This Cordless Vacuum Will Be Your New Favorite

I like to call myself a vacuum sommelier. Since moving out several years ago, I’ve owned three different types, while leaping at any opportunity to test out each of my friends’ when I get to their house. I love the way a clean floor instantly transforms a room, feels smooth under your feet, while also removing allergens stuck in the fibers of a carpet or rug. I’m allergic to my own two cats, so that’s super important.

Until now, I was perfectly fine with my Bissell Zing Bagged Canister Vacuum. It got the job done fairly efficiently, but like most vacuums, lost the majority of its suction power when the filter bag filled up—which was always way too fast. Like, a small handful of trips around my apartment fast.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Tineco A11 Hero Cordless Vacuum has been a complete dream for this domestic woman (cough, I mean, freelance journalist procrastinating on deadlines like this one). Each charge of four hours lasts 30 minutes (or an hour if you use both the batteries), which is conveniently the amount of time it takes for me to cover each room in my home. The thing about vacuuming is that you’re often tackling dirt you can’t see—the LED lights built into the nozzle cast a bright glow, allowing you to see which spots you’ve missed, and how far you’ve come. It also means you save on electricity in the long run by not having to turn on the overhead lights in that room just to see the dirt you’ll be getting rid of.

Previous vacuum models I’ve used included an empty nozzle to suck up dirt. Here, the nozzle also includes rotating bristles that help scrape that stubborn layer of dust off your floor in a way that suction alone cannot achieve. It also comes with a selection of attachments to help you squeeze into crevices of various sizes. And of course, because it’s completely cordless, you’re not stuck having to change electrical sockets from room to room, ultimately speeding up the time it takes to get each room done. It stands up taller than most cord models I’ve tried, which is far easier on the back. Plus, its lock function is like cruise control for your vacuum, relieving you of inevitable hand cramps from pressing the power button for extended periods of time.

vacjum1_cu4vma — Tineco A11 Hero Cordless Vacuum, $270 on Amazon

There are very few downsides to the Hero, but they do exist. The fact that it takes four hours to charge can be a problem if you’re having guests over in 10 minutes and need to pretend you put some effort into the appearance of your home ASAP. To avoid this dilemma, your best bet is to charge the vacuum after every use so as to not to have to scramble when you need it most. The vacuum isn’t exactly light either, so you’re best off wheeling it around instead of carrying it from room to room. If you have a severe dust allergy, I would ironically avoid this vacuum. The dustbin does not contain a removable sealed filter that you can toss out immediately. To clean out the vacuum, you must open up the filter with the push of a button. Certain remnants of dirt will likely fly all over the place, so you’ll end up having to vacuum those spots all over again, or might even inadvertently breathe in flecks of dust like I did.

Ultimately, it’s a sleek device that looks nothing like the lumpy truck I used to watch my mom drag across the living room rug growing up. While it’s not silent, it isn’t deafeningly loud either, and it doesn’t leave a single trace of dust behind. So yeah, I was late to submit this because I had too much fun sucking dust out of a vent that had been there since 300 A.D. I think that’s pretty telling. | Shop on Amazon >

The Tineco A11 Hero Cordless Vacuum Makes Quick Work Of One of the Worst Chores

Marissa Miller