From picking up spills to pet hair, a vacuum cleaner is an immensely useful appliance for those who want clean homes. But which one do you choose? A canister vacuum cleaner, a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, or a cordless vacuum cleaner? Well, each has its own pros and cons. In this article, we take a look at some of the best vacuum cleaners for home in India and put them through numerous tests to find the one suitable for your needs.
Our Top Recommendations
If you are looking for a sturdy, well-built vacuum cleaner with excellent suction power, cleaning prowess, and durability, then Philips Powerpro FC9352/01 is an apt choice to consider. It works well on both hard flooring like tiles and wood and on carpets. The vacuum cleaner can effectively remove all types of debris like pet hair, sand, dust, etc. Accessories like round brush and crevice tool are attached on to the vacuum cleaner. So, it is always within access. The dust bowl is large and easy to clean. But the vacuum cleaner is noisy. Also, as it consumes 1900 watts of power, it uses a 16A plug, which makes it inaccessible to many homes.
Yet another option with good suction power and a durable design similar to Philips Powerpro is AmazonBasics Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner. It is less expensive. One of its major advantages is that it comes with variable suction power, which makes it easier to clean keyboards, curtains and other delicate surfaces. The drawbacks are that it isn’t really effective on pet hair.
If a wet and dry vacuum cleaner is what you have in mind, Agaro Ace 1600 Watts Vacuum Cleaner is a good choice. It comes with sufficient accessories and a separate floor brush for wet vacuuming. It is quite powerful and extremely good at cleaning different types of dirt and debris. The price too is moderate. But, Agaro Ace too is very noisy.
Which Are The Best Vacuum Cleaners In India?
| Model | Wattage |
|---|---|
| Philips Powerpro FC9352/01 | 1900 Watts |
| AmazonBasics Cylinder | 700 Watts |
| Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX | 1200 Watts |
| Inalsa Spruce | 1200 Watts |
| Agaro Ace Wet and Dry | 1600 Watts |
| Black+Decker WDBD15 | 1400 Watts |
How We Tested?
We checked sites like CNET and Wirecutter to understand the parameters generally used for testing vacuum cleaners. Then, we modified some of them to suit Indian circumstances. To simulate smaller debris, we used sand and cocopeat and for larger debris, we used rice. As many people with pets use vacuum cleaners, we got pet hair from a local pet groomer and used it for our tests. We spread a particular quantity of all these and spread them on tiles, wooden floor, low pile carpets and upholstery. Then, we passed the vacuum cleaner once over this debris and measured the quantity suctioned and what was left behind. This helped us make an objective analysis of the suction capacity of various models. We also measured the noise from near the vacuum cleaner and about 10 feet away to get a proper understanding of how the household would feel when the vacuum cleaner is running.
Then, we use the vacuum cleaner for several days in a regular 1200 sq. ft apartment where two small kids live. This means there is no dearth of mess, dirt, and dust on the floor. Using it in an apartment also gives a good idea about the ease of use, maneuverability, ease of cleaning the dust bowl, and other aspects. This along with the objective tests give a good idea about the performance of the vacuum cleaner.
How To Choose A Vacuum Cleaner?
Type of Vacuum Cleaner
First and foremost aspect you need to decide when choosing a vacuum cleaner is the type of vacuum cleaner you need. A canister vacuum cleaner is large and bulky. But they are versatile with a lot of accessories, very powerful and the dust bowl is large. But, they are noisy and compared to cordless vacuums, difficult to maneuver.
A wet and dry vacuum cleaner, as the name suggests, can suction in both dry and wet waste. They have large dust barrel with 10-30 litre capacity, making them ideal for large houses and even commercial establishments. But, they need proper maintenance, especially after using it for wet vacuuming. You need to ensure the parts are kept dry. Else, they may be prone to mold. Also, they are loud and difficult to maneuver like canister vacuum cleaners. Most options do not have retractable cord either. So, you have to hang it on the vacuum cleaner body.
Cordless vacuum cleaners are easy to maneuver and comparatively silent. But, they are not as powerful as canister vacuum cleaners. Their dust bowl need to be emptied every other day. Also, unless you splurge on options like Dyson, the battery life may be subpar.
Robotic vacuum cleaners are extremely easy to use and hands-free. But, be ready to spend a pretty penny. Inexpensive ones do not have mapping capacity. They just move all over the space and clean. But, ones with mapping capacity ensures better coverage without missing any area. However, most options with mopping feature do not work optimally. So, it is better to opt for ones with just dry vacuuming feature.
Cleaning Capacity
Cleaning capacity is obviously the most important aspect to consider when buying a vacuum cleaner. However, this isn’t something you can understand from the specifications. Rather, you have to test and find it out. From testing several vacuum cleaners we find having the highest suction power doesn’t really mean the best cleaning performance. Because when suction is excessively high, like what you find at the maximum setting of Amazon Basics, it becomes difficult to drag the floor brush. Also, sometimes the floor brush pushes away the debris instead of suctioning them up. So, floor brush design is a pretty important aspect that defines cleaning efficiency.
Maneuverability
The next important aspect is maneuverability. This is especially important for canister and wet and dry vacuum cleaners as you have to tug along the bulky body. Ideally, it shouldn’t weigh too much and should have large wheels that make it easy to move. Equally important is having long cords. It should be at least 5 metres long so that you don’t have to constantly change plug points while vacuuming.
Other Features
Other important aspects to consider as the ease of cleaning the dust bowl and having a proper filtration system. In bagged vacuum cleaners, sometimes the dust gets out of the bag and into the chamber. In such cases and in bagless vacuum cleaners, the lack of effective filtration will send back the dust to the room.
Keeping these aspects in mind, here are our top picks of vacuum cleaners in India.
Best Vacuum Cleaners In India
Philips PowerPro FC9352/01 Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Excellent suction performance for removing dust, small debris and pet hair. |
| Easy storage |
| Well-designed providing easy access to the accessories. |
| Cleans edges effectively. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Doesn’t clean a pile of large debris effectively. |
| 16A plug makes it inaccessible for some people. Philips could have optimized power consumption to make it apt for 6A. |
| Noisy |
With sturdy built quality and excellent suction power, Philips PowerPro FC9352/01 is one of the best canister vacuum cleaners in India.
One of the main advantages of this vacuum cleaner is that the crevice tool and the round brush are attached as part of the vacuum cleaner. So, it is always within reach when you want to use them.
In addition to the regular floor brush, the vacuum cleaner has a turbo roller brush too, which is effective at removing dirt and debris from carpets and for pet hair.
It works efficiently on carpets, wooden flooring and hard floorings like tiles, marble and granite. The vacuum cleaner works excellently to remove fine dust, sand and other smaller debris. It works adequately on large debris and pet hair too. But sometimes, the vacuum cleaner tends to push away pile of large debris instead of suctioning it. You can overcome this by lifting and placing the floor brush on the debris- a minor inconvenience, but effective.
Comparatively, the vacuum cleaner is heavier than other options we have tried. But, the large wheels and 6 metre long cord makes it easy to maneuver. The wand made of steel is extendible, which makes it easy to reach the ceiling. But, it is heavy and your hands may ache within a short while when cleaning the ceiling.
Being a bagless vacuum cleaner, you can easily eject the debris from the dust bowl and even wash it with water. The filter too can be cleaned this way. But, just that it needs to be dried before use again.
One of the main disadvantages we felt was that the vacuum cleaner uses a 16A plug as it consumes 1900 watts of power. This not only makes it noisy, but also makes it difficult to use in many homes where 16A plug points are not available throughout the house.
Despite the flaws, the excellent suction power, cleaning prowess and built quality makes it one of the best vacuum cleaners for home in India.
AmazonBasics Cylinder Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Variable suction capacity makes it easier to use on delicate surfaces. |
| Integrated accessories holder ensures easy and quick access to all accessories. |
| Effective on different hard floorings. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Difficult to drag the floor brush at its maximum suction capacity. |
| Not effective for pet hair. |
If Philips Powerpro seems too expensive for you, then AmazonBasics Cylinder Bagless Vacuum Cleaner is a comparatively inexpensive option worth considering. Both these vacuum cleaners have many features in common.
Just like Philips, AmazonBasics too is a bagless vacuum cleaner. Here, there are opening from two sides, which makes it far more easier to clean. Then, the accessories can be fixed to a holder and then hung on the stainless steel wand, which makes it easy to access. Further, it too has a stainless steel extendible wand to easily reach ceiling.
There are many points of differences between the two brands too. First of all, AmazonBasics vacuum cleaner comes with variable suction capacity. So, you can adjust the suction depending on the level of dirt and type of surface. When the dirt is less or when you need to clean curtains, keyboard or any such delicate surface, you can set the suction to a low level. Secondly, its noise level is much lower than Philips. Further, while Philips comes with a turbo floor brush, you get a brush dedicated for wooden flooring. Comparatively, AmazonBasics is lightweight than Philips too. But, the cord measures just 5 metres in length.
Coming to performance, AmazonBasics isn’t as effective as Philips PowerPro. It is excellent on hard flooring, but not the best on carpets. It works effectively to remove dust and small debris, but isn’t the best for cleaning pet hair. Both the vacuum cleaners clean edges and corners of the room properly. We find it excellent and easy to use on a day-to-day basis.
Overall, being more compact and budget-friendly, AmazonBasics is an excellent option for those who want a less noisy, inexpensive and durable vacuum cleaner.
Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Fairly good suction capacity. |
| Budget-friendly pricing |
| Compact and light-weight. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Built quality isn’t the best. |
| Not effective for pet hair. |
Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX is one of the best-selling vacuum cleaners in India. It is pretty lightweight and compact compared to the previous options. While the previous options are bagless, Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX is a bagged vacuum cleaner. Fortunately, you get 3 extra bags with the vacuum cleaner.
The accessories you get along are an upholstery brush and a crevice tool. But unlike the previous options, they are not integrated. So, you need to store them in the drawer and take them as and when you need them, which is not really convenient. Further, the built quality of the hose and the body isn’t the best too. Around 2.5% of users who reviewed on Amazon stated that their vacuum cleaner stopped working around past a year.
Talking about performance, the vacuum cleaner offers excellent suction and dirt removal on hard floors. It can clean dust and debris effectively. But, it is not very effective on pet hair and on carpets. Even the edges of rooms are not cleaned effectively. You will have to pass the floor brush repeatedly over the same place to clean edges thoroughly. Also, its cord measures just 3 metres, which is insufficient.
The vacuum cleaner is fairly noisy too, measuring about 82 dB.
Also, the dust collected in the bag tends to leak inside the chamber. So, cleaning up isn’t the easiest. However, as the body has filter, this dust doesn’t escape back into the room.
Despite the flaws, if you are looking for a budget-friendly vacuum cleaner for hard flooring like tiles, granite and marble and if you don’t have a pet, Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX will be an apt choice to consider.
Inalsa Spruce Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Budget-friendly pricing |
| Good suction power |
| Cleans dust, sand and other small debris effectively. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Not effective for pet hair and larger debris. |
| The wand is not long enough to reach ceiling. |
Inalsa Spruce is pretty similar to Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX. Aesthetically, they are both pretty much the same. They both have the same power consumption of 1200 watts. Even performance wise, they are pretty much similar. They work well on hard floor and small debris. But, is not the best on carpets and for cleaning pet hair. Its cord measures around 4 metre.
The main point of differentiation is that Inalsa Spruce comes with a blower attachment. This attachment needs to be fixed in the filter slot in the vacuum cleaner’s body to convert it into a blower. It works effectively for a while. But, the manufacturer suggests not using it for a long time as it could overheat the appliance.
The other accessories, ie, the upholstery brush and the crevice tool are effective. But, the crevice tool is foldable by design. The edges have bristles when opened. Unfortunately, it keeps collapsing and closing when you brush it against different surfaces. This makes it not so easy to use.
A major disadvantage we found with Inalsa Spruce is that its wand and hose together measures about 225cm. This isn’t enough to reach the ceiling. So you won’t be able to properly clean the cobwebs on the ceiling with this vacuum cleaner.
Despite these flaws, the budget-friendly price, blower function and adequate performance on hard flooring makes it a good choice to consider.
Agaro Ace 1600 Watts Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Excellent suction power |
| Easy to maneuver |
| Fairly easy to use |
| Cons |
|---|
| Dust escapes from the cloth bag when cleaning the dust barrel. |
| Sometimes larger debris gets stuck inside the floor brush |
| Very noisy |
Agaro Ace 1600 Watts Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner has a sturdy built quality and excellent suction power. It has a 21 litre dust barrel which has a cloth bag on top to prevent dust from escaping back into the room. When wet vacuuming, you need to remove this cloth bag and use a squeegee floor brush that comes with the vacuum cleaner.
The power cord is about 5 metre long. But like most other wet and dry vacuum cleaners, it is not retractable. The stainless steel wand is extendible. Along with the hose it is around 240-270 cm long. This is enough to reach the ceiling.
The accessories you get along are a round brush with bristles for upholstery, crevice tool, squeegee brush for wet vacuuming and a floor brush for dry vacuuming.
The vacuum cleaner works effectively to remove sand, dust, and other debris from different types of flooring. It is effective on both hard flooring and carpets. Even pet hair can be removed with a few passes. However, it does have a tendency to push larger debris instead of suctioning them up. The round brush and crevice tools are helpful in cleaning upholstery, window sills etc.
It can clear wet spills easily provided it is very thin and fluid. If you try cleaning viscose spills like sauces, jam or honey, large smudges are left behind on the floor even after several passes.
One of the main disadvantages of the vacuum cleaner is that it is extremely noisy, making about 96dB of noise. Also, it isn’t really easy to clean the dust barrel. A lot of dust gets accumulated behind the cloth bag. And this spills back to the floor when you try cleaning the cloth bag. Further, you should dry all the parts after wet vacuuming. Else, the steel drum may rust and other parts may be susceptible to molding.
Despite the flaws, it is one of the best mid-segment wet and dry vacuum cleaners you could opt for.
Black+Decker WDBD15 Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner
Check the latest price on Amazon
| Pros |
|---|
| Lightweight and easy to use |
| Fairly good suction power |
| Good maneuverability |
| Cons |
|---|
| Wet vacuuming is not effective enough |
| Slightly shorter cord length |
| Cannot reach the ceiling with the wand |
Black+Decker WDBD15 is yet another option that comes at a similar price range. The vacuum cleaner has a slightly lower suction power of 16 KPa, while the former option from Agaro has 21 KPa. But this doesn’t affect its performance. We will get into its details soon.
The vacuum cleaner comes with 2 accessories- an upholstery brush and a crevice tool. Comparatively, it has a slightly smaller power cord that is 4.6 metres long. Its body and accessories are made of strong and durable plastic. So, unlike Agaro, you needn’t worry about steel rusting.
The vacuum cleaner comes with a separate dust bag for dry vacuuming. When wet vacuuming, you need to remove this dust bag and the HEPA filter. Else, they will get drenched and become prone to mold.
Yet another advantage of this model is that it has a water outlet at the bottom of the dust barrel, which makes it easier to clean.
Coming to the cleaning performance, the vacuum cleaner is fairly effective at cleaning sand, dust and other smaller debris from hard flooring and carpets. It can clean up larger debris like rice too. But sometimes struggles to catch paper bits and large piles of dirt. Pet hair can be cleaned completely with a few passes. It is also quite effective at cleaning the edges and corners of the room.
Though it has a slightly lower suction capacity, it doesn’t really affect its performance too much. In fact, it has an advantage as the excessive suction doesn’t make it difficult to drag the floor brush on the floor.
But, unlike Agaro Ace, you don’t get a separate floor brush for wet vacuuming. This reduces its effectiveness. Like Agaro, you can clean up water spills. But thicker fluids leave dirty smudges on the floor. Also, cleaning the floor brush after wet vacuuming is a hassle.
Talking about the noise levels, it makes around 90dB of noise. Though lesser than Agaro Ace, it isn’t that pleasant either. Yet another disadvantage is its smaller wand which cannot reach the ceiling.
Though there are flaws, compared to Agaro, its dust barrel requires slightly lesser maintenance. Also, it is fairly effective at cleaning, making it a good option to consider.