The 3 Best Handheld Vacuums of 2023 Reviews by Wirecutter

However, it’s really only good for deleting pet hair, which is why we gave the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ the second-place trophy. An odd flap in the nozzle makes it hard to suck up food messes, and it failed to pick up any Cheerios. On carpet, the cleaner also coped very well with the mixture, and we didn’t need to use the Boost mode. It wasn’t the best performer on carpet, struggling to pick up some debris, but its upholstery tool lifted pet hair nicely. If storage is tight, you can mount the accompanying charging base on the wall.

All in all, the maneuverability of the Pet Perfect 2 is more beneficial than derogatory, but there are a few items I would have liked to see done differently. Place the tail end of the unit on the base of the charger and a small light will illuminate, letting you know when it is charging. The light will then turn off once the battery has reached a full charge. Therefore, you do not have to worry about swapping between power modes after turning the unit on.

It only runs for 12 minutes on a full charge, but it comes with a USB charging cable, in addition to its standard charger, so you can plug it in practically anywhere. It’s compact enough to store in your car or office and the 2-in-1 crevice tool and dusting brush conveniently stores with the vacuum on one stand so you always know where it is. When you finish cleaning, or whenever the dust bin is full, you press another button shark canister vacuum near the handle that pops it open for convenient emptying without getting your hands dirty. You get two attachments with the Shark WV201 – a crevice tool and a multi-surface pet tool, both of which are easy to attach and remove without any fumbling around. The latter is surprisingly effective at removing pet hair on upholstery and bedding. Shark makes a variety of vacuum types including upright, stick, and handheld models.

You get 30 minutes of battery life with this lightweight vac, but the trade-off is that it takes five hours to recharge. It’s slim enough to squeeze into tight spaces and the charging base offers a neat storage solution, with room to house the included tools. Keep the inside of your car spick and span with this affordable handheld vac that’s comfortable to use while cleaning. The crevice tool is the only included attachment, and it wasn’t long enough for our liking, but this does make it a doddle to store. It glides over all floor types and comes with a handy selection of tools, including a lengthy crevice tool and an extension tube that reaches into awkward corners.

It also runs for less than 10 minutes at a time, taking 2.5 hours to fully recharge between jobs. Ultimately, this machine is ideal for small, quick clean-ups that require a decent amount of power and/or anyone shark pet hair vacuum who’s short on storage space. The Shark WANDVAC does a good job of clearing away debris in crevices. Its relatively narrow suction inlet helps it capture debris wedged in cracks, even without its crevice tool.

A small dust bin (one that can only hold a handful of ounces) should be just fine. But if you know you’ll use your vacuum on bigger messes, you’ll probably want a larger dust bin—one that can hold around 15 ounces—so you won’t have to empty it as often. While it is made of transparent plastic, there’s no max fill line to give you a quick indication of how full it is. On the plus side, the dustbin is slightly larger than the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim. There are currently two main variants of this vacuum, which differ only in terms of included attachments. We tested the ‘Slate’ variant of the WV201, which is available in a number of colors, and you can see its label here.

The Wandvac earned a mediocre score, even though it earned some points for being lightweight, weighing about half as much as most other products. The Pet Perfect tool virtually speaks for itself, as it is best used when cleaning pet hair. The simple design of this vacuum allows users to quickly swap between cleaning tools.

The narrowness of its suction inlet helps amplify its ability to draw out debris from deep within cracks and crevices, even with its modest suction motor. The Shark WANDVAC is a poor fit for workshop cleaning, though that’s a long way from its intended use case. It doesn’t have the necessary debris capacity to handle bulky workshop debris like wood or metal shavings, and it will be damaged if you use it for cleaning up liquid spills. It’s important to note that AirWatts alone don’t tell you the full story of how well a vacuum actually performs. It’s the internal design and how well the tools make contact with a surface that makes the real difference.