5 Of The Best Hardwood Floor Vacuums 2021

While the best hardwood floor vacuums might not be at the top of your “fun things to buy” list, they still are an important household purchase.

Having the right vacuum cleaner that will easily clean all your flooring surfaces makes a huge difference in the amount of effort it takes to keep your house clean.

Sure, it’s easy just to head to the store and pick up the cheapest vacuum. Or, maybe you’re willing to spend a little more money for a brand name you hear a lot about.

But, researching the right type of vacuum for your particular flooring will help you make an educated decision.

If your home flooring is primarily hard wood, you’ll have different needs than if you’re surrounded by carpet. We’ve compiled some of the top research below to help make your work a little easier.

Comparison Table

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Selecting the Best Hardwood Floor Vacuum

When you have hardwood floors, one of the biggest challenges with vacuuming is that sometimes the dust and dirt gets blown about while you’re trying to suck it up.

The other issue is that sometimes the wheels or brushes of the vacuum can cause minor damage to your hardwood flooring. So, when we think about determining the best hardwood floor vacuums, these are two areas we want to be focused on.

We took a look at the testing done by Consumer Reports, as well seeking out real user feedback to compile our list of best hardwood floor vacuums.

MIELE COMPLETE C3 MARIN

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Cannister vacuums may not be what first come to mind when you’re thinking about your vacuum purchase. But, they do tend to perform very well when vacuuming hardwood floors.

In the tests performed by Consumer Reports, this Miele vacuum scored a “superb” 98/100 for its bare floor cleaning. It also scored high (94/100) for its pet hair pick-up ability.

Here are some details about the features of this vacuum from MieleUSA.com:

High suction power – 1,200 W
Optimum carpet care – height-adjustable electrobrush with LEDs
Gentle on delicate hard floors – flexible Parquet Twister (Gentle care of parquet and hard floors. Ideal for corners, nooks and crannies due to its unique double-swivel neck)
Maximum air hygiene with HEPA AirClean filter
No need to stoop thanks to plus/minus foot controls
Comfort cable rewind with single-touch control

Additionally, MieleUSA highlights a few safety features that come on the Marin model:

HANDLES WITH ANTI-STATIC CONDUCTOR

How you are protected: A metal insert in the handle prevents static discharge between appliance and user.

BUMPER STRIP

No more scratches: A plastic strip protects furniture and the appliance against accidental collisions.

GENTLE-START MOTOR

No more overload: The selected power level is ramped up gradually on Miele vacuum cleaners.

THERMAL PROTECTION

Fully automatic: A temperature limiter protects the motors of Miele’s cylinder vacuum cleaners from overheating.

KENMORE 22614

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This vacuum is also a canister-style vacuum, although unlike the Miele listed above, it is a bagless canister. This is another one of our best hardwood floor vacuums and comes in at a substantially lower price.

In the tests performed by Consumer Reports, this Kenmore scored very high on cleaning bare floors (99/100) and picking up pet hair (96/100). Although, be aware that if you also have carpet in your home, this one didn’t score as high there (66/100).

A few key highlights shared on Kenmore.com are the following:

True HEPA certified filter
Filterless dust cup
Upper and lower quick release
Attachment types: Crevice nozzle, Dusting brush, Motorized Pet PowerMate

SHARK ROCKET COMPLETE WITH DUOCLEAN HV380

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This vacuum is a great choice if you want something a little more light weight that will still work great on both carpet and your bare floors. This is definitely one of the best hardwood floor vacuums out there.

On the Consumer Reports tests, it scored 100 on both carpets and bare floors, as well as 100 for pet hair pick-up.

According to the Shark website, this Shark Rocket has 2 different roller brushes – hence the name DuoClean.

There’s a soft brush roll that “Directly engages floor to pull in large, small and stuck-on particles.” And there’s a bristle brush roll that “Accelerates large, small and stuck-on particles into high-velocity suction channel.”

An additional feature is that it converts to a hand-held vacuum for use on furniture or drapery.

Depending on the accessories you want, the Shark Rocket Complete is available either on the Shark website or from Amazon.

BLACK+DECKER SMARTECH HSVJ520JMBF27

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This is another vacuum that offers the same 2-in-1 feature as the Shark Rocket mentioned above, being both a stick vacuum and a hand-held vacuum.

The one primary difference is that this one is battery-powered. So, while you’re using it, there’s no cord to worry about. No more suddenly getting to the end of your cord and having to go unplug it and move it to a new outlet.

On the tests run by Consumer Reports, this solid contender on our list of best hardwood vacuums scored a 95/100 for its performance on bare floors and 96/100 for its ability to pick up pet hair.

It didn’t perform quite as well on carpet, so if you have a lot of carpet in your home along with your wood floors, this might not be quite the right choice for you.

The features and benefits shared on BlackAndDecker.com are as follows:

2-IN-1 stick + hand design provides two vacuums in one for vacuuming floors and small messes
Lithium Ion technology provides suction for one-pass pick-up*
Auto suction adjustment for your different types of flooring means you don’t have to bend down to change any settings while you vacuum
Vacuum your house without the hassle of a cord
Swivel steering lets you maneuver around furniture and other obstacles with ease
The powered beater bar agitates dust and debris in carpets for a deep-down clean and is easily removable for quick maintenance
On-board extension tool helps you clean hard-to-reach areas
SMARTECHTM sensing technology alerts you how much battery remains and when it’s time to clean the filter

SAMSUNG POWERBOT R7065

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If you’re thinking you might like a robotic vacuum to take care of the messes on your hardwood floors, look no further.

The POWERbot gets strong marks from Consumer Reports with 100/100 on bare floors and 91/100 on carpets

The Samsung POWERbot website lists the following features that make this new vacuum one of the best robotic vacuums.

More powerful suction (compared to previous Samsung models)
Visionary Mapping™ Plus
WiFi connectivity
Edge Clean Master
Fullview Sensor™ 2.0
Cycloneforce™ Technology

One feature that is different from other robotic vacuums is the Edge Clean Master. Instead of little brushes that extend out to try to get dirt near the walls, the POWERbot has a shutter that automatically extends out when the vacuum is near the wall.

Hardwood Floor Vacuum Buying Guide

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of vacuums available in stores or online at this very moment. So, when the time comes for you to buy a new vacuum, where do you start?

If after reading this article you still want to do more research, here are some things to consider.

Type of Vacuum

If you start by narrowing your field to a single type of vacuum, it will make your job of choosing one a little easier.

CANNISTER VACUUMS

While heavier than most other vacuums, cannisters can offer some excellent advantages.

They don’t tend to spread as much dust, the hand-held part itself is light enough to lift up and use on upholstery or drapes, and they usually come with a number of attachments to use on various types of surfaces.

UPRIGHT VACUUMS

Typically seen as the most popular type of vacuum for many years, these also have some advantages. They weigh less than the cannister vacuums and often have an attachment wand that can be used for surfaces other than flooring.

STICK VACUUMS

These are becoming more powerful and more popular than when first invented. Originally only able to handle fairly light cleaning, there are now several models that perform just as well as the cannister or upright vacuums.

They are available either corded or battery-powered and are so light-weight that even a child can operate them.

ROBOTIC VACUUMS

Once thought to be possible only in the distant future, robotic vacuums are now becoming quite commonplace.

These are great if you want to “set it and forget it” because you can schedule them to vacuum your house on a regular basis. However, most people say that a robotic vacuum can’t completely replace your regular vacuum.

TYPE OF DEBRIS

Do you have pets? If so, you’ll want a vacuum that is really good at picking up pet hair. Additionally, you’ll want a vacuum that an easy to clean brush roll.

You don’t want to lose the efficiency you gained by getting a new vacuum by having to spend a ton of time cleaning the brush of tangled-up pet hair.

Do you have small kids? If so, you’ll want a vacuum that can pick up things like Cheerios and other dropped food.

BATTERY LIFE

This is a big one, especially if you have a larger home. Although it only applies if you’re opting for a battery-powered stick vacuum. If the vacuum needs to recharge for several hours when it runs down, you want to be sure you can do your whole house on one charge.

If you live in a smaller space, it may not matter quite as much, so you can worry about some of the other features first.

Invest in a Good Hardwood Floor Vacuum

We recommend that you find a really good vacuum that performs well on hardwood floors. This will make your housecleaning duties much more tolerable and you may be amazed at how well a new vacuum performs on your hardwood floors.

You’ll get that wonderful satisfied feeling of a “job well done” when you vacuum with your new machine.

And, dust and dirt won’t stand a chance against you and your new vacuum.