What are the features that make the best cordless vacuum for hardwood floors? These powerful cleaning tools are among the best vacuum cleaners today because of their portability, power, and excellent user experience. Plus, they won’t damage your hardwood floors, which is always a plus.
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When it comes time to find the best cordless vacuum model for you, look for a vacuum that offers a long battery life. Also, a large dust cup capacity and plenty of adjustable settings for a customizable cleaning experience are crucial. You’ll also want to find an option that offers specific modes for your individual situation, such as pet hair options, brush rolls for carpet, and handheld modes for great portability. If limited battery life is not ideal for you, like if you have a larger home you want to clean in one session, consider opting for a corded stick vacuum cleaner that gets all its power from a power cord.
Keep reading to learn more about the best cordless vacuum for hardwood floors and how you can find the best option for all of your cleaning needs.
Top Cordless Vacuums For Hardwood Floors
What to Consider When Choosing the Best Hardwood Floor Cleaner Machine
Now, let us review how one chooses a floor cleaning machine. As you have seen, all devices have some pros and some cons. Here is how to come to a final decision.
Manufacturers offer an abundance of viable options for machines that preserve and clean hardwood floors. Some models provide wet-mopping as well as vacuum-suctioning actions to produce spotless results. Others use only dry suction vacuuming. Some utilize rotating mopheads that perform a scrubbing action.
Robot floor-cleaning machines offer cutting-edge technology to automate household chores and allow users to clean their floors remotely. Read on for information regarding the various types, sizes, weights, power sources, and cleaning functions of high-quality hardwood floor cleaner machines available on today’s market.
Beginner’s Guide to Cordless Vacuums for Hardwood Floors
What Are Cordless Vacuums for Hardwood Floors?
A cordless vacuum for cleaning hardwood floors is a device made specifically to clean debris from hardwood without damaging it. These vacuums can easily pick up dust bunnies, dirt, human hair, pet hair, pet dander, and other dry messes, thanks to their powerful suction. Depending on the model you purchase, the best cordless vacuum for hard floors may also offer mop functionality. This way, you can also clean up wet messes that might otherwise spoil your floors.
Cordless Vacuums for Hardwood Floors vs. Traditional Vacuums
Both cordless vacuum cleaners and traditional vacuums offer the same general design and form factor, depending on the specific model you purchase. Most cordless models are the same as an upright vacuum, balancing on the vacuum head with a handle at the top of the device.
The most significant difference in form factor between the two, however, comes into play when you compare their sizes. Cordless options tend to be cordless stick vacuums with a slimmer and more lightweight design. They also lack a dedicated power cord. Instead, these vacuums use battery power to run.
Because of their battery power system, cordless vacuum cleaners can sometimes be less powerful than corded options. However, the difference in suction power between the two is hardly noticeable to the average consumer. Plus, with ever-present advances in battery technology, cordless vacuums are becoming more powerful with each iteration.
How Cordless Vacuums for Hardwood Floors Work
The best cordless vacuum for wood floors doesn’t offer much difference over traditional vacuums when it comes to base functionality. Both types use internal components such as intake and exhaust ports, electric motors, fans, and dirt cups to create a comprehensive cleaning system.
Once you power on your cordless vacuum, the electric motor spins the fans, creating airflow throughout the vacuum. Since the spinning fan creates a vacuum effect near the intake port, your vacuum picks up debris as you pass over it.
Once your vacuum has picked up dust and debris, the air flows toward the exhaust port. On the way out of the vacuum, the air passes over or through the dirt cup. The debris is heavy enough to collect in the dirt cup and remains there as the air flows out of the vacuum.
Do You Really Need a Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors?
If you need to clean the hardwood floors in your home, you’ll benefit the most from purchasing a vacuum made specifically for the purpose. Whether you’ve moved into a new home or transitioned from carpets to hardwood flooring, the best vacuum for hardwood floors is the right choice for you.
These handy vacuums offer powerful suction to clean up nearly any kind of dry mess without damaging your hardwood flooring. Depending on the model you purchase, you may also be able to clean carpets and wet messes.
Is a Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors Worth Buying?
- You Mostly Have Wood Floors in Your Home: The most obvious reason to purchase the best cordless vacuum for hardwood is because your home’s flooring is made mostly from hardwood materials. As you most likely know, this flooring type requires special care, and the wrong type of vacuum cleaner can cause unnecessary damage. Cordless vacuum cleaners for wood floors are made specifically to prevent this kind of damage while still offering efficient and powerful cleaning capabilities.
- You Need a Portable Cleaning Tool: Cordless vacuum cleaners don’t need to be connected directly to a wall outlet to receive power. Instead, they draw power from rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. This results in more portability and easier maneuverability. If you want a vacuum that you can take anywhere with you, then a cordless model is an excellent choice. Alternatively, skip the cords and go straight for a leading robot vacuum to clean hardwood floors.
- You Want the Latest in Vacuum Technology: Because of lower power levels in cordless vacuums, manufacturers innovate in different ways to increase overall cleaning efficiency. If you’re interested in purchasing a vacuum with the most advanced cleaning technology, then you’ll more likely than not get that in a cordless vacuum.
Why a Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors May Not Be For You
- You Don’t Have Any Hardwood in Your Home: Of course, if you don’t have any hardwood flooring in your home, then there’s not really any point in purchasing a vacuum made specifically for cleaning those surfaces. Instead, you can get a standard vacuum cleaner that has multi-surface cleaning functionality.
- You Need the Power of Corded Vacuum: For the most part, corded vacuums offer more power than cordless alternatives. While the average user may not be able to tell the difference between the two, professional cleaners and those who need to clean larger messes might need the more powerful option.
- You Need More Dust Cup Capacity: Cordless vacuums for hardwood floors offer a slimmer profile than traditional upright vacuums. As such, they also tend to offer smaller dust cups, meaning you’ll need to empty them more regularly. If you need a larger capacity, then you may want to consider a standard vacuum cleaner.
- You Need a Dedicated Vacuum for Pet Grooming: While these vacuums can easily pick up pet hair on hardwood floors, you may want to consider the best cordless vacuum for pet hair if you want a comprehensive pet grooming tool.
How Long Will a Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors Last?
According to professional cleaning companies like Classic Cleaners, your cordless vacuum should last you around five to seven years in total. You may find that more expensive options will last you longer and that cheaper options won’t last you nearly as long. Of course, you can always extend the lifespan of your vacuum cleaner by properly cleaning and maintaining it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
It’s important to recognize that a cordless vacuum’s internal components are likely to last the entire lifetime of your vacuum. However, the lithium-ion battery is likely to drop below 60% capacity within four years. This means you may need to replace the battery before you need to replace your vacuum.
How to Choose the Best Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors
When it comes time to make a buying decision on which cordless vacuum for hardwood floors you need, there are a few key factors to consider. For starters, you’ll need to decide which specific type of vacuum to buy. Then, you’ll also need to consider what kind of strong suction power and battery life you should purchase. Finally, you’ll need to decide what kind of adjustable settings and accessories are most important for your cleaning needs.
Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors Key Factors to Consider
Believe it or not, there are a variety of different vacuum types to consider when shopping for something to clean your hardwood flooring. Keep reading to learn more about the different vacuum types and which might be best for your needs.
1. What type of vacuum is best for cleaning hardwood floors?
- Cordless Stick Vacuum: These models are the most common types of cordless vacuums. They’re a type of upright vacuum with slimmer and more lightweight designs. Cordless stick vacuums balance on the vacuum head, which also houses the intake port and wheels for easier movement.
- Cordless Handheld Vacuum: As their name suggests, these vacuums can be easily held and operated in a single hand. Cordless handheld vacuums are perfect for cleaning tight spaces like under cabinets. They also make for the best cordless vacuums for car detailing. These are great for flexibility, but they don’t offer much in the way of dust cup capacity, power, or battery life.
- Robot Vacuum: If you don’t want to do the vacuuming yourself, then robot vacuums might be a good choice for you. These compact vacuums are completely autonomous after some initial programming. They are perfect for cleaning hardwood floors but are often just as expensive as a full-size model.
2. Should you buy a cordless vacuum for hardwood floors with a brush roll?
Many cordless stick vacuums offer brush roll functionality, which is best for agitating debris out of carpet fibers. However, depending on the stiffness of the bristles on the brush roll, these vacuums can also damage and scratch your wood floors.
If you’re planning on only cleaning your wood floors, we recommend purchasing a vacuum that lacks a brush roll entirely. However, this can be difficult. It’s more likely that you’ll need to buy an option with a brush roll.
In this case, you’ll have two considerations to make instead. You can either choose a vacuum with soft brush roll bristles or a vacuum that allows you to adjust the power settings for the brush roll functionality. This way, you’ll be able to protect the wood when vacuuming that floor type and still be able to clean carpets when necessary.
3. How much battery life do you need?
Your cordless vacuum battery is one of the device’s most important parts, especially when it comes to convenience and user experience. You’ll need to consider how long the battery lasts on a single charge before you need to recharge it. Battery life can make or break your cleaning experience.
The average cordless vacuum offers around 30 minutes of runtime on a single charge. However, there are vacuums that brand themselves as offering high-capacity batteries that can last as long as an hour before needing a recharge. On the other hand, there are also options with much lower battery life.
Many cordless vacuums also give you the option of swapping out batteries whenever necessary. If you need extended battery life, then an option with a spare battery is a better choice for you.
4. Do you need wet/dry functionality in your cordless vacuum?
Hardwood floors don’t just need to be vacuumed in order to be clean. They also need to be mopped so you can free them of liquid spills or persistent messes. You can either purchase a mop separately or buy a wet/dry cordless vacuum.
If you opt for a wet/dry vacuum, you’ll get the convenience of having one single cleaning tool. However, these options are typically much more expensive than dry vacuums and require more maintenance overall.
5. What vacuum accessories are most important to you?
Most cordless vacuum cleaners can work with extra tools and accessories. Some models even include some of these accessories in your initial purchase. If you find yourself facing a specific situation where the stock vacuum options just don’t work, then you may want to purchase a vacuum accessory.
Here are some of the most common vacuum accessories people use with their vacuums:
- Crevice tool
- Upholstery tool
- Soft dusting brush
- Soft brush tools
- Bare-floor brush
- Pet hair attachments
