Best vacuum for hardwood floors?

[jakoky]

I highly recommend Shark Vacuums. I have a shark navigator pro and loved it but wanted something lighter for my wood floors. ( we have very little carpet). I got a shark rocket. I LOVE this thing, it is small and light and can pick up all the dog hair in my house. Best vacuum ever!

 

[Dakota731]

Why would it? Hardwood is durable. Your sofa weighs more than your vacuum.

The installers had me very worried lol. Do you put anything under your furniture? I'm going to get area rugs for under table and runners for the hallway but I wasn't sure if I should get coaster type things for under sofa, chairs etc?

 

[Richard M Nixon]

I bought a Miele earlier this year and it's perfect for my stained concrete floors. They are super powerful, easy to move around, and have variable settings for other surfaces.

 

[HomeBuyingChecklist]

My old Electrolux is so heavy that I'm afraid it will damage them. Any budget vacuums that are lightweight and pick up the dog hair??

It's surprisingly easy to damage your hardwood floors. People treat hardwood like it's tile, but as far as the amount of work it takes to care for it, hardwood is much closer to carpet. For instance a lot of people don't rush to clean up spills on hardwood, but water or red wine could do some damage pretty quickly.

We just reviewed the best vacuums for hardwood floors, the major problem we found with older vacuums is they are likely to dent and ding the floor, and the tough bristles and scratch the hardwood (or at least wear down the finish).

Like @smokeyblue we love the Shark vacuums. The Shark Navigator Pro was our top pick for a few reasons. We particularly liked the model with a dust-away attachment. Strong suction, comes with a microfiber hardwood floor attachment to pick up dust and allergens (replacing a swifter) and it's versatile enough to use through the rest of the house. It can handle thick carpets, upholstery, and is even portable enough to use in your car.

 

[dreiwhit]

We've got a Dyson that does a great job on our laminate flooring.

Whatever you buy, make sure that there is a switch to turn off the brush roller. Over time, the brush will damage hardwood floors.

My kids and dogs have done more damage to our floors than any vacuum cleaner ever could do!

 

[therapistalexandra]

I have a shark (I apologize but I don't know which model!) it is unbelievably lightweight and you can turn the brush on and off making it perfect for carpets and hardwood floors. It also has a canister you can empty, literally with the push of a button. I love it and I got it at Target for under $100.

IMO I like Shark even better than Dyson. Many of my family members shelled out for Dyson and have had nothing but problems. I on the other hand have never had an issue with my Shark in the 5, almost 6, years that I have had it.

 

[angierae]

https://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-Powe...TF8&qid=1500325971&sr=1-9&keywords=pet+vacuum

I love this one.

 

[LMLFlorida]

A Roomba - one of the higher-end ones that has special rollers that don't get tangled in hair. Best purchase I have ever made.

 

[neatokimmo]

Our house is all hard floors. We also have bunches of cats. I have a roomba, and a thirty dollar cordless stick vac. The eureka runs about ten minutes per charge, plenty of time to run over our three staircases. I run the roomba once a day. Twice if I can remember. The roomba has been worth every penny.

 

[Edward Morrison]

My home has carpet and tile and wood floors with Oriental carpets, and to make it more challenging I have two large dogs who seem to shed non stop. Previously I had always used Hoover uprights, but 2 years ago I bought the top of the line Bissell Poweredge Pet. I looked at Miele and Sebo but couldn't accept the higher price. I love this canister and have since purchased another one for my vacation home.

You can use the same power head for both carpet and tile. You just push the 'bare floor' button on the handle to shut off the motorized brush. However, I usually take the power head off and use the bare floor attachment on my ceramic and wood floors. One added feature that I looked for and which might not be important to you is that there is a suction control on the top of the wand. It's just a ring that slides open and reduces the suction power. It's handy when vacuuming throw rugs so that the power of the vacuum doesn't lift the carpet off the floor.

I can even vacuum my draperies and underneath the beds. When I bought them they were the top rated canister vacuum by GetCleaningDone. I only wish the bags were bigger - my dogs really shed lots of hair.

 

[_19disnA]

It's surprisingly easy to damage your hardwood floors. People treat hardwood like it's tile, but as far as the amount of work it takes to care for it, hardwood is much closer to carpet. For instance a lot of people don't rush to clean up spills on hardwood, but water or red wine could do some damage pretty quickly.

I agree. If you are going to use a vacuum on hardwood floors it can't have any parts that will drag across the surface and needs to be a machine designed for that or has a bare floor/hardwood floor setting. Heavy furniture just sits in one place on the floor, that is different from something that moves around and can cause scratches which are virtually impossible to repair. Any type of spilled liquid needs to be immediately wiped up or it will damage the finish.

For simple dusting, I find a microfiber pad with some Bona wood floor cleaner works great.

 

[vistrie712]

I think vacuum can safely to clean your hardwood floors, If you have a vacuum that is only designed for carpet. you might have to keep doing until you can get the right kind of vacuum for your hardwood floors.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

A Roomba - one of the higher-end ones that has special rollers that don't get tangled in hair. Best purchase I have ever made.

Our house is all hard floors. We also have bunches of cats. I have a roomba, and a thirty dollar cordless stick vac. The eureka runs about ten minutes per charge, plenty of time to run over our three staircases. I run the roomba once a day. Twice if I can remember. The roomba has been worth every penny.

Which model Roomba do you have or do you recommend?

 

[herdtoDisney]

I just got a Moosoo cordless 4 in 1 stick vaccumn, $119 on Amazon and so far in the week I've had it-I think it's good on my wood floors. There doesn't seem to be anything to scratch the floor. It's lightweight.

 

[ricosuave]

I have a roomba and a Dyson cordless V7. I love the Dyson with the fluffy brush attachment and don't even use the roomba anymore.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I have a cheap Eureka Mighty Mite canister vacuum and it works fine. But what makes it work the best on my hardwood and tile floors is the horsehair brush attachment that I bought years ago. You have to clean the clumps of hair off the brush every so often, but the horsehair will not scratch the floor. I think I paid about $15-20 for the brush attachment and about $80 for the vacuum.

 

[Helvetica]

I have all vinyl plank flooring.

I have two Samsung Robot Vacuums and a Dyson cordless. They seem to do a good job.

 

[tcufrog]

I could use a suggestion as well. My mom needs a vacuum. She lives in a senior living apartment that is between 700-800 sq feet that has a combo of laminite and carpet. Her elderly cat's fur is coming out in clumps. Does anyone know of a lightweight, easily maneuverable vacuum that can handle that? She doesn't have a very large budget.

 

[crisi]

In the past 20 years we've had I bet 15 "budget" vacuums. Sears, Sharks, Hoovers and they all last about a year or so and they die for various reasons. The company I work for has several hotels and office buildings and had updated the vacuums they use. They had all been used about 3 years in a commercial setting and were pretty rough looking and all were Dysons. They were going to be tossed so I brought one home, it had been used enough the floor plate was literally worn through but it did run, I cleaned the filters and it still had amazing suction. I thought if it lasts a month that would be great. 2 years later (after a $23 floor plate) its still going strong. If it ever does die theres no question what we'll be buying. I admit the price tag seems a bit steep at first but they are well built, easy to clean if you suck up the odd sock or two and just keep going and going

I've had the opposite luck. I've had great luck with Dirt Devils - each costing less than $100 (one was on sale for $40). But went through two Dysons in a year, neither which actually worked properly. I also have a Miele (not a bargain choice) that I use and love - but since it has a bag and I have a dog, its a secondary vac. And a 20 year old Oreck that is still going strong that is my basement vac.

 

[neatokimmo]

Which model Roomba do you have or do you recommend?

Sorry I just saw this. I have three roombas now. Two have bristle brushes on the bottom and they work better than the one I got with the rubber roller bar on the bottom. Things get caught in the rubber bar and I feel like it’s going to end up tearing.