What are the main types of car vacuum cleaner?
There are a variety of vacuum cleaners that are suitable for cleaning your car. The main types include:
Corded vacuum cleaners: Not necessarily the obvious choice, some corded vacuum cleaners offer a range of attachments and long cord lengths that make them just as efficient at cleaning the car as they are for the home. If you’re happy to use a corded design, look out for options with portable wheels or carry handles to help navigate around your car during use.
Cordless vacuum cleaners: Cordless vacuums allow efficient cleaning without requiring mains power. Battery life can vary between 15 and 90 minutes depending on the design, but the lack of a cord means you have far more freedom to move around, with large brush heads for carpets and attachments for crevices and corners.
Handheld vacuums: These are well suited to cleaning your car, with small and portable designs that allow you to get right inside the car, using the included attachments to get into every corner and crevice.
Wet/dry vacuum cleaners: These are suitable for both wet and dry debris, helping you to vacuum away spills and liquids as well as dry dirt, crumbs and mud.
Stain/upholstery cleaners: If your car seats are stained and unsightly, these cleaners use a combination of detergent, water and suction to refresh and revive your upholstery.
Which car vacuum attachments are most useful?
Cars have lots of small spaces for dust, dirt and debris to build up - so vacuums with various attachments can help you find the most efficient tools for the job. Here are the most useful car vacuum attachments to look for when making your choice.
Crevice tool: These long and narrow attachments can help get suction between seat crevices, around the car doors and inside the centre console - areas which may be tricky to reach with a traditional vacuum brush head.
Brush tool: A small head with brushes around the edge, these tools are ideal for removing loose dirt and debris such as crumbs on upholstery and dry mud from footwells. They can also allow gentle dusting across your dashboard and air vents.
Extension tools: Extend the length of the hose, helping you clean hard-to-reach areas such as under the seats and footwells.
Pet tool: If you have a dog and your car seats are regularly covered in embedded pet hair, these powerful suction tools can help lift hairs away, even well-embedded pet hair from the surface of your seats and floor mats
Is a car vacuum cleaner worth buying?
If you’ve already invested in a traditional vacuum cleaner, you may be wondering whether it’s worth splashing out on a second vacuum for your car. If you have pets and children, spend a lot of time outdoors and let your children eat in the car, a car vacuum could certainly be a worthwhile investment.
In some cases, your original vacuum will be suitable for your needs, however, if you only have a large corded upright vacuum, reaching your car and cleaning all the nooks and crannies can be tricky. Consider factors such as capacity, battery life and portability as well as additional features such as crevice attachments and LED lights and weigh up these benefits against the cost.
What’s the best car vacuum cleaner to buy in the UK?
The Shark Premium Handheld Vacuum gets our vote as the best car vacuum you can buy today thanks to its super lightweight and portable cordless design. While its battery life could be longer, this convenient design allows quick and easy coverage with excellent suction power across your upholstery and car interior.
If you’re after something with a longer battery life, the GTech Multi Platinum makes a great alternative but comes with a higher price tag as a result.
How we chose our recommendations
Recommendations from real Mumsnet users
Mumsnet users love a good cleaning debate, often sharing their feedback on hints and tips to keep their homes (and cars) clean.
First, we sought out the trusted opinions of Mumsnet users, to get their feedback and tried and tested recommendations on cordless, handheld and car vacuums that they rate, recommend and have used in their own cars.
We also looked out for any negative reviews, where Mumsetters highlighted products that they felt were poor quality, overpriced or didn’t come with the right tools for the job.
Expert opinions
Next up, we considered reviews and feedback from trusted industry experts. We want to be confident that the products we recommend are fit for purpose, so we looked out for award-winning products or those that were well regarded in the marketplace, including those recommended by consumer champions Which?.
Authentic consumer reviews
Finally, to bring you our definitive list of the best car vacuums on the market, we thoroughly investigated genuine, in-depth customer reviews on retailer sites such as Amazon, Argos and John Lewis to get wider consumer experiences regarding the products on our shortlist.
About the author
Lucy Cotterill is a mum of two and Content Writer at Mumsnet, specialising in family and lifestyle product reviews and round-ups. Having written product reviews on her own blog Real Mum Reviews since 2012, Lucy loves to research and explore the pros and cons of products, scrutinising reviews and consumer feedback to help parents make confident purchases that benefit their families.
Lucy has personal experience of testing vacuums through her own blog, including portable, handheld and cordless models, considering product features and benefits including attachments, battery life and ease of emptying.
Originally from a HR background with a degree in Business Studies, Lucy developed a real passion for blogging and writing when her children were young, going on to write for several online publications including US parenting site Pregistry and the Evening Standard.
When she’s not manically tapping the keys of her laptop, Lucy loves nothing more than to cosy up with her Kindle and enjoy the latest thriller, or compete in Nintendo Switch rallies with her daughters aged six and 10.
Why you should trust us
We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust and we spend hours scouring the Mumsnet forums and online bestseller lists to find products that real parents rate.
Transparency is really important to us and that's why we're always upfront about where we find our recommendations. We write about products that we feel offer the best value to most parents – the ones that our users would recommend to their own friends and family.