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From picking up pet hair to banishing dust from deep-pile carpets, here are the best vacs on the market... Flat Head Bit
Vacuuming is one of those unavoidable household chores, so having a reliable machine that gets the job done quickly is essential. Luckily, there’s a vacuum cleaner for every eventuality – cylinder, stick, handheld, upright or even robot models – but how do you know what vacuum is best for your home?
If you want a lightweight cleaner that’s designed for use around your whole house, then we’d suggest going for a traditional cylinder vacuum – they tend to have ample dust capacity and there are no dwindling battery reserves to consider as you clean.
To help, the Good Housekeeping Institute has rigorously tested models from all the major brands – Shark to Numatic to Miele – to find which cylinder vacuum cleaners are best for all needs and budgets.
Whether you want to rid your carpet of dog hair or simply keep your home dust-free, there's a cylinder vac for everybody here:
If you’re replacing an existing vacuum, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
Cylinder vacuums are made up of two parts: the main body, which you pull behind you as you work, and the suction head, which is connected via a hose. They are usually lightweight and, unlike cordless or robot models, you don't need to worry about recharging them as they run on mains power.
Cylinders tend to be better at cleaning stairs and reaching under and around furniture too, thanks to their long, flexible hoses. Designs are either bagged or bagless and often come with a good selection of tools, but some can be bulkier and more awkward to store than other, more compact, vacuum cleaners.
Many modern cylinder vacuum cleaners come with a host of fancy features. These can be useful, but don't fork out money for tech that you don't need or won’t use.
We’ve broken down what’s on offer to help you settle on the features that meet your vacuuming needs.
We test cylinder vacuum cleaners as you would use them at home. We try them out on three different floor types: laminate, floorboards and carpet. Firstly, we assess general pick-up using a formulation of dust that we create ourselves. We lay down a set amount and then, after a set number of sweeps, we weigh out exactly how much dust each vacuum has collected.
We also check its performance picking up small residue such as crumbs and its pet hair removal capabilities, calling in plenty from a local grooming parlour. This is ground into the carpet before vacuuming to create the worst-case scenario.
On top of this, we try each model out on a set of stairs to see how easily it manoeuvres. We also judge the design, ease of use and instructions and consider any innovative features, before awarding a final score.
This bagless cylinder vac achieved perfect marks on nearly all our performance tests, so good was its pick-up. It faltered a little when cleaning room edges, leaving a small margin of dust in some places, but that's only if we’re nit-picking.
Testers particularly loved its effective pet tool, which lifted hair in one sweep with no noticeable tangling. Variable suction also gives you great control across different surfaces. Thanks to its premium design, it moves smoothly, and its dust cylinder empties easily. Unsurprisingly, this quality comes at a higher price tag than some, but its cleaning is hard to fault, making it a worthwhile investment.
This powerful vacuum is a great all-rounder. It gobbled up nearly all dust on both long and short pile carpet, while on laminate it lifted more than the set amount our expert had laid, leaving little dust either on or between floorboards.
Pet owners take note – our tester preferred using the ET-1 Power Head, which picked it all up with just two sweeps, while the rubber one tended to roll it into clumps.
The integrated hose can reach up a decent eight steps, and given its large capacity, it wasn’t heavy to manoeuvre either. Our tester liked that it indicates when it’s full too. It is expensive, but you get what you pay for with this Sebo.
Weighing in at little over 4.1kg, this light and compact vacuum is perfect if you’re keen to avoid something heavy. It will set you back just £75, but its low price tag belies a reliable performance; it picked up more than 90% of dust on all carpets.
If you have floorboards, it’s probably not the right fit, though. While it picked up most dust on them, our tester noticed a fair bit left in crevices. That said, its skills on laminate rivalled the Shark, picking up almost 98% of the dust laid.
It’s good for pet owners too – it lifted hair with two sweeps. It stood out most for cleaning room edges, while its small stature was stable on stairs, so you can easily clean your whole staircase. The canister was a tad fiddly but overall, it's a nifty vac at an affordable price.
Of all the models we tested, this sleek Miele vacuum was the best on carpet, scoring perfect marks on both short and long pile. In fact, on short pile, it lifted more dust than our tester had laid. We found it glided smoothly on hard floors too, picking up most dirt from the laminate and floorboards that we tried it on.
When it came to pet hair, however, its performance was sub-par with the head rolling the fur into clumps rather than vacuuming it straight up. It lifted most dust from room edges though. And, reaching up to 10 steps, it proved handy around the house, compactly storing attachments on its body. Plus, clearing its dust canister was easy and mess-free.
This is a great vacuum if you need good reach, thanks to its hose, which can stretch up to four metres. This means you won’t need to unplug it too often, and it’s even good for stairs, cleaning ten steps in our lab before the body needed moving.
It performed well on hard flooring – earning full marks for its dust pick up – and was reliable on short pile carpet too. But it wasn’t that effective when cleaning long pile. Its main head took a few sweeps to lift pet hair too, but the dedicated turbo brush lifted it in just two, so it’s worth making the switch if you have furballs at home. Niggles aside, it’s a solid pick that cleaned room edges well and is easy to use, from set-up to emptying.
Coming in above the iconic original Henry is the brand's new, revamped cordless vacuum. Its fresh design makes it easy to move around and removes the risk of tripping over any wires or getting them caught on furniture.
It performed well in testing, too, excelling at picking up dust on short pile carpets, floorboards and laminate; it struggled more with long pile, taking a few extra sweeps and a bit more force. It lost most of its marks in the edge cleaning test; it left dust along the side edges and pick-up was minimal along the front of the vacuum due to low suction. Our testers also found the instructions lacked detail around use on different floor types so that’s something to keep in mind.
Despite these niggles, day to day cleaning is easier thanks to its easy, lightweight, cordless design. The easy removal, charging, and refitting of the battery got a big thumbs up from our testers, too.
With a whopping six-litre capacity, there's more to Henry than that iconic face. On test, it was easy to assemble and impressed with its long reach, stretching up 10 stairs. It also rivalled the top scorers with its dust pick-up on hard floors, removing 98% from laminate and 95% from floorboards, with little left in crevices.
It proved less reliable on carpet though. It lifted 80% of dust from short pile and an average of 86% on long pile. Steer clear if you’re the proud owner of a fur ball as well. We had to sweep the same spot three times to lift pet hair. Alternatively, you can buy a turbo brush, which should speed things up. It’s only got one power option but was notably mess-free when emptying. One for bigger homes.
If you want a vacuum with near-perfect pick-up that will remove pet hair in one sweep, opt for our winning Miele Boost CX1 Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner.
Our top budget pick, the Hoover Breeze Pets, is a great buy if you're after something affordable that still delivers (it removed 90% of dust from our carpets). And for a vacuum guaranteed to put a smile on your face, look to the Henry Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, which is simple to manoeuvre and great for easy, everyday cleaning.
We've been testing the latest homes products at the GHI for over 100 years – we even have a dedicated floor cleaning room in our lab – so we know what makes a great vacuum cleaner, from cylinders and sticks to robot vacuums.
Homes Editor Hannah Mendelsohn writes all our vacuum cleaning guides to help you find the best model for your home, while Blossom Boothroyd, our homes testing manager, has put hundreds of models to the test against our rigorous protocols in the lab.
Hannah is our homes editor, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.
Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what’s green and what’s not. Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women’s sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.
Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market. When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her cooking, running and exploring London’s foodie hotspots – or trying to make friends with every dog she passes. Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall and on X @megan_geall
Blossom is our Senior Homes Tester. Passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for our readers, she has tested everything from blenders to pizza ovens. Blossom enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols for hundreds of items. Innovative items like robot vacuum cleaners and wine coolers are among her favourite tests to date, and her most notable accomplishment is toasting 360 slices of bread in a determined bid to find the best toaster. In her free time, Blossom openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
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