Vacuum type: Robot vs. cordless stick
Floor care is a broad category these days with seemingly a tool dedicated to nearly any way you want to get your floors sparkling. While there is still a place for a plug-in style vacuum, but with advances in battery technology, wire-free devices are far more convenient.
When considering a cordless stick-type vacuum, you will get the best results when using it on hard surfaces. This is mostly due to the fact that the cleaning head is much lighter than that of a cord-style vac and struggles to stay pressed to the surface. But that lightweight is exactly what makes these devices so great. Being able to easily move from room to room, literally cleaning from top to bottom, you can get much more done. An excellent cordless vacuum can be the perfect tool to get pet hair picked up from all over the house, and it won't wear you down in the process.
The Shark Rocket Pet Pro Cordless Vac offers a lot of powerful cleaning features for a decent price.
AmazonFor some, even the effort required to use a cordless vacuum can be too much or requires time that isn't available. In these instances, getting one of the best robot vacuums can really be the ticket. These devices are the ultimate time-saver and multitasking products, allowing you to free up your time to do other things. However, there are some areas the robot vacuum can't go, like on the couch. So, there are limitations to this type of vacuum, too.
Cost and value
The Deebot Osmo T8 from Ecovacs is quite a sophisticated robot vacuum.
Brian Bennett/CNETWhether something is expensive or not is largely in the eye of the beholder. Though we do offer what is considered to be value options on this list, you are still looking at a minimum of a few hundred dollars to get a great vacuum for pet hair. That is the out-of-pocket cost, then you have to consider the cost of your time.
Using a stick vac will require you to physically be involved in the cleaning process by walking around and pushing the vacuum around to pick up the mess caused by your pet. Whereas a robot vacuum will cost you more than most cordless vacuums, you won't have to be involved in the cleaning process nearly as much. This is what is considered a value proposition. If saving $100 or more upfront is the most important thing to you, then look at the lower-cost items on this list or save even more money with a product from our best cheap vacuums list.
But if time is more important to you, then picking up a robot vacuum, which is usually more expensive than cordless options, is the way to go. You'll have trade-offs with this style of vacuum compared to a stick vac, but you can utilize the time saved for other things.
Floor type
Most homes today have multiple types of flooring, from wood and tile to carpets and rugs. Each of these surfaces can pose different problems for floor cleaning devices. However, typically, the hard surface types tend to be the easiest to clean up for both cordless and robot vacuums.
Carpets and pet hair go together really well, but makes it more difficult to clean. While you can usually get all the dirt and other loose debris out with relative ease, pet hair gets intertwined with the carpet fabrics and requires more power to remove. Cordless vacuums are very versatile in where they can be used, but the design of the brush head can sometimes be less effective at cleaning hair from carpets since it is so light. However, stick vacs are excellent at cleaning up hard surfaces.
Robot vacuums tend to offer similar or better cleaning results on carpet, but in order to keep the devices as small as possible, they tend to be more underpowered than a stick vacuum. Regardless of that, robo vacs do excellent on hard surfaces and can be a solid all-around choice if it works for your home's flooring setup.
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