Best Canister Vacuums

Top canister vacuums overall

According to the reviews we read, the budget-priced Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765-040 (*Est. $220) has the best blend of cleaning ability on carpet and bare floors, along with low emissions and good durability. This bagless vacuum has a HEPA filter, which helps keep the vacuum from leaking dust back into the room. The 22-pound Hoover canister also has a telescopic wand and comes with a crevice tool, dusting brush and upholstery brush. A powered hand tool helps scrub carpets and furniture. A separate bare-floor brush is gentle on wood floors that could otherwise be scratched by a rotating brushroll.

Because it's a bagless canister vacuum, you don't have to buy replacement bags. However, emptying the dust bin will expose you to some dust, so a bagging unit might be a better choice for those with allergies. Users say it's easy enough to empty the dust bin, though some wish the bin were a little bigger. Another caveat is that tools aren't stored on the unit itself. In professional tests, the Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765-040 does a great job on carpet, rugs and bare floors. It's not as great as some other more expensive canister vacuums at picking up pet hair, however, and it's louder than some. Upright vacuums generally do a better job on pet hair.

The Kenmore 27514 (*Est. $250) does a better job than most canister vacuums, and is the best in its price range both for getting pet hair out of carpet and for general cleaning on carpet and bare floors. This model isn't bagless, and its HEPA filtration system earns it excellent scores for controlling emissions. Although professional reviewers give this vacuum top marks, user ratings are mixed. On the Sears website it gets 3.5 out of five stars in about 75 owner-written reviews. The issue doesn't seem to be performance or ease of use -- most owners say it's effective and relatively easy to handle -- but rather some trouble with reliability. Several owners report liking the Kenmore canister vacuum initially before becoming frustrated with premature breakdown and high repair costs. Others say the plastic housing can break and the wheels fall off.

Another Sears.com canister vacuum, the Kenmore Intuition 28014 (*Est. $500) is top-rated in one large expert test where it scores very well all around, with especially good marks for emissions control and pet hair removal. The Intuition 28014 comes with a crevice tool, a combo brush, a fan-cleaning tool, a powerhead for digging up pet hair and an integrated bare-floor tool. Reviewers say that the tools work well, with good functionality and excellent airflow. This Kenmore canister vacuum comes with useful extras like a retractable cord and on-board tool storage, plus one feature that critics say isn't so useful: an infrared dirt sensor.

We found very few user reviews for the Kenmore Intuition 28014, but the near-identical Intuition 28015 (*Est. $500) receives an average rating of four stars (out of five) in about 60 reviews at Sears.com. This model differs from the 28014 only in cord length; the 28015's cord is two feet longer. A few users complain of durability problems; others feel the power head doesn't suction as well as it should. Still, the test results are much better for the Intuition 28015 than for similarly priced luxury vacuums from Dyson and Miele.

The Electrolux Oxygen EL6988D (*Est. $400) matches or outperforms most other canisters in independent testing on all fronts: cleaning carpet and bare floor, pet hair removal, noise and emissions. Unfortunately, this canister vacuum suffers from mixed user reviews. Most criticisms of the Oxygen EL6988D involve durability: the electrical system and plastic parts seems to be particularly prone to failure.

The Electrolux Harmony (*Est. $280) is another model that does quite well with professional reviewers. Aside from the low price, it gets good marks for quietness and efficiency. What's not so popular with owners is the fact that the washable HEPA filter (*Est. $30) has to be purchased separately (a disposable HEPA filter is included, though). Like the Oxygen EL6988D, the Harmony also loses points for durability.

Several owners claim to have been misled by the Electrolux brand name. Although this brand was once known as an independent manufacturer of top-quality vacuums, the Electrolux brand has changed ownership, leaving consumers confused about what kind of product they are buying. Electrolux canister vacuums are now made by Eureka. To find what is known as a traditional Electrolux vacuum, you must turn to a company now called Aerus. They offer an expensive canister called the Lux Guardian (*Est. $1,500). Aerus offers an amazing 25-year warranty on the Lux Guardian, but in comparison performance reviews, the Lux Guardian doesn't work any better or worse that vacuums costing less than half as much. However, durability may be better than average.

Dyson is one of the champs in the upright vacuum cleaner world, but its selection of canister vacuums is limited. In one professional test, the Dyson DC23 Motorhead (*Est. $600) does well cleaning bare floors and limiting dust emissions, but has only mediocre performance on carpeting, pet hair pickup and maneuverability. It fares better in another, equally thorough test at Choice magazine, acing both carpet cleaning and pet hair removal tests. We're not sure how to explain this discrepancy, but it seems likely that the tests were conducted under different conditions; for example, the vacuum may have been tested on different types of carpet. User reviews for the Dyson DC23 Motorhead are sparse, but mostly positive. A few owners feel the cord is too short and the vacuum isn't as maneuverable as they'd like, but all are happy with its performance. The Dyson DC23 Motorhead includes a motorized brush bar for use on carpeting. It's also available without this attachment as the Dyson DC23 Turbinehead (*Est. $400).

Dyson also makes a more expensive canister vacuum, the Dyson DC22 Motorhead (*Est. $800), which is available without the motorized brush bar as the Dyson DC22 Turbinehead (*Est. $700). The DC22 is about one-third smaller and lighter than the DC23, but (according to Dyson) it performs just as well. In tests, the Turbinehead version of the DC22 receives very good scores on bare floors but struggles to pick up pet hair. We were unable to find enough user reviews for this model to establish how well owners might like it.