Pet hair got you down? Your usual vacuum cleaner unable to keep up? We’ve spent countless hours testing and analysing every cordless pet vacuum on the UK market – putting them to the test against mounds of pet hair unlike you’ve ever seen to see which are worthy of your home.
We’ll take you through our top nine picks – each of which will keep the pet hair down and leave your home feeling cleaner than ever. If you are in a hurry, here are our two best cordless vacuum cleaners for pet hair, or read below for detailed reviews.
Editors Pick
Shark IZ201UKT Anti-Hair
Warp Cordless
Runner Up
Tineco Pure
One S12
And if our editors and runner pick are not for you? Don’t worry, we’ve picked an assortment of pet-friendly cordless vacuum cleaners to suit all budgets and needs.
Our Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaners for Pet Hair
1
Shark IZ201UKT Anti-Hair Warp Cordless
Our Pick as The Best Pet Cordless Vac for Hardwood Floors
Is this the greatest pet hair cordless Shark vacuum cleaner of all time? I’m going to come out there and say yes. Made for cat & dog hair, it has been designed with your furry friends in mind, making it exceptional at picking up all the fur and fluff as well as fine dust and general debris.
The anti-hair wrap technology is what we want to get into first. This exceptional addition means that human and pet hair will no longer clog the brush bar. It has a flexible guard along the brush bar that directs hairs straight to the bin without compromising cleaning power – genius, right?
Additionally, it has powerful suction that can even reach into the crevices of your floorboards, collecting all the stray pet hair. It’s brilliant with fine dust, and large debris too. The only downside is that it’s not the greatest at getting dog hairs out of carpet, Miele is your top choice there.
This model does benefit from the DuoClean system Shark is famous for. The soft front roller is gentle on hard floors and ideal for fine dust as well as pet fluff. The back brush roll is for carpets, and while it’s not the best carpet vac out there, it does get the hair out after multiple runs.
The HEPA filtration system in this Shark vacuum is excellent for allergy and asthma sufferers – especially if they are affected by animal hair and dander. It works to trap particles as small as 0.03 microns so that you can benefit from cleaner air that is much easier to breathe.
Stairs and furniture a pain to clean? In one quick and simple movement, so easy a child could do it, you have a handheld vacuum cleaner. This is great for getting both dog and cat hair out of the couch (you know how it roots itself in there) as well as cleaning the stairs and de-fluffing the car.
If you’re tired of dog hair clumps sliding under the couch to hide, fear no more. The flexible wand on this Shark cordless means that you can slip under furniture effortlessly, and the LED headlights will ensure that no fluff balls are able to escape its powerful grasp (suction).
Emptying the bin is fairly easy, with a quick pop of a button ensuring all the pet hair ends up in the bin. Additionally, it comes with a brilliant selection of attachments to make cleaning pet hair easier. This includes a dusting brush, crevice tool, upholstery brush, and anti-allergen brush.
As we’ve mentioned before, this is a great cordless vacuum cleaner but not the top choice for carpets. We’d love to introduce you to a snazzy option below that will eliminate the bothe dog and cat hair from your carpets. Please welcome the cordless Tineco Pure One S12 to the stage.
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Tineco Pure One S12
Great with Pet Hair on Carpets & Hardfloors
The key thing that sticks out about this vacuum cleaner is the fact that it’s so efficient on carpets. The suction is powerful, and the brush bar reaches right into the fibres to remove cat and dog hair and embedded dirt that you didn’t even know existed. It’s fairly easy to empty as well.
It’s great on hard floors as well, scooping up pet hair with ease as well as removing both fine dust and larger chunks of debris. It does a fantastic job overall, but you might find that the Dyson V11 turns things up a notch if you have a slightly higher budget.
Its dual-battery system gives you more than enough time to clean, and we all know how messy the home gets with pets (muddy paws on white carpet, I feel it in my soul). Plus, the interactive LCD display gives you a clear view of how much time is left as well as the cleaning settings.
Furthermore, it comes with a lovely selection of attachments to make life easier. This includes a wall mount with tool storage (a unicorn in the vacuum world), a crevice tool, dusting brush (two), a turbo tool, flexi crevice tool, filter cleaning tool, and floor brush cleaning tool.
While this model is great for homes of all sizes, the Samsung up next has its own cordless vacuum cleaner that is perfectly suited for larger properties. So, if you’re not entirely convinced by this nifty cordless vac.
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Samsung Jet 75 Pet VS20T7532T1
Perfect for Larger Properties with Pets ( Long Runtime)
There is only one word we can use to describe this vacuum cleaner – exceptional. Dog hair, fine dust, large debris, none of it stands a chance whether it’s on carpets or hard floors. Combined with the excellent filtration system, your home air will be left cleaner and free from allergens.
It has several great power settings, as well as a range of accessories to help make quick work of all that pet hair. For our fellow tech lovers, it also has a digital display that will show you the power settings and let you flick between them, show you the remaining battery, and any faults.
While this cordless machine is practically flawless, we would also strongly recommend the Miele below for those who have allergies and asthma. Just like this cordless Samsung, it’s an absolute beast and well worth considering if you need a powerful and efficient filtration system.
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Dyson V8 Animal
Great for all floor types from trusted brand
The saying old is gold has never been truer than when used in reference to the Dyson V8 Animal. It might be a few years old now, but it remains one of the most versatile cordless vacs for pet hair we’ve tested – and the age just means you’ll find it at a lower and more affordable price.
The first thing that sticks out about the Dyson V8 Animal is how much more powerful it is compared to the old and now discontinued V6 – 20% more, to be precise. What this means, is you get a vacuum cleaner with more oomph to eliminate the pet hair in your home.
Whether it’s being used on carpets or hard floors, fine dust, fur clumps, and chunks alike stand no chance when faced with the cyclonic suction technology in the V8. We found that even on its lowest setting, it’s still able to clean hard floors efficiently – a tough feat for a cordless vacuum.
In our carpet tests, it picked up 99.5% of pet hair on power boost and respectable 90% on the standard setting, which is pretty impressive and offers you peace of mind when vacuuming. Furthermore, the HEPA filtration system ensures 99.97% allergens and pollutants (like pet dander) are trapped inside the filter while cleaning.
As a result, those with asthma and allergies can benefit from cleaner air that they can actually breathe in – no more tight lungs thanks to pet hair and dander. Even the emptying system remains clean and easy, even my 5 year old nephew managed it, so you shouldn’t have too much dust escaping back into your home.
Like the mighty Autobots, the V8 transforms into a handheld model that is ideal for cleaning the stairs, upholstery, and even the interior of your car – removing stray pet hair no matter where it is. The attachments even clip onto the handheld form, making cleaning more versatile.
Additionally, it has a great runtime that should be more than enough for medium homes with pets, and even slightly larger ones. While the runtime isn’t quite as impressive as the shiny new Dyson V11 Absolute, you’re getting a great amount of power for your money with the V8.
Finally, the attachments are part of what makes the V8 such a great choice. You have your classic crevice tool, dusting brush, and upholstery tool. However, you also get an easy to clean pet tool, a wall mount, and a brush for stubborn dirt. It’s the perfect cleaning package.
While the Dyson V8 vacuum for both cat and dog hair, it remains a model that doesn’t fit in every budget, but we have you covered with a couple of budget models later in this guide.
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Miele Triflex HX1 Pro
Excellent Filtration & Allergen retention
What we loved about this Miele pet vacuum cleaner is the fact that it has such a powerful HEPA filtration system. It keeps 99.99% of dust, allergens, and pollutants trapped – leaving the air in your home free from pet dander and gentle on the lungs of allergy and asthma suffers (trust me when I say it’s effective – my husband has never breathed easier).
It works excellently on hard floors and carpet, scooping up dog hair with ease to leave you with cleaner floors – even on the lowest suction setting. It can be used as a handheld vacuum for those tight and difficult spaces, and also comes with a lovely selection of tools to remove fluff.
While we love the cordless Miele, and we know how well it works in terms of allergens and flooring, it’s not in every budget. Our top budget pick is a great cordless pet model from Vax, and we know you’ll love it as much as we do.
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Vax Blade 2 32V
Our Budget Cordless Pet Pick
Something we really enjoyed about this snazzy budget vacuum is it’s so effective on thick carpets. It makes dog hair seem like no issue, and also makes easy work of fine dust on both carpets and hard floors.
When you’re zooming around the home, light up those dark spaces under the sofa with the LED headlights on the floor head so that those clumps of dog hair can be eliminated. With a battery life that will make you the envy of the street, you’ll never run out of vacuuming time again.
While the cordless Vax is a brilliant budget pick, it’s a bagless model and doesn’t have the greatest filtration system. If you’re looking for top filtration, if this is an important feature look at either the Miele or a Dyson V8 animal featured above.
If you’re looking for a sturdy bagged vacuum cleaner, the Halo Capsule up next might be a good option.
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Halo Capsule
Bagged model with simple styling
We love, love, love the large capacity and easy to remove bags in this vacuum cleaner. When combined with the powerful suction and pet hair eliminating floorhead, you’re in for a real treat. As the Terminator hunts Sarah Connor, this vacuum relentlessly hunts down all the dog fluff.
The filtration system is excellent at trapping fine dust and pet dander, and it has a fun techie display that will help you keep track of the battery life. It even transforms into a handheld vacuum cleaner to help you with the stairs and furniture. All of this in one simple design.
While this model has a lot to offer, its lowest settings can be a little lacklustre with cleaning dog hair. In situations like this, our Samsung cordless pick would be a better option. Up next, our favourite Vax which will help rid your home of stray pet hairs.
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Vax Blade 4
Best Vax Model for Pet Hair & Great Value for Money
Did we love this vacuum? Yes, we absolutely did. Laminate floors, wood, carpet, none of them stand a chance against this model. It collects dog hair, fine dust, and large debris effortlessly while remaining comfortable to use. Furthermore, the dust canister is easy to empty after use.
It has two power settings, and the floor head has brilliant headlights that will spot any stray hair lingering under the furniture or in dark corners. It even comes with a brilliant turbo pet tool that has been designed to combat the build-up of bacteria and fungi in the bristles of the brush.
This is such a great cordless vacuum cleaner, but it’s not the best on the market at dust retention or for allergies. We’d recommend the cordless Miele or even the high ticket cordless Dyson V11 Absolute below.
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Dyson V11 Absolute
Best Dyson cordless for Pet Hair – High end but Pricey
The king of cordless stick vacuum cleaners? Yes. It’s unrivalled on hard floors and carpets, picking up fine dust, dog hair, and debris alike without a second thought thanks to the powerful Torque floorhead. Even the included tools have been designed to make cleaning easier.
It transforms into a handheld vac for easy stair and upholstery cleaning, and also has an LCD screen that shows the battery life, setting, and detailed video of any faults. It’s also got one of the better filtration systems we’ve seen, as well as an excellent run time to clear the whole house.
The Dyson V11 Absolute is probably the best cordless pet vacuum on the market, especially for carpets. However, it’s also the most expensive and way out of most budgets. Therefore, we would recommend the Dyson V8 Animal or any of our other fantastic cordless models here, but if budget is no question, you won’t be disappointed with this one.
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Do I Really Need a Pet Vacuum
Yes, you do need a pet vacuum. Pets shed, and this means their hair ends up absolutely everywhere – especially during moulting season. If you leave your home un-vacuumed for a few days, you’ll really start to see it and it won’t be pleasant.
But what difference does a pet vacuum make? Honestly, it’s all in the tools and the filtration. Pet vacuums tend to come with a pet tool or a turbo tool that has been specially designed for those extra hairy spots – especially on the stairs or your furniture.
Furthermore, pet vacuums tend to have a better filtration system to protect those with allergies and asthma from dust, but also from pet dander which is a common irritant. As a result, you get a vacuum with more pet hair removal power and an improved filtration system.
Are Pet Vacuums Better Than Regular Vacuums?
If we’re being honest, the core vacuum is pretty much the same whether you go for a pet model or a standard one. The only differences are as we previously mentioned – the pet tool and the filtration system. Otherwise, they tend to be exactly the same body.
Some models of pet vacuum might come with an extra main floorhead, but you are getting the same level of suction and the same dust canister as you would if you got a normal cordless vacuum for pet hair.
Cordless Pet Vacuum Key Considerations
Before you go ahead and buy your cordless pet vacuum, there are a few things that you should take into consideration first.
Floor Types. What type of floor do you have? Hardwood, tiles, carpets, stairs, they all need to be carefully considered. Some models will work wonders no matter the floor type in question, others will be good at hard floors and not so great with carpet, or vice versa.
Similarly, some will have a handheld form that makes cleaning the stairs and upholstery easy, while others remain a stick vacuum that cannot be converted. Trust me, trying to clean the stairs with a stick vacuum is not an easy task, go for the ones with a handheld form if you have stairs.
Budget. How much do you have to spend on your stick vacuum cleaner? You can easily go anywhere from a cool £100 all way to over £700 depending on the brand and model you choose. While price isn’t everything, it’s good to assess where your budget rests first.
Charge Time. How long before you can use it again once it runs out of juice? Some models can take as long as five hours (some longer) to charge, while others are ready in an hour or two.
Similarly, there are some models that have replaceable batteries so you can swap them out for more cleaning time. These are great if you have a large home or want to ensure the vacuum is always on standby for those quick emergency cleaning sessions (hello unexpected in-laws).
Run Time. This is how long the vacuum runs for, and many cordless models have an excellent run time that tend to range between 30 and 60 minutes, with some going higher. However, there is more than just the battery life to consider when looking at the run time.
You also need to think about the capacity of the vacuum cleaner and the size of your home. How often will you need to empty it, will the battery last long enough to clean your entire home. As a rule, an average UK home can get a full clean out of 30 minutes of battery effortlessly.
Accessories/Tools. Practically every cordless pet vacuum cleaner comes with a nice selection of tools and accessories to make life easier. Classically, these are the crevice tool and dusting brush, as well as the upholstery tool. However, pet vacuums also have a pet tool or a mini turbo tool.
Try to look out for a wall mount with tool storage as well to keep everything neatly together when not being used.
Allergens. The best filter out there is the HEPA filter. It is hospital grade, and captures the most allergens and pollutants out of all of them. Most of the vacuums in this guide use a HEPA filtration system to keep the air clean for allergy and asthma sufferers.
Furthermore, there are some models of vacuum cleaner out there that have odour filters as well. These are usually carbon filters that help to remove cat & dog smells and even cigarette smells from the room and the interior of the vacuum cleaner. It’s a nice little extra to look out for.
Are Cordless Pet Vacuums as Good as Corded Models?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. Sorry, pet owners, we don’t have a solid answer for this one. Cordless stick vacuum cleaners have often been worse than corded models on carpets, but equally good on hard floors.
However, we are starting to see an increase in the number of cordless models (such as the Dyson V11) that can take on a corded model with regards to carpet cleaning and removing pet hair from the carpets.
Additionally, cordless vacuum cleaners tend to lose suction as the power level decreases. This leads to poor pick up when the battery is running low, whereas a corded model always has a constant power supply.
On the other hand, a cordless stick vacuum cleaner is much better in terms of storage and portability, offering a lightweight and easy cleaning method that is gentle on your wrists and back while also offering exceptional cleaning power.
Final Thoughts
Our quest for the best cordless vacuum for pet hair has come to an end, with dog and cat owners everywhere now loaded with plenty of fantastic options. We stand behind each of the models we have picked here, but there are two that really shine over the rest.
The Dyson V8 is perhaps one of the best on the market, with powerful suction, excellent filtration, and versatility that crosses floor types effortlessly. Similarly, the Shark IZ201UKT is a formidable choice that might not be amazing for carpets but certainly conquers hard floors skillfully.
What did you think of our guide to the best cordless vacuum for pet hair? Have you found one that changed your life, or are you still searching for the perfect model? We love hearing your thoughts, so make sure you leave us a message in the comment section below.
Last Updated on March 8, 2021 by Gemma Tyler
Gemma Tyler is a freelance journalist with 15 years of experience writing for consumer publications. She has tested and reviewed a wide range of household items from vacuum cleaners to washing machines and dehumidifiers to steam irons. Her attention to detail and exhaustive testing certainly makes her an expert in her field.
