Handheld Vacuum Cleaners

Why the handheld vacuum craze these days? It’s simple.

People like convenience and there is nothing more convenient than quickly whipping out a light but efficient handheld vacuum to get a small job done.

After all, I have plenty of friends that claim they very rarely do a full house vacuum and are more likely to “spot” clean small areas – that of which the handheld vacuum or dustbuster is the perfect solution.

What makes a handheld vacuum a handheld vacuum cleaner?

A handheld vacuum typically doesn’t connect to power via a power cord, but rather runs on battery. A handheld vacuum is generally small enough to manoeuvre easily with one hand. There are certainly different categories of handheld vacuum cleaners like car vacuums, dustbusters and stick vacuums.

Are handheld vacuum cleaners worth having at home?

I think for the ease of use and the generally speaking affordable nature of a handheld vacuum that it is a worthwhile investment for any home, office or work place. You know those times you just don’t want to get out the big vacuum cleaner but you really want to vacuum up a small space (eg under where the table quickly after dinner!)?! A handheld vacuum is a lifesaver in this moment.

I have been known to take my handheld vacuum camping Given it runs on battery power I can quickly vacuum the tent daily as I just can’t stand the debris that gets bought in. I know I am camping and should expect this – but honestly, if you can keep it clean, why not!?

Is a stick vacuum the same as a handheld vacuum?

Lots of stick vacuums have removable handheld vacuums on them. So for example the vacuum unit is a handheld vacuum and then they engineer a specially designed stick to add length to the device making it more useful to whip around the home. For example, the Shark Stick Vacuum that i recently reviewed is like this. But, that being said not all stick vacuums do have this removable “handheld” section.

I suppose as per my definition above that a handheld vacuum is an easy to manoeuvre battery powered vacuum that can be operated easily with one hand – this would then be the case for most stick vacuum cleaners.

What is the best brand of handheld vacuum cleaners?

Most major vacuum cleaner brands have a handheld vacuum in their range. We don’t see one brand dominating this sub category of our industry.

Can you use a handheld vacuum for your car?

Yes a handheld vacuum cleaner is ideal for your car, particularly if you are not needing to do a “deep clean”. We’ve seen a big rise in the production of Car Vacuums that really are just handheld vacuum cleaners with extra attachments to help you get in to the crevices of the dashboard. I plan on doing a review of these in the coming month. I’ll post it here when I do 🙂 [update > here’s my review on car vacuum cleaners]

What is the best battery option for a handheld vacuum?

I am a firm believer that a rechargeable battery is the best way to go for a handheld vacuum. Replacing batteries is otherwise costly and the power from these vacuums is no where near the power you can get from a rechargeable battery. Most dustbuster batteries will be about 18V Lithium Ion batteries that do the job for spot cleaning (or camping for that matter