When looking for the best cordless vacuum cleaner for sucking up pet hair, you’ll need a machine with enough suction to get every little bit of fur and hair from your carpets and furniture. The trouble with most cordless vacuums is that they have minimal suction due to their smaller motors and the fact that they have to accommodate a battery. Even if the suction is powerful, the vacuums soon lose their “oomph” due to a couple of reasons:
- The battery running out
- The small dust container fills up very fast
- Cordless vacuums are very handy to clean up small messes easily without having to drag a big, heavy cleaner around, but they usually are inadequate for cleaning the whole house. Indeed some of them are not even suitable for picking up toast crumbs!
So I’ve done a bit of research on the best cordless vacuum for pet hair. I found one stick vacuum and two handheld vacuums that passed the criteria. These are as follows:
Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum
Hoover Platinum LINX Pet Cordless Hand Vacuum
Dyson DC31 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
Dyson DC59 Cordless Vacuum
I’ve written a short description of these below…
Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum
Hoover has a patented system, called “Wind Tunnel” which consists of suction tunnels and rotating brushes, and the Linx cordless uses this technology. This makes for a stronger suction and good elimination of pet hair. The Linx also has a motorized power brush which facilitates this still further. This unit has an eighteen-volt lithium-ion battery which doesn’t lose power until it has been fully discharged, meaning you can probably use it for longer between charging. The battery indicator will tell you how much charge is left in the battery.
The Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum is lightweight at around seven and a half pounds and has a handle that lowers, allowing you to vacuum under furniture. This appliance also has a height adjustment and can stand on its own when the job is finished. All in all a nice little cleaner.
Dyson DC31 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
The Dyson DC31 is a handheld cleaner that is far and above the average “dust-buster”. This rather strange looking little cleaner has a bigger dust container than the average hand-held cleaner and heaps more suction.
If you want a cleaner you can simply pick up for a bit of spot cleaning, this is great. I know a lady who cleans her entire lounge carpet with the DC31 sitting in the middle of the floor. She says it’s quicker than with her large cleaner.
Like it’s larger cousins, the DC31 has Root Cyclone technology, which means strong suction right up until the cleaner is full. Also, this little vac is bag-less which means emptying takes 2 seconds, not to mention no bags to buy and fit.
The DC31 weighs just under 3 pounds and has clever combination tools that can double as a nozzle or a brush. Truly an innovative little machine that gobbles pet hair and very handy for the car as well.
Hoover Platinum LINX Pet Cordless Hand Vacuum, BH50030
The Hoover BH50030 Hand Vac has been specially designed for pet owners and has the accessories to handle this task. It has a powerhead with an ejectable brush roll, a pet upholstery tool with a three rubber blades design, and a dusting tool with soft bristles for delicate surfaces. The nozzle can pivot to allow access to hard-to-reach areas.
The Hoover Cordless Pet Hand Vacuum also comes with an interchangeable lithium-ion battery and has a two-year limited warranty. It weighs just over 6 pounds.
On the downside, the storage area is not as large as the Dyson handheld and can be a challenge to empty.
So, to conclude, which cordless vacuum is best? It really depends on if you prefer the stick type of vacuum or you’re looking for a handheld that use can use quickly and easily for picking up some pet hair off the couch or some dried mud off the mat.
Of the four machines I looked at here, the Hoover LINX Cordless Stick Vacuum is a great little low priced cleaner for whizzing around your floors between major cleans. I wouldn’t recommend using it to clean your house all the time, simply because you will spend a lot of time re-charging and it doesn’t have the suction of the larger cleaners. That’s not what these cordless cleaners were designed for.
The best cordless vacuum for pet hair in the handheld category would be the Dyson DC31for strong suction power and efficient storage. Again it will need recharging, but it comes with two settings: A full-power suction which will drain the battery faster and a slower suction which will make the battery last longer. Even the lower setting is stronger than most other handhelds, so it’s a good option for, say cleaning the car or the boat.
The Dyson DC59 Cordless
The Dyson DC59 is the latest cordless offering from this very innovative company. It is, at the time of writing, the most powerful cordless cleaner on the market. The DC59 has a powerful V6 motor and comes with two tiers of cyclone filters. This cleaner has a carbon fiber brush which has deep cleaning power and claims to extract even more dirt than other corded cleaners.
There is a secondary motor which can be used when maximum power is required. Constant use of this will of course run down the battery faster.
Despite the power of this cleaner, it only weighs around 4.5 pounds. Despite this, the DC59 will clean a small house without discharging, probably the only cordless that will do so.
Yes there is a catch! It is more expensive than the other cordless cleaners. However, you will get what you pay for with his one.
If price is an issue, the Hoover BH50030 Hand Vac may suit you better. The suction is good and you’re getting a nice little cleaner for your money that will do what it says it will – clean up pet hair.
To sum up, the DC59 is the most powerful cordless cleaner which will get the job done faster, however both the Linx stick and handheld are fine for small jobs. The DC31 is the most powerful handheld cleaner which in my opinion will “out-clean” both the Linx models.