Staff author Sabine Heinlein has been a journalist for greater than 20 years. She obsesses over the way to take away cat and rabbit fur from her sofa and hairballs from her heirloom rugs. She has written guides to upright and canister, handheld, and cordless stick vacuums, amongst others.

If you routinely clear up after fur-shedding pets, the Black+Decker 20V Max Dustbuster SuperiorClean+ Cordless Pet Hand Vacuum HHVK515JP07 is particularly designed that can assist you combat the battle.

It’s an amazing all-purpose cleaner, and it’s particularly efficient on fur. The HHVK515JP07 picked up fur higher than any handheld mannequin we tried. The solely space the place it struggled was in eradicating fur from the grippy upholstery of a automotive flooring and trunk, although all the hand held vacuums we examined carried out poorly at this activity. (If you already personal a handheld vacuum and battle with this situation, we advocate the Uproot Clean Pro pet hair remover.)

This vacuum effortlessly sucks up other forms of particles, too, together with glitter, crumbs, and mud. It has two suction modes, however we discovered the low mode to be sturdy sufficient for many cleansing eventualities.

It has an extra-large dustbin. The HHVK515JP07’s 25-ounce-capacity dustbin is the most important of any handheld vacuum we examined. This capability is useful while you’re vacuuming numerous pet fur, which might rapidly clog smaller bins.

But it may be awkward in tight areas and difficult to empty. The vacuum’s built-in, extendable crevice instrument will get into most nooks and crannies, however the instrument is just too massive and stiff to suit into extra-tight spots and sometimes slides again into place unexpectedly. The filters typically slip out while you’re emptying the bin.

It has a future time. This mannequin has a powerful run time of 25 minutes on the low suction mode, adequate for many furry conditions. Its battery—which you’ll be able to’t exchange—fees in about three hours.

It’s sturdy and dependable, and it has a median guarantee. The HHVK515JP07 comes with a two-year guarantee, common for handheld vacuums. I’ve used mine each day for nearly 4 years. The suction hasn’t diminished, and the vacuum has withstood being dropped and knocked over. Many of its elements, together with its washable filters, belt, and charger, are replaceable.

Read extra concerning the Black+Decker 20V Max Dustbuster SuperiorClean+ Cordless Pet Hand Vacuum HHVK515JP07 in our information to handheld vacuums.

The highly effective, versatile, and whisper-quiet SEBO Airbelt K3 Premium canister vacuum is particularly nice for folks with pets because of its superior cleansing efficiency and helpful attachments. It additionally affords top-notch filtration, which can be a blessing for individuals who have pet allergy symptoms.

It has wonderful cleansing energy. Whether it was tackling sand, fur, kibble, or hay (hi there, bunny!), the Airbelt K3 Premium was a prime performer in our cleansing assessments. It assaults fur with an electrical, height-adjustable cleaner head that’s equally good on exhausting flooring and low- to high-pile rugs and carpets. And its brush roll releases with the push of a button, so you possibly can take away tangled fur in seconds.

Its electrical cleaner head is the most effective among the many vacs we’ve examined. The Airbelt K3 Premium’s 12-inch electrical cleaner head has a motorized brush roll that lifts and agitates filth into the tube. Because it’s self-propelled, the cleaner head glides simply on various kinds of flooring and over thresholds, and the entire unit requires much less effort to push than the opposite canister vacuums we examined—in reality, typically it’s so speedy, it’s important to play catch-up.

This mannequin additionally comes with a parquet brush for delicate flooring, which successfully cleans corners that the electrical brush misses.

It affords wonderful filtration. A terrific alternative for these with allergy symptoms, notably pet allergy symptoms, the Airbelt K3 Premium has three filters: a bag, which captures nearly all of the particles and mud that the vacuum sucks up, an S-class pre-motor filter, which is a bit higher than HEPA filtration, and an exhaust filter.

It’s snug and handy. The Airbelt K3 Premium’s wand is height-adjustable, its ergonomic deal with suits comfortably within the hand, and the controls are conveniently situated on the deal with. It’s additionally straightforward to hold, and it’s outstandingly quiet, issuing a hum that didn’t rattle my bunnies.

It has helpful attachments, together with an elective grooming equipment. You can outfit the Airbelt K3 Premium with three helpful attachments: a skinny, extra-long crevice instrument that’s nice for cleansing radiators and alongside baseboards, an upholstery instrument for fur-covered couches, and a triangular horse-hair dusting brush that swivels 360 levels and is useful on bookshelves and in tight corners.

SEBO sells extra attachments on-line, together with a pet equipment with a mini turbo brush and a grooming instrument. We haven’t absolutely examined the equipment, however we did strive the pet-grooming brush. Test cat Tula grudgingly tolerated the comb, although it took loads of treats. (The different two cats and the rabbits bolted.) Respect your pet’s needs when making an attempt one in all these, and don’t drive it.

It’s repairable, and it has a protracted life expectancy. SEBO machines are examined to final for 20 years. They include a five-year guarantee for elements and labor, and seven-year protection for the motor, while you buy by means of a certified seller. If you register your vacuum, the guarantee will increase to seven and 10 years, respectively.

Read extra concerning the SEBO Airbelt K3 Premium in our information to upright and canister vacuums.

If you reside in a small house with a little bit pet or two, the Ryobi 18V One+ HP Cordless Pet Stick Vac Kit with Dual-Roller Bar, with its massive dustbin, could be all you must maintain stray fur at bay.

It’s an environment friendly cleaner. The Ryobi 18V One+ HP stick vac’s motorized all-terrain cleaner head works effectively on all forms of flooring, grabbing pet hair on rugs, tiles, and parquet. It has a headlight that illuminates mud bunnies in darkish corners.

It has an extra-large dustbin. With a capability greater than double that of our different favourite cordless stick vacuum, this Ryobi vacuum’s dustbin can maintain a good quantity of fur without having frequent emptying—an issue we encountered with most different cordless stick vacs.

Its increase mode works effectively on cussed pet accidents. The 18V One+ HP vac has two cleansing modes: eco, which permits for a 35-minute run time, adequate for many cleansing eventualities, and increase. We appreciated increase mode when confronted with a dry, set-in hairball in a Tibetan rug.

It morphs right into a handheld vacuum and has helpful attachments. The 18V One+ HP stick simply transforms right into a handheld vacuum. Its crevice instrument and pivoting brush are perfect for upholstery and awkwardly angled nooks. Its motorized mini brush was one of many few instruments we examined that made a dent within the thick layer of fur on clingy car-trunk upholstery.

It has a sturdy development—nevertheless it’s a bit heavy. The sturdy 18V One+ HP stick is constructed from thick plastic and steel. Though it doesn’t really feel fairly as cumbersome because it appears to be like, its heavy battery is positioned proper behind its deal with, and its motor is straight beneath that, which brought on us to change fingers often whereas vacuuming. The vacuum stands unsupported, so no have to scramble to discover a place to prop it up should you get pulled away.

It has a stable guarantee, and it’s versatile. Ryobi covers the 18V One+ HP persist with a three-year guarantee, an extended interval than the protection on most cordless stick vacuums we examined. Its battery is replaceable (like a lot of its elements) and suits with a wide range of Ryobi instruments. The battery recharges in lower than two hours—quicker than that of another vacuum we examined in our newest spherical.

Read extra concerning the Ryobi 18V One+ HP Cordless Pet Stick Vac Kit with Dual-Roller Bar in our information to cordless stick vacuums.

If your pets are shedding as if planning to hitch a nudist colony, and also you’re too drained to pull out the ol’ plug-in vac, a robotic vacuum is a superb sidekick for midweek cleanups. The Roborock Q5 and Roborock Q5+ (the Q5 with a self-emptying dock) ranked among the many most thorough and quietest cleaners we examined, they usually have helpful good options and mapping know-how in addition.

The Roborock Q5 cleans rapidly and effectively. In our assessments, the Q5 cleaned higher than another robotic within the $300 to $450 worth vary, sucking up virtually 90% of the particles we put down. With its laser-nav system and speedy processing, it mapped and vacuumed a multi-pet, 600-square-foot condo in about half the time as most of its rivals. (Remember to take away cables and cat toys, although. Despite firm claims of impediment avoidance, robotic vacuums nonetheless get trapped and confused simply.)

It’s quiet. Both the Q5 and the Q5+ have been significantly quieter than different robotic vacuums with related cleansing efficiency. The noise of some louder bots made all of the animals in our take a look at home skedaddle.

It has a superior app with an amazing mapping system. Among the app-controlled robots we examined, we preferred Roborock’s app the most effective. It is user-friendly and intuitive, it learns your flooring plan in a single mapping session, and it will possibly retailer a number of maps for various ranges of your own home in each 2D and 3D. Via the app, you possibly can activate auto-boost mode—good for fur-covered carpets—and schedule cleansing periods. Compatible with Alexa and Google Home, Roborock’s app usually responds effectively to voice instructions, too.

Read extra concerning the Roborock Q5 and Q5+ in our information to robotic vacuums.

The reasonably priced Eufy RoboVac 11S Max is about as efficient because the pricier Roborock Q5, nevertheless it lacks mapping know-how and different good options.

It cleans effectively and has a big bin. In our assessments, the RoboVac 11S Max cleaned about in addition to the a lot pricier Roborock Q5. It effortlessly eliminated rice, Cheerios, cat litter, and even baking soda sprinkled near baseboards (a rarity amongst even the most costly robotic fashions). As of early 2024, the 11S Max has one facet brush (the mannequin we initially examined had two). During testing, this vacuum effectively ferreted out an unholy quantity of fur and swept the entire batch into its extra-large dustbin.

It’s quiet and comparatively nimble. The RoboVac 11S Max is so quiet, you possibly can simply overlook that it’s operating. It skips over half-inch door thresholds and is ready to keep away from stairs and drops. With its anti-collision sensors, it stays away from (most) obstacles, together with cat toys. Its low top permits it to easily glide underneath furnishings and into darkish corners to chase down mud bunnies.

It doesn’t have Wi-Fi connectivity or good options, nevertheless it affords different useful choices. Though the RoboVac 11S Max doesn’t connect with an app and may’t create maps, it does include a distant management that allows you to schedule cleansing cycles and direct it to spots it could have missed.

Read extra concerning the Eufy RoboVac 11S Max in our information to robotic vacuums.

A very good vacuum cleaner is an efficient vacuum cleaner, no matter whether or not you personal a pet. But to zero in on the fashions that deal with pet fur particularly effectively, we checked out the entire vacuums we advocate and targeted on the next attributes:

Cleaning energy: We examined every of our picks in a multi-pet family to see the way it carried out on tiles, vinyl, and hardwood flooring, in addition to on totally different rugs and fabric. Even the most affordable vacuums might choose up pet hair from naked flooring in our assessments, however the wonderful fashions—with highly effective airflow and suction, plus optimized nozzles—eradicated fur from even the clingiest rugs and furnishings.

Multiple attachments and an electrical flooring brush: We examined every vacuum’s attachments and cleansing modes and famous whether or not it had an environment friendly upholstery instrument or a mini turbo brush for pet-hair removing. We in contrast turbo (propelled by airflow) and electrical (motor-powered) cleaner heads and attachments to see whether or not their plastic or rubber bristles managed to tug pet hair off rugs, couches, and automotive seats.

Maneuverability and flexibility: We examined the consolation and maneuverability of every vacuum. Those that caught our eye have been in a position to attain into nooks and crannies and simply seize mud bunnies underneath furnishings. Some full-size vacuums, akin to our cordless stick vac choose, can convert into handheld fashions for above-floor cleansing (a plus). For robotic vacuums, we assessed how effectively they navigated round furnishings and toys.

Pet-grooming instruments: Some newer fashions include pet-grooming instruments, often a brush that attaches to the vacuum hose. We are cautious of them: Many pets, notably cats and rabbits, are frightened of the sound of vacuum cleaners, and making an attempt to groom them with one is bound to misery them.

Run time: We in contrast marketed run time with real-life run time in battery-powered take a look at fashions and famous how lengthy every machine operated earlier than operating out of juice.

Tim Heffernan and Liam McCabe wrote a earlier model of this information, which we first revealed in 2018. This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.