Notably, battery life from the 20V Max XR Lithium Ion was not as impressive as the Milwaukee M18’s, but it was still good enough for a comfortable second in our testing. Due to its design, the small intake channel gets clogged with large particles quite easily as they try to get around the filter. Be prepared to empty it a few times if you’re tackling big chunks. Despite its relatively short battery life and high-pitched whine, the trusty Dustbuster really aced our floor-mat test. Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails.
Shocked, we charged the battery again for 24 hours, and once again, it lasted the same amount of time. We set out to find the best car vacuum cleaner available to solve your car-cleaning needs. We lined up a test for the ages, pitting 14 vacuums of varying shapes and sizes against each other on as even a playing field as possible. The tests included noise readings, suction power, ease of disposal, battery life, and of course, how well they suck up different kinds of debris on a floor. This all-around excellent canister vacuum has an adjustable cleaning head that can rise or fall to suit different types of flooring, including high-pile carpets.
Testing the battery we got 22 minutes out of a single charge consistently, which isn’t too bad. We were able to do a 4 bed detached home in about 17 minutes, so there’s room to spare. Because of this vacuum’s initial quirks, we wanted to use it in one of our homes for a longer period of time to ensure that it was actually just a fluke start, rather than a long-term performance concern.
Her writing has been published in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Women’s Health, Refinery29, and others. She currently splits her time between New York City and Washington, bissell crosswave cordless D.C. Follow Mekita on Instagram, where you’ll typically find a mix of her snapshots from fashion week and various editor travels. If not, you’ll need to purchase an M18 battery and charger separately.
A digital display will update you on battery life, which proved to be accurate, and on eco mode it lasted for just over an hour. The vac comes with two batteries but note they take over four hours to charge. Carrie-Ann Skinner was formerly Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has more than two decades of experience in both online and print journalism, with 13 years of that spent covering all-things tech. Carrie specializes in smart home devices such as smart plugs and smart lights, as well as large and small appliances including vacuum cleaners, air fryers, stand mixers, and coffee machines. In the UK, it’s also available with an extra battery for £499.99 (around $700) or with a PowerFin pet hair attachment for £429.99 (around $600).
So we’re not really comparing apples to apples here between the two brands and neither is telling us how long to expect the vacuum to run when being used as most of us would. Better suction and pick up than other vacuums at this price point. After a few uses carpets in particular are noticeably cleaner than other brands.