If you have wood floors in your home, then you need to find the best vacuums for hardwood floors. Hardwood floors are very delicate and without the right cleaning tool, you could scratch them, dull the finish or worse, cause them to swell.
While causing your wood floors to swell up is rare, it can happen if you try to clean them with water and the water sits too long. The right wood floor vacuum will make sure you never damage your floors.
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Having the right vacuum for your hardwood floors will keep them looking like new. Now that you know the importance of using the right cleaning tool on your hardwood, we can find the perfect hardwood floor vacuum. You may be confused by all the options but don’t worry. We have discovered the best vacuums for hardwood floors and reviewed them below as well as answered your frequently asked questions about caring for wood floors.
Table of Contents
Best Vacuums for Hardwood Floors
Top Rated Vacuum for Wood Floors
Shark ZU782 Rotator Lift-Away DuoClean Pro Upright Vacuum Review
One of the top rated vacuums for wood floors is the Shark ZU782 Rotator Lift-Away DuoClean Pro Upright Vacuum. The reason this vacuum is so great for hardwood floors is that it has two rollers – a self-cleaning roller that won’t damage the floor and a soft roller that is designed to polish the floor.
Hardwood floors tend to collect fine dust that can’t be picked up with a traditional brush roll. The soft surface roller on the Shark ZU782 will collect this dust and make your floor sparkle. Another great feature is the lift-away function. This allows you to turn this upright vacuum into a canister vacuum so you can maneuver into tight spaces. Overall, we loved using the Shark ZU782 Rotator on our hardwood floors and we think you will too.
Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors
Eureka PowerSpeed Lightweight Bagless Vacuum Review
Second on our list of best vacuums for hardwood floors is the Eureka PowerSpeed Lightweight Bagless Vacuum. This lightweight vacuum provides a powerful cleaning for all floor types including wood floors. It has a 12.6 inch cleaning path so you can vacuum large rooms quickly. Because it has an extra large dust cup, you won’t need to take breaks from vacuuming to empty it.
The Eureka PowerSpeed comes with a variety of accessories for cleaning your entire home. Accessories included are a 7-inch crevice tool, a dusting brush, an upholstery tool and pet tool. All of the accessories can be stored on the machine. If you are looking for a lightweight vacuum that can tackle your hardwood floors, then look no further than the Eureka PowerSpeed Lightweight Bagless Vacuum.
Best Vacuum for Engineered Hardwood
Dirt Devil Vibe 3-in-1 Vacuum Cleaner Review
Engineered hardwood is sturdier than traditional wood and is less likely to scratch. We recommend the Dirt Devil Vibe 3-in-1 Vacuum Cleaner for engineered hardwood floors. The reason we think this is the best vacuum for engineered hardwood is that it has scatter guard technology which prevents dirt from scattering across your floor when vacuuming. One of the hardest things about vacuuming on hard floors is the dirt flying around while you are trying to vacuum it up. The Dirt Devil Vibe solves this problem.
Another great feature with the Vibe is that you can turn the brushroll off so you don’t scratch your floor. If you are vacuuming a rug or carpet, you can turn the brushroll back on to get dirt embedded into the fabric. This vacuum makes it easy to transition to different types of floors. Anyone looking for an extremely affordable vacuum that works well on engineered wood floors needs to take a closer look at the Dirt Devil Vibe 3-in-1 Vacuum Cleaner.
Best Vacuum for Softwood Floors
Bissell 2252 CleanView Swivel Upright Bagless Vacuum Review
The Bissell 2252 CleanView Swivel Upright Bagless Vacuum is a great choice if you have flooring made from a soft wood such as pine, fir, cyprus, cedar, spruce or hemlock. This vacuum will be gentle on the wood in order to prevent scratches and dings. The scatter free technology and edge-to-edge cleaning makes vacuuming an easy process.
Pet owners will love the specialized pet tools that are included with the Bissell Cleanview. When you purchase this vacuum, Bissell will donate a small portion of their profits to help homeless pets. Overall, we believe that the Bissell 2252 CleanView Swivel Upright Bagless Vacuum is the best vacuum for softwood floors.
Best Hardwood Floor Vacuum
Kenmore DU4080 Featherlite Lift-Up Bagless Upright Vacuum Review
The last vacuum we have on our list for best vacuums for hardwood floors is the Kenmore DU4080 Featherlite Lift-Up Bagless Upright Vacuum. This gorgeous vacuum comes in two colors – orange or green. No matter what color you choose, you are going to get a high quality, well-built machine.
The swivel head will move around furniture effortlessly while the light will put a spotlight on the dirt so you don’t miss anything. One of the great features about this vacuum is the HEPA filtration system. It traps 99.97% of dust down to 0.3 microns in size. The dirt and debris is stored inside a large, bagless dirt cup. As you can see by the picture, the dirt cup is clear so you know when to empty it. We highly recommend the Kenmore DU4080 Featherlite Lift-Up Bagless Upright Vacuum for anyone looking for the best hardwood floor vacuum.
Types of Wood Floors
There are three types of wood floors available – hardwood, softwood and engineered hardwood. The type of wood floor you have will determine the type of vacuum you should be using to clean it. Below you can read more about each type of flooring and what to look for when buying a vacuum.
Hardwood Floors – Hardwood is the most common type of wood floors. These floors are often made out of oak, maple or cherry. Since they are more durable than softwoods, you can use a vacuum that has a brushroll as long as the bristles are soft to prevent scratching.
Softwood Floors – Softwood isn’t as common as hardwood and is found mainly in cabins, cottages and buildings with a rustic décor. These types of floors are often made from pine, fir, cyprus, cedar, spruce or hemlock. Since these floors are prone to scratching and dings, you can not use a brushroll on them. Choose a vacuum that does not have a brushroll or has the option to turn the brushroll off.
Engineered Hardwood – Engineered hardwood is made from chips of wood that are pressed together with glue. They are extremely durable and are scratch resistant. You can use pretty much any vacuum cleaner on engineered hardwood. It is a good idea to read the care instructions from your flooring manufacturer if you have them.
FAQ
You are sure to have questions about the best vacuums for hardwood floors. That’s why we decided to include a section on frequently asked questions. We’ve gathered your most common questions and provided you with the answers below.
Q: Can I use a brush roll on a hardwood floor?
A: The type of wood floor you have will determine if you can use a brush roll on it. You should be able to use a soft-bristle brush roll on most hardwood floors. If you are worried about it, you can purchase vacuums that allow you to turn the brush roll off.
Q: How do I prevent dirt from scattering when vacuuming a hard floor?
A: The best way to prevent dirt from scattering while vacuuming is by using a vacuum that has anti-scatter or scatter-free technology. Different manufacturers will use different terminology for this feature. Most of the vacuums we reviewed above have this feature included. Be sure to check to see if it is included before purchasing a vacuum.
Q: Which type of vacuum is best for a hardwood floor?
There is no one type that is better than the other when it comes to hardwood floors. The best vacuums for hardwood floors won’t have a brush roll or will give you the option to turn it off. These are usually upright vacuums but canister vacuums may also be a good choice. Stick vacuums without brush rolls are good for cleaning up small messes.
Summary
Now that you know what type of hardwood floor you have and what features to look for in your vacuum, you can find the perfect vacuum for hardwood floors. Personally, we think the best vacuums for hardwood floors are the Shark ZU782 Rotator Lift-Away DuoClean Pro Upright Vacuum, the Eureka PowerSpeed Lightweight Bagless Vacuum and the Kenmore DU4080 Featherlite Lift-Up Bagless Upright Vacuum.
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Each of those vacuums work great on hardwood floors and will provide you with all the features and tools you need to keep your home clean. No matter what type of hardwood floor you own, any of the vacuums reviewed above will work great at cleaning your floors.
