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If you, like me, have found cleaning your home to be less of a necessary chore these days and more of a welcome work-from-home distraction, perhaps you’ve been considering the state of your vacuum. Before my apartment became my life, my old upright vacuum did the trick for my weekly Sunday morning cleaning ritual, and I barely gave it any thought after half-heartedly tying up the vacuum’s cord and shoving it in a closet. Now, not only is my house messier, but I notice that mess on every single Zoom call. I’ve started to truly consider my cleaning tools.
With that in mind, I turned to my coworkers to test out a variety of vacuums. And I took the opportunity to play vacuum matchmaker: I heard their needs and wants and number of pets and tried to pair them up with the new and interesting vacuums on the market, which they tested for a number of weeks before deciding if my personalized selection was worth the price. While you won’t find head-to-head competition for every vacuum type, I hope you’ll walk away with a greater sense of the pros and cons of all the creatures out there in the great vacuum sea, and can choose the one that is right for you, your floors, your rug, and every crack and crevice in your home.
The best thing about this vacuum: I’ve never owned a robot vacuum before and wrongly assumed that it just wouldn’t provide as deep of a clean as a manual vacuum. I’m very glad I was wrong! It “learned” the contours of my apartment very quickly, and my floors feel cleaner and dog-hair-freer than ever; plus, I didn’t have to lug a heavy contraption around my apartment for hours.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: So, I have two primary frustrations with the Deebot. The first was another incorrect assumption on my part, but I definitely thought it’d be quieter, especially since you can schedule it to clean every day. It definitely outputs more noise than I’d like to encourage on a regular basis, especially for such a small machine! The second is that it seems completely stumped by the thicker pile Moroccan rug I have in my living room. Tied for second is that my dog is fully terrified of it.
Is it worth the price: The $600 price tag is pretty steep and, because I’m not convinced that its mopping capabilities are, in fact, strong enough to replace a conventional mop, I might consider looking at one of Deebot’s more accessibly priced options that skip the mopping functionality.
First impressions: When I first opened the box, I had a moment of “UGH there are too many parts this is going to be too complicated.” But it turned out to be incredibly easy to put together—the first three pieces I pulled out of the box clicked together in minutes. It also gave me a thrilling five minutes of vacuuming right off the bat, no initial charging.
The best thing about this vacuum: My absolute favorite part of this vacuum, unexpectedly, is the bright LED lights on the foot. It was wild, albeit disgusting, to maneuver around my apartment and see just how much dust, that I would probably miss on a first pass, was layered across the floor. It’s very helpful when you have a lot of pet hair floating around, too. I was so fascinated, I brought it out to my car and tried it on my sofa. It made me a cleaning machine!
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: Although it’s a very slim design and easy to stow away, I felt like I had to clear a space in my closet for all the extra parts. Ultimately, there wasn’t much to complain about.
Is it worth the price: I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a hairy pet or a dusty apartment.
The best thing about this vacuum: It’s heavy-duty, looks like it means business, and will definitely pick up dust, hair, and the runaway rice grains that escaped from your takeout box.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: This vacuum is really heavy and difficult to maneuver around a small space. If you have a studio apartment with several hard-to-reach corners, I wouldn’t recommend this vacuum. I have a low platform bed, so I need a vacuum that can easily glide underneath my bed. This vacuum would live more happily in a home with a designated cleaning supplies closet, not one where the kitchen cabinets double as closet space :)
Is it worth the price: Maybe, if I were to move to a larger space.
The best thing about this vacuum: The assortment of brushes and nozzles included is amazing. I mostly use the dusting brush as it’s perfect for getting dust bunnies and hard-to-reach corners. But the upholstery brush is amazing on my navy velvet sofa and the parquet nozzle is very soothing on the hardwood floors. It’s also really comfortable to use—it has a lightweight body and extendable handle so you’re never bending over or reaching too far.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: I thought the size was impractical for a small space. When the test began, I lived in a studio apartment with limited closet space so a boxy canister vacuum was harder to store than a slim, upright vacuum. Plus it comes with all of those great brushes and nozzles, but they take up even more space. Halfway through the test, I moved to a larger apartment and was surprised to fit the whole vacuum and all the accessories at the base of a small linen closet. I think you should just take note of the area you have to store a vacuum before investing in it.
Is it worth the price: Yes. It’s really lightweight and comes with every type of nozzle you’d ever need in a home.
The best thing about this vacuum: I love how compact this vacuum is. I live in a small one-bedroom apartment and it’s easy to drag around between rooms. One thing I never thought would matter but completely does: the wheels rotate in all directions. This means I don’t have to maneuver it back and forth to get it into smaller corners. Another bonus: It’s super quiet. My partner couldn’t hear it as he was sitting 10 feet away from me in the same room. Granted, our air conditioner was on, but still.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: The vacuum itself is split into two parts, connected by a tube. There’s the “engine” of the vacuum, which stays on the ground and is home to the inner bag, and there’s the mouth of the vacuum which you’re directing by hand. There were times when the hub of the vacuum felt a bit like a...dog, as it ran into things and got in the way and I was stepping around the room. Luckily, there’s a 13-foot cord that helps give you space to work.
Is it worth the price: I would 100% buy this vacuum. Its compact design makes it incredibly useful for small spaces.
The best thing about this vacuum: The small size and charging dock make this vacuum a good choice for apartment dwellers. There is no need to reserve precious closet space for a bulky, unsightly appliance since this sleek frisbee-sized vacuum can tuck into any corner or under a bed. And since the vacuum automatically parks itself in its charging dock when it’s done sweeping and roaming, you’ll be sure never to have an empty battery.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: The automatic motion sensor leaves something to be desired. Though the sweeping functions were effective at cleaning up dust, hair, and other scraps, I found the vacuum to regularly run into some of my taller, skinnier furniture pieces that the sensor couldn’t get a handle on. One of my lightweight floor lamps was an unfortunate casualty; perhaps not detecting the thin wire base, the vacuum plowed into the fixture, knocking it to the ground.
Is it worth the price: Probably not. Since I don’t plan to change my furniture layout anytime soon—and have lightweight pieces like my lamps—I don’t think this is the best fit for my space.
The best thing about this vacuum: It’s efficient and makes me feel like a chic modern housewife!
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: It’s a bit cumbersome to maneuver and store for the size of my apartment.
Is it worth the price: If I had a real house!
The best thing about this vacuum: I decided to do the grown-up thing and buy a canister vacuum cleaner when moved from a small apartment in the city to a small house in the ’burbs. We could get by with a cordless, rechargeable stick model in 700 square feet, but we quickly realized we needed something more heavy duty with more space. It’s super powerful but quiet and gentle on my floors, which are mostly hardwood or low-pile carpet.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: It’s categorized as lightweight, but it weighs 17lbs., which is heavier than some competitive models...and sort of a workout when you’re used to a stick model.
Is it worth the price: Yes!
The best thing about this vacuum: The mapping feature through the app was the best aspect. I moved recently and it was simple to remap a new space, which is super useful as I transitioned and needed to clean that new apartment dust.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: It was louder than expected. A bit distracting for those of us who work from home.
Is it worth the price: If it also included a mopping feature. During COVID times, sanitizing all surfaces has become a priority.
The best thing about this vacuum: So much! This was my first cordless experience and I am never, ever going back. It’s like a dustbuster, but for your whole house! It also comes with a million attachments for different uses, but I’ve found that the main motorized tool and the crevice thing are what I use the most. It’s so light, very powerful, and holds a decent charge.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: Maybe my apartment is just dusty and full of cats, but I fill up the canister pretty quickly. If I lived in a large space that might get frustrating, but for me, it’s totally fine.
Is it worth the price: 100%%%%%%%%%%. At the very least I have become a cordless evangelist, but everything about this vacuum is so well made and convenient I don’t know if I’ll ever deviate.
The best thing about this vacuum: Where to begin? This vacuum is super lightweight, incredibly powerful on all of my rugs and wood floors, and it tucks away quite easily (which in an apartment is a big plus). I haven’t used most of the bells and whistles, like the hand vac attachment, though I am looking forward to giving all of those configurations a try and I’m very glad to know I can use it on my dog-hair-covered car. It also seems to last quite a while (the site says 70 minutes, which feels right to me!) on a single charge—my apartment really isn’t that big so it’s more than enough to get me through a few cleans. It’s low maintenance and smooth sailing—I’m a big fan of this one.
The frustrating thing about this vacuum: I will say that I don’t love the way the charger works—it seems like it’s supposed to be mounted to a wall but that’s a big commitment for me! I guess I could read the manual to find out, but that’s not really my M.O. I usually just kind of rest the vacuum against the charger, and that tends to do it once I fiddle around. I’ve also noticed that, when it gets clogged, it can be a little challenging to identify the source. Nothing a little poking around hasn’t been able to solve, though.
Is it worth the price: Yeah! I think it’s a great price for what it does. It’s a solid vacuum all around. Compared to the other model I tested (what can I say, I’m a vacuum enthusiast), the sub-$250 price point seems very reasonable to me.
