Vacuum cleaner on the blink?
There's no need to panic about how much it's going to cost to replace or upgrade your house-cleaning essential right before the busy (and expensive) festive period - not with the Black Friday sales just a few weeks away.
Yes, the year's biggest discount bonanza is nearly here. If you're watching the pennies, then the weekend is the best time to tick off everything on your shopping list, from Christmas gifts and decorations to home essentials like household appliances, new furniture and, of course, vacuum cleaners.
From major players like Shark and Dyson, and futuristic robot devices that will do the hard graft for you, the market is packed with vacuum cleaners to consider. With brands slashing prices like there’s no tomorrow, it would be rude not to invest in a discounted model to ensure your home is as clean as can be, avoiding salty comments from Christmas visitors.
Before we show you what's on offer, some Black Friday housekeeping first.
When is Black Friday?
It always takes place on the very last Friday in November. This year Black Friday will officially begin on November 29.
When does Black Friday end?
The event isn't limited to just a single day, though it may have started out like that many decades ago. Now you can expect discounts to run all the way until Cyber Monday on December 2.
Why is it called Black Friday?
The catchy moniker has many origins, but we like the one that relates to leaving your finances in the black, not the red. It underscores the heavy savings there for the taking.
What vacuum cleaner deals will there be?
We can't say for sure until it all kicks off, but going by previous years, Black Friday shoppers are set to win. Brands like Shark, Dyson, Henry Hoover, VAX, Miele and more have all made incredible offers in the past - some up to 50 per cent - and all signs point to the same, or better, for 2024's bonanza.
If you're looking for a deal now, don't despair. Early deals are already flocking in. See the best of them below.
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Dyson Gen5 Detect Absolute
Save hundreds on Dyson's Gen5 Detect model, which is in the brand's Black Friday sale this year. The powerful cordless vacuum comes with a suite of accessories so you can access every nook and cranny. It also boasts an incredible run time with up to 70 minutes of run time from a single full charge.
Was £849.99
Buy now £599.99, Dyson
Shark Stratos Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with Anti Hair Wrap Plus
The Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum [IZ420UKT] box makes big promises, not least a cleaning time of up to 120 mins (that’s if you buy the version with the spare battery and use the vacuum only in eco mode).
There’s also DuoClean – Shark’s integrated system which features two brush rolls in one head (one soft, one bristled) and anti-odour technology. The detail of some added flexibility in a stick vacuum is an exciting notion for a cleaner as reluctant as myself, as well as the pledge that this has Shark’s “best ever hair pick-up”.
Was £399.99
Buy now £128.99, Amazon
Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop
The Shark Matrix 2-in-1 has changed my life. When it comes to day-to-day cleaning, it keeps my entire flat fresher than before for considerably less effort. It’s a game-changer whenever I have guests, too – I simply send it out to clean while I’m at work so everything’s clean the moment I step in the door.
Not that it’s replaced my old vacuum, which will be waiting in the wings for deep cleans and hard-to-reach spots, but it’s solved the tedious task of vacuuming on the daily which saves me a great deal of time and stress throughout the week. When I clean, I move small furniture around (like the bin or a coffee table) to make sure I’ve covered the floor in its entirety. There are some nooks where it simply won’t fit – next to the bathroom sink, for example.
Once you’ve unpacked the auto-empty dock, two side brushes, two washable mopping pads, the mop reservoir, the instructions and the vacuum itself, which all comes packaged in one neat box, it’s time for the hard part – choosing where your new cleaning companion is going to live. Shark recommends you plug in the dock against a wall where there’s a metre of clear space on either side and in front – and the dock itself is roughly the width of a loaf of bread.
Before embarking on its first vacuuming task, it needs to ‘explore’ to map your home – a process which I quite enjoyed. For me, it took roughly 45 minutes before hearing Bruce’s cry of delight when he completed the assignment and made his way back to his docking station. Then, you receive a detailed floor plan of your house which you can access via your app.
The app will then prompt you to create rooms and no-go zones – which will usually be carpets or rugs you’d like to be avoided when mopping. It’s a powerful mop too. As it slowly but surely makes its way around the map, it scrubs hard floors 100 times per minute – which Shark describes as ‘sonic mopping’. You can see the pad moving from side to side throughout the clean. It doesn’t leave your floors too wet either
I’d hoovered the day before and believed my floors to be relatively clean. On its first run, though, it had to empty halfway through before continuing the clean. All in all, he collected roughly a grapefruit-sized ball of dust from a flat that already seemed dirt-free.
Since the robot moves extremely slowly and methodically throughout your home, it spends much more time collecting dust and debris than you would on a day-to-day spruce. I was mainly impressed by the way it collects from the sides and corners. It detects the edges, before emitting puffs of air which blow any dust in its path before collecting it. Better yet, it’s quieter than any vacuum cleaner I’ve owned – bar the cute jingles on starting and finishing a shift as well as when it empties in the docking station (which sound more like a traditional vacuum).
Was: £499.99
Buy now £449.99, Amazon
iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ Self-Emptying & Auto-Fill Robot Vacuum & Mop
Not only will the clever little Roomba zip through your floors, cleaning them of everyday grime, but once it’s finished its shift, the machine will empty itself too. If you dread the moment you have to empty the chamber, this might be the best purchase you’ll make this Black Friday.
Was: £1,249
Buy now £905.99, Amazon
Roborock S8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Dual Brush
The robot offers superior levels of suction and can detect different types of terrain, moving from hard floors to rugs and carpets seamlessly. It's an excellent choice for homes with pets, able to collect dust, bacteria and hair without tangling thanks to a movable solid rubber brush.
Laser detection and cameras stop it from bumping into furniture, even if you schedule a clean in low light conditions. Like all robot vacuums, it can be controlled via an app but also by voice command too, offering the ultimate convenience. And it comes with a removable and washable mop too!
While the mop is removable, you don't need to manually insert the tank each time you want to mop. Leave it in the machine and it will automatically detect if the surface needs mopping (hard floors) and will hover if it finds carpet and rugs. You can leave it to get on with the task at hand without switching between the mop and vacuum functions.
Phew, consider that all bases well and truly covered.
Was: £499
Buy now £359.00, Amazon
Vax Blade 4 Pet and Car Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
Pet hair has an irritating way of working itself over all surfaces, from the sofa to the car. Get your home and motor looking clean again thanks to VAX Blade which uses powerful suction to scoop up dirt, hair and other grime. It's now 45% off the RRP.
Buy now £164.00, Amazon
MIELE Complete C3 Active Cylinder Bagged Vacuum Cleaner - Petrol Blue
With incredible suction powered by 890W, Miele’s C3 makes light work of housework. It comes with a HEPA filter to capture 99.9 per cent of fine dust and allergens that become airborne when cleaning and comes with a range of nozzle attachments to see to practically any job.
That said, the hardworking floorhead works across most surfaces although there is a special one to use on parquet flooring. Instead of on the vacuum’s body, the control buttons sit in the handle, making it easier to switch between programmes.
And when it comes to programmes, this baby is loaded with everything from soft furnishings and curtains to rugs and hard floors with an additional silence option for cleaning quietly.
Was: £349
Buy now £249.00, Currys
Numatic HVT160 Henry Turbo Vacuum Cleaner
Is there a household appliance more iconic, more recognisable, more homely than the not-so-humble Henry Hoover? This primary school-red, placid-faced vacuum cleaner is legendary, found in small households and large institutions’ cleaning cupboards alike. It is also one of the better corded vacuum cleaners around, being a dependable, easily-maintained and powerful unit for the everyday.
This is the Henry Turbo, a supercharged iteration of the dust-defeater. The Henry Turbo benefits from an AiroBrush Turbo attachment, which uses the Henry Turbo’s suction power to rotate a bristle bar which actively takes up hair from your carpet.
Was: £199.99
Buy now £149.00, Amazon
eufy L60 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
It's about time those robots started earning their keep. Robot vacs, once the future, are now here, ready and waiting to clean your floors with just a few simple commands. It uses laser navigation and edge cleaning to leave hard floors and carpets spick and span.
Buy now £179.99, Amazon
Lefant M210 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
No, we haven't made a pricing error - you really are seeing 57 per cent off the RRP of this Lefant robot vacuum. The incredible deal on this machine is best suited for homes with pets and hard floors (though it will work on carpeted areas too), lifting hair, dirt and daily grime easily.
Was £229.99
Buy now £99.94, Amazon
Kärcher RCV 5
While you’ll need to fiddle around with this device to connect it to the internet, and set up maps and program schedules, once it’s up and running, it will make the chore of cleaning a breeze. It charges up in 230 minutes and then has two hours of run time. Not content with just scooping up dirt and grime, there’s a 240ml water tank tool for the mop function to take elbow crease out of your regular clean-up jobs.
One thing to note is that the charging base needs to be plugged into a socket that has 50cm on either side and 1.5m in front of it that is completely clear - but other than this potential issue with space and the need for WiFi connection and downloading the app, it’s intuitive with a dual laser system that prevents it bumping into obstacles. It can navigate around and sense where there are stairs or items as small and flat as cables.
The slimline design makes it ideal for reaching under furniture like sofas and beds.
Was: £549
Buy now £399.00, Currys
The Capsule Vacuum Original bundle
Save more than £160 on the price of this Capsule vacuum cleaning bundle which comes with upgraded accessories to clean large spaces and awkward spots The cleaner features a powerful 70W motor brush head complete with a set of headlights so you don’t miss a single speck. Sold with a two-year warranty.
Was: £332.97
Buy now £169.99, Capsule
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