Worst Vacuums We Tested—and What to Buy Instead
We weren't so impressed by these vacuums from Amazon Basics, Atrix, Bissell, Black+Decker, Dirt Devil, Roborock, and other brands
In our tests, there are vacuums that impress us with how well they clean and how quiet they are while doing so. But we also have plenty of experience dealing with mediocrity—those vacuums that scatter debris rather than picking it up, and those with such weak suction power that they’re horrible at cleaning carpets.
- Worst Vacuums From Our Tests: Uprights Canisters Stick Vacs Robotic Vacs Handheld Vac
Worst Upright Vacuums From CR’s Tests
Worst bagless upright: Amazon Basics Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 25
Yes, it costs less than $100, but you shouldn’t be swayed by this vacuum’s low price. We weren’t impressed by its carpet cleaning performance, and it’s even worse at sucking up debris from bare floors.
What we will say about this vacuum is that it’s lightweight. At eight pounds, it’s one of the lightest uprights we’ve tested. It also proved superb at picking up pet hair. But by other measures, it stumbled. One of the vacuum’s biggest cons is that it tends to re-emit small particles back into the air after they’re vacuumed up, which can be a big problem for those with allergies and other respiratory conditions.
What to buy instead: Shark Navigator Lift-Away LA300 (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 75
If you want a high-performing bagless upright that’s not going to break the bank, it’s hard to do better than the Shark Navigator Lift-Away LA300. It’s fairly lightweight at 12 pounds and is very good at vacuuming carpets. The vacuum’s also excellent at cleaning up pet hair and bare floors, and passes our filtration tests with flying colors, meaning it’s less likely to release particles back into the air after suctioning them up.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst bagged upright: Bissell CleanView 20193
Overall Score: 31
In our tests, we found the Bissell CleanView 20193 lousy at picking up debris from carpets and no better at cleaning bare floors. Its suction power is also unsatisfactory, and our testers have noted that it’s unstable when used on stairs.
What we will say is that, at 12 pounds, it’s lighter than the other bagged uprights we’ve tested. It also does a solid job of vacuuming up pet hair and is very good at preventing the dust and debris it has collected from leaking back out into the air.
What to buy instead: Kenmore Intuition BU4050
Overall Score: 72
For less than $200, the Kenmore Intuition BU4050 is a steal. It’s only a few pounds heavier than the Bissell CleanView 20193, but it’s a better cleaner with strong suction power. It’s decent at cleaning carpets and aces our tests for bare-floor cleaning and pet-hair pickup.
We like this vacuum’s lift-away feature, which makes it portable and easier to clean stairs and other hard-to-reach areas. The vacuum also has a hair-eliminator feature on its brush roll, designed to prevent hair entanglements.
Worst Canister Vacuums From CR’s Tests
Worst bagless canister: Atrix Vortex VR25BCV (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 25
Compared with the other bagless canisters we tested, the Atrix Vortex VR25BCV just doesn’t measure up. It’s lousy at extracting dirt from carpets, and when we tried using it to vacuum up pet hair, the hair got caught up inside the nozzle brush, resulting in a below-average pet hair removal score.
Our testers also noted that, even though the Atrix model is claimed to have a HEPA filter, particles seem to escape easily from the vacuum, raising questions about its effectiveness at containing the dust and debris it collects.
What to buy instead: Eureka WhirlWind XL NEN186BL (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 71
The Eureka WhirlWind XL NEN186BL is not that much more expensive than the Atrix vacuum, but its cleaning performance is markedly superior. While it’s only so-so at cleaning carpets, it earns top-level scores in our tests for picking up pet hair and debris from bare floors, making it ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors. It’s also excellent at capturing all the dust it picks up, earning it a top-notch grade in our filtration test.
You can dial up the suction power of the Eureka vacuum with an adjustable knob. The vacuum has a hanging connector that makes it easier to store the brush. As a brand, Eureka canisters earn an exemplary score for predicted reliability and a midlevel score for owner satisfaction.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst bagged canister: Bissell Zing 2154A
Overall Score: 38
Priced under $100, the Bissell Zing 2154A is inexpensive; we’ll give it that. But its biggest pitfall is its carpet-cleaning performance, which ranks among the lowest of all the bagged canisters we test. And while it does well at vacuuming pet hair, it falls short in many other aspects. It has weak suction power, and we’ve noticed that it clogs easily. Its hose and cord are shorter than those of other vacuums, which makes it slightly less convenient to use. Based on our member surveys, Bissell canisters as a whole earn a favorable reliability score, but owner satisfaction is near the bottom of the range.
What to buy instead: Kenmore 200 Series 81214 Vacuum Cleaner
Overall Score: 70
While other, more expensive canisters scored higher, the Kenmore 200 Series 81214 Vacuum Cleaner offers solid cleaning performance at a reasonable price. It costs only about $200, a bargain compared with the median cost of a canister at $370, according to our survey respondents.
Of the canisters we tested, the Kenmore 200 Series 81214 is great at cleaning carpets and delivers even stronger performance in our pet hair and bare-floor tests. It has strong hose suction power, and its cord is 7 feet longer than the Bissell Zing’s. Kenmore canisters get midlevel reliability and owner satisfaction ratings, based on our surveys.
Worst Stick Vacuums From CR's Tests
Worst cordless stick vacuum: Black+Decker PowerSeries+ 20V Max BHFEA520J (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 36
The Black+Decker PowerSeries+ 20V Max BHFEA520J isn’t the vacuum to get if you have a lot of rugs at home. In our tests, the vacuum struggled to pick up dirt embedded in carpets and around the edges of rooms where the walls and floor meet.
That said, it might be a satisfactory choice if you have mostly bare floors at home. It earns top marks in our bare-floor cleaning tests, though its filtration system struggles to retain the dust, allergens, and irritants it sucks up. Its battery isn’t easily swappable, which means that once the battery dies, you’ll likely have to replace the entire vacuum.
What to buy instead: LG CordZero Q3 C5323GW (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 76
At around $300, the LG CordZero Q3 C5323GW is one of the least expensive cordless stick vacuums we recommend. It’s very good at picking up debris from carpets, an area where other stick vacs might struggle. It’s even more impressive at sucking up pet hair and clearing debris from the edges of the room where the walls and the floor meet.
The vacuum can be converted into a hand vac and comes with a dustbin that’s pretty easy to empty. Another convenient feature we like about this model is its removable battery.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst corded stick vacuum: Dirt Devil Vibe SD20020 Vacuum Cleaner
Overall Score: 30
With the Dirt Devil Vibe SD20020, which costs around $50, you’re getting what you pay for, unfortunately. Its cleaning performance is unimpressive all-around. It’s terrible at cleaning carpets and so-so at cleaning bare floors. It struggles to pick up debris from the edges of a room, and it’s unexceptional at vacuuming up pet hair. The vacuum also gets points taken for clogging while we were testing it.
One of its most convenient features is that it can be turned into a hand vacuum, but for a corded vacuum, its 17-foot cord literally falls short of its competitors’. As a brand, Dirt Devil corded stick vacs earn a middling rating in predicted reliability, and their owner satisfaction rating is well below par.
What to buy instead: Bissell PowerClean 4214K
Overall Score: 78
For a corded stick vacuum that offers great value for a reasonable price, consider the Bissell PowerClean 4214K. Priced at around $120, we expect this vacuum to perform similarly to its tested brandmate, the more expensive Bissell PowerClean FurFinder 4282K. That model proved superb at picking up debris from bare floors and sucking up pet hair in our tests. Its filtration and edge-cleaning abilities were also top-notch, though like most stick vacs, it was only so-so at removing dirt from carpets.
As a brand, Bissell corded stick vacuums have a stellar rating for predicted reliability, though their owner satisfaction scores are below par. Both models come with a long cord (30 feet) and can be converted into a hand vacuum.
Worst Robot Vacuums From CR's Tests
Worst robot vacuum and mop combo: Roborock Q10 X5+ (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 38
A mixed bag is the best way to describe the Roborock Q10 X5+. We take no issue with its vacuuming ability: It does a pretty good job of suctioning up debris from carpets and bare floors, and is even better at cleaning up pet hair. But where it fails hard is the mopping part. In our tests, it’s miserably ineffective at cleaning up dried stains.
It also lacks some useful functions that other robot vacuum and mop combos have. The docking station doesn’t automatically refill the machine with cleaning solution or clean and dry its mopping pads. Our testers also noticed that the device can scatter debris during cleaning, and its dustbin isn’t the easiest to empty.
What to buy instead: Mova P10 Pro Ultra Gen2 (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 70
If you want a better robot mop without spending an exorbitant amount of money, the Mova P10 Pro Ultra Gen2 is worth considering. It’s decent at mopping up dried stains and very good at vacuuming carpets and picking up pet hair. It’s also excellent at cleaning bare floors and getting to debris that collects in the corners and edges of a room.
With the Mova model, you’re getting a docking station that automatically empties the dustbin, refills the mopping reservoir, and washes and dries the mopping pads. A plus with this device is that it’s very easy to remove pet hair from its brush rolls, a nice feature for those who rely on robot vacuums to clean up after their pets.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst robot vacuum: Lefant M210
Overall Score: 51
When it comes to cleaning performance, the Lefant M210 is, at best, uneven. It does well at cleaning debris from bare floors, but our testers noticed that the vacuum’s lack of a brush roll affects its cleaning ability in several other areas. For instance, the vacuum tends to push pet hair around rather than picking it up. And it’s only passable at cleaning the edges of a room and substandard at suctioning up dirt embedded in carpets.
It’s a quiet model that doesn’t make much noise, but it’s not the most straightforward to use. Our testers gave it a near-bottom-level score for ease of cleaning the filter and emptying its bin.
What to buy instead: Eufy C10 T2292
Overall Score: 68
The Eufy C10 T2292 is superb at navigating around furniture and cleaning debris from bare floors. It’s also excellent at picking up pet hair and very good at sweeping debris from the edges of a room.
Some of the drawbacks of this robotic vacuum are that its dustbin is on the smaller side and it’s only so-so at cleaning carpets. But we like that its brush roll is easily removable and that it’s one of the quieter robovacs we’ve tested.
Worst Handheld Vacuum From CR’s Tests
Worst handheld vacuum: Black+Decker Dustbuster HLVC315B10 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 48
Let’s be clear: The Black+Decker Dustbuster HLVC315B10 Vacuum Cleaner isn’t a horrible vacuum. It’s pretty quiet, and its wide nozzle can be adjusted to different sizes depending on your cleaning needs.
The vacuum, however, has an excessively strong exhaust that can blow debris around rather than pick it up. Its exhaust led to a less than satisfactory score in our bare-floor cleaning test, though the handheld vac fared better at cleaning pet hair, crevices, and carpets.
What to buy instead: Black+Decker DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 75
For an equally inexpensive alternative—from the same brand, no less—consider the Black+Decker DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 Vacuum Cleaner. Like its fellow DustBuster, this one is fairly quiet, and although our testers noted that it also has a strong exhaust, in this case that seems to have less impact on the vacuum’s cleaning ability.
In our tests, the DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 was top-notch at suctioning up pet hair and debris from bare floors. It also does a very good job picking up debris from carpets, though it’s less effective at cleaning crevices.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
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