Quite often you a large upright or canister vacuum cleaner is over-kill.  If you want to clean the car for example, a better solution is a smaller, handheld vacuum that perhaps doesn’t require an electrical outlet to operate.  This type of vacuum certainly has its advantages in terms of portability, but they also often suffer a few disadvantages, like:

• poor suction
• poor battery time

Below are a list of hand held vacuum cleaners that we have looked at on this site.

The Electrolux EL1012A Stick Hand Vac 2 N 1 Ergorapido Cordless vacuum cleaner is more expensive than some other stick vacuums, but Electrolux certainly don’t disappoint with this model.

The Electrolux Pronto 2-in-1 stick vacuum has a built in hand vacuum so that it really is dual function.

Electrolux have given this Stick vacuum cyclonic technology to keep dust away from filters, resulting in strong, lasting suction.

Other features of this vacuum include:

• Built-in crevice tool.
• High, powerful cleaning mode, and quiet mode for less power but without disturbing others.
• Brush roll indicator light so you know its working properly.
• Easy to empty dust cup that can lifted out to empty, or emptied by lifting a lid or even suck out the dirt using another vacuum cleaner via the vacuum port, although obviously that last method is not going to be useful if this is your only vacuum cleaner.
• Cordless – meaning no more power cables. The charging station can be placed on the floor, or if you prefer, mount it on a wall to help save space.

The Electrolux EL1012A Stick Hand Vac 2-in-1 is a firm favourite with reviewers at Amazon. At the time of writing this, over 74% of people who reviewed it gave it the maximum 5 out of 5 score.

Customers of the Electrolux Pronto 2-in-1 stick vacuum liked:

• Great on every surface.
• Looks great & really convenient.
• Great for pet fur and strong suction.
• The hand vac is great for cleaning your car.
• Very easy to empty.
• Hair doesn’t stick to the filter.

.. but were not so keen on:

• Short battery life and long charge times.

The Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo Sweeper is a rechargeable, cordless sweeper that can work on bare floors or carpets. The Turbo Sweeper uses a 3 brush system and motorised brush roll. Its dual edge brushes help to maximize your efforts when cleaning.

The Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo can be used on any floors, though it is for lighter work.

This Sweeper converts into a hand-held sweeper for when you need to clean your stairs or other difficult areas.

As with sweepers of this design, the handle can lie flat on the floor, meaning you can easily get underneath the furniture.

Those people who left reviews of this vacuum on Amazon tended to like it. The average rating of nearly 60 customers was around 4 out of 5 stars.

Things people liked about this Sweeper:

• Easy to get under furniture
• Lightweight
• Good battery life

.. and things they were not so keen on..

• Long hair gets caught up in the brush roll and requires a manual cleaning.
• It’s not a vacuum so don’t expect it to deep clean your carpets.

The Bissell Featherweight Lightweight Vacuum (3106A) is bagless vacuum cleaner that is very light at around 3.5 pounds in weight. Its very easy to use and can convert from a floor cleaner into a handheld vacuum cleaner.

The Bissell Featherweight can clean carpets, upholstery, bare floors, stairs – you name it, this versatile little vacuum can clean it.

Being bagless, the Bissell Featherweight collects the dirt into a dust cup that has a washable cloth filter. The dust cup comes off easily for emptying.

This vacuum is ideal for small areas or for anyone looking for a combi handheld and floor cleaner.

While this vacuum might chock on larger bits of debris, its great for lifting the dirt and dust and a lot of users comment on how good it is at getting bare floors clean. It probably isn’t a good bet if you have carpets throughout, and certainly long hair carpets could cause the Featherweight problems.

If you have bare floors in your home, and you are looking for a lightweight, no, featherweight vacuum cleaner, this might be a good choice. It’s cheap too.

The Bissell 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser is a popular corded Handheld Vacuum Cleaner by Bissell created specifically for removing that stubborn pet hair from carpets and upholstery. If you transport your dog in the car, this handheld vacuum cleaner might be just the thing.

Features of the vacuum include:

• Flexible rubber nozzle that removes the pet hair and dirt from upholstery and carpets, stairs etc.
• A hard nozzle for cleaning your car or other dirt and debris.
• Easy nozzle release for changing nozzles.
• Under 4 lb in weight.
• Bagless dirt container.
• Comfortable handle with on/off switch conveniently located.
• Washable HEPA media filter.
• 16 foot power cable so that you can reach the car from the power socket in your house or garage.

What do 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser users like about this handheld vacuum cleaner:

• Great suction from such a small unit.
• Nice long cord.
• Easy to empty dust bin.

.. and what they don’t like:

• Potential problem with the two exhausts located just behind the suction area as this tends to blow the pet hair you are trying to suck up.

Hand held vacuum cleaners are very useful for cleaning the car and other hard to reach places in your home where you cannot get your normal vacuum. This Eureka 71B handheld vacuum cleaner has a powerful 5.5 am suction power and a stretchy hose. Its ideal for cleaning carpets in your car, and getting down in between the seats and pockets. You can also clean upholstery and stairs with ease and get down behind the sofa cushions to get those biscuit crumbs.

At just 5 pounds in weight, its easy to carry around without tiring.

The onboard crevice tool is great for tight spaces, and the revolving brush has its own motor (another motor powers the suction of the Eureka 71B.

This Eureka handheld vacuum cleaner is bagless and the clear dust bin makes it easy to see when it needs to be emptied.

There is also a 20 foot cord that wraps around the back end of the vacuum cleaner for easy storage. At 20 feet, the cord gives you ample room for moving around the room or car, without having to re-plug the vacuum into another power outlet.

The stretchy hose also gives you more room for maneuver as it stretches up to three times its retracted length.

One Eureka innovation on this vacuum is the Riser Visor. The idea behind this clear plastic cover is that it stays down for cleaning horizontal surfaces, but flips up when vacuuming vertical surfaces like stair risers. This means the revolving brush can clean horizontal and vertical surfaces with ease.

The vacuum has a filter, and emptying it is a case of shaking out the dust bin.

This Eureka 71B handheld vacuum cleaner is one of the most popular handheld vacuums around, and the reviews from places like Amazon reflect its popularity. At the time of writing this, 551 people reviewed this hand held vacuum on Amazon, with 374 awarding it 5 out of 5, and 126 awarding it 4 out of 5. Just 51 reviewers awarded it a 3 or less.

What Eureka 71B Hand held users liked:

• Fantastic for getting pet hair off surfaces
• Hose is conveniently situated to get off the vacuum quickly and return it when finished.
• The riser visor for vertical
• heavy duty filter that seems durable
• clever storage of the crevice tool

What they did not like:

• It is a little bit big & a little heavy.
• Loud

The Dyson DC31 Animal is a handheld vacuum cleaner that is designed for people with pets.

This vacuum was designed for spot cleaning and picking up patches of dirt quickly.  It has a motorized brush bar with stiff bristles for deep cleaning of dirt and pet hairs from your carpets.  The DC31 Animal is powered by the new Dyson digital motor that runs three times faster than traditional electrical motors. This motor does not use carbon brushes, so no carbon dust is produced.

The DC31 Animal has two power modes.  One for quick cleaning, and the other for extended run times.  You can vacuum for 10 minutes on high, or 6 minutes on full power with 70% higher suction.

The DC31 is only 3.4 lb (1.5 Kg), and is comfortable to hold.

As with other Dyson vacuum cleaners, the DC31 is quick, easy and hygienic to empty, which means you don’t need to touch the dirt and dust.

DC31 Specifications

• Root Cyclone technology.
• 10 minutes of 38 Air Watts, or 6 minutes of 65 Air Watts.
• Handlheld with good weight distribution and incredibly light.
• Bin capacity is 0.09 Gallon.
• Comes with combination accessory and crevice tools.

You can get a number of additional tools that fit the DC31, including the wide nozzle tool, a stiff bristle brush, flexi crevice tool and a soft dusting brush (perfect for your computer keyboard).

Dyson DC31 User Reviews

If you own the Dyson DC31, we’d love to hear what you think about it.  Please consider leaving your thoughts and impressions on this model of Dyson below in the box provided at the bottom of this page.

Only a few people have reviewed this vacuum over at Amazon, but those who did generally liked it.  One reviewer said it was not worth the money, whereas two others loved it.  Isn’t that always the way with reviews?

What DC31 Users Liked:

• high suction for a portable.
• Turbo brush.
• The Turbo boost function.

What DC31 Users Disliked:

• 3 hour charge for 10 minutes cleaning.
• Could have done with an extension tube to clean without having to bend over.