rugs and carpets easier.
If you have a range of flooring types in your home, you may want to look into these additional attachments and functions so you don’t have to buy more than one vacuum for different cleans.
FAQs
If your hardwood floors are particularly unclean or covered with minute particles, use a vacuum instead of sweeping. The suction force of a vacuum allows it to catch microscopic dirt and dust particles that a broom would miss.
The frequency with which you should vacuum a hardwood floor is determined by the amount of foot traffic in your home on a daily basis. Your vacuuming regimen may also be influenced by your dogs, children, and the weather.
You may need to vacuum less frequently if you have a no-shoes-in-the-house policy because you are bringing in less dirt from the outside. If you don’t remove your shoes before entering your home, you’ll need to vacuum at least once a week, if not more frequently, to maintain the floor free of large clumps of dirt and dust.
It is easy to damage softer hardwood, vinyl, or laminate flooring when using a large vacuum with hard plastic wheels. Vacuuming should not harm sealed or polished hardwood floors unless you use a vacuum with particularly heavy bristles and large wheels.
We recommend operating equipment with caution at all times, since this not only enhances the vacuum’s long-term performance but also lowers the possibility of injuring the floor surface being cleaned. According to our experience, stick vacuums are gentler than upright vacuums. If you’re worried about hurting your flooring, try this lightweight vacuum.
The days of sweeping your hardwood floors with an old-fashioned broom are long gone. Finally, the Best Vacuums For Hardwood Floor are powerful enough to remove dust and debris from hard surfaces while also being designed to minimize scratching, denting, or otherwise damaging hardwood floors.
Because Casual Living USA recognizes that many individuals suffer when it comes to purchasing household appliances and other essentials, we have decided to offer our knowledge and expertise in the form of articles. We wish you the best of luck on your shopping expedition!