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Top rated vacuums for pet hair 2023


Best vacuums for pet hair in 2023

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Andrea Smith/CNN Underscored

Cats and dogs bring joy, comfort and companionship to your household. But they also bring hair — lots of hair, on your clothing, on your furniture and all over the floor. As with children and mess, controlling cat and dog hair in the house is a running battle, one you signed up for when you brought those bundles of chaos into your house.

A vacuum cleaner is a crucial tool against pet hair, dander and dust, especially for people with allergies, and many models now include specially designed floor heads and accessories for cleaning up after pets. We’ve found the best vacuums for pet hair among the seven cordless stick vacuums, 10 robot vacuums, six uprights and nine canister vacuums we’ve tested.

iLife V3S Pro

The best robot vacuum for pet hair

iLife V3S Pro Robot Vacuum

Amazon

The budget-priced iLife V3S Pro uses a suction tube like a traditional vacuum cleaner rather than the roller brushes employed by other robot vacuums, and does a better job picking up pet hair without clogging.

$160 $107 at Amazon

iRobot Roomba j7+

The best robot vacuum that can allegedly avoid dog poop

The Roomba j7+.

iRobot

The iRobot j7+ is the best robot vacuum you can buy right now, with simpler mapping, more cleaning power and smarter features (like dog poop avoidance) than anything else we tested.

$800 $600 at Bed Bath & Beyond

Dyson V11 Animal

Best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair and deep carpet

Dyson V11 Animal Cord-Free Vacuum

Dyson

With impressive power and the ability to tackle cleaning tasks on surfaces ranging from high-pile carpet to hard floors, the Dyson V11 Animal is the most capable cordless stick vacuum we tested.

$649 $599 at Amazon

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright Vacuum

Best upright vacuum for pet hair

BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright Vacuum

BISSELL

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright Vacuum's standout feature is the Pet Turboeraser tool, which has a spinning brush head with bristles that easily pull dog and cat hair off upholstery and stairs, making it the best upright vacuum for pet owners.

$370 at Amazon

Kenmore BC4026 Pet-Friendly Pop-N-Go

Best canister vacuum for pet hair and thick carpet

Kenmore Pop-N-Go canister vacuum cleaner

Kenmore

The Kenmore BC4026 canister vacuum is great for large homes, deep-pile carpet and folks with allergies. It's bulky and inelegant, but its powered floorhead outperforms vacuums twice its price, the motorized pet hair mini brush keeps upholstery looking fresh and its dust bags and exhaust filter are HEPA-compliant.

$320 at Target

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser

Best handheld vacuum for pet hair

Walmart

With a motorized brush that picks up more pet hair than any other handheld vacuum we tested, the powerful Bissell Pet Hair Eraser lets you take care of pet messes on floors, upholstery, in the care, or anywhere it might accumulate.

$93 $69 at Walmart

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Key Specs

Of the 10 robot vacuums we tested, the iLife V3S Pro was the best at removing pet hair without clogging, thanks to its lack of roller brushes. At around $160, it costs hundreds less than most robot vacuums.

The iLife V3S Pro does a great job removing pet hair and cat litter from hardwood floor and low carpet. It uses bump-and-run navigation, rather than mapping, and it can’t avoid cords or poop like the Roomba j7+ can, but it’ll clean your whole space eventually. It can’t empty itself, unlike more expensive robots, and it doesn’t have a bin fill indicator. But if you make it a habit to empty the dust bin every day, it’ll drastically cut down on pet hair in your space for very little effort on your part.

iRobot Roomba j7+

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Key Specs

If you have money to spare and want a robot vacuum that’s smarter than you are, consider the iRobot Roomba j7+. Unlike the iLife V3S Pro, it’s not bump-and-run: It maps your house, including no-go zones, and it has built-in object detection that helps it avoid power cords, headphones and — most importantly — pet waste, so you can hopefully avoid pooptastrophe.

The j7+ is self-emptying, unlike the iLife V3S Pro, which needs to be emptied after each run, and its rubber multi-surface brushes were second only to the V3S Pro, which has no brushes at all, in avoiding pet hair tangles. The Dirt Detect feature lets it focus on specific messes, like a cat litter spill, and go back over the area until it’s clean.

The Roomba j7+ is the best robot vacuum you can buy, but it’s expensive, and in our testing its self-empty cycle briefly made a noise like a jet engine. If you have the money, though, and especially if you have pets prone to pooping inside, it’s a compelling upgrade over the iLife V3S Pro.

The Dyson V11 Animal

Lindsay Boyers/CNN Underscored

Key Specs

The Dyson V11 Animal is the best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair, and the best stick vacuum of the seven we tested.  If you live in an apartment or smaller home, it might even be the only vacuum you need. Its swiveling floor head makes fast work of pet hair and dust even in high-pile carpets, and in handheld mode, the crevice tool and mini motorized brush tool are fantastic for cleaning upholstered furniture, cat towers and pet beds. It’s lightweight, maneuverable and cordless, so getting the vacuum out isn’t a hassle like it can be for upright and canister vacuums.

The V11 Animal’s biggest weakness is battery life. At its automatic and Boost settings, it gets 30 to 45 minutes of runtime, which might not be enough. Unlike other stick vacuums with swappable batteries, the Dyson’s rechargeable battery is built in, so once it’s out of juice, you have to wait for it to recharge. The Dyson also uses a trigger-style power switch, which you have to hold down the entire time you’re vacuuming — it’s fine for smaller tasks, but you might find it taxing if you’re cleaning an entire apartment.

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright Pet Vacuum

Lindsay Boyers/CNN Underscored

Key Specs

If you have a home too large to vacuum in a single charge of a stick vacuum, especially one with lots of carpet, you should consider a corded upright vacuum. While larger, heavier and less maneuverable than cordless stick vacuums, they have higher suction, and won’t run out of charge.

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright is the best upright vacuum for pet hair, thanks to its Pet Turboeraser mini brush tool, which does a better job removing pet hair from stairs and upholstery than the five other uprights we tested (though it’s powered by suction, rather than motorized, so it won’t be as effective as a motorized pet hair tool like the one on the Kenmore BC4026 canister vacuum, below).

The Pet Hair Eraser’s lift-off feature means the canister, hose, wand and motor detach from the floor head, so you can easily use it to vacuum upholstery, drapes, fixtures and other things above floor level. At 18 pounds, the vacuum isn’t the lightest of the six upright vacuums we tested, and it’s not the best on hard floors, but it’s the best upright option for people with pets. However, people with dust or dander sensitivities should consider a bagged canister vacuum rather than a bagless upright like the Bissell.

The Kenmore 600-Series BC4026 Pet Friendly Pop-N-Go canister vacuum

Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored

Key Specs

For folks with pets, carpets and dust or dander sensitivities, a canister vacuum can offer even more powerful suction, deeper carpet cleaning and better air filtration than an upright. The Kenmore BC4026 Pet-Friendly Pop-N-Go isn’t particularly maneuverable, even by canister vacuum standards, but its electric floor sweeper brush pulls an unbelievable amount of dust and pet hair from the thickest of carpets. Like the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser upright, it has a mini turbo brush (here called a Pet Powermate) that makes quick work of cat hair on cat trees, microfiber upholstery and pet beds. Unlike the Bissell, Kenmore’s version is motorized, so you can change the suction level without changing the brush speed, which really helps get pet hair off of upholstery without inhaling the fabric.

Both the dust bag and exhaust filter of the BC4026 are HEPA-compliant, and offer much better air filtration and dust containment than a bagless vacuum, as well as three times the dust capacity of the Dyson V11 Animal stick vacuum or Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright. But that’s at the cost of portability and maneuverability; at 22 pounds, the Kenmore is 4 pounds more than the Bissell upright, and neither its floor head nor canister are as nimble. But for sheer power, you can’t beat a canister vac, and the Kenmore is far more affordable than the much more maneuverable Miele Complete C3 Kona.

Bissel Pet Hair Eraser

Alex Rennie/CNN Underscored

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is the best handheld vacuum for pet hair — it has a motorized brush that lets it pick up pet hair from upholstery, floors, in the car and everywhere else we found the stuff (which, as you know if you’re a cat or dog parent, is pretty much everyplace). Even though the Pet Hair Eraser is on the larger side (thanks to its sizable canister) at 17 inches long and weighs around 3 pounds, it’s still well balanced and comfortable to use.

The motorized pet hair brush attaches securely and let us get at dog hair embedded deep in carpeting, rugs, and couches, and even in our test vehicle’s carpeting. The 23.6 ounce canister—the largest of all the handheld vacuums we tested—sucked up a large amount of hair before needing to be emptied, and along with the 17-minute runtime let us work until the job was truly complete, and the long crevice tool and flat upholstery brush let us get into nooks and crannies where the motorized main brush couldn’t go.

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is versatile enough that you could use it as your only handheld vacuum. whether you’re looking for something to use around the house or to keep your car clean, though it’s extra power and capacity makes it a bit bulkier and a bit more cumbersome to handle than some of its competitors. You might look elsewhere if you are looking to pick up after kids, as the nozzle was too narrow to suck up Cheerios. It also doesn’t have a charging base, but comes with a wall-wart power supply cable — a less convenient setup than our other favorite handheld vacuums.

Our test supervisor assess how the robots stack up

Andrea Smith/CNN Underscored

The bristles on a vacuum’s brush head are designed to agitate carpet and to lift dust, debris and hair from the floor. As anyone who’s used a hairbrush knows, though, over time hairs get caught in the bristles. If you have pets that shed a lot, the hair can accumulate so fast on the brush that it clogs the vacuum, lowering suction or preventing the brush from turning at all. That’s why many companies sell vacuums optimized for pet hair, with brushes designed not to clog on hair, along with powered mini brush head attachments to get pet hair off of upholstery and stairs.

Pet-specific vacuums often include HEPA filters, aimed at controlling dust, dander and pet-related allergens in general. If you’re concerned about such issues, you may want to seek out a bagged vacuum rather than a bagless model; the bag provides an extra filtration stage and also lets you avoid dust spillage when emptying.

If you have a houseful of cats and dogs, a canister vacuum or upright vacuum will give you the power and tools to deal with animal hair, dander and dust on any surface. These corded units have more-powerful motors and stronger suction and pet-friendly models offer powered brushes designed to make short work of hair without clogging. While they may be a little more ungainly than cordless sticks, they won’t run out of power midway through your weekly cleaning.

An apartment or small house can likely get by with a cordless stick vacuum, especially if you have mostly bare floors. If you have a large house or lots of carpet, an upright or canister vacuum is a better choice; they can provide more suction than cordless stick vacuum, and won’t run out of batteries in the middle of a job. Many of these also double as handheld vacuums, which are great for keeping upholstery hair-free or for tackling small pet-associated messes.

A robot vacuum probably shouldn’t be your only vacuum if you’re trying to clean up after pets, but it’s a great complement to a cordless stick, upright or canister vacuum. Running a robot vacuum daily can keep the day-to-day buildup of fuzz to a manageable minimum so your weekly chores are less of a chore. The small roller brushes on most robot vacuums can clog quickly with pet hair, however, so you’ll want to pay attention to regular maintenance. Our current favorite in the category, the iLife V3S Pro, avoids this nagging issue by not using a roller brush at all.

Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication.

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The 6 Best Vacuums for Pet Hair in 2023

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Cats and dogs shed a lot. You need to stay on top of your vacuuming or risk a dust-bunny infestation. A good vacuum makes it easy to keep floors free of pet hair while handling other messes. It's especially useful if it can double as a handheld vac for furniture and stairs.

For this guide, I tested 22 vacuums to see how they cleaned up cat and dog hair, cat litter, flour, coffee grounds, and Cheerios on carpeting, hardwood floors, and furniture. 

I have reviewed vacuums for three years and have developed many objective tests to determine which models are best for different budgets and cleaning needs. Below, I outline how I tested the vacuums and provide answers to pet vacuum FAQs.

Read more about how Insider Reviews tests and research home products here.

Top picks for vacuums for pet hair

Best overall vacuum for pet hair: Dyson Outsize+ Cordless Vacuum - See at Target
The powerful Dyson Outsize+ Vacuum excels at picking up pet hair and comes with two batteries for up to 160 minutes of continuous cleaning.

Best robot vacuum for pet hair: Bissell SpinWave Robot Vacuum - See at Amazon
The Bissell SpinWave Robot Vacuum picked up all the pet hair on carpet in our tests and has a great assortment of mop attachments and accessories.

Best budget vacuum for pet hair: Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet Vacuum Cleaner - See at Amazon
While there are cheaper options, the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet Vacuum Cleaner is the most affordable vacuum that still does an outstanding job collecting pet hair.

Best canister vacuum for pet hair: Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog Vacuum - See at Amazon
The pricey Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog Vacuum picked up messes better than any other vac in our tests, and the disposable vacuum bag keeps you out of contact with the debris.

Best cordless vacuum for pet hair: Shark Vertex IZ462H DuoClean Cordless Vacuum - See at Shark
The Shark Vertex IZ462H DuoClean Cordless Vacuum is a strong performer all around, handling pet hair and cat litter with ease.

Best handheld vacuum for pet hair: Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) - See at Amazon
The Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) was the only handheld vacuum we tested that picked up all pet hair on every surface, and it did a good job with other materials as well.

Best vacuum for pet hair overall

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The powerful Dyson Outsize+ Cordless Vacuum excels at picking up pet hair and comes with two batteries for up to 160 minutes of continuous cleaning.

Pros: Removed all pet hair in our tests, performed well on hardwood and carpeting, comes with an extra battery, wall-mounted docking station, contact-less debris disposal, strong suction

Cons: Have to keep the power button depressed to operate, gets heavy during longer cleans 

While I actually tested the Dyson Outsize Absolute stick vacuum, it's currently out of stock. But it's very similar to the Dyson Outsize+ vacuum, which comes with two fewer attachments. Both are designed to clean large areas with an 11.5-inch-wide cleaner head that allows you to pick up more debris in a single pass. They come with two batteries so you can keep cleaning while the other charges. Plus, the batteries last about 67% longer than other Dyson batteries we've tested.

The Outsize vacuum picked up the pet hair on every surface in our tests without getting tangled. It also did great on hardwood and carpeting, picking up all debris except a trace of coffee grounds on carpeting and nominal amounts of flour on both surfaces. Thanks to a spherical wheel on the cleaner head, the Outsize Absolute is easy to maneuver. I could move it from side to side by gently rotating my wrist. The non-Dyson vacuums I tested required more effort to turn. 

The Outsize Absolute was less impressive but still good in handheld mode on furniture, leaving behind about 5% of the cat litter and flour. At about 6.2 pounds, it's heavy in the handheld configuration, and I didn't like that you had to keep the power button depressed to run the vacuum. This limited the positions in which I could hold it.

The Dyson has a trap-door mechanism for emptying the dustbin, so you can avoid coming in contact with debris. However, you have to remove the attachments before emptying the bin and may miss your trash receptacle if you don't position the dustbin just right.

Best robot vacuum cleaner for pet hair

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The Bissell SpinWave Robot Vacuum picked up all the pet hair on carpet in our tests and has a great assortment of mop attachments and accessories.

Pros: Quiet operation, app connectivity, picked up all of the pet hair in our tests, small size, great mop attachment and accessories, great job on corners and hardwood

Cons: Gets stuck easily, can't set up no-go zones, can't clean furniture 

If you have pets that shed heavily and are tired of vacuuming every day, a robot vacuum may be your best bet. Since these robots try to pack a lot of features into a small space, they tend not to have the suction power or dustbin capacity of other vacuums. For daily, automated cleaning, though, a robot vacuum is indispensable. 

Since robot vacuums have a mind of their own, I put them through a different testing methodology. You can read more about how we test in our robot vacuum guide.  

Based on my testing of dozens of robot vacuums, the Bissell SpinWave Robot Vacuum is the best for pet hair. It picked up all of the pet hair mix I laid out on hardwood and carpeting. And it only left traces of flour and kitty litter behind on hardwood. It also did a great job of going deep into corners. 

Pets are sometimes skittish around robot vacuums. Fortunately, the SpinWave is one of the quietest models I've tested. On high suction, it's 65 decibels (a little louder than a normal conversation), and it's just 58 decibels on quiet mode. 

The mop attachment has spinning mop pads that do an outstanding job of scrubbing dried-on liquids while avoiding carpets. The cleaning tool that comes with the vac is perfect for cutting away hairs that get tangled in the brush, though this wasn't a common problem in my testing.

You can schedule the SpinWave to clean at the same time every day or mix it up using the Bissell Connect app (available for iOS and Android).

The biggest negatives were the robovac got stuck on a one-inch threshold between rooms. You can't set no-go zones to avoid it, so you may need to put a physical barrier in the way. Also, if your pets tend to have frequent accidents, a robot vacuum may not be a good choice since it could potentially spread the mess and destroy the vacuum.

Best budget pet hair vacuum

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While there are cheaper options out there, the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet Vacuum Cleaner is the most affordable vacuum that still does an outstanding job of collecting pet hair.

Pros: Picked up all of the pet hair in all of our tests, great on hardwood, features a retractable cord, powerful suction

Cons: Messy debris disposal

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the four vacuums I tested that cost less than the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind Pet Vacuum Cleaner (model 2254) performed poorly. I can't recommend any of them. Consequently, our budget pick is still somewhat pricey at $150, but it's well worth the price.

The CleanView Swivel Rewind was one of three vacuums that picked up all the pet hair on all of the surfaces in our tests. Also, the hair didn't get tangled in the brush. 

While its ability to pick up other debris was just average on carpeting and furniture, it did exceptionally well on hardwood. On every surface, it picked up all of the cat litter and Cheerios. It struggled with the coffee grounds on carpeting and only did a so-so job of collecting flour in all of the tests.

I appreciated how simple the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind was to use. The swivel head makes it easy to maneuver with one hand. The cord never got in my way thanks to the easy retraction feature (the "Rewind" in the name), and since it's upright, I didn't have to support the weight of the vac. I just guided it as it made quick work of messes. And the hose detached effortlessly to reach elevated areas.

However, I had a hard time emptying the dustbin without getting my hands dirty or inadvertently sending gunk flying outside of the trash can. Your best bet is to release the trap-door mechanism with the bottom inside your trash receptacle.

Best canister vacuum cleaner for pet hair

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The pricey Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog Vacuum picked up messes better than any other vac in our tests, and the disposable vacuum bag keeps you out of contact with the debris.

Pros: Did an impressive job of collecting all debris on all surfaces, disposal bags keep debris contained, runs quietly

Cons: Not particularly user-friendly, have to buy replacement bags, heavy, expensive

For those who can afford them, canister vacuums provide a powerful, yet quiet and mess-free way to clean up after your pet. The benefits of a canister vacuum were exemplified in our testing of the Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog Vacuum. 

The Classic C1 was the best overall at picking up debris. In addition to picking up all of the pet hair on all of the surfaces we tested — while remaining free of pet hair tangles — the vacuum picked up almost all of the other materials on carpeting, hardwood, and furniture. The only substance it seemed to have any difficulty with was flour, but it still picked up at least 90% of the flour on each surface.

My main gripes with the Miele Classic C1 Cat & Dog Canister Vacuum have to do with how user unfriendly it can be. At over 20 pounds, it's the heaviest vacuum we tested. Fortunately, you don't have to support the weight. The motor and debris collect in the wheeled canister which is connected by hose to the handle and vacuum head. 

However, I didn't like the feel of dragging the canister behind me as I cleaned. While the hard plastic handle felt durable, it wasn't comfortable in my hand. Also, the bulky powerbrush head didn't lend itself to easy maneuverability.

I have mixed feelings about the disposable dust bag. The Classic C1 was the only vacuum we tested that used bags. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of producing more garbage, and replacement bags are an added expense ($21.99 for four replacement bags and two filters). (Miele also makes a bagless version of its pet vacuum, the Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog.) 

On the other hand, the 4.5-liter bag holds an impressive amount of debris, and it did a great job of keeping particles contained, which makes it a smart solution for allergy sufferers. How often you need to change the bag depends on a variety of factors, but I didn't come close to filling it despite sucking up more than two pounds of debris in my tests.

Best cordless vacuum for pet hair

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The Shark Vertex IZ462H DuoClean Cordless Vacuum is a strong performer all around, handling pet hair and cat litter with ease.

Pros: Versatile, strong suction, cleaning path light, great for under-furniture cleaning, comes with attachments 

Cons: Loud and high-pitched noise, a thick grip that may be uncomfortable for small hands, weaker on high-pile carpet and rug  

While our best pick overall from Dyson is cordless, it's also very pricey. This Shark vacuum isn't perfect, but it takes the top spot in our guide to the best cordless vacuums. 

In our tests, the Vertex picked up everything from flour to cat litter to ground coffee to dog hair on both hardwood and tile. While most of the other vacuums pushed cereal around, the Shark sucked up whole Cheerios. It doesn't move smoothly on high-pile carpet, though, so we don't recommend this vac if that makes up the majority of your flooring. 

The dust bin can get heavy during extended cleaning sessions. But we liked the different settings for hardwood and carpet located near the grip. A power boost trigger gives you some extra suction power, too. 

An especially nice feature is the light that illuminates small particles you might otherwise miss. Plus, a green alert button turns red when there's a blockage, so you know when you need to detangle. 

Another impressive trick is how low and flat the Vertex gets. Click a button in the middle of the stick, and it bends into a flexible hose "elbow," so the shaft lies flat to get under couches, beds, and low tables.

While this vac doesn't come with a plethora of attachments, there is a pet tool and brush that both work for furniture and pet beds.

Best handheld vacuum for pet hair

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The Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) was the only handheld vacuum we tested that picked up all pet hair on every surface and did a good job with other materials as well.

Pros: Easy-to-access brush attachment, large dustbin for a handheld, performed well on all surfaces, convenient charging base, lightweight, user friendly, picked up all pet hair during testing

Cons: Hard to put back together after emptying, long battery recharge, loud

We laid out debris on hardwood, carpeting, and in a car to test vacuums for our best handheld vacuums guide. The only vacuum to clean up all pet hair on every surface was the Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L).

Well balanced and only weighing 2.6 pounds, the Dustbuster AdvancedClean is user-friendly. While cleaning, I didn't experience arm fatigue. You can quickly flip the brush in place as it's attached to the head, a feature I liked because I tend to lose attachments when they aren't connected.

The charging station is also user-friendly: Just place the Dustbuster on it. The charging indicator light turns off once the vacuum is charged, and the vacuum will then run for 14 minutes.

Emptying the big dustbin without getting dirty is simple. You remove the forward section and shake the debris out or remove the entire dustbin and pull out the filter. Regardless of how you empty it, the vacuum takes some finessing to snap back together.

The Dustbuster AdvancedClean vacuum is about as loud as a hairdryer, making it louder than most. If you live in an apartment with thin walls, you might want to choose a different handheld vacuum for pet hair, like the Black+Decker Powerseries Extreme Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner.

Other pet vacuums we tested

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We tested 22 vacuums for this guide. These are the ones that didn't make the cut.

What else we recommend and why:

Black+Decker Powerseries Extreme Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner: The versatile, user-friendly Powerseries Extreme vacuum cleaned well on all surfaces, has mess-free emptying, and is lightweight in its handheld configuration. However, the battery has a short run time and long charge time and left behind pet hair when cleaning hardwood and carpeting.

Bissell MultiClean Allergen Lift-Off Pet, Model 2852: This and the Bissell CleanView Swivel Rewind were the best upright vacuums we tested. We decided to include the CleanView Swivel Rewind because it's more affordable and did a better job of picking up pet hair. Still, if you find the MultiClean Allergen Lift-Off Pet on sale for cheaper, consider picking it up, especially if your home is heavily carpeted.

Bissell ICONpet Edge, Model 2894A: The ICONpet was easy to use, had one of the longest battery run times, and charged the fastest. It also did a great job of sucking up cat litter and flour on furniture in its handheld configuration. Emptying the dustbin was mess-free. However, it left behind 23% of the pet hair on carpet and furniture. 

Dyson V15 Detect: At $700, this is the most expensive model we tested. It has a bunch of fancy, high-end features, such as a screen that gives you a rundown of what size and how much particulate matter it sucked up. It did a great job of cleaning all of the surfaces, except it left behind traces of pet hair on carpeting and furniture. I liked that the battery charged in under four hours, but it only lasted for eight minutes on top power. I also found the unit was tiring to hold in handheld mode, and I didn't like that I had to keep the trigger depressed for it to run.

Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFins, Model AZ2002: The suction and rollers were so powerful with this upright vac that I felt like I was trying to rein in a shark. It excelled on carpet and hardwood. It was also easy to use. The biggest negative was the large dustbin was hard to empty without sending particles flying.

What we don't recommend and why:

Black+Decker Dustbuster, Model HHVK515JP07: This handheld was easy to use, affordable, and had one of the longest battery runtimes. However, it didn't do a good job of cleaning on any surface. It appears to have a loose flap leading into the dustbin, which caused a lot of the debris it sucked up to just fall back out onto the floor.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser: After testing this corded handheld vac on carpeting and hardwood, I gave up on it. It's just not pleasant to use. The head has a narrow opening so cleaning a mess takes several passes. Cheerios clogged it. Flour would come pouring back out of the head after I turned off the power, and it was hard to stay clean when disposing of debris.

Black+Decker Spillbuster Portable Carpet Cleaner: In all fairness, this cordless handheld is designed for cleaning up wet messes. This is a guide for vacuums that clean up pet hair, a dry mess. It did not do well in our tests, but if I ever write a guide about the best vacuums for pet waste, I look forward to putting this vac through its paces.

Shark Vertex Ultralight DuoClean PowerFins, Model HZ2002: This corded stick vacuum showed promise, initially picking up all of the materials except flour. As I used it more, I noticed that debris was escaping from the dustbin. This was a deal-breaker.

Pet vacuum FAQs

James Brains/Insider

What is the difference between a pet vacuum and a regular vacuum?

Many vacuums that aren't specifically marketed for pet hair work just fine, but the main features that make a vacuum ideal for pet hair are strong suction, excellent filtration, and specialized cleaner heads and attachments. 

Are robot vacuums good for pet hair?

Robot vacs are a great way to pick up loose pet hair before it becomes embedded in carpets. Run them daily or every other day for best results. However, they don't work on stairs or elevated surfaces.

What kind of filter should I look for in a pet vacuum?

A well-sealed filtration system will ensure the debris doesn't end up back in the air you breathe. If you're concerned about allergens in your air, choose a vacuum that has a true HEPA filter. These filters (commonly found in air purifiers) capture 99.7% of 0.3-micron particles. 

What are the best attachments for pet hair?

Brushrolls on the main head of most vacuum cleaners loosen pet hair enough for the vac to suck it up. But for furniture, cat trees, and dog beds, look for attachments that have mini-motorized brushrolls or bristles that will loosen the fur.

How to clean a pet vacuum

Newer vacuums are easy to clean. Consult your user manual for the most accurate information, but most models can benefit from regular filter cleaning and checking the brushroll and removing any debris that's built up.

Our pet vacuum testing methodology

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We put each vacuum in this guide through several tests. The most important factors to consider when buying a vacuum are how well it picks up pet hair on a variety of surfaces and how easy it is to use, empty, and maintain.

Here's a breakdown of how much of each material (in grams) the top picks cleaned up on each surface in our tests:

Here are the main attributes we look at and how we test them:

Carpet cleaning: One at a time, I poured 100 grams of different substances on a 5-square-foot patch of carpeting. I used 100 grams of flour, coffee grounds, and cat litter; 50 grams of Cheerios; and a 1-gram mix of cat and dog fur of varying lengths. Then I vacuumed up as much of each substance as I could in 30 seconds. Finally, I compared the weight of the dustbin after vacuuming to its starting weight to determine how much of each material the vacuum collected.

Hardwood cleaning: The process was the same as with carpet cleaning, only the tests were conducted on 5 square feet of hardwood flooring.

Furniture cleaning: I poured 50 grams each of cat litter and flour plus the 1 gram pet hair mix on a chair with fabric upholstery. I used the manufacturer-recommended cleaning configuration for furniture. Again, to determine how much debris the vacuum collected in 30 seconds, I compared the weights of the dustbin before and after sucking up each material.

Battery (if applicable): I fully charged the vacuum. Then I timed how long it could run on top power until the battery died. Lastly, I timed how long it took to fully charge the vacuum.

Ease of use: This is a somewhat subjective experience measurement. As I used each vacuum, I observed what made it difficult or easy to use. For example, the Dyson vacuums are harder to use because you need to keep your finger on the trigger to keep the vacuum running. Also, they are heavy in the handheld configuration. The cord got in the way with some of the corded vacuums I tested. The Miele lost points because of its suboptimal maneuverability.

Disposal: Aside from the Miele, which has a disposable vacuum bag, I emptied the dustbins of the vacuums at least a dozen times each. As I did this, I noted how messy the process was and if I came in contact with the debris. Preference was given to vacuums that were easy to empty and didn't send dust flying outside of the trash bin.

James Brains

Home & Kitchen Reporter, Insider Reviews

James is a Home & Kitchen Reporter for Insider Reviews, where he specializes in sleep, HVAC, and kitchen appliances.  He has tested more than 30 mattresses from startups like Casper and legacy brands like Tempur-Pedic, using his background in experimental psychology to develop objective tests and evaluate comfort, support, motion transfer, and more. He authors our guide to the best mattresses.  In addition to being Insider Reviews' mattress expert, James has extensively covered robot vacuums, air conditioners, air purifiers, and more within the HVAC space. He's tested more than 20 robot vacs from brands like iRobot and Roborock over the years and is no stranger to keeping his house at a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit for weeks on end all in the name of testing air conditioners. He's a multifaceted writer who has covered everything from health and fitness to consumer technology. His mission is to help people get the most value for their money by guiding them in making informed buying decisions. James is currently based in Lansing, Michigan, where he lives in "The Barn Mansion," a three-story Dutch colonial home, with his wife, two sons, two cats, and a rambunctious rat terrier.  When James isn't testing products and writing for Insider, he's helping to run a popular local Facebook group, Lansing Foodies. See below for some of his work: The best mattress for every type of sleeper in 2021, according to our rigorous testing The 6 best robot vacuums we tested in 2021 The 6 best air conditioners we tested in 2021 The best Instant Pots and electric pressure cookers we tested in 2021 10 grilling essentials that chefs and pitmasters swear by for making the best BBQ The 5 best mattress toppers we tested in 2021 Contact info: [email protected] Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test kitchen products.

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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected].

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