Small portable handheld vacuums are one of those great small appliances that almost no home could function without. Two small handheld vacuums, specifically the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum rise to the top of my list of small handheld vacuums that definitely dominate this market. Anyone with pets or kids knows that a small handheld vacuum is a lifesaver in the battle against dirt, debris, and the general mess that appears throughout your home on a daily basis. When comparing the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum my two most important concerns are suction and how long the battery lasts.
I remember some of the first handheld small vacuums that I saw as I was growing up. While they were small, they generally clogged very easily, had little suction power, and ran on a battery that did not hold a charge for a very long time. Small portable handheld vacuums have certainly come a long way. Black and Decker and Shark both dominate this lucrative market. Bets of all they are well known and trusted by most of the consumer market.
Suction
In a battle of small hand held vacuums and which one retains the most suction power after repeated uses I have to say that the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster is the winner. The cyclonic action in the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster is what keeps this powerful little vacuum as strong after months of use as it was the first time you plugged it in. It has this very interesting feature called a filter cleaning wheels. This has to be my favorite feature of any hand held vacuum. You simply rotate the wheel to clean debris off the filter, which allows for ran extra boost in vacuuming power. I bought this little hand held vacuum especially for this reason and I have to admit I was ready to be disappointed. Fortunately the filter cleaning wheels actually work with a simple turn of the knob. Best of all emptying the filled debris compartment on the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster is also very easy. This is also one of my favorite features. It is a simple clip in debris cup that snaps out of the hand held vacuum and empties quickly and easily.
As a good side note I do have to say that the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum has a great brush attachments for cleaning in crevices and corners on carpeted areas. With a new roommate I was introduced to the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum and was quickly impressed with this handy feature.
Battery Life
Ok, so both the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum are both cordless. This seems to be a great advertising feature in the hand held vacuum market. The real question though is how long does the battery last. I mean both how long does it last while you are using it as well as over a period of months of use. I clearly remember those infamous older hand held vacuum models in my youth that never seemed to recharge for any extended use after about a year of vacuuming. So far both the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum recharge easily and hold their charge as well as when they were new. My Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster is only about 5 months old and my roommates Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum is not much older. Overall I do have to say that the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum does last longer while you are vacuuming. I think it is the built in high capacity battery pack, but I really couldn’t tell you. So, you could consider this a tie between the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum, or possibly the latter winning by a small margin.
Overall I have to say that the Black & Decker Cyclonic PowerVac Dust Buster and the Shark Limited Edition Cordless Hand Vacuum are two of the best small hand held vacuums I have used in my lifetime. They are definitely a far cry from the models of my youth!
