Best Cordless Stick Vacuum

A cordless stick vacuum is an extremely handy item to have in your house - even if you already have a larger "main" vacuum cleaner. They are great for cleaning up small accidental spills - or even for giving a room a lightning "freshen up" if you're expecting visitors.

For smaller areas, they can be a perfectly acceptable choice for cleaning. They tend to do especially well on hard floors, such as laminate, wood, ceramic or stone.

Another good point about them is that they don't cost a great deal of money. You can usually pick one of these vacuums up for less than $50 these days.

There are a number of different types of stick vacuum available. Given that one of their big attractions is ease of use and portability, I think that it's definitely best to choose one that's lightweight and easy to maneuver.

You can choose from corded or cordless, and again, for ease of use, I think that cordless makes a lot of sense. Given that most people will use them for a quick clean up, or in a small area, running out of charge isn't likely to be a major concern. However, if it is, then you always have the option of choosing a corded model.

As a general rule, stick vacuums will be a little less powerful and will have a little less suction than a standard, full size, vacuum cleaner. Personally, that's a trade off that I'm happy to make in order to get something that's lightweight and versatile.

There's no shortage of different brands and models of cordless stick vacuums for you to choose from - so you should certainly be able to find something to suit your needs.

As with standard vacuum cleaners, many stick vacuums will come with a variety of tools to make them even more versatile. Crevice tools and upholstery attachments are popular choices which you might find useful.

Cordless stick vacuums usually have either a base or a wall mount so that you can charge them when not in use. It's best to position these near a wall power outlet - and you may want to check out the size, style and dimensions of the charging unit to make sure that it fits in with your requirements.

Some stick vacuum cleaners have folding or telescopic handles, which means that they can be arranged so as to take up the minimum space when not in use.

Other models actually allow you to remove the main body of the vacuum and use it as a hand held unit. That can be really helpful if you have a lot of upholstery to clean. It's also very handy if you want to keep the interior of your car spic and span.

The video below is for Electrolux's Ergorapido cordless stick vacuum - but the general principles apply to other models as well.

It's a good demonstration of the key features that you might expect and which you should look for when choosing a stick vacuum:

• Easy to use.
• Lightweight and portable.
• Removable body for use as a handheld vacuum.
• Charging station reasonably sized.
• Reasonable vacuuming time from a single battery charge.
• Easy to empty.
• Cleanable filters.