Best Handheld Cordless Vacuums

We’re surrounded with options to keep our homes clean, whether they’re canister or upright vacuums or robot vacuums that do most of the work autonomously. But these options have a weak spot: they’re not so good for a small localized spill. And, as anyone with children knows, if you don’t pick up that spill in time, someone is going to walk in it and spread it everywhere! For these impromptu but urgent cleaning jobs, a handheld cordless vacuum answers the call.

We’ll look at the features of the products in the MSN list of the best handheld cordless vacuums. We’ll focus on the features that’ll help you decide on which brand and model to buy. Maybe you need a hand vac for pet hair. There are special attachments for pet hair. Or maybe you’d like a hand vacuum that’s able to pick up wet and dry spills. We’ll go through the options and features, to help you decide.

(You can also check out other cleaning appliances among the MSN buying guides.)

What Types of Handheld Cordless Vacuums Are There?

You'll notice that there are two main types of handheld cordless vacuums: 

• Dedicated handheld cordless vacuum: There are single-purpose cordless handheld vacuums, such as the Black & Decker Li-Ion Cordless Hand Vac. It weighs only 5 lbs., and you can grab it the moment you need to vacuum up a spill or other accident.

Black & Decker Li-Ion Cordless Hand Vac

• 2-in-1 cordless stick vacuum: Although not what you’d expect as a “handheld vacuum”, many stick vacuums have a detachable vacuuming head that operates separately. The big advantage here is that you get two appliances in one unit, which saves space. A very versatile model is the Kenmore Cordless Stick 2-in-1 Handheld Vacuum. It gives you a runtime of 40 minutes, which is much more than dedicated hand vacuums. When in hand vacuum mode, it can be used for cleaning the inside of your car, as well as hard-to-reach high places.

Kenmore Cordless Stick 2-in-1 Handheld Vacuum

• Handheld vac with detachable hose: There are handheld vacuums that feature a set of extensions for longer reach. Some employ solid pieces of tubing to serve as an extension wand, such as the Milwaukee M18 18-Volt Li-Ion Cordless Compact Vacuum.

Milwaukee M18 18-Volt Li-Ion Cordless Compact Vacuum

Some handheld vacuums have an expandable hose as well. This is handy for getting into tight spaces, such as when cleaning the interior of your car, or when cleaning upholstery. One device with an expandable hose is the Black & Decker 20V Max Lithium Flex (Model No. BDH2020FL).

Black & Decker 20V Max Lithium Flex (Model No. BDH2020FL)

What Are Features of the Handheld Cordless Vacuums?

Here are some features that can help you determine which is the best handheld cordless vacuum for your needs:

• Suction power: The power of a vacuum is typically given in CFM or cubic feet of air per minute of airflow. The Milwaukee 18V Li-ion Cordless Compact Vacuum has 40 CFM of suction. This is good for a handheld unit since upright and canister models have an airflow of 50-100 CFM. The power of a vacuum can also be expressed in terms of air pressure. This is given in Pascals, or Newtons of force per square meter. The Kenmore DS4020 Cordless Stick 2-in-1 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner has 8000 Pascals of suction, which is considered good for a hand vac, although canister vacuums usually have 20,000 Pascals of suction.

• Battery life: Cordless vacuums give you more mobility since you’re not encumbered by a power cord, having to be next to an electrical outlet. But, you’ll want to be sure that your vacuum has enough battery power until you finish your vacuuming job. You’ll see that handheld cordless vacuums will vary greatly in their battery life and charging times. The Kenmore 2-in-1 Cordless Stick that we saw before is one of the most impressive vacuums on our MSN list. It charges up in 2 hours, and gives you 40 minutes of runtime! If you’re interested in a purely handheld cordless vacuum, the Milwaukee M18 Lithium-Ion Cordless Compact Vacuum accepts two types of Milwaukee batteries. There is a 5.0 Ampere-hour battery, which can give 25 minutes of use, and a 9.0 Ampere-hour battery pack, which provides 43 minutes of runtime.

• Attachments: Typical attachments in handheld cordless vacuums include:

  • - A motorized brush roll, where battery power is supplied to the brush roll for more efficient cleaning, especially for pet hair.

  • - A crevice tool, to get in between cushions on a sofa or armchair,

  • - An upholstery tool, which is ideal for vacuuming furniture.

Some models, like the Black & Decker Platinum Hand Vacuum, have an extendable crevice tool and flip-up brush attached to the unit. This way, you don’t have to go looking for the attachments: they’re always on board!

Black & Decker Platinum Hand Vacuum

• Size of the dust bin: Look for a unit with a large dust bin. You’ll have to empty it periodically when it fills up with debris. You’ll notice that the more full the dust bin is, the less suction power it will exhibit. The Milwaukee M18 18-Volt Li-Ion Cordless Compact Vacuum has a canister that can hold 36 ounces of debris. The dust bin is transparent, so you can easily see when it needs to be emptied.

• Filter system: Most of the handheld cordless vacuums in our MSN list have a HEPA (= high-efficiency particulate air) filter, which can filter out 99.97% of impurities down to a size of 0.3 microns. You’ll want a HEPA filter that’s also washable and reusable so that you won’t have to replace the filter often. The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Cordless Vacuum has triple-level filtration, with two other filters besides the HEPA filter.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Cordless Vacuum

What are Some Tips in Selecting Handheld Cordless Vacuums?

Here are some extra perks that come with some models of handheld cordless vacuums, which might help you decide:

• Wet and dry vacuums: There are specialized handheld cordless vacuums that can suck up both dry and wet spills. One example is the Black & Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Handheld Cordless Wet/Dry Vacuum (Model No. HLWVA325J21). It can pick up 8 ounces of liquid and has a convenient wall mount charging station. It ensures that you have the vacuum on hand and ready to work!

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Black & Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Handheld Cordless Wet/Dry Vacuum 

• Extra battery: Some units come with an extra battery. This is convenient because you can charge one battery while the other one is in use. You can then switch off when you see that the suction is getting weak.

• Battery indicator light: A battery indicator light can tell you if the device is charging properly, and when your vacuum’s battery is fully charged. The BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Lithium Cordless Handheld Vacuum has such an indicator light.

Wrap Up

We’ve looked at some of the features of the MSN list of the best handheld cordless vacuums. They’re awesome for their versatility since you can use them to access hard-to-reach places in your car or trunk, without having to worry about getting an extension cord to power them up. You can keep a handheld cordless vacuum charged up on hand at all times, and detach it from its charging station when you need it. They’re a great supplement for your main vacuum cleaner!