Spring vacuum cleaner deals

The spring season is beginning. It’s a great time of year to get a good deal on a vacuum cleaner, with sales on until after Easter.

If you’re just bargain hunting, read on. If you want some buying inspiration, have a look at our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve reviewed.

If you want a Dyson, don’t forget to check our dedicated Dyson deals guide. 

Best vacuum cleaner deals right now

Best vacuum cleaner discounts: What to look for

You can read our reviews of the  best vacuums and the  best robot vacuums for information on individual products but here’s our round-up of the main types of vacuum cleaners, their advantages and disadvantages and what to look out for when buying.

Cordless vacuums

Every home will get good use out of a cordless cleaner (especially one that transforms into a handheld). And now that they are so much more powerful, many households will find that they are the only vacuum cleaner they need. They light, versatile and make cleaning the stairs a much simpler proposition.

Cordless technology has advanced to the point that Dyson, for one, is no longer making corded cleaners – although you can still buy older corded Dyson models.

The main considerations when buying a cordless cleaner are flexibility (can you use it as a handheld as well?), battery life, bin size, weight and suction power.

The best cordless cleaners will now clean for an hour, although this is likely to be on the lowest power mode. On the highest power setting, you’ll only have 10-15 minutes of cleaning time – even from the top cleaners – before you have to recharge. However, if you clean regularly, you won’t need to use the maximum setting for anything other than spot cleaning disaster zones.

Recharging will take anywhere from 3-5 hours, so you really don’t want to have to stop mid-clean. Newer vacuum cleaners including  Samsung’s Powerstick Jet and Miele’s Triflex have removable battery packs, so you can buy a second one and swap them out mid-clean. This makes these cleaners a much better option for people with larger homes.

The dustbin size is also important – although not as important as battery life – as you will need to pause to empty a smaller bin more often.

A cordless cleaner’s weight will also make a difference to how comfortable you are when vacuuming. The best cordless cleaners will weigh 3kg or less.

Working out a vacuum cleaner’s suction power is a more difficult matter. You can look at the wattage but bear in mind that larger cylinder cleaners will necessarily be higher wattage to achieve the same suction power as a smaller handheld. A better measurement is airwatts, which measures the useful energy that actually makes its way to a vacuum cleaner’s suction. You’ll find that some manufacturers use watts and some use airwatts – depending on what metric makes their cleaners better stand up to the competition.

Robot vacuums

The humble Roomba has spawned a whole market of robot vacuums. Advancements in AI tech mean that most modern versions do a much better job of learning and navigating the environment (so they don’t get stuck on raised thresholds quite so often) and have enough battery life to clean a either an entire flat, or a good portion of a larger home, in one go.

Look out for robot vacuums with app support, which let you monitor progress remotely, trigger a clean from work, schedule cleaning sessions and virtually mark out exclusion zones.

Robot cleaners are a better buy for more minimalist homes. They’ll struggle with clutter and you’ll find it frustrating having to rescue them all the time. But the chief downside of a robot vac – apart from the fact that you’ll need a separate cleaner for the stairs – is the cost, with top models selling for as much as £800/$800 at full price. If you want one, read reviews and make a shortlist of the models you’d like, then bide your time and wait for a good deal.

Cylinder vacuums

Cylinder vacuum cleaners are still one of the most powerful types. They tend to be tough, reliable cleaners but they are always corded and have to be dragged around behind you while you vac. A cylinder cleaner is the best bet for cleaning large spaces and for handling a lot of dirt. It is also more versatile than an upright as its hose means that it can vacuum upholstery, shelves and blinds.

Upright vacuums

Like a cylinder cleaner, an upright vacuum cleaner is powerful and robust. Its main disadvantages are that it is heavy, that it can only clean your floor and that it’s a nightmare on stairs.

Shark makes lift-away cleaners that combine the tank-like utility of an upright with the manoeuvrability of a handheld. You can remove the central section of the cleaner and use it to vacuum sofas, beds, stairs and so on. However, these cleaners are corded, so they’re not as easy to move around with as a cordless. Nonetheless, a lift-away upright is a good compromise between power and versatility and what’s more, it is among the best-priced cleaners on the market.

Multifunction cleaners

Finally, keep an eye out for multifunction vacuums. As the name suggests, these include extra functionality on top of vacuuming: they may steam clean or work as a mop or carpet cleaner. These are really only a good purchase if you are going to use all functions regularly, as the cleaner will be bulkier and heavier than a traditional vacuum cleaner.

Where to find vacuum cleaner offers

If you find a model you like, compare the price across two or three different retailers.

As with most things, Amazon is one of the best places to check first, especially if you look in the  Deals of the Day. These discounts offered for a limited time (often for a few hours only), or until stocks run out. They’re also known as Lightning Deals. See  Amazon’s dedicated Vacuum Cleaner page for deals across all types of vacuums.

We’d recommend  signing up to Amazon’s 30 day free trial of Prime, which will not only get you access to  Lightning deals 30 minutes earlier than non-Prime members, but will also get you free next-day delivery. Plus, you’ll get access to Prime Video, which you can access through your smart TV, and other benefits during your trial, too.

If you’re in the UK, other great places to look include Argos, Currys, AO, and Very. It’s always worth keeping John Lewis in mind too – the company’s price match policies mean you can often get the same deal that another retailer is offering, with better customer service and warranty policies.

Best vacuum deals