- Cyber Monday deals
- The Verdict
- Quick List
- 1. Best vacuum for hardwood floors
- 2. Best vacuum-mop combo
- 3. Best value
- 4. Best cordless
- 5. Best upright
- 6. Best robot
- Meet the team
- How to choose
- How we test
- Glossary
- How do I know if my hardwood floors are sealed?
- Can I clean hard floors without a vacuum?
- Do vacuums damage wood floors?
- Can I use an upright vacuum on hardwood floors?
Recent updates
2 December 2024. Our best-on-test vacuum, upright vacuum and vacuum-mop combo for hardwood floors are all discounted in the Cyber Monday sales. I've included them at the top of this guide. 14 October 2024. Ultenic U12 Vesla replaced Shark Vertex Pro as the best value vacuum for hardwood floors, thanks to its similar cleaning performance at half the price.
Choosing the right vacuum cleaner for a home with hardwood floors requires some different thinking. For other, more durable flooring types, the more powerful the vacuum, the better. But with something as easily scratched or discolored as wood, there are a few other things to consider.
You'll need a vacuum with a soft brushroll and a low-friction floorhead to protect the wood's surface. It'll also help if the vacuum can adapt to different floors (manually or automatically) so that it can tackle area rugs or different flooring in other rooms with ease.
In terms of suction power, vacuums typically excel on hardwood floors, so the power factor isn't quite as important as with carpets, which is why we consider hardwood-specific criteria to assess each vacuum (see our how to choose section for more details).
As H&G's home tech editor, I spend my days testing, reviewing and writing about vacuums cleaners with the help of a team of dedicated experts. We've tested 47 of the best vacuums for over 200 hours so far at H&G, both in our homes and in our standardized test center, to put them through their paces and determine which vacuums are worth your money.
So read on for the full guide, and feel free to click the navigation links to take you to each specific product.
Cyber Monday deals on vacuums for hardwood floors
Best vacuums for hardwood floors – The Verdict
After all our testing and analysis, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes out on top as the best choice thanks to its flawless performance on wooden floors and its relatively accessible price point. After testing, it's the vacuum I now use in my own home, and most of my floors are wooden.
But if you're looking for something more comprehensive, I also recommend the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam. It vacuums, mops and steam cleans and, as well as achieving an impressive five stars on test, it's also been recommended to us by professional cleaners as the best way to clean hardwood flooring.
The quick list
Here's the list at a glance. Scroll further or click the navigation links for more info on why each of these, in their own right, are the best vacuums for hardwood floors.
Best vacuum for hardwood floors
With excellent suction, a laser to illuminate hidden dust and a soft brush roll to protect wood – this is the very best vacuum for hardwood floors.
Best vacuum-mop combo for hardwood floors
The full package. Vacuum, mop and steam clean your floors in one appliance that works impressively well at an impressive cost.
Best cordless vacuum for hardwood floors
One of the most powerful vacuums we've ever tested, this is the strongest choice for a cordless vacuum for hardwood floors. It is a little pricey, though.
Best upright vacuum for hardwood floors
A powerhouse that captures all dust, dirt and hair in one run, with two brushrolls (one soft and one with angled brushes) that are safe on wood (and all floor types).
Best robot vacuum for hardwood floors
A vacuum that can mop and clean using sonic technology, this is our pick for the best robot for hardwood. It's reasonably priced, too.
The best vacuums for hardwood floors in 2024
You can trust Homes & Gardens. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, helping you choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Here, we run through why we think each of these vacuums is one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors, with links to full, in-depth reviews.
The best vacuum for hardwood floors
Balancing suction power, ease of use and performance on wooden floors against the price - the Dyson V12 Detect Slim is the best choice. It's a highly powerful cordless vacuum that is perfect for cleaning hardwood floors, without a price tag that's too out-of-reach. Of all the vacuums I have tested, this is one I choose to use in my own home,which has predominantly hardwood floors and I love it.
The V12 Detect Slim is the smallest and most affordable vacuum in Dyson's range of detection vacuums that includes the Dyson V15 Detect (also in this guide) and the Dyson Gen5detect. While both of these two options have larger dustbins and slightly improved features, the V12 Detect Slim costs hundreds of dollars less - and you still get all of the core features and cleaning performance.
What makes the V12 Detect Slim stand out among the best vacuums for hardwood floors is the FluffyOptic floor head. It has a green laser that genuinely reveals dust that the naked eye can't see (even in a well-lit room), as well as a soft brush roll that is sure to never scratch or damage wood.
The suction power is an absolute breeze, too. I use this multiple times a week and I've never had to go back over a section of the floor to vacuum everything up. Even when it comes to hair, the V12 Detect Slim has no trouble picking it all up in a single pass, and the handy particle counter on the vacuum's screen shows you just how dirty the floors were.
It costs around $650 at full price (but is often on offer for around $400-500), and included in the price is the Motorized Anti-Tangle floor head which is mainly used for carpets. But, even in a home of exclusively hard wood floors, this powerful attachment can be used for rugs, mattresses and certain furniture.
For larger homes, perhaps the V15 Detect or the Gen5detect are better suited thanks to their bigger dustbins. But the only downside is emptying it more often. If you're ok with that, I'd save the money.
Read the full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review for more insight.
Best vacuum-mop combo for hardwood floors
If you're looking for the full package – a vacuum cleaner that washes and sanitizes your your hardwood floors – the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam is the best solution. It's a vacuum cleaner, mop and steam cleaner in one, with dedicated modes for hard floors or carpets/rugs.
I spoke with professional cleaners for our mopping vs wet vacuuming guide and two of the experts recommended the CrossWave HydroSteam. Lina DaSilva, founder of cleaning company Toronto Shine Cleaning, praised its 'versatility and ease of switching between hard floors and area rugs,' adding 'it's a powerful wet vacuum that provides excellent multi-surface cleaning.'
We saw similar results in our own tests, with our reviewer Aleenah Ansari awarding it the full five stars thanks to how comprehensively it was able to clean her floors. She also found it easy to clean the dirty water and debris tank which has a hair strainer (for pet and human hair) which helps to separate larger debris, and there's a self-cleaning cycle to keep the vacuum at its most hygienic.
A rare feature for a wet vacuum and mop combo, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam can also clean carpets and rugs, so it's a great multi-purpose option if your home has any soft flooring.
If you're looking for a vacuum cleaner, and only a vacuum cleaner, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim is your best bet. But if you're looking for more than that, such as an appliance that can fully clean and sanitize your wooden floors, the Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam is the best in our list.
Note: The Bissell Crosswave Hydrosteam should only be used on sealed hardwood floors, as the moisture and high-temperature steam can damage the porous nature of unsealed wooden floors. To find out whether your hardwood floors are sealed, see the FAQs at the bottom of the page.
Read more in our full Bissell CrossWave Hydrosteam review.
Best value vacuum for hardwood floors
Usually, vacuum cleaners that sell for under $200 aren't good. They promise powerful suction and useful features for a fraction of the cost of other vacuums, but pretty much always fail to deliver on those promises.
The Ultenic U12 Vesla, however, truly surprised our team on test, picking up debris large and small with ease. 'It sucked up cereal effortlessly and quietly from hardwood, linoleum, and carpet floors: a totally faultless performance,' our tester Laura Honey shared. There were no problems aside from the filter clogging after vacuuming too much flour and sugar. That might sound worrying but we put vacuums through the extreme in our tests, and it was a quick, easy fix to clear the blockage.
When it came to vacuuming hair, the Ultenic was brilliant even on eco mode. 'It pushed hair around on the carpet a little, but successfully cleared everything relatively quickly. On linoleum and hardwood floor, this was completely faultless,' Laura noted. So, it didn't work quite as well on carpets, but had no problem on hardwood and linoleum floors.
The cordless vacuum even has different suction settings from eco to turbo, and it glides smoothly across the floor, making it a breeze to use. And, surprisingly at this price point, it has a genuinely useful dashboard displaying battery life, cleaning power, and any faults. It's also lighter and more compact than other cordless vacs of a similar nature.
Read our full Ultenic U12 Vesla review for more details.