A heavy, hard-to-carry vacuum turns cleaning day into a chore. Consumer Reports tested canister vacuums for suction and handling
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A canister vacuum with weak suction or an awkward, heavy body can turn a routine cleaning session into an actual chore. Bagged and bagless models trade off differently on carpet cleaning, pet hair pickup and how easy the vacuum is to carry around the house.
Consumer Reports tested canister vacuums for bare floor and carpet cleaning, pet hair removal, filtration and handling.
Credit: Kenmore
The Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly CrossOver 21814 sits in the mid-range price tier for this lineup and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagged canister vacuums. CR rated cleaning performance on bare floors as excellent as it gets and very good on carpets, with superb hose suction and strong containment of the debris it picks up. The vacuum ships with a retractable 27-foot cord along with brushes for floors and dusting plus a crevice attachment, though at close to 26 pounds CR found it one of the heavier canisters tested, contributing to a weak handling score. CR's member surveys give Kenmore canisters as a brand midlevel ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
Credit: Kenmore
The Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly UltraPlush 81714 sits in the mid-range price tier for this lineup, priced somewhat lower than the CrossOver model above, and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagged canister vacuums. CR rated it excellent at removing pet hair and top-notch on bare floors, with solid carpet performance as well, making it a versatile pick for mixed flooring. Testers found it passed CR's filtration test cleanly, though quieter options exist among the vacuums tested here. CR found the vacuum somewhat cumbersome to handle and carry, reflected in a so-so handling score.
Credit: Miele
The Miele Complete C3 Marin sits at the premium end of this lineup, pricier than every other canister vacuum CR tested, and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagged canister vacuums. CR rated it strong on bare floors and excellent at picking up embedded pet hair, with emissions free of debris that earned the top possible filtration score, though carpet cleaning came back only so-so. CR noted its consistently strong performance has kept it scoring above many competitors year after year, with a very good ease-of-use score thanks to decent bin capacity and low clearance that lets it reach under furniture. CR's member surveys give Miele canisters as a brand top-notch ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
Credit: Miele
The Miele Guard L1 sits at the premium end of this lineup, similar in price to the Miele Complete C3 Marin, and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagged canister vacuums. CR found it justifies the higher price tag through strong cleaning results, excelling at pulling debris from bare floors like hardwood, tile and linoleum, while also performing very well on carpet. Handy extras include a two-in-one upholstery and crevice nozzle along with a universal powerhead that transitions smoothly between floor types. CR noted the wand hooks onto the rear of the vacuum for pausing mid-clean, letting users resume later without bending down to retrieve it from the floor.
Credit: Eureka
The Eureka WhirlWind XL NEN186BL sits at the budget end of this lineup and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagless canister vacuums, well suited to homes without much carpet. CR rated it excellent at grabbing pet hair off surfaces and lifting dirt away from hard flooring, though carpet performance came back only so-so and the model skips manual carpet-pile adjustment. Testers found it ran quieter and weighed less, at around 16 pounds, compared with the other strong bagless performers in this roundup. CR gave the Eureka brand solid marks for how well its vacuums tend to hold up, with owner satisfaction landing in acceptable territory.
Credit: Amazon
The Kenmore 22614 sits at the budget end of this lineup and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagless canister vacuums. Its extras cover adjustable pile height for carpets, a dial to tune suction strength, a switch to toggle the brush and a cord that retracts into the body. CR found handling its 23 pounds takes some muscle, making it one of the harder canisters to carry around comfortably, though testers rated bare-floor cleaning and pet hair pickup as top-notch, joined by strong carpet performance and solid debris containment that together made it a stronger overall cleaner than any other bagless canister tested. CR called it a solid pick for anyone who doesn't mind the extra weight in exchange for top cleaning performance.
Credit: Amazon
The Kenmore 500 Series DC5070 sits in the mid-range price tier for this lineup and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagless canister vacuums, cleaning carpets and hard flooring alike about as effectively as the Kenmore 22614 but easier to maneuver thanks to its lighter weight. CR rated it excellent at cleaning up pet hair, with very good scores for both carpet and bare-floor cleaning. Testers liked the top-mounted handle for easier carrying around the house. CR highlighted the hair eliminator nozzle, with ridges designed to loosen and remove tangled hair, as a standout feature.
Credit: Miele
The Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog sits at the premium end of this lineup, priced like other Miele models, and earned Consumer Reports' recommendation among bagless canister vacuums. CR found it grabs pet hair and fur with little effort, backed by strong hose suction, though carpet and bare-floor cleaning came back a bit weaker than the other bagless canisters in this lineup while still performing decently overall. Included attachments cover upholstery, tight crevices and a dusting brush for delicate surfaces. CR noted the ability to rest the floorhead and suction tube against the main body, making it easy to pause mid-clean and pick back up later.