Very few vacuums from top brands are marketed exclusively as car vacuums, which gave me the flexibility to test hand vacuums from household and power-tool brands. I researched reviews and bestseller lists to find suitable test candidates. The vacuums in this review are a mix of manufacturer samples and ones purchased at retail.
After choosing a testing lineup, I subjected the vacuums to a battery of tests covering cleaning performance, runtime, noise and airflow.
Cleaning performance
The base conditions for the first three tests are as follows:
- Scatter a premeasured amount of debris over a 6-inch linear section of a car mat.
- Rub debris into the mat — crushing some of it where possible — to ensure good adhesion and simulate foot traffic.
- Start testing using the recommended attachments to see their effectiveness. If the attachment isn’t good enough, use any means necessary to remove the remaining debris.
- I emptied the bin and knocked the dust off the filters between each test but I didn’t wash the filter until all tests were complete. This is fortunate because the average washable filter took almost two days to dry completely.
Pet hair and lint test
For this light-duty test, I enlisted the help of my cat by saving 25 grams of pet-hair-laden dryer lint over two months, which I distributed among the vacuums. Each vacuum started with a pet brush and almost every traditional brush wasn’t good enough to pull up all the hair. I got better results without any attachments, although the motorized brushes of Dyson and Bissell showed noticeable improvements over the standard pet brush.
Still, the best pet hair cleaning performance came from attachments with rubber or silicone elements, notably Fanttik and Worx.
Large debris test: Paper scraps and sticky cereal
This medium-duty test started with 5g each of shredded paper packing material and a sticky cereal. The crinkled paper scraps provided an excellent source of bulk and clog potential. For my solid debris, I chose the one-two punch of a sticky cereal. I lightly sprayed each mat with some water to enhance the stickiness and left it for an hour to dry.
The Shark MessMaster and Worx passed this test with the fewest crumbs remaining. The Shark Cyclone Pet, Dyson and Ryobi showed slightly more crumbs but were more than adequate.
The DeWalt and Black & Decker models technically passed this test by pulling up all of the debris with few remaining crumbs, they clogged in the process and were a pain to unclog. The culprits on the DeWalt and Black & Decker were the air intakes, which were so close to the HEPA filters that there wasn’t enough room for debris to enter the rest of the dust bin. Fanttik surprised me by pulling up 70% of the items before clogging.
Combination test: Rocks, dirt and hair
The material in this test is at least 150 grams of authentic dirt, sand and rocks, courtesy of a broom, a dustpan and some nearby parking spaces. Add to that a dusty dollop of pet hair that I saved from my main vacuum cleaner and you have what I like to call “the disgusting test.”
As with my large debris test, I added a little water to the mats after pouring out the premeasured bags of dirt and grime and waited 24 hours for the mats to dry. This created delicious stains on the mats that proved especially difficult to remove. The Dyson and Shark MessMaster were the only vacuums that even got close to removing the stain, with Dyson showing the strongest result thanks to its motorized brush attachments. The Worx and Black & Decker Pivot weren’t far behind but still left visible stains.
The DeWalt and Bissell managed to pull up most of the debris without clogging or needing to be emptied, although the mats weren’t as clean as the top three.
I had to empty the Ryobi, Shark Cyclone Pet and both Black & Decker models once after losing a lot of suction during the first cleaning pass. Even with an empty dustbin, the Ryobi struggled to pick up the remaining hair and the Shark Cyclone Pet left quite a mess behind.
The small dust bins on the Fanttik and Drecell produced the worst results, with almost no change to the oil stain and a fair amount of remaining debris.
Powder test: Baking soda
The medium-duty powder test was the only test I did in my car because I knew it would be one of the most stubborn materials — at least baking soda has some cleaning properties, unlike the other debris I used. Crucially, baking soda is very likely to clog the filters in a vacuum, something it managed to do on almost every test sample. This test helped me gauge not only cleaning performance but also the maneuverability of each unit.
The Shark MessMaster, Dyson and Worx had the best results in the powder test, although even these required a fair amount of effort. Most of the other vacuums left visible streaks where they couldn’t remove the powder, although they picked up most of it. The Drecell produced a poor final result, while the Dustbuster Blast’s filter allowed more powder out of its exhaust ports than its rivals.
Car cleaning performance test results
| Overall average | Pet hair and lint | Large debris | Combination | Powder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shark MessMaster (control) | 98% | 96% | 100% | 96% | 100% |
| Worx 20V Cube Vac | 97% | 100% | 100% | 92% | 96% |
| Dyson V8 | 96% | 100% | 92% | 96% | 96% |
| Black & Decker Dustbuster Pivot | 93% | 92% | 92% | 96% | 92% |
| DeWalt 20-Volt Max | 92% | 92% | 92% | 92% | 92% |
| Ryobi One+ | 89% | 88% | 92% | 84% | 92% |
| Black & Decker Dustbuster Blast | 87% | 96% | 92% | 88% | 72% |
| Shark Cyclone Pet | 86% | 96% | 96% | 68% | 84% |
| Bissell Pet Hair Eraser | 80% | 96% | 52% | 88% | 84% |
| Fanttik Slim V8 Apex | 75% | 96% | 64% | 72% | 84% |
| Drecell Handheld Vacuum | 55% | 52% | 52% | 60% | 56% |
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