6 best corded vacuums to keep carpets spotless 2024 UK; tried and tested
IT’S EASY to keep your home looking spick and span using one of the best corded vacuums.
Although cordless models tend to be more popular now, choosing a corded vacuum means you’ll never have to worry about the battery conking out mid-clean. That makes them a good option for anyone with a larger house or those who don’t have space to keep the vacuum on charge.
Pet owners may also prefer a model with a wire to ensure their vacuum is always ready to go, making it easier to keep their home hair-free.
You’ll need to decide if you prefer an upright, cylinder or stick vacuum. Upright machines are usually heavier but cover large areas quickly and work especially well on carpets.
Cylinder models might suit a smaller house better and will be easier to store. They’re also handy if you have a lot of stairs or furniture to clean around as they’re easier to manoeuvre. Corded stick vacuums are less common but can be a good compromise, with all the power of a corded vacuum but as light and easy to handle as a cordless one.
It’s worth checking the capacity as anything less than a litre will need regular emptying mid-clean. Other features to look for include attachments for blitzing upholstery, a long cord for more flexibility and tangle-free brushes to make it easier to tackle pet hair.
Best corded vacuum at a glance:
- Best overall corded vacuum: Shark Anti Hair Wrap Corded Stick Vacuum HZ500UK
- Best value corded vacuum: Tower Platinum Corded 3 in 1 Vac
- Best mid-range corded vacuum: Hoover Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with ANTI-TWIST Blue – HL4
- Best premium corded vacuum: Dyson Ball Animal Complete
Shark Anti Hair Wrap Corded Stick Vacuum HZ500UK
Shark Anti Hair Wrap Corded Stick Vacuum HZ500UK, £179.99 £149.99
Pros: Long cable, easy to handle, very good under furniture, light to spot dust
Cons: Very small capacity so needs regular emptying
Rating: 5/5
If vacuuming always gives you a bad back, this will be the answer to your prayers. It’s much taller than other machines I tested so I didn’t end up stooping as I cleaned.
Plus, the stick cleverly bends in half so it can slide easily under furniture and reach every corner without the hassle of moving sofas and beds. This also means the vacuum can be folded in two to save space when not in use.
There are plenty of other features that make it the best corded vacuum I tested. It has a long 10-metre cable so I didn’t have to constantly stop cleaning and find a new plug, and there’s an easily-reached power button rather than a trigger that has to be continually pressed.
And I liked the fact that I didn’t need to wrestle with the stick to remove it from the floor head, but could just press a foot pedal and whip it away.
There’s also an LED headlight for revealing dust, anti-hair wrap technology to keep the floor head tangle-free and the whole thing converts into a handheld for blitzing sofas and stairs.
The only downside is it has a very small capacity, so if you want to cut down on emptying, consider the Dyson Ball Animal Complete instead.
Type: Stick; Cable length: 10m; Dust capacity: 0.3L; Bagless: Yes; Power: 450W; Weight: 3.9kg
Dyson Ball Animal Complete
Dyson Ball Animal Complete, £429.99
Pros: Excellent at sucking up hair without tangling, very powerful, large capacity, lots of tools for every surface
Cons: Expensive, heavier than other vacuums
Rating: 4.5/5
If you need serious cleaning power, this is the vacuum to go for – at a price. There’s not much this upright vacuum cleaner can’t tackle – it even sucked up dried cornflakes while other vacuums just pushed around.
It’s even more impressive at dealing with hair which is a godsend if you have a pet in the house or – like me – a long-haired teenager. I cleaned my entire house without a tangle in sight and it was a joy not to have to pick hairs out of the floor head along the way as I usually do.
It comes with a baffling array of attachments so you will need to find room to store these. I especially liked the dusting brush, which I used to breeze over furniture and skirting boards without fear of scratching them, and the fantastic flat-out head, which has a low profile so can squeeze under beds and furniture.
For once, I didn’t have to shove my sofa across the floor to vacuum under it, which saved me a huge amount of time and effort when cleaning.
Other nice-to-haves include a large dust capacity and a mammoth cable so I could cover several rooms without continually unplugging.
The downside is it’s heavier than most vacuums to move around, and is far more expensive than other vacuums I tested. Try the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Corded Stick Vacuum HZ500UK if you need a good hair-busting alternative for less.
However, if you have shedding pets or a large house (and budget), the Dyson is hard to beat.
Type: Upright; Cable length: 10m; Dust capacity: 1.8 litres; Bagless: Yes; Power: Not specified; Weight: 7.4kg
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Hoover Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with ANTI-TWIST Blue – HL4
Hoover Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner, £219
Pros: Long cable, fairly light for an upright, prevents hair tangling, huge capacity, very easy to use
Cons: Limited tools
Rating: 4/5
This vacuum couldn’t be easier to use. Its three main components slot together in seconds and get an extra thumbs-up as they all come wrapped in paper bags inside the main box without a scrap of plastic in sight.
I didn’t even need to consult the instruction book to get cleaned as every button on the vacuum is marked – a simple but effective feature. There’s one button to switch between hard floors and carpet, and another to change the level of suction.
It’s also extremely smooth to manoeuvre across floors, even on my deep pile carpet, and it sucked up everything in sight. Anti-twist technology automatically removes hair from the brushbar as it cleans and I didn’t have any tangles in mine even after vacuuming the whole house.
The push and lift button is especially handy and converts the vacuum into a portable model which is easier to use on the stairs or in the car if you can reach a plug.
There are LED lights on the front to reveal any lurking dust and it also has the biggest dust capacity of any vacuum I tested so I didn’t need to empty it each time I – ahem – hoovered. A great buy all around.
Type: Upright; Cable length: 7.6m; Dust capacity: 2.5 litres; Bagless: Yes; Power: 850W; Weight: 5kg
Tower Platinum Corded 3 in 1 Vac
Tower Platinum Corded 3 in 1 Vac, £40
Pros: Very light, great price, useful to reach corners, can be wall-mounted
Cons: Not a huge capacity
Rating: 3.5/5
This vacuum has all the benefits of a stick and is an excellent buy. It’s super-lightweight for steering round sofas and blitzing stairs, can be wall-mounted for easy storage and has a handy telescopic tube for keeping corners cobweb-free. Yet it won’t conk out mid-clean thanks to the long five-metre cable.
I especially loved the fact that the power is on permanently while cleaning so you don’t have to constantly hold down a switch, like with many cordless stick vacuums. It’s decently powerful and had no problems sucking up soil and crumbs, while the 2-in-1 head adapts to suit both hard floors and carpets with the flick of a switch. There’s also a crevice and brush tool for furniture and upholstery.
The capacity isn’t huge, but it’s twice the size of the similarly small Russell Hobbs RHSV1001 Corded Upright Stick Vacuum, so this model is a better bet for uninterrupted cleaning. It’s also worth noting that it has an anti-allergy HEPA filter, which is unusual for a vacuum under £40 so gives this model the edge over others in the same price bracket.
Type: Stick; Cable length: 5m; Dust capacity: 1 litre; Bagless: Yes; Power: 600W; Weight: 1.8kg
Beldray BEL0770N-GRY 2-in-1 Multifunctional 1L lightweight 600W Vacuum Cleaner
Beldray BEL0770N-GRY 2-in-1 Multifunctional 1L lightweight 600W Vacuum Cleaner, £27.99
Pros: Great price, very light, can be used as a handheld
Cons: Small capacity
Rating: 3.5/5
Another versatile stick vacuum, this one is astonishingly good value. Like the Tower Platinum Corded 3 in 1 Vac, it can be converted into a handheld which is great for vacuuming smaller areas like between sofa cushions.
It comes with a nozzle brush and crevice tool to make it even more versatile, especially at getting right into corners such as along skirting boards. There’s no button to hold while you’re cleaning either – this vacuum is either turned on or off.
I couldn’t believe how light it was – the lightest of all the vacuums I tested at a teeny 1.38kg – making it a game-changer if you struggle to carry other vacuums up the stairs.
I also found the suction surprisingly powerful and it didn’t leave dust or a crumb in sight, though struggled on long hairs so isn’t the best choice for someone with pets. It’s also quite flimsy so wouldn’t manage a large house. For that, you’d be better off choosing the Hoover Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with ANTI-TWIST Blue – HL4.
However, I was surprised how well it worked on hard floors and its compact size meant it could squeeze in between furniture where other vacuums couldn’t reach. All this and you’ll still get change from 30 quid.
Type: Stick; Cable length: 5m; Dust capacity: 1 litre; Bagless: Yes; Power: 600W; Weight: 1.38kg
Russell Hobbs RHSV1001 Corded Upright Stick Vacuum
Russell Hobbs RHSV1001 Corded Upright Stick Vacuum, £34.99
Pros: Very lightweight, easy to store, affordable
Cons: Very small capacity, needs regular emptying
Rating: 3/5
I was gobsmacked when I saw the size of the box this model arrived in and was convinced there was no way a whole vacuum could be inside. It was easily a third of the size and weight of an average vacuum, yet this teeny version is no slouch when it comes to cleaning.
It’s a great choice if you find the average upright vacuum hard to handle as it weighs a minuscule 1.5kg and the long cord makes it easy to zip around a room without constantly changing where it’s plugged in.
I found it particularly useful on my stairs and loved the fact that it could be quickly changed into a handheld for hard-to-reach places or when spring cleaning a car if you can get close enough to a plug.
Despite its size, its suction is impressive, although it did need regular emptying. If you’re planning on deep-cleaning a large house, you’d be better off choosing the Hoover Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with ANTI-TWIST Blue – HL4.
However, if you want a vacuum that’s handy for a quick whip-round and won’t take up much space, this one’s a bargain buy.
Type: Upright and stick; Cable length: 5m; Dust capacity: 0.5 litres; Bagless: Yes; Power: 600W; Weight: 1.5kg
How we tested
I tested all these vacuum cleaners in my own home on both hard floors and carpet, cleaning the stairs, under the sofa and beds and on upholstery to see how well each one blitzed dust, hair and spilt food.
I also tried the tools that came with each vacuum, emptied the bins and tested if the cable was long enough to clean without changing plugs every two minutes.
Plus, I considered how heavy each vacuum was and how easy it would be to store away when not in use. Needless to say, my house has never been cleaner.
Where to buy corded vacuums in the UK?
Corded vacuums are widely sold online and in shops including garden centres, department stores and even supermarkets. It’s worth shopping around, including on the manufacturer’s own site, as special offers on vacuums are common and some may even throw in additional attachments. Read the reviews above and then get shopping on one of these recommended sites:
How much does a corded vacuum cost?
There’s a corded vacuum for every budget but the best ones are around the £150 mark or more.
There are several available under £50 which tend to be much lighter and have a smaller capacity. Though these won’t suit anyone with a bigger house, they are ideal for a quick tidy-up or for anyone who struggles to lift heavier vacuums around.
However, it’s worth spending more if you have a large house or long-haired pets as pricier models have useful technology such as LED headlights, hair-detangling brushes and flexible tools to vacuum under furniture.