These Efficient Vacuums Won't Damage Your Hardwood Floors

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Any vacuum can work on hardwood floors but some can cause more harm than good. If you take a steam cleaner to a wooden floor, you'll most likely damage the finish, and a stiff brush head may cause small scratches. For a superior clean, you need a hardwood floor-friendly vacuum, with a design that gently captures dust and dirt without doing harm to your floors.

You can find a vacuum that’s as versatile or specific as you want, with some models honing in on specific floor types while others promise holistic cleaning for your entire house. We rounded up the best vacuums for hardwood floors, some with plenty of attachments and settings to tackle other home messes, and some designed just for your hardwood.

For more top-tier cleaning tools, check out our top picks for robot vacuums, stick vacuums, and vacuums for pet hair.

Best Vacuums for Hardwood Floors

• Best Overall: Samsung Jet 90 Cordless Stick Vacuum

• Best Budget Option: Eureka WhirlWind Bagless Canister Vacuum
  

• Best Stick Vacuum: Bissell Featherweight Stick Vacuum
  

• Most Premium Canister: Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction PowerLine Vacuum
  

• Best Handheld Vacuum: Black+Decker Powerseries 2-in-1 Cordless Stick Vacuum
  

What to Consider

Vacuum Type

Some types of vacuums are better for hardwood floors than others. Upright vacuum cleaners have a tilt-and-push design, which can work great for hardwood if you can toggle the brushrolls off (if it’s left on, it might just push around the dirt and debris you’re trying to clean).

Canister vacuums have a tank-and-hose design that accommodates a ton of different attachments, so you can usually use them to clean just about anything. Many canister vacuums come with an attachment made specifically for hardwood floors or tile. Both upright vacuums and canister vacuums provide the best suction power, which makes them the best choice for larger households.

Stick vacuums are slimmer and more lightweight, making them great for quick cleanups around the house or for anyone who’s low on storage space. Robot vacuums are cordless and programmable, so you can maintain a clean hardwood floor even when you aren’t home.

Stick and robot vacuums don’t offer the same suction power as upright and canister vacuums, but their convenience and ease of use earn them a spot in your cleaning arsenal. If you live in a small home, a stick or robot vacuum can cover most of your hardwood floor-cleaning needs.

Power Source

The power source of your hardwood vacuum cleaner is a matter of preference and what you deem more convenient. Corded vacuums offer unlimited runtime and unwavering suction power, but your range is limited by a power cord. Cordless vacuums can go anywhere, giving you more flexibility as you clean, but the limited battery life isn’t ideal for long cleaning sessions or big houses.

Portability

If your home has multiple floors or your mobility is limited, steer away from heavy, cumbersome models that are hard to carry up and down stairs. Canister vacuums have wheels, so they’re easy to drag around floors, but might be tricky on a stairwell. Upright vacuums typically have detachable accessories for easier storage but their silhouettes range from sleek to cumbersome, though they're still they're lighter than canister vacuums.

How We Selected

To select the best vacuums for hardwood floors, we started by reviewing our own previous testing of different types of vacuums. We also consulted recommendations from our colleagues at the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Cleaning Lab, which are based on the ASTM test methods used to evaluate vacuums. All of our recommendations offer an efficient clean in homes with a lot of hardwood or other hard surfaces, like vinyl and tile, along with several recommendations for homes with multiple flooring types.

Jet 90 Cordless Stick Vacuum for Hardwood

The Samsung Jet 90 is a top-rated cordless stick vacuum that maneuvers easily for an efficient cleaning experience. It comes with separate heads for cleaning carpets and hardwood, and the hardwood attachment has a soft brushroll that captures fine dirt and dust particles with ease. It also comes with a mini powered brush, a combo brush, a crevice tool, and a flex tool for getting into hard-to-reach areas.

Thanks to its two batteries, this vacuum can run for up to 60 minutes at a time, and it has a telescoping wand that makes it more comfortable for people of all heights. Its five-layer filtration system captures dust and pet dander, and the vacuum is lightweight enough to easily carry around your home.

WhirlWind Bagless Canister Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

The Eureka WhirlWind bagless canister vacuum is a surprisingly lightweight and budget-friendly option for cleaning your hardwood floors. It has a fairly large dustbin so you won’t have to empty it mid-clean, and it features swivel steering and a telescoping metal wand that make this vacuum easy to drive around your home.

This vacuum offers three suction settings—carpet, upholstery, and hard floors—and you can switch the floorhead from carpeting to hard floors using a convenient foot-operated toggle. It has an automatic cord rewind that makes storage a breeze, but keep in mind that the power cord is only 16 feet in length, which is shorter than many other options.

Featherweight Stick Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

As its name suggests, the Bissell Featherweight stick vacuum is a lightweight and budget-friendly option for quick touch-ups around your home.

The corded design comes in several different colors, and it easily converts into a hand vacuum, as well. The whole vacuum weighs just three pounds, making it easy to move around as needed, and it has an easy-to-empty bagless dustbin.

It may not have the most features, but this lightweight model is affordable and easy for anyone to use.

Classic C1 Pure Suction PowerLine Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

Designed for hardwood floors, Miele’s Classic C1 is a relatively affordable option for the company’s premium canister vacuums. The powerful 1,200-watt motor can switch between six suction settings depending on the floors. Like other canister vacuums, this model comes with plenty of accessories, including an upholstery and crevice tool and dusting brush.

Although the bags do require replacing, an indicator on the canister will tell you when it’s time. And you benefit from this vacuum’s superior filtration.

Powerseries 2-in-1 Cordless Stick Vacuum for Hardwood

For quick cleanups on hardwood floors, some two-in-one handheld vacuums can be all you need. This Black+Decker only has the suction power of a hand vac, but it converts to use like an upright for extra versatility. And unlike most hand vacs, it does include a brush bar to grip onto debris better.

V12 Cordless Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

If you tend to vacuum your hardwood floors, only to notice spots you’ve missed, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim can help. This cordless stick vacuum has a unique soft brushroll with a built-in laser, and when you turn it on, the light illuminates all the dirt, dust, and hair on the floor, showing you exactly where to clean.

The Dyson V12 also comes with a separate brushroll for cleaning carpets, as well as a special motorized tool for upholstery. It’s lighter than other Dyson stick models, and it’s able to run for up to 60 minutes per charge.

2252 CleanView Swivel Vacuum for Hardwood

Pet lovers rejoice—this Bissell model is tailor-made to pick up all the hair your furry friend sheds. The large capacity tank prevents clogs from pet hair and won’t have you emptying the canister every 15 minutes, as confirmed by our deputy editor, Zoë Hannah, who uses this to clean up after her short-hair pup.

The brush head doesn’t get tangled up with large amounts of pet hair or human hair, and this can effectively clean hardwood floors and low-pile carpets with only a couple of passes. It comes with plenty of attachments including a small handheld brush roll that works on stairs or couches and a crevice tool for corners of the floor or ceiling.

Boost CX1 PowerLine Canister Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

Miele is known for making top-tier cleaning tools built with both efficiency and ergonomic design. It’s one of the most compact canister vacuums on the market, but it doesn’t compromise on power—four suction settings and a claimed air speed of 60 miles per hour ensure debris is lifted with just a couple of passes.

The washable filter saves money on vacuum bags and the dirt container has a one-button release for hands-free emptying. It has three attachments, including a floor head with retractable bristles, so you can be sure you’re sucking up dirt instead of kicking it around (or scratching your floors).

CrossWave X7 Cordless Pet Pro Vacuum for Hardwood Flooring

This vac-mop picks up dry particles and mops your floor at the same time. You can control the amount of water and cleaner it dispenses, which is especially important when dealing with hardwood floors, which can get damaged with too much moisture. The sleek design is easy to push around with a manageable weight of just over ten pounds.

A standout feature is the self-cleaning setting, which keeps the dual tanks clean after tackling any wet messes. Customers say this is a must even if you don’'t have pets because it cleans stuck-on messes with ease and is user-friendly. They’re impressed with the self-cleaning setting and say it has them using this more since it’s so low-maintenance. The runtime could be longer, but the efficiency of this model means half an hour is plenty of time.

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