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How we test vacuum cleaners
Journalist with four years’ experience researching and writing tech and home content. No detail goes unnoticed when it comes to dishwashers, vacuums and headphones.
In this article
- Carpet cleaning: Does it remove dirt and pet hair from deep within the pile?
- Hard floor cleaning: How well does it remove dirt from floorboards and laminate?
- Cleaning with a full dust container: Does the suction drop?
- Allergen retention: How well does the filter trap allergens?
- Ease of use: Is the vac easy to manoeuvre and handle?
- Noise: Does it make a racket while running?
- Energy consumption: Does it use too much energy?
- How we calculate the scores
We test nearly 50 vacuum cleaners in our specialist laboratory each year to find out how well they clean, their suction power, how easy they are to use and more. We complete around 150 checks and assessments on each model we test.
As an independent consumer champion, our reviews are fully impartial, so we can give you honest recommendations on what to buy and what to avoid. We don’t accept freebies or gifts from retailers or manufacturers – we buy our vacs directly from retailers, just as you would.
Many free-to-access reviews use an individual tester to generate scores based on their own preferences. But at Which?, we deal in evidence, not opinions, so our reviews are based on the results of rigorous lab testing.
We’ve uncovered vacuum cleaners that only pick up 10% of fine dust from carpets, while a Best Buy can remove up to 95%. If a model is truly terrible, we’ll label it with our Don’t Buy warning.
Find out which models nailed our tough tests in our guide to the best vacuum cleaners
We’re not influenced by third parties, and we don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers. As a not-for-profit organisation, we have no owners, shareholders or government departments to answer to, so we work entirely on behalf of you, the consumer – nobody else.
Read our full statement of editorial independence.
Carpet cleaning: Does it remove dirt and pet hair from deep within the pile?
We embed a dust mixture, fine Arizona sand and real cat and dog hair into a Wilton carpet, and then test how well the vacuum cleaner lifts out each of them.
Our lab technicians test how much dirt the corded vacuum picks up in both forward and backwards motions. Vacuums are strapped into a custom-built rig in our specialist lab, so that the speed and pressure of the vacuum are equal across all of our tests.
We comb sand and fur into Wilton carpet (a popular type of woven carpet), and deeply embed a dust mixture to test how long it takes the vac to lift them all out. We found one vac that took more than three minutes to pick up the pet hair, while the best took just 42 seconds.
The tests are conducted on maximum power and repeated at least twice for accuracy. We perform five passes over each type of floor to give the vacuum a fair chance of sucking up the dirt.
We also test how well the vacuum removes fibres from upholstery, using the relevant nozzle. We run it over a cushion and record how long it takes to remove the fibres – some suck it up in just 11 seconds, while others take more than three minutes. Some vacs fail to remove it at all.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
A good vacuum lifts most of the sand, dust and pet hair from carpet within the five passes. Poor-scoring models can take more than three minutes, while the best clear it in less than 30 seconds.
A vac that scores five stars for carpet cleaning will banish dirt quickly, whereas a one-star vac will leave most of the dirt on the carpet sample. We found that the top-rated vacs suck up around eight times more dirt compared to the worst.
Hard floor cleaning: How well does it remove dirt from floorboards and laminate?
We test how well corded vacs suck up large debris, such as rice and lentils, from laminate and floorboards – as well as from between those pesky cracks.
Our hard floor tests cover both laminate floors and wooden floorboards, which often have deeper crevices and cracks that can trap dust and dirt. Our lab technicians weigh how much dust each vacuum sucks up, and how much it removes from crevices.
The tests are conducted on minimum power and repeated at least twice for accuracy. We perform five passes over each type of floor to give the vacuum a fair chance of sucking up the dirt.
To test how well each model sucks up large debris, we spread a 50:50 mix of rice and lentils across the test area. Some vacuums suck up most of the debris, while others push the rice and lentils around or it flies off the test area. This is usually the case if the floorhead is too low or the rolling brush scatters the debris instead of guiding it into the vacuum.
Many vacuums claim to have edge-to-edge cleaning, so we test how close to wall edges and corners the vac is able to clean using the main floorhead. We measure the dust the vacuum fails to pick up from the front, right and left sides of the test area. Some vacs leave as much as a 2cm gap.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
We calculate separate star ratings for both laminate and floorboards. A five-star rating for both means the vacuum has sucked up the majority of the dust, while a one-star vac will leave a significant amount of dust behind, or fail to lift it out of crevices at all.
There’s also a separate star rating for large debris – if it’s rated five stars, it sucks up close to 100% of the rice and lentils we spill.
Cleaning with a full dust container: Does the suction drop?
To assess whether a vacuum loses suction, we use a clamp on a bagged model to simulate it being 60% full. With a bagless vac, we'll fill the container 60% full of dust.
We then test the vacuum's ability to suck out dirt from crevices on hard floors when there's just 40% capacity left in the dust container. We evaluate performance across different power settings, doing two runs on each power setting to ensure consistent results.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
A five-star vacuum will show minimal differences in cleaning performance between a full and empty dust container. A one-star model will fail to suck up dust when the container is full, meaning your rooms fail to get a deep clean unless you empty it regularly.
Allergen retention: How well does the filter trap allergens?
Vacuuming can stir up dust particles, making them easier to inhale, so we check how well vacuum filters trap the tiny particles they suck up. These tests are very expensive to perform, and aren't something you'll find in other online reviews.
Our lab technicians perform these tests inside a sealed chamber, where dust particles are introduced to the vacuum. Using air sensors, our experts measure how many particles are emitted back into the atmosphere after being vacuumed up.
The air sensors enable us to measure microscopic particles of dust (between 0.1 and 0.3 microns) which are invisible to the human eye, but could cause sneezing or trigger dust allergies or hay fever.
Large particles are easily blocked by the filter, and particles smaller than 0.1 μm are light and move chaotically, which makes them easy to capture. That’s why our tests focus on ultra fine particles in the 0.1 to 0.3 μm range, which filters generally struggle to trap.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
A five-star vac keeps 99.999% of the fine dust and allergens locked tightly within the container. And while a 99% filtration rate also sounds impressive, it lets one in every 100 particles escape. So it releases 1,000 times more dust back into your room compared with a filter that traps 99.999% of allergens.
A vacuum that’s rated three stars or above for allergen retention does a pretty good job.
Ease of use: Is the vac easy to manoeuvre and handle?
Our panel rates how smooth and easy it is to vacuum on Wilton carpet, hard floors, stairs, upholstery and uneven surfaces, making a note of how heavy the vacuum feels, whether it's uncomfortable to hold, and how easy it is to push and turn. They also assess how easy it is to clean a car with it, and vacuum in hard-to-reach places above shoulder height – such as high shelves or around coving and cornicing.
Other checks include maintenance, handling and controls, including how easy it is to assemble and dismantle the vac for storing, empty the dust container, and replace and clean the filters, change any attachments and read the instructions; as well as what the grip of the handle feels like and how easy it is to use all the switches.
We test how difficult each vacuum is to push and pull. Some take as much as 85 Newtons of force – the equivalent of lifting almost 9kg.
Our ease-of use assessments generate a rating from one to five stars – with one being poor and five being good – for each of the following tests:
- Maintenance
- Versatility
- Vacuuming at height
- Handling and controls
- Cleaning stairs
- Vacuuming on upholstery
- Vacuuming on carpet
- Vacuuming on hard floor
- Vacuuming on uneven surfaces
If you don't have time to contemplate each star rating individually, we also give an overall star rating out of five for ease of use.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
A one-star-rated vacuum can’t get into awkward spaces and is heavy, while a five-star-rated vacuum is light to manoeuvre on a range of surfaces and around furniture, and has easy-to-use attachments. It’s also easier to maintain when it comes to tasks such as cleaning hair from the brush bars, replacing the bags or cleaning the filters.
Noise: Does it make a racket while running?
Lab technicians use a multi-channel noise measurement system in a reverberation room to accurately assess the noise level of each cordless vacuum.
The tests are run separately on hard floors and carpet, using the appropriate floorhead, push force and power setting. We record the sound level in decibels and make a note of any disturbances or unusual noises, such as whistling or squeaking while it’s running.
The noisiest vacuum we’ve tested is around five times louder than our quietest vac.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
You won't be able to tell in the shop just how noisy a model is. We've found noise levels vary dramatically, from 65 up to 90 decibels – the former is similar to the sound of conversation a metre away, while the latter equates to the sound of a busy main road.
Four- or five-star vacs are quieter than most, so you should be able to conduct a conversation while using them. One-star vacs make a real racket – one of the noisiest vacuums we’ve tested is as noisy as a hairdryer or blender.
Energy consumption: Does it use too much energy?
Our experts measure how much energy a vacuum uses to complete five passes while vacuuming up dust.
We can then work out how much energy is used to vacuum a 10m² space, and in turn, calculate a star rating for energy efficiency.
We also take into account the width of the nozzle, because wider nozzles can cover a larger area in less time, and therefore use less energy compared to vacuums with a narrow nozzle.
What separates a good result from a poor one?
A lot of our vacuum cleaners are rated five stars for energy consumption because they don’t tend to use too much energy compared to other appliances, such as dishwashers. This is why we don't give Eco Buy recommendations for cordless vacuum cleaners. Still, it’s good to know if a vacuum uses more energy than is necessary.
Which? members can filter all of our vacuum cleaner reviews by ratings for carpet cleaning, allergen retention, hair and fibre removal, noise and more.
How we calculate the scores
We do a deep dive into our test programme every year to ensure it’s as relevant and comprehensive as it can be. We speak to the Which? community and track market trends to discover what matters most when choosing a new cordless vacuum cleaner.
When calculating the score, we consider what’s most important. Which? members told us that, first and foremost, it needs to be good at picking up dirt off any surface and keeping it contained, which is why cleaning and allergen retention make up a large chunk of the overall score. Equally, a vacuum that is hard to use causes frustration. To be a top scorer, it needs to be the complete package.
The most important elements of the test carry more weight than others when it comes to calculating the score. Here's how the weightings break down:
- Cleaning and filtration 75%
- Ease of use 20%
- Noise and energy use 5%
How we choose the products
We test nearly 50 vacuums each year in our laboratory, which are hand-selected by our market analyst.
We buy all the vacuums to test, spending around £4,000 per year, so that our reviews remain 100% impartial. We also ensure we test models that are suitable for different budgets – from premium models that cost up to £500 alongside budget options priced at around £100.
It’s important that we test vacuums that our members are interested in buying, regardless of what the manufacturers or retailers are pushing. I monitor new releases, market trends and consumer habits to ensure the products we’re choosing matter to our members. By covering a diverse range of brands and models, we can provide impartial recommendations for a variety of budgets.
Is it a Best Buy vacuum cleaner? What our verdicts mean
Our recommendations will help you narrow down your shortlist, although you should still read our reviews to check for any weaknesses that might impact your buying decision.
Best Buy-recommended vacuum cleaners
78% or more
Vacuum cleaners that score 78% or more get a Best Buy and come with our firm recommendation.
Best Buy vacuums typically excel where it really matters. They're easy to use, effective on different types of floors and keep allergens locked inside the filters.
Great Value-recommended vacuum cleaners
60% or more
How much buyers are willing to spend on a vacuum varies, so that’s where our Great Value recommendation comes in.
These models do well in our tests – scoring 60% or more – while also being at least 20% cheaper than the average price of the vacuums we’ve tested.
Great Value vacuum cleaners are the ones to go for if you’re looking for a bargain. Some even score highly enough to be Best Buys as well.
Don't Buy vacuum cleaners
45% or less
Vacuum cleaners that score 45% or below are Don’t Buy models to avoid.
Don't Buy vacs typically fall down in some crucial areas. They might be difficult to use, have terrible filters or perform poorly during hard floor and carpet cleaning assessments.
To discover our Best Buy, Don't Buy and Great Value recommendations, head to our vacuum cleaner reviews and use the filters
Our vacuum cleaner experts
Alongside our lab experts, a team of in-house specialists coordinate our test projects and ensure our reviews are as helpful and informative as possible. Here's the team behind it all:
- Humairaa Habib, senior researcher & writer: Analyses a technical lab report to get key insights into vacuum cleaner results and translates data into relevant and helpful reviews for our members. She ensures content is easy to digest and helps members make buying decisions, while fact-checking manufacturers’ claims against our own data-backed evidence.
- Victoria Purcell, home editor: Victoria keeps a close eye on what's trending in floor cleaning to make sure we’re answering the questions that matter to you. She picks up on patterns in our reviews, consumer pain points and social media hype to help focus our news and advice so that you can make informed decisions.
- Monika Gil, senior scientific advisor: Monika turns hundreds of data points from our laboratory into simple-to-understand scores and star ratings. She’s got her eye on the ball for all things lab-related, and ensures our test programme remains comprehensive. You may also see her contributing her expertise to our vacuum cleaner content.
- Finn Rainbird, market analyst: Finn knows the vacuum cleaner market inside out, keeping the rest of the team up to date with the latest news and releases, and working with our laboratory to shortlist products for testing. From household brands to newcomers, he ensures we’re testing the vacuums you’re interested in.