We all know how annoying vacuuming our vehicle can be. There always seems to be dirt that won’t come off or a few stray Cheez-Its under a seat, just out of reach. The worst part is trying to accomplish this task with an oversized shop vac or even your upright vacuum. Good luck!
We set out to find the best car vacuum available to meet your cleaning needs. We set up a test for posterity, pitting 14 different shaped and sized vacuums against each other on as level a playing field as possible. The tests covered noise level, suction power, ease of disposal, battery life and, of course, how well they sucked up different debris from the floor. Here’s what we found.
The Best Car Vacuums
Buying a vacuum cleaner specifically designed for a car is a worthwhile investment, no matter how often you clean your vehicle’s interior. They’re typically lighter and more compact than a standard vacuum and come equipped with attachments that allow you to get into the most difficult nooks and crannies. Best of all, once Cheerios and beach sand are vacuumed up, dirt removal is usually much easier than with larger vacuums.
Note on our floor mat test: We lined up five different contaminants: fine sand, Cheerios, crushed Cheez-Its, soil and pet hair. Then, to make the test consistent and fair, we equipped each vacuum with a crevice attachment, either built-in or supplied separately. Since this is the most popular accessory for vacuuming your vehicle, it made sense to us to test them only with this accessory. Also, some of the smaller vacuums come with a small mouth, and it wouldn’t have been fair to test them with large mouth vacuums.
So it’s worth noting, looking at the results of the floor mat test photos, that many vacuums come with attachments that make it easy to deal with large pieces. While the small openings provided higher suction values, they had a hard time dealing with some large pieces.
So, if you really want to reduce the time and effort required to vacuum your vehicle, it’s time to buy a car vacuum. Some dirt requires a more powerful machine, while for others, a compact unit will suffice. But either way, it’s better than lugging the vacuum around in the hall closet.
1. Dustbuster 16-Volt
Surprised? We were too. But there’s no doubt this is the best car vacuum we’ve tested. While it didn’t earn gold star status in the suction and battery life test, the trusty Black+Decker Dust buster reigned supreme in our real-world floor mat test.
Black+Decker’s portable vacuum had no problem cleaning all five contaminants tested. The slot opening was wide enough to avoid any clogging, and the collection chamber handled everything with ease. Emptying was also a breeze, with nothing getting stuck around the filter. We also liked the design of the stand-up loading base.
That said, it’s not perfect. The battery life is poor compared to other competitors, as it’s just under 10 minutes. You’ll have to hurry if you want to vacuum your entire interior. The Dust buster is also noisy, with a high-pitched whistle that might make your dog shudder.
Despite these drawbacks, we chose the Dust buster as the best car vacuum for its successful mix of price, performance, and home versatility. For big messes, this is the car vacuum you need.
Buy: Dustbuster 16-Volt
2. Pivot 20-Volt
Black+Decker performed well in our tests, as evidenced by its occupation of the top two spots. Once again, the wide crevice opening performed very well against our five contaminants, but the most attractive feature is the pivot function, hence the name.
The long crevice opening, combined with a swivel angle of up to 200 degrees, allows the Black+Decker Pivot to reach places that are usually inaccessible. The battery life is mediocre, around 11 minutes, and the noise level is rather average.
The only complaint we have about the Pivot is the dust removal. Because of its design, the small vacuum channel gets clogged easily with large particles trying to bypass the filter. Be prepared to empty it a few times if you’re dealing with large pieces.
Other than that, the Pivot does a great job of cleaning cars quickly, and the swivel feature offers some unique angles.
Buy: Pivot 20-Volt
3. Vac N Blo compact wall mount
You’ll feel like Rambo throwing this bad boy over your shoulder, but, boy, does it do the job. Looking like some sort of jet engine activated by a big old-school toggle switch, the MetroVac Vac N Blo Compact Wall Mount is a veritable beast.
Although it’s mounted on your garage wall, this vacuum comes with a handy shoulder strap we prefer. (The vacuum comes with a plethora of attachments, but we used the crevice tool for our floor mat test, where it didn’t make the grade with the big chunks.
In power, the Vac N Blo scored high while maintaining lower noise levels than most handheld vacuums. However, the 10-pound weight is heavy, and emptying the filter is a chore - we had to manually remove it and shake out the pieces, which proved to be an effort.
If you don’t want to mess around and need to power clean your car, look no further.
Buy: Vac N Blo compact wall mount
4. M18 Cordless Vacuum
Milwaukee is really making everything right now, so we had to try the Milwaukee M18 Cordless Vacuum. Right off the bat, you’re looking at the winner of our battery life test, the M18 RedLithium XC5.0, which beats all other vacuums with a time of 23 minutes and 24 seconds.
The collection chamber is nice and big, and emptying it is simple. The vacuum doesn’t make much noise either, but they expelled excess air from the top, so expect a warm breeze when you use it.
The crevice attachment is sadly skinny, and it struggled with Cheerios and Cheez-Its, as seen in the photo below. Weighing in at nearly two kilos, it burns your forearms after prolonged use.
The other problem is that you’ll need Milwaukee’s M18 battery and charger, sold separately. But if you already own other Milwaukee M18 tools, the battery works perfectly with this vacuum. For a long cleaning session, it’s the perfect solution.
Buy: M18 Cordless Vacuum
5. 20 Volt Max Cordless Vacuum
DeWalt’s 20-volt Max cordless vacuum competed with Milwaukee’s vacuum, but they outdid the yellow unit in some areas. Notably, the 20V Max XR Lithium Ion’s battery life wasn’t as impressive as the Milwaukee M18’s, but it was still good enough for a comfortable second place in our tests.
The DeWalt’s flat nozzle also struggled to get through large chunks, and emptying the vacuum was a bit more difficult. However, the DeWalt is lighter, and they distributed the weight over the middle of the machine, which helped reduce wrist fatigue.
Our verdict? Take the machine you already have batteries for. DeWalt and Milwaukee are pretty similar in price and performance. Even companies like Bosch, Makita and Ryobi offer handheld vacuums along with power tools in their respective rechargeable battery lines, and most offer optional power packs that further extend the range. These rechargeable battery systems really work, but they only make sense if you go with one brand.
Buy: 20 Volt Max Cordless Vacuum
6. HomeVac H30
If there was an award for best packaging, the HomeVac H30 from Eufy by Anker would take the cake. Opening this thing is like unwrapping a royal relic. Fortunately, the sleek machine inside did the packaging proud and was ranked as our best handheld vacuum.
Immediately, the narrow opening caused the vacuum cleaner problems with large pieces, causing blockages. However, it handled the small stuff with ease. Powerful in its high-power mode, the H30 also produces above-average noise levels.
Battery life in maximum power mode lasted 10 minutes and 6 seconds; in Eco mode, it lasted just over 22 minutes. Emptying the dirt out of the vacuum is a little tricky for the first time, but once you figure out how the machine disassembles, cleaning the filter is a breeze.
Because of its ease of use, lightweight, and suction power, the Eufy by Anker HomeVac H30 is our choice to quickly take care of small messes in your car.
Buy: HomeVac H30
7. Ultralight Pet Pro, wired
The Shark Ultralight Pet Pro is competing with the Dyson V8 for the title of dual-purpose champion. (Both devices also feature a fun, gun-like design that looks like a blaster from a sci-fi movie.) The Dyson came out on top for a reason: it can do everything the Shark can do, without a power cord. The only positive? The Shark’s flat sucker is far superior to the Dyson’s, as shown in the image below: the Shark left almost nothing behind.
While it’s fun to point and make pew-pew noises, the Ultralight proved heavy on the wrist, as all the weight is in front of the hand. At 25 feet, the cord is quite long, but pulling it all over the car while you work quickly becomes tiresome. While it performed well in our tests, the corded shark seems to be left in the past for vacuuming your car in a portable manner.
Buy: Ultralight Pet Pro, wired
8. Garage Pro
Most of us aren’t professional car cleaners or garage owners. But if you are, it may be time to upgrade to the Bissell Garage Pro. This wall-mounted wet and dry vacuum blower isn’t portable at all, but it makes up for it with its supreme power and 10-meter-long hose.
Once the Garage Pro is mounted, the professional-grade features become available. The hose is more than long enough to wrap around a vehicle and comes with tons of accessories. The dust tank is easy to empty and a nice protective cover over the power button keeps it clean.
This is the loudest vacuum of the bunch, but that’s being expected because of its fantastic suction power. It sucked up just about everything with the flat nozzle, leaving behind only a few scattered pieces.
The Garage Pro won’t be for everyone, but it’s a brilliant investment for professional detailers, store owners, or people who frequently clean cars.
Buy: Garage Pro
9. WandVac
The Shark WandVac is another lightweight stick vacuum with a sexy, sleek design that excels at small messes, but struggles with anything beyond that. Battery life is pretty poor, but the noise is tolerable. The vacuum’s mouth opening isn’t designed to suck up Cheerios or any other modestly sized object that might end up on your floor. It’s great for the home or office, but not really for the car.
We noticed that small pieces of dirt and other debris would escape from the bottom when we turned the vacuum off. This seems to be because of some sort of problem with the seal around the dirt compartment release the door on the bottom. It is possible that we received a defective unit. Again, it is usable for minor touch-ups on the dashboard or seats, but not for anything else in a vehicle.
Buy: WandVac
10. Cordless Flex 20V MAX
One of our test team members criticized this vacuum upon receipt, based on his previous unpleasant experiences with this unit. Well, either he had a bad vacuum, or they have seriously upgraded this unit since then, as the Black+Decker 20V Max Cordless Flex performed well on our floor mat test. It sucked up everything but the big chunks of Cheez-It and wasn’t much louder (or quieter) than most of its competitors.
Dumping the waste is fairly simple, but there are a lot of nooks and crannies inside the machine that collect dirt, which can be a pain to empty completely. The battery life is good enough to be the third best in our test, and it fits easily into the charging station.
However, we have to criticize the hose: the wrap-around design looks smart right out of the box, but it’s actually quite difficult to get the hose to fit snugly over the main body, which is necessary for it to fit on its charging station (unless you leave it on its side). If it weren’t for this difficulty, the Flex would rank much higher on our list, as its performance is impressive.
11. AeroSlim
At just over a foot long, the Bissell AeroSlim is easily the smallest vacuum we’ve tested - and the results reflect that. The AeroSlim should fit perfectly in the glove compartment or center console of most large pickups and SUVs, and slip easily into the trunk of compact cars. While its portability is unmatched, the AeroSlim’s overall cleaning capacity is insufficient for big messes.
Suction power is decent, but the collection chamber fills up quickly, and the narrow opening gets clogged with the smallest bits. Battery life is impressive for such a small device, but we’d avoid it for anything other than cleaning seats or cup holders.
Buy: AeroSlim
12. MultiClean Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner
It wouldn’t be a true car vacuum test without the entry of an industrial corded vacuum, would it? The Bissell MultiClean Wet/Dry vacuum was our choice this time around, and it has features that most canister vacuums don’t have. It’s not devoid of attachments, but the included crevice tool has a bit of trouble with Cheerios.
It exerts excellent suction power and rolls easily. Combined with a rotating nozzle, we didn’t have to adjust its position too often. Our major complaint? There’s no easy way to empty the dirt without tipping the 14-pound unit completely upside down. While this is relatively common when emptying shop-vac type machines, it shows that there are easier ways. Oh, and the barrel design is pretty cool.
Buy: MultiClean Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner
13. Car vacuum cleaner
So much for “real reviews by real users.” If you’ve ever needed proof of questionable reviews and ratings on Amazon, this lousy vacuum cleaner is a prime example.
It’s the best-selling car vacuum on Amazon, with over 25,000 reviews and a four-star rating. And it’s extremely affordable, with a retail price of $40 that still seems on sale. So we bought one and put it on the test. As you can see from the image below, it did well with sand. Everything else? A complete and utter failure. It can suck up dirt and light debris on hard floors, but on everything else? Or on carpet? Forget it.
In fact, the ThisWorx car vacuum doesn’t work.
We attributed its poor performance to weak suction and a thin opening. The unit clogs as soon as it smells a Cheerio.
There are a few positives. It’s small, easy to use. It’s the quietest of the bunch and it’s fairly easy to empty. And the 12V, 16-foot power cord means it’s specifically for car, RV or boat use, since it doesn’t come with an adapter. That said, it’s the ultimate irony: here’s a car vacuum that sucks because a) it only works in the car (or RV/boat), and b) it just doesn’t suck.
Given its mediocre performance, cheap construction, flimsy materials, and single-use power cord, we highly recommend shelling out an extra $20 and getting a Dust buster.
Buy: Car vacuum cleaner
How we tested the car vacuums
We wanted to test these different car vacuums as thoroughly as possible, so we set up a test for them. We used six different parameters to determine the best one:
Sound
Suction power
Weight
Ease of dirt removal
Battery life
The floor mat challenge - how each car vacuum sucked up different debris.
Sound
To test the sound level of each vacuum, we set up a decibel meter at an arm’s length away. We then ran each vacuum cleaner at maximum power for 30 seconds. Interestingly, bigger doesn’t always mean louder.
Suction power
To determine the maximum suction values, we purchased a vacuum meter that measures inches of water, which is the suction power of the vacuum motor. Not all vacuums have a circular opening on the inlet side, so we taped each opening with painter’s tape, drilled a pencil-sized hole in the middle to match the vacuum meter’s inlet, and measured the maximum suction.
Weight
To measure weight, we simply placed each vacuum - fully assembled - on a postage scale and recorded the reading. We found a few discrepancies between our weight measurements and the manufacturer’s specifications listed online.
Ease of Dirt Removal
To test the ease of dirt removal, we dumped each vacuum after performing our floor mat test and noted the number of steps required, how easy it was to remove and clean the filter, and how well the dirt was compartmentalized in the collection chamber. We can empty some vacuums with the push of a button, while others require more laborious disassembly.
Battery life
To test the battery life, we charged each cordless vacuum overnight and ran them all all the while running a timer and noting when each vacuum turned off completely. We were really glad to have hearing protection.
Floor Mat Challenge
To keep the playing field level, we equipped each vacuum with a crevice attachment, the one you typically used to vacuum your car. We then had each vacuum try to suck up lines of fine sand, Cheerios, crushed Cheez-Its, dirt, and pet hair in one pass. The pictures next to each vacuum speak for themselves as to the results.
We quickly discovered that it wasn’t necessarily the suction power that was important for a car vacuum. Rather, it was the size of the mouth opening that was the actual key to walking away with a clean floor mat.
Cars, especially family cars, can accumulate a wide variety of dirt and debris, and all small-mouth car vacuums are simply clogged with large pieces - usually (parents, take note!) by Cheerios.
Once the testing was complete, we felt confident that we had tested each vacuum fairly and thoroughly and judged without bias to determine the results.
FAQs
Are car vacuums worth it?
Using a car vacuum saves you from having to carry a large shop vac or force your home vacuum into a small space we did not design it for. Car vacuums are fast, compact and usually have attachments that allow you to access tight spaces, such as under seats or the dashboard. If you clean your car regularly, yes, they are worth the money.
Can I use my regular vacuum cleaner to clean my car?
In theory, yes. However, your regular household vacuum cleaner probably has a power cord that limits its mobility (and yours). It also may not have the reach or attachments to properly get into every nook and cranny of your vehicle. In addition, many home vacuums have large, unwieldy heads. Good luck cleaning your floors with that head.
How much does a car vacuum cost?
We’ve tested a wide range of vacuums that vary widely in price. In our findings, we didn’t really see a significant correlation between price and performance. The cheapest vacuum we tested didn’t perform at all, but the most expensive vacuum didn’t massively outperform the others.
Prices range from $40 to $450, and the sweet spot seems to be around $100. It all depends on what you want from a car vacuum - for us, it’s power, performance and versatility - and the price will reflect that.
If you already own and use power tools with a proprietary rechargeable battery system, such as Milwaukee or DeWalt, we recommend buying the vacuum in your system. These units work almost as well in vehicles as any car-specific vacuum, but the added cost of the battery and charger (if you don’t already have them) can really drive up the overall price.
Are upright vacuums suitable for cars?
Most canister vacuums, like the Dyson V8 and Shark Ultralight, are disconnected from the primary unit and can therefore work in the car. However, the head unit often enhances the suction power and efficiency of upright vacuums, so performance could be compromised if it were removed.
If you have a motor home or caravan, an upright vacuum may be the answer. They’re fantastic in these places because of their versatility, and they’re portable enough to take with you.
While you’ll probably never use the handle and/or floor attachments to clean your car, a vacuum that cleans both the house, and the car is very convenient.
How often should I vacuum my car?
Once a month, but it depends on how often you use your vehicle. To avoid buildup, it may be a good idea to do a simple touch-up vacuuming every week or two, which will keep you out of the dirty trenches caused by neglect. This approach could justify buying a cheap, lightweight vacuum to keep in your car, as well as a larger garage or shop vacuum.
