Best vacuums for hardwood floors: After 1000+ hours of testing, these are the top picks for safe brushrolls, smooth mobility, and powerful suction

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner for a home with hardwood floors requires some different thinking. For other, more durable flooring types, the more powerful the vacuum, the better. But with something as easily scratched or discolored as wood, you instead consider aspects like dust detection or the softness of the brushroll.

As Homes & Gardens' home tech editor, I've racked up more than 200 hours testing, reviewing and writing about vacuums, with the help of a team of dedicated experts who add another 800 to our tally. We've tested 65 of the best vacuums, both in our homes and in our standardized test center, so we know which vacuums are worth it when it comes to wooden floors.

The one-minute verdict

After all our testing and analysis, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes out on top as the best choice thanks to its flawless performance on wooden floors and its relatively accessible price point. Its sister vacuum the Dyson V15 Detect has the same features and more powerful suction, but it costs $100 more, so the V12 takes the top spot.

And if you're looking for something more comprehensive, I also recommend the Tineco Pure One S7 Pro. It vacuums, mops and removes stains and, as well as achieving an impressive five stars on test, this kind of wet floor cleaner has been recommended to us by professional cleaners as the best way to clean hardwood flooring with minimal moisture left on your floor's surface.

The quick list

Here's the list at a glance. Scroll further or click the navigation links for more info on why each of these, in their own right, are the best vacuums for hardwood floors.

The best vacuums for hardwood floors in 2024

Here, we run through why we think each of these vacuums is one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors, with links to full, in-depth reviews.

The best vacuum for hardwood floors

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Balancing suction power, ease of use and performance on wooden floors against the price - the Dyson V12 Detect Slim is the best choice. It's a highly powerful cordless vacuum that is perfect for cleaning hardwood floors, without a price tag that's too out-of-reach. Of all the vacuums I have tested, this is one I choose to use in my own home,which has predominantly hardwood floors and I love it.

The V12 Detect Slim is the smallest and most affordable vacuum in Dyson's range of detection vacuums that includes the Dyson V15 Detect (also in this guide) and the Dyson Gen5detect. While both of these two options have larger dustbins and slightly improved features, the V12 Detect Slim costs hundreds of dollars less - and you still get all of the core features and cleaning performance.

What makes the V12 Detect Slim stand out among the best vacuums for hardwood floors is the FluffyOptic floor head. It has a green laser that genuinely reveals dust that the naked eye can't see (even in a well-lit room), as well as a soft brush roll that is sure to never scratch or damage wood.

The suction power is an absolute breeze, too. I use this multiple times a week and I've never had to go back over a section of the floor to vacuum everything up. Even when it comes to hair, the V12 Detect Slim has no trouble picking it all up in a single pass, and the handy particle counter on the vacuum's screen shows you just how dirty the floors were.

It costs around $650 at full price (but is often on offer for around $400-500), and included in the price is the Motorized Anti-Tangle floor head which is mainly used for carpets. But, even in a home of exclusively hard wood floors, this powerful attachment can be used for rugs, mattresses and certain furniture.

For larger homes, perhaps the V15 Detect or the Gen5detect are better suited thanks to their bigger dustbins. But the only downside is emptying it more often and a slight decrease in suction. If you're ok with that, I'd save the money.

Read the full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review for more insight.

Best vacuum-mop combo for hardwood floors

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It's important to remember when cleaning hardwood floors that the wood can easily warp and become damaged if exposed to too much water or heat. This is why traditional mopping and steam mopping can actually be a dangerous move for your precious, expensive wood.

But when you compare mopping vs wet vacuuming, wet vacuums (or vacuum-mop combos) use suction to extract much of the moisture, leaving the floor dry only a few minutes later. The Tineco Floor One S7 Pro is one of the most capable vacuum-mops we've got our hands on, and during tests it was the one that left the floors dry the fastest.

I put the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro through our five standardized vacuum-mop tests across ketchup, mustard, pasta sauce, broken egg and milk and cereal, and it handled all of them swiftly and efficiently. We run these tests to assess a vacuum-mop's ability to deal with messes of different properties and consistencies, and the Tineco had no troubles cleaning all of them.

I even used it to clean up after the Dyson WashG1 which, after attempting to vacuum egg shell pieces, had clogged up and spilled a horrendous amount of dirty, greasy liquid across the wooden floor. The Tineco cleaned it all up with no fuss.

It's a smart vacuum with four cleaning modes, whether you need maximum hydration or pure suction without floor washing. Its soft roller is ideal for protecting the surface of your wooden floors, and overall it has smooth movements that make it quite a satisfying appliance to use.

Read more in our full Tineco Floor One S7 Pro review.

Best value vacuum for hardwood floors

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The Ultenic U16 Flex is one of the only budget, sub-$200 vacuum cleaners I could ever recommend. Its only drawback is its weak performance as a vacuum for carpets which means, as a vacuum for hardwood floors (and any hard floors, for that matter), this is an excellent way to save hundreds of dollars.

We love the Ultenic U16 Flex as one of the best Dyson alternatives. It is surprisingly the only vacuum we've tested that has a green laser, a key feature that makes Dyson laser vacuums so worth it as it reveals dust particles on the floor that the naked eye can't see.

During testing, the Ultenic U16 Flex had no issues vacuuming all types of mess from hardwood floors. On hardwood floors, a common setback is vacuuming fine dust that's trapped between the wooden panels, but the Ultenic U16 Flex's boosted suction mode was able to clear the last of it.

And on pet hair, the Ultenic U16 Flex also impressed with its anti-tangle brushroll. I tested it at a local pet shelter and, while it struggled to pull fur from carpets and rugs, it was easily able to vacuum both cat and dog hair from hard floors, and its green laser helped to illuminate strands that I couldn't see otherwise.

Of course, this is a budget vacuum cleaner, and it isn't made with the most premium or durable materials. It's made from a light, cheap plastic that makes it a great lightweight vacuum, but I wouldn't expect it to last for too many years before needing to replace it.

Read more in our full Ultenic U16 Flex review.

Best cordless vacuum for hardwood floors

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Once hailed as our favorite vacuum ever, the Dyson V15 Detect can do it all. It's a truly powerful cordless vacuum that makes light work of all dust, dirt and hair, easily picking everything up in one run.

The V15 Detect is $100 more expensive ($750 at full price) than the V12 Detect Slim, but if you can afford to spend the extra money, you'll be investing in one of the most powerful vacuum cleaners ever, tried-and-tested to beat almost all others in terms of suction power and usability.

The V15's extra 80 air watts of power puts it at a similar cleaning power of a hefty upright vacuum, which is incredibly rare in a cordless stick. The other noticeable differences are the V15's larger dustbin, which gives you more time cleaning between empties, and the V12's single power button, which avoids you having to continually press a trigger while using it.

I also tested the V15 Detect in a local pet shelter, and it is easily the best vacuum for pet hair that we've ever tested. It can pull hair from deep within even the thickest carpets and rugs, and in the months that I've used it, it's never wrapped with hair.

It has the same build and materials as the V12 Detect Slim too, so it's just as safe on our delicate wooden floors.

Just like the rest of Dyson's detection range, the FluffyOptic cleaner head has a green laser to illuminate hidden dust, and it uses a soft brush roll that's happily safe on hardwood floors (and other hard floor types like tiles and laminate). The vacuum also counts how many particles it's picked up (down to individual particle sizes) and can adapt suction power depending on the dust volume of your floor.

Read our full Dyson V15 Detect review for more details.

Best upright vacuum for hardwood floors

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Large, heavy upright vacuums aren't typically the go-to choice for hardwood floors because their powerful motorized stiff brushes can easily scratch wood and vinyl. But Shark's latest upright vac, the POWERDETECT, avoids this issue with a floor head that's designed for all floor types.

The floor head uses two brush rolls, one soft and the other with angled brush fins, to pick up everything on your floors and to avoid hair tangle. On test, our reviewer found it to be beautifully effective in doing so.

'It’s able to suck everything up in its path efficiently and proficiently, no matter the debris,' our tester James Holland noted. After a heavy period of fur shedding from his cat, the POWERDETECT had 'picked up every visible piece of hair (as well as litter near the litter box) from the carpet, filling the dust bin with an amount of hair equal to a second cat.'

He found that this performance was just as impressive on hardwood floors. No matter what he tested with (flour, sugar, cereal, and even lemon pepper seasoning), the upright vacuum cleared everything in a single pass.

The vacuum also has detection technology, and it'll adjust its suction power and brush roll speed by detecting both your floor type, the dust volume, and whether you're vacuuming the edges. So, the POWERDETECT will easily adapt to a house with predominantly hardwood floors, and can pick up the suction when it comes to area rugs or the wall's edges.

Read more at our full Shark POWERDETECT review.

Best robot vacuum for hardwood floors

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The eufy X10 Pro Omni and the eufy S1 Pro Omni are two of our favorite vacuums that we've tested, but the S1 costs almost double the price of the X10. The S1 does clean more thoroughly, and even has a special feature called 'Ozone' that tester and head of Solved Punteha van Terheyden described as, 'Being able to draw literally black dirt out of seemingly clean floors.'

But this boost in performance comes at a $1,500 price point, and as hardwood floors don't require such strong suction, the X10 Pro Omni is a perfectly capable alternative. It's the best robot vacuum at the mid-range with a cleaning station that can empty the robot and dry its mops.

'Where this robot vacuum excels in my view is hard floors. It picked up absolutely everything in its path,' Punteha wrote in her review. It also has a turbo boost mode for when the messes are too stubborn, and if you have any area rugs, this would be a great way to make sure you're able to pull all the dust and hair out.

Its only downside is the brushroll, which completely wrapped with pet hair after every clean. But luckily, you can buy this replacement eufy roller for $19.99 that the S1 uses that, after more than three months of use, has never wrapped with hair. It's also rubber, as opposed to the other roller's bristles that are less safe for delicate wood.

Making this little $20 adjustment means the X10 Pro Omni's vacuuming is almost as good as the S1 Pro Omni, comfortable crowning it as one of the best robot vacuums for pet hair. But if you can afford the extra spend, the S1 Pro Omni is absolutely the better choice.

Read more in our full eufy X10 Pro Omni review.

Meet our testing team

Dan Fauzi

I am the home tech editor, reviewing, testing and writing about vacuum cleaners on a daily basis. I've spent 200+ hours testing 19 vacuums for Homes & Gardens, including the best vacuum for hardwood floors, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, and the Dyson V15 Detect, Ultenic U16 Flex and Tineco Floor One S7 Pro.

Punteha van Terheyden

Punteha is head of the Solved section at Homes & Gardens, and has tested a few robot vacuum cleaners over the past few months including the eufy S1 Pro Omni and the eufy X10 Pro Omni.

James Holland

James has been testing products since 2021, and in that time has spent more than 100 hours testing 20+ vacuum cleaners. He tested the Shark POWERDETECT Upright in this guide.

How to choose the best vacuum for hardwood floors

As vacuum cleaners excel on hard floors in general, the suction power isn't the most important factor. That being said, hardwood floors have tiny gaps between the wooden panels, so if your vacuum's power is too weak, dust will likely be left in these cracks. Any vacuum with a boost mode or soft bristles should be able to deal with this.

More importantly, you need to look for a vacuum that won't damage the floor. Not only is hardwood flooring susceptible to damage, it's also expensive, so you naturally want to avoid any scratching and discoloring.

Look for a vacuum that has a soft brush roll (like the FluffyOptic floorhead in the Dyson V12 Detect Slim), or one that can turn its spinning brush roll off, so that you can comfortably vacuum without sharp bristles impacting the floor. Upright vacuums often have more rugged brush rolls to deal with carpet flooring; if you're opting for an upright model, make sure you're able to change its power settings, but don't forget that a cordless model is usually a safer choice.

If you have different floor types across your home, it'll be beneficial to choose a vacuum with automatic floor type detection. Many newer vacuums from brands like Dyson, Tineco and Shark (like the Shark POWERDETECT) offer this feature, and it saves you from having to adjust the power setting when moving between rugs, carpets and hard floors.

Another luxury is anti-tangle cleaning. Like with many of the options in our best vacuums for pet hair guide, anti-tangle floor heads and attachments can make a huge difference when dealing with hair. Having to manually remove wrapped hair from the brush roll can be a frustratingly time-consuming task, so it's good to be able to avoid it.

Bottom line: soft, fluffy brush rolls are a must. Take a close look at the vacuum you're considering and think about the floor head's impact on your floor. If reviews say that it's high-impact, make sure you can turn off the spinning brush roll. Then, consider whether the suction power is enough when compared with the price, and if you have pets, make sure to opt for anti-tangle floor heads and attachments. If in doubt, read reviews!

For the full guide, check out how to choose the right vacuum cleaner for your home, with more detailed info on the sort of price you should expect to pay (and how to reduce it).

How we test vacuums for hardwood floors

At Homes & Gardens we like to get hands-on experience with all the products we feature. You can learn more about our vacuum testing methodolgy in how we test vacuums.

All of our vacuums are tried and tested in our test center, and then in our own homes for a minimum of two weeks. When in the test center, we assess each vacuum on carpet, linoleum and hardwood flooring, two of the most common types of hard floor using different types of spilled material.

We test using flour and sugar, which is a common kitchen spill, but also a good proxy for dust and dead skin; cereal and lentils, which shows how well it picks up larger debris like crumbs and small stones; and pet hair at a local pet shelter, which demonstrates how well-suited this vacuum is for pet owners.

When vacuuming on hardwood, it's important to observe how smoothly the vacuum glides across the floor, and the impact of the brushroll hitting the floor's surface. Both of these, if not taken into consideration, can result in scratches and marks on the wood.

We consider this in tandem with the cost, attachments, size of the bin, trigger style, cord length if applicable, battery charging and run time, as well as how easy it is to set-up, clean and maintain.

Best vacuums for hardwood floors – Glossary

You can find the complete list of vacuum- and floorcare-related terms at our vacuum jargon buster.

• Floorhead: The main vacuum cleaner attachment for floor cleaning (i.e. not the crevice tool, dusting brush etc). Some vacuums have separate floorheads for hard floors and carpets.
• Brushroll: Rotating cylinders within the floorhead (and occasionally in smaller, motorized attachments). They can be soft, fluffy rollers for hard floors or bristled to dig deep into carpets. Many vacuums from brands like Shark and Dyson will have two brushrolls in their main floorhead.
• Wand/hose: Long tube connecting the vacuum cleaner to the floorhead or any attachments (see here for what all the vacuum cleaner attachments do, like the crevice tool or dusting brush).
• Filter: Responsible for trapping the debris and particles as air passes through. Vacuums can have pre-motor filters and post-motor filters, to trap debris of different sizes at different points along the airflow.
• HEPA filter: Filter type that's able to capture at least 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. It's a necessity in a pet hair vacuum as it's able to trap allergenic particles like pet dander (and household allergens like dust and pollen).
• Motor: The core component of a vacuum cleaner (it's also referred to as a suction motor). This is what converts the electrical power into mechanical power to create suction and airflow.
• Bagged/bagless: Some vacuums, typically older ones, use vacuum bags that you dispose of once full. Most vacuums are now bagless and have a dustbin that you conveniently empty when needed, without the need to buy additional bags. Bagged vacuums still have their advantages however, like dust-free emptying, complete odor and particle capture, and less filter maintenance.
• Detection: Some vacuums are able to 'detect' the type of flooring, how dusty/dirty the floor is, whether you're vacuuming edges, or which direction you're vacuuming. They can then automatically adjust suction power, as vacuuming carpet, edges and dust-heavy floors requires extra power, while vacuuming a fairly clean wooden floor doesn't require as much – saving energy or battery life.
• Power/air watts: A vacuum cleaner's power is best measured via air watts, reflecting the airflow and suction power in real terms. It's calculated by multiplying the airflow (in cubic metres per second) by the suction pressure (in pascals), accounting for variables like blockages or different-sized openings (from different vacuum attachments, for example).
• FluffyOptic (Dyson): The most advanced floorhead in Dyson's latest vacuums (the Gen5detect, V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim) designed primarily for hard floors. It features a green laser that reveals hidden dust that the naked eye can't see.
• DuoClean PowerFins (Shark): Floorhead featured in many of Shark's vacuums. 'While a soft front roller pulls in particles, PowerFins deliver nonstop contact to pick up more in every pass.'

FAQs

How do I know if my hardwood floors are sealed?

There's a simple test you can do if you're unsure whether your hardwood floor is sealed or not, known as the beading test. Sealed hardwood floors are protected by a finish, to protect the wood from stains, moisture, and general wear-and-tear.

Pour a few drops of water onto an inconspicuous area of the floor. If the water spreads out or is absorbed into the wood, your floor is likely not sealed. If it beads, it should be sealed.

Can I clean hard floors without a vacuum?

Yes, you can clean hardwood floors without a vacuum, but the job will only be half done. Mopping is crucial for removing stains from hard floors, and it can get up some dust. However, mopping can't pick up crumbs and hair – you should vacuum first and then mop for the best results.

Do vacuums damage wood floors?

Vacuums won't damage wood floors if you use the right setting. If you use a carpet setting you can damage the floor, as the fast-spinning, hard bristles might scratch the floor. If you have hardwood floors in your home, it's smart to get a vacuum with a soft head, which makes it incredibly unlikely that your vacuum will scratch the floor.

Can I use an upright vacuum on hardwood floors? 

Yes, but make sure you have a model where you can turn off the motorised brush bar, or a setting that's designed not to scratch hard floors. These bars have pretty stiff bristles and move at very high speeds, so they can easily scratch some wood floors if you aren't careful.

Not what you're looking for? Take a look through our tried-and-tested guides of the best multi-surface vacuums and the best lightweight vacuums.