Corded Handheld Vacuums

Corded hand vacuums: longer runtime

Although reviewers tend to give cordless hand vacs top billing, experts say corded hand vacs have some advantages. For one thing, they don't run out of power. There's also the issue of durability; the battery itself tends to be the shortest-lived component of cordless hand vacs, accounting for more negative comments than any other feature. Finally, without the power limitations of battery-driven hand vacs, corded models can be more powerful, meaning they get more vacuuming done faster.

A winner in the cordless category, Black & Decker also gets decent ratings for its corded hand vacs. The Black & Decker HV9010P Retriever Pet-Series (*Est. $30) gets solid marks from more than 40 owners posting to Amazon.com. Pet owners say the included rubber-bristled turbo brush, designed to create a hair-attracting electrostatic charge, does an excellent job of removing pet hair from upholstery and carpet. Black & Decker claims this hand vac has the power of a regular vacuum and several owners agree, saying the HV9010P works better on pet hair than their full-size models. Another bonus is that it converts to a blower for cleaning in very tight spaces even the included crevice tool can't access. Black & Decker's two-year warranty is twice as long as warranties offered by most hand vac brands, including the top-rated Eureka.

We did see the Black & Decker HV9010P included in one professional comparison review. Interestingly, while tests show that the Pet Series vacuum does a great job on carpet, bare floors and around edges of walls and furniture, its scores on pet hair are only so-so. The cordless Black & Decker Pivot Vac does a much better job with cat and dog hair, but the Pivot Vac costs more than twice as much.

The Bissell 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser (*Est. $35) also gets a good professional review, particularly for its performance on carpet, bare floors and for picking up messes along corners and floorboards. But like the Black & Decker HV9010P, the Bissell vac gets poor scores for picking up pet hair. Owner reviewers, however, largely disagree. In more than 30 reviews at Amazon.com, many owners say it does a great job picking up pet hair, especially from upholstery. Consumers say the included rubber tip works well to get hair off of couches and other fabrics like a pet bed, so perhaps the professional testers didn't try this method of vacuuming pet hair. The few negative consumer reviews complain of the awkward handle and report that the exhaust air blows the pet hair around before you can vacuum it up.

Although their KONE and KURV models get the most media attention, Dirt Devil also makes several other handheld vacuums. Two of their corded models -- the Dirt Devil M08230X Ultra Hand Vac (*Est. $30) and the Dirt Devil M08220 Scorpion Quick Flip Vacuum (*Est. $30)-- are popular enough on sites like Amazon.com to get a good number of owner-written reviews. Readers posting to Amazon.com say the Scorpion is powerful -- some say almost as powerful as an upright vacuum -- and it strikes the right balance between light weight and performance. This corded hand vac's most praised feature is its flip-down crevice tool which most owners say they find useful for vacuuming hard-to-reach places. The Scorpion also gets a plug at Good Housekeeping where testers really like its included shoulder strap, long 16-foot power cord, hose and powerful suction.

If you want a hand vac that comes with a hose accessory, the Black & Decker HV9010P looks like a slightly better bet than the similar Dirt Devil Scorpion based on its longer warranty, but the Dirt Devil also looks like a good choice. If you don't care about a hose, consider the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser. Users really like this compact hand vacuum, but it doesn't come with a hose.

The Dirt Devil Ultra M08230X is another story. Owners on Amazon.com and Target.com rate it 2.5 out of five stars and bring up a host of quality and performance concerns, from clogging and suction problems to excessive noise and premature breakdown. The few positive reviews mention general features like the fact that it's portable and easy to store, but customers can find the same attributes in the higher-rated corded hand vacs available from Eureka and Black & Decker.