Need a great hand vacuum to clean up pet hair?
Having a lightweight yet powerful hand vacuum to clean up after your dogs and cats can be a life changer for pet owners.
Even if you don't allow your pets on your furniture, pet fur and feathers find a way to fly around your rooms until they land on something nice and soft, like your furniture fabric, with great sticktoitiveness. And what about their pet beds and your carpeted stairs? It's a lot easier and more efficient to use a lightweight handheld vacuum cleaner to suck up these pet hairs than an upright vacuum (even upright vacuums designed to be great for pet hair). And if you have a handheld vacuum that is really great at sucking up pet hair and dander, it will make keeping your home clean so much easier.
Here are five (plus one) of the best handheld vacuums that get rave reviews from pet owners...
Best Handheld Pet Vacuum Cleaner No.1: Black+Decker BDH2000PL MAX Lithium Pivot Vacuum
The Black + Deckers MAX Lithium Pivot Vacuum has a high performance motor with cyclonic action to provide really strong suction. It has a cool pivoting head feature which makes it really easy to clean different surfaces easily. It has a handy pivot tool and brush set which is really great for grabbing pet hair from furniture and other upholstery. It is cordless and bag-less. With its lithium battery, you will have enough of a charge to actually clean without worrying about losing suction before you are done cleaning. Of all the handheld Black + Decker small vacuums, I think this one offers the strongest suction in the smallest package.
Best Handheld Pet Vacuum Cleaner No. 2: Dyson V6 Motorhead Cord Free
The Dyson V6 Motorhead Cord Free Vacuum is a hand vacuum with a telescope wand, super-convenient for going from sofas to (bare) floors to cat trees! And this vac's extension really gets into corners where pet hairs gather. It's also conveniently cordless, with a 20 minute power last and it's bag-less. You have to hold the power button down if you want continuous vacuuming, but if you're just doing spots, this should not be a problem.
As you might expect, the Dyson V6 Motorhead Cord Free is more expensive than the other highly rated hand-held vacuums, but most owners say it is well worth it because of its power. If you have only bare floors and you can afford the Dyson, you might not need another vacuum! I splurged and bought this vacuum and I can't recommend it highly enough. It has wonderful suction and it is so light and easy to use. I use this vacuum for all of my daily needs and pull out the upright when I really want to do a really thorough complete house cleaning. I can't recommend the Dyson V6 highly enough, it is one of the favorite things in my house. I use it daily and believe it is worth every penny I spent on it.
Best Handheld Pet Vacuum Cleaner No. 3: Shark Rocket Corded Hand Vacuum
The Shark Rocket Corded Hand Vacuum is based on the technology behind the very popular Shark Rocket Upright (one of our picks for top 5 best upright vacuums for pet hair.) This hand vacuum is great for sucking up pet hair on carpets and furniture. It is surprisingly light and very powerful. It has what they call a TruPet motorized spinning brush-head designed to capture even small pet hairs. It is not cordless and has 15 feet of cord so you will need to deal with having a cord, but it will never run out of battery and you don't ever need to wait while it recharges. There is no place to store the cord but you can use hook and loop tape to hold the cord and hook it to the machine. It also has a dust cup and a washable filter so no need to pay for filters or bags. It's not as great on carpeted floors or large floor spaces as my Dyson but it does a terrific job with furniture and for small areas and it is stronger than some of the lighter and smaller handhelds.
Best Handheld Pet Vacuum Cleaner No. 4: WELIKERA 12V 100W Cordless Dust Buster Pet Hair Vacuum
Our homes are not the only places full of pet hair. What about our cars? A cordless vacuum is definitely easiest to handle in a car, and the Welikera has plenty of satisfied customers as far as that's concerned. They rave about its strong suction power, which I have found is rare in cordless vacuums. Though the Welikera takes 3 to 4 hours to charge, it can run up to 25 minutes. Of course, you can use the Welikera in your home; it's great for picking up pet hair on your furniture. And, it weighs less than 3 pounds!
Wellikera's stainless steel filter is removable and washable, which contributes to its power and effectiveness. You can just pop out the filter and run under the faucet to clean. But make sure it's dry before replacing it back in the vacuum.
WELIKERA 12V 100W Cordless Dust Buster Pet Hair Vacuum
Best Handheld Pet Vacuum Cleaner No. 5: Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Hand Vac 33A1
With the words 'Pet Hair Eraser' in its name, the Bissell better be good! Well, according to pet owners, it rocks! she Bissell comes with two nozzles, one rubber for cleaning upholstery, one hard plastic for sucking up messes, like when there's kitty litter all over the floor. It's a great vacuum for cleaning furniture.
The Bissell is bag-free and its container is easily removable as is its HEPA filter; both are washable. It is not cordless and comes with 16 feet of cord. A powerful little vacuum, a sucker for pet hair, you can find the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Hand Vac 33A1 here.
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Hand Vac 33A1
Bonus - Best Simple No-Frills Handheld Vacuum: Dirt Devil SD20005RED Scorpion Quick Flip 7 AMP Hand Vac
If you are looking for something affordable that still does a great job, consider the Dirt Devil. Customers who swore they would never buy another Dirt Devil have bought the new Dirt Devil Scorpion Quick Flick, and most love it. With 7 AMPs of power and its Quick Flick crevice tool, I can see why.
Dirt Devil SD20005RED Scorpion Quick Flip 7 AMP Hand Vac
But there are other advantages to the Dirt Devil. First, it's very light weight - only 3.8 pounds. And you can purchase a 3 year warranty for only 5.99! And, even though the Dirt Devil has the Quick Flip crevice tool, the vacuum comes with another, more narrow, crevice tool as an attachment, along with two sizes of hoses, and a pet hair brush. This vacuum is great for cleaning furniture and handling small tight spaces. The Dirt Devil SD20005RED Scorpion Quick Flip 7 AMP Hand Vac is available here.
So these are the 5+ hand vacuums that I think are better than all the rest. Have you had good experiences with any of these? Is there one that you think is better?
Also see:
5 Best Upright Vacuum Cleaners For Pet Hair Suction
5 Best Cat Litter Mats That Prevent The Spread Of Cat Litter
That's the buzz for today!
Created November 2012 and last updated April 2018
