Vacuum cleaner designs might be getting slightly out of control. As a dedicated vacuum reviewer (I manage TechRadar's official best vacuum ranking) I spend plenty of time testing different models with different features, so I know which additions will make a difference to your cleaning routine, and which are just unnecessary gimmicks.
Below, I've listed the features you should be prioritizing when choosing a vacuum, and those that you can basically ignore. I've focused on just the floorhead features here, because extending it to the entire vacuum would be far too big a topic for a single article. (Am I in too deep? Possibly.) Here's my official list of vacuum floorhead features, ranked...
Vacuum floorhead features – essentials
An anti-tangle roller
If you live with anyone with hair, you need a floorhead with anti-tangle features. And I don't mean Rapunzel-length locks – if you'd cut it with scissors rather than clippers, I'd prioritize this.
On older vacuums, hair was basically left to do its own thing, which invariably meant it would wrap around the brushroll like a thick, cozy hair duvet. After every clean, you'd have to take to the roller with a pair of scissors, and hack the hair away. Not ideal.
The good news is that most modern vacuums don't have this problem – they tend to have an anti-tangle roller as standard and pretty much all that I've tried work well. Approaches to this vary by brand, so there's nothing specific to look for, beyond some kind of reference to being 'anti-tangle' in the product listing.
Dyson has come up with a specific method where, on its very newest vacuums, it uses tapering, cone-shaped rollers rather than straight-edged ones. This works well but has an unfortunate side effect (which I'll cover in my next point) that means it's worth avoiding.
A straight front edge
A niche one, but don't underestimate the importance of a straight front edge on your floorhead. As far as I'm aware, the only vacuums not to have this are Dyson's newest options, where the brand has used cone-shaped rollers and brought the front of the vacuum to a slight point as a result.
An angled edge means you won't be able to get the vacuum flush to your room's baseboards, where dust often collects. Going in side-on can solve the issue, but that's not always possible. A side-note on this one is that it's worth looking for a floorhead that has relatively narrow perimeters, meaning the suction area can get nice and close to the edges of rooms.
An air intake slider
If you have carpet – and especially deep-pile carpet – in your home, look for a vacuum with an air intake adjustment slider on its floorhead. If you find your vacuum is too difficult to push on deep carpet, you can open this up to allow more air in and ease the vacuum (in the original sense of the word) in the suction cavity. This can be the difference between a vacuum being suitable for carpet and not. On another floor type, you might want to close it down to seal off the suction area more and increase particle pickup.
Vacuum floorhead features: nice to have
Headlamps
Headlamps are increasingly common on vacuums, but the quality and usefulness varies significantly from model to model. A great set of headlamps will cast big shadows on the tiniest specks of dust so you can ensure a thorough clean. They're really for use on hard floor, but can have limited use on carpet, too.
The brands with the best headlamps I've tested are Dyson (included on the soft floorheads of vacuums including the V15 Detect and Gen5detect) and Roborock (as seen on the likes of the Roborock H60 Hub Ultra). Both use lime-green lights that do a stellar job of illuminating dust.
At the other end of the spectrum are your bog-standard white lights, which do little more than help brighten dingy corners. They're kind-of useful, but not a game-changer. See the Dreame R20 and Shark Detect Pro for examples.
A reverse-cleaning flap
I'd actually quite like this to come under 'Essentials', but as it's exclusive to one Shark line (at time of writing), that feels unfair. Essentially, on its PowerDetect Cordless and PowerDetect Upright vacuums, Shark has added a flap to the back of the floorhead that lifts when the vacuum is pulled backwards.
This enables particles to pass under the floorhead and into the suction area, rather than pooling up behind the floorhead as happens with pretty much every other vacuum I've used. It's a relatively simple feature that works really well in practice, and makes a big difference to how efficiently the vacuum can clean – on hard flooring in particular.
Vacuum floorhead features: probably unnecessary
Edge-based suction adjustment
This one's another Shark exclusive, but this time feels much more gimmicky. A number of the best Shark vacuums have an 'EdgeDetect' feature where the vacuum will apparently boost suction just on the relevant side of the floorhead when it approaches the edge of a room.
I'm a little skeptical about how this would even work – is it possible to offer different suction levels within one floorhead? But even putting that aside it feels a bit like overkill. Things like a narrow floorhead border that can get right up close to a room edge, are far more important.
In general, I don't think automatic suction adjustment is strictly necessary, but if you are going to opt for this, adjustment based on floor type is going to make the biggest difference to your cleaning routine.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best vacuums
1. Best overall:
Dreame R20 Cordless
2. Best upright:
Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum
3. Best premium:
Dyson Gen5detect
4. Best for pet hair:
Shark PowerDetect Cordless
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