Which do you prefer – vacuum cleaner with battery or without? Stiftung Warentest tested both separately and reveals which vacuum cleaner variant is stronger on which floors.
It happened: vacuum cleaners are a party talk, a birthday wish and almost an object of longing at home. After chic food processors made it into a lifestyle product a few years ago, battery-powered vacuum cleaners in particular are now following suit – from household appliances to “I’d like it” products.
But are they really that good? And what do the wired devices do? Stiftung Warentest looked at both variants in two separate tests:
With the handy cordless vacuum cleaners, the price makes the difference. This is reported by the magazine “Test” (Issue 2/2023) after a sample of new devices and renewed testing of the best winners from the previous year. The conclusion: “In our tests, good devices rarely cost less than 600 euros. And wireless devices below the 300-euro mark are usually of little use.”
But even the more expensive models are not completely convincing: almost all models remove dust on carpets and upholstery “well” to “very well”. With coarse pieces of dirt, the balance is worse. And the devices also show weaknesses on hard floors such as laminate, tiles and parquet.
The weak point of cordless vacuum cleaners is still often the same: the battery. But the product testers advise not to pay too much attention to it. The models often only need maximum performance on carpets. “Reduced or even minimal power is sufficient for hard floors, upholstery and a few cobwebs under the ceiling – this means the batteries last much longer.”
And there’s good news for pet owners: The cordless devices have rotating floor brushes that do a good job of combing pet hair. Some just take a little longer.
Of the nine cordless vacuum cleaners tested, two achieved an overall rating of “good”, six “satisfactory” and one failed with “poor”. The test winners are: Triflex HX2 Sprinter (SOML5), from Miele for 675 euros and the Series 8 model, Unlimited Gen2, from Bosch (BSS825CARP) for 615 euros.
The good news first: You can get a usable device much cheaper if you buy a vacuum cleaner with a cable instead of a battery. From about 130 euros you have to pay for a device that scores “satisfactory” in the test. “Good” models are available from around 200 euros.
This group of devices has been on the market for a long time. And the long years of development are noticeable, according to the product testers. On hard floors, most corded canister vacuums are thorough, cleaning all crevices.
Nevertheless, this device variant still has weaknesses, as shown by the evaluation of five newly tested models and the five best vacuum cleaners from the previous test. And it is exactly the other way around here than with the cordless vacuum cleaners: the carpets are at a disadvantage with the corded ones. “Only the best are good here, the others usually weaken,” they say. Almost everyone has problems with coarser pieces.
The testers also criticized the cleaning of the corners and the vacuuming of animal hair. The weight of wired devices can also be impractical. They weigh between six and eight kilograms, about twice as much as their battery-powered competitors. But canister vacuum cleaners mainly work on the floor anyway.
Of the ten devices tested, five were rated “good” and the other five “satisfactory”. The test winners are: Complete C3 Starlight EcoLine SGSG3 from Miele (340 euros), BGC41XSIL from the 6 series from Bosch (254 euros), BGL8XHYG from the 8 series from Bosch (269 euros), Boost CX1 Allergy (SNCF0) from Miele (260 euros) and Silence Force Allergy R07755 from Rowenta (199 euros).
(This article was first published on Monday, January 23, 2023.)
