Most car owners leave messes in their cars, like crumbs from snack time, others are pet owners whose furry friends leave follicles embedded in the carpet, and sometimes it’s just simple dirt and grime from a trip across the country that makes the vehicle dirty. Seeing a dirty car sure sucks, the simple and best way to clean up that mess is to get a handheld vacuum cleaner cordless for cleaning duties.
How do you know if a handheld vacuum is the perfect choice for you? Select the one that caters most closely to your requirements. When it comes to cleaning the interior of their cars, some people like to use a strong suction, whether it’s to remove mud from work boots or to remove food crumbs from the back seats.
Other people are more interested in portability and speed, therefore they tend to favor lighter weight and more flexible designs. Pet owners need a machine that can regularly vacuum half of the Petco, while some insist on the durability of a corded vacuum cleaner.
Here we’ve picked out our favorite handheld vacuums and reviewed the best handheld vacuums below.
We Tested 7 Handheld Vacuums for Your Car
Bissell Multi Auto
- Included attachments: hose nozzle, motorized brush, dusting brush, crevice tool
- Sound: 80.1 dB
- Weight: 3.2 pounds
During our testing of various handheld vacuums, we discovered that only motorized brush tools, like the one provided with the Multi Auto, are effective in removing embedded pet hair. During our tests, the other vacuums left behind debris, which we utilized to clean up. Those are the final words. But that’s not the only perk of it. In addition to being able to reach under and behind seats, this vacuum comes with a number of useful attachments, including a hose nozzle that can be extended. It’s great for usage in the car because it features a user-friendly grip and a flashlight.
Dyson V7
- Included attachments: carpet cleaner, brush and wide nozzle two-in-one tool, crevice tool
- Sound : 76.0 dB
- Weight: 3.1 pounds
Although the Dyson is the most flexible vacuum we tested thanks to its carpet cleaner motorized brush, it isn’t as portable as the Bissells or the Shark UltraCyclone’s brush attachment, making it cumbersome to use in a vehicle. Even in Boost mode (its strongest setting), the battery only lasts around six minutes, so you’ll need to put in a lot of work with the other two attachments to get everything clean.
Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+
- Included attachments: motorized pet power brush, scrubbing brush, crevice tool
- Sound: 77.0 dB
- Weight: 2.2 pounds
With its powerful motorized brush attachment, the Shark UltraCyclone easily picks up pet hair and sucks up dirt, earning it a silver medal, but it isn’t as adaptable as the Bissell Multi Auto, which earns it a bronze medal. The supplied crevice tool is a bit narrow, but it did an adequate job of sucking up snacks and dirt, and the scrubbing brush creates more of a mess with snacks.
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser
- Included attachments: motorized brush, upholstery tool, crevice tool
- Sound: 73.5 dB
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
Its name sums up what it is. If your pet sheds like a woolly mammoth, the Pet Hair Eraser is the ideal handheld vacuum. However, the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+’s sole purpose is to remove pet hair, so we had to settle for second place. It had trouble picking up Cheerios and had a weird flap in the nozzle that made it difficult to vacuum up spills.
Black+Decker DustBuster
- Included attachments: none
- Sound: 78.4 dB
- Weight: 2.7 pounds
The gap between the seat and the center console is a notoriously bad place to lose food, and yet there are always french fries and other little nibbles in there, right? The DustBuster’s extending, thin nozzle is useful for removing fries that have been sitting for years, but you’ll likely need to approach from the back seats, and we found that the extender doesn’t stay place as well when trying to cram into small spots. Pet owners should not buy this DustBuster since you will need to scrub a little to get the dirt and particles out of the carpet. There are, however, versions that have a battery-operated pet attachment.
Shark WandVac
- Included attachments: duster crevice tool, multi-service pet tool
- Sound: 78.5 dB
- Weight: 1.3 pounds
If you drive a Smart, then you should definitely get this vacuum. The tank is so tiny that it wouldn’t be able to house one ant’s worth of food. Maybe not so small, but it’s still rather tiny. Pet hair is caught on the bottom of the pet tool and doesn’t get sucked up, which is another reason why we were dissatisfied with the product. However, it does have an interesting appearance.
DeWalt Half-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum
- Included attachments: none
- Sound: 83.8 dB
- Weight: 5.3 pounds
The DeWalt shop vac has powerful suction, but it requires a lot of manual labor to finish the job because it lacks useful attachments. Even while its sizable tank and hose attachment help it compete, it still isn’t our top pick. Also, it’s heavy, cumbersome, and pricey.
