The 9 Best Vacuums for Hardwood Floors of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
As beautiful as hardwood floors are, they can be a hassle to keep clean, especially if they’re in a room that gets frequent use. Having the right cleaning tools is vital, including a vacuum designed specifically to tackle hardwood floors.
“Hardwood floors optimally need a vacuum with a soft bristle brush to avoid scratching the surface,” says Whitney White, an Airbnb cleaning specialist. “When sweeping hardwood floors, dust tends to go up in the air and come back down, while with vacuuming you are tackling dust and dirt on the spot.”
We’ve tested approximately 300 vacuums to date both in our Des Moines lab and in our homes. To determine which are the best for hardwood floors, we evaluated them on how effective they are at cleaning hardwood floors specifically, in addition to their maneuverability, portability, noise level, ease of emptying, and value. For expert insight, we also spoke with Jeff Meltzer, founder of Flooring Detective, and Jennifer Rodriguez, the chief hygiene officer at Pro Housekeepers.
-
It takes almost zero effort to lift, even to reach a high shelf, and moves quite smoothly over stairs.
-
It doesn't have a super long battery life or a high-capacity dustbin.
For a highly effective and easy-to-use vacuum that’ll do wonders on your hardwood floors, we recommend this option from Dyson. It’s compact, lightweight, and far more powerful than its design lets on: It proved fast and effective at picking up hair and debris in our testing. The Omni-Glide+ doesn’t come with a beater brush of any kind, so it’s not going to scratch your hardwoods (just keep in mind that this means it won’t be effective on carpet).
This vacuum comes with multiple helpful attachments, including a mini motorized tool ideal for small surfaces and a light pipe precise tool that’s great for narrow spaces. The primary cleaning head is designed to swivel and glide easily across hardwood—it comes covered in soft nylon to capture large debris, while the anti-static carbon fiber filaments simultaneously remove fine dust. And because the vacuum is so lightweight, it takes almost zero effort to lift, even to reach a high shelf on a bookcase. We did find the stick-like handle a bit awkward to grip and maneuver, though, as it has no comfortable handle to hold. Once we got accustomed to the feeling, the vacuum was effectively able to glide under tables and in tight corners.
Additionally, the vacuum moved very smoothly over the stairs and was not too loud. Plus, it’s fairly simple to assemble, despite its many parts. After three months of daily use, we continued to be impressed by this vacuum’s performance. While the model’s high price tag may deter some shoppers, specifically those only willing looking to splurge for a vacuum that has a super long battery life and a high-capacity dustbin, we think its lightweight and easy-to-use design makes up for it.
Type: Cordless stick | Weight: 4.2 pounds | Cord Length: N/A | Battery Life/Runtime: 20 minutes | Dustbin Capacity: 0.2 liters