What is the Best Vacuum for Tile Floors?

There are many different types of tile flooring, but here are some common problems that arise when vacuuming tile.

• Unevenness from grout joints and crevices.
• Tile itself is often textured and not smooth.
• Vacuums with motorized brushrolls tend to throw more dirt around than they pick up.
• Ill-equipped vacuums don’t provide any brushing action on bare floors (like tile or wood floors). Often you have to turn off the brush roll to even use some vacuums on bare floors.
• Wheels made from hard plastic are loud and can scratch.

These points play a huge role in the ability of vacuums to clean tile.

We want a floor vacuum that picks up large debris (e.g. dog food or pet hair) and small debris (e.g. fine dust particles) on typical tile floors.

First up, our top picks for best vacuum cleaners for tile in the cordless and corded upright categories. After that, you can see several of the top contenders that you might also consider for the job.

Our Top Picks for Tile Floors

Unsurprisingly, some of the best vacuums for tile come from Shark, Dyson, and Miele. Shark is a top performer and is the most convenient, which we’ll explain. However, we’re also going to take a look at the Dyson and Miele options down below.

Now, why is Shark probably the best vacuum for cleaning tile floors?

The DuoClean brush roll.

That paint-roller-looking brush on the front of the cleaner head pictured above helps to solve the first four problems that we mentioned above.

• It is in constant contact with the floor and helps pull debris into the suction channel.
• The fully-covered DuoClean brushroll can conform to uneven surfaces and knock loose dirt and debris.
• The dual brushroller system pulls debris into the suction channel instead of throwing it behind the vacuum cleaner.

The solution to vacuuming on bare floors (like tile or hardwood floors) used to be just completely turning off the beater brush to avoid throwing debris around. At that point, you rely on suction power alone to pick up stuff off the floor. This works for some things, but fine dust is often left behind and grout lines just don’t get clean.

As you can see, the suction design of the DuoClean brushroll will gently remove dust from the floor and features powerful suction for larger debris like pet hair into the vacuum cleaner.

DuoClean comes on most of Shark’s new vacuums. That means you have corded and cordless vacuum features to pick from.

So here are our favorites from each category and why.

Best Cordless Vacuum for Tile Floors

Why Pick the P50?

• Shark cordless vacuum cleaner batteries are removable. You can have more than one.
• DuoClean Technology
• The P50 handle is less bulky than the Shark F80 handheld vacuum portion. It’s easier to run the vacuum cleaner in tight spaces and isn’t as heavy.

More batteries equal longer runtime.

With Shark cordless vacuum cleaners you have the option to buy additional batteries and swap them out for longer runtime. Dyson’s batteries are not removable, and this just isn’t possible. Hands down, this is a huge advantage for Shark cordless vacuums and makes it a top choice for the best vacuum cleaner for tile floors.

A contentious topic of cordless vacuums is the battery. Manufacturers throw out big numbers to entice you, but then tell you that’s how long it will last without the cleaner head attached and not vacuuming pile carpets.

Here’s the expected battery life for the Shark P50 and its competitors.

Battery Life

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As you can see, having 2 batteries is a simple way to beat the competition when it comes to runtime.

But we didn’t pick the Shark F80 as our favorite despite it having the longest runtime, but not because of its performance. If you need a longer battery life, then the F80 is a great option.

Here’s why we went with the Shark P50:

• The guts of the vacuum cleaner remain on the body of the floor vacuum instead of in your primary hand. That means less wrist and arm strain.
• Larger dustbin and dirt tank capacity.
• You have the option of buying an additional battery for extending runtime.

One thing we’ve noticed with the Shark and Dyson cordless stick vacuums is that while they’ve been trying to increase dirt cup capacity and battery life, they’ve also made the handheld vacuums larger. That also means heavier, and it doesn’t work well when you need a handheld vacuum for your car or other tight areas.

Additionally, there’s more weight in your hand when you try to vacuum above the floor or over your head. With the P50 in Lift-Away mode, the vacuum cleaner body is separate from the handle, like a traditional upright, so that it’s more comfortable to use.

Perhaps unintentionally, Shark has made the P50, a cordless upright, a more ergonomic vacuum cleaner than their cordless sticks.

The Shark F80 Cordless Stick is still a great pick, especially if you have more square feet to vacuum.

Best Upright Vacuum for Tile Floors

The Shark APEX DuoClean additionally has LED lights on the floor handle and nozzle.

There are three different models of the Shark APEX with DuoClean and Zero-M, but their only difference is color and attachments. It’s not a huge difference either, but the AZ1002 model is the most popular and widely available from retailers.

Shark APEX Included Attachments by Model

Model#	AZ1000W	AZ1002	AZ1002BRN
12″ Crevice Tool
Pet Multi-Tool
Motorized Pet Tool
	Price at Shark	Price at Amazon
		Price at Best Buy

Let’s Talk About Weight

It seems one of the reoccuring topics we read in user reviews is weight when it comes to any type of vacuum cleaner.

People want a vacuum cleaner with enough dustbin capacity to vacuum their entire home, a big enough battery to do deep cleaning without running out of power, and outstanding cleaning performance on every type of flooring, including hardwood floors and tile.

But it can’t weigh more than a newborn baby or people complain.

Well, back in the real world we have to compromise.

The Shark APEX with DuoClean and Zero-M weighs in at a somewhat beefy 16 lbs. Honestly, this is average or on the light side when compared to other full-size uprights from Shark and other manufacturers.

Kenmore Elite 31150	Dyson Ball Multi-Floor 2	Dyson Ball Animal Upright	Dyson Cinetic Big Ball	Shark Rotator NV752	(Top Pick) Shark APEX AZ1002
20 lbs	15.6 lbs	17.35 lbs	19.18 lbs	15.4 lbs	16 lbs

The newer Shark vacuum cleaners get even more interesting when you consider the Lift-Away feature, which brings us to our next topic.

What is Powered Lift-Away?

The Powered Lift-Away feature is on the Shark P50, our top recommended cordless model above, and our top pick in the Corded Upright category below.

In fact, just about every new Shark vacuum cleaner has the Lift-Away feature, except the cordless models since that would be redundant.

Lift-Away lets you detach the body of the vacuum cleaner, the part that houses the motor, filters, and dustbin, from the pipe that acts as the spine of the vacuum. The vacuum body can then be held in one hand while the handle, pipe, and cleaner head remain connected.

This lets you get under furniture that you simply couldn’t before, easily vacuum stairs, reach above the floor areas, and vacuum your vehicle.

Basically, it turns your large upright into a more maneuverable canister vacuum cleaner.

What is Zero-M?

Hair often gets tangled around a vacuum cleaner’s brushroll and you eventually have to cut it out. Zero-M is Shark’s way of dealing with this problem.

A built-in comb untangles hair as the brushroll spins while the bristle guard keeps hair lifted up within reach of the comb’s teeth.

This simple design actually works very well and seems to mostly eliminate the need to clean the brushroll by hand.

Comparison Table

Here’s a quick summary table of the features on our top picks and two of the vacuum cleaners we’re going to look at in the next section: the Miele Blizzard CX1 and the Dyson V10.

	Top Pick Shark APEX with DuoClean and Zero-M	Shark ION P50 Cordless Upright	Miele Blizzard CX1 Electro	Dyson V10 Cordless Stick
Form Factor	Corded Full-size Upright	Cordless Upright	Corded Full-Size Canister	Cordless Stick
Bagless
Battery Runtime (On Tile Floors)	N/A	30 Minutes	N/A	40 Minutes
Removable Battery	N/A		N/A
Dustbin Capacity		0.16 Gallons		0.20 Gallons
Weight	16 lbs	12 lbs	15 lbs	6 lbs
HEPA Filtration
	Check Current Price	Check Current Price	Check Current Price	Check Current Price

Other Vacuums to Consider

Below we’ll take a look at some of the other vacuum cleaners that we considered for tile floors. These vacuums include canisters, uprights, cordless sticks, and sticks with a power cord, but wouldn’t make our list of best vacuum cleaners for tile.

Overall any of the vacuum cleaners on this list can handle tile floors, but the non-Shark vacuums don’t have the convenient features that our top picks do. Primarily, the DuoClean cleaner head.

We have included the Shark APEX AX951 and the Shark Rocket Corded Stick. Both of these vacuum cleaners have the DuoClean feature. With the AX951, it’s an upright similar to our top pick, the APEX AZ1002, but doesn’t have Zero-M (although it does include a crevice tool). Finally, with the Shark Rocket, it’s a corded stick vacuum cleaner, which is somewhat unique and has the smaller body of a stick vacuum cleaner, but with a power cord.

Contents

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Best Bagless Canister Vacuum for Tile Floors

Miele builds some of the best canister tile floor vacuum cleaners available. They’ve been around for a long time and have only recently started producing bagless vacuum brands. That brings us to the Miele Blizzard CX1.

There are several different models in the Blizzard CX1 Series, but this particular one has the motorized cleaner head and the Parquet Twister hard floor brush.

Now, if you’re not familiar with canister vacuum cleaners, then you should know that many of them don’t have spinning brush rolls as a standard feature, unlike typical uprights. Often the lower-priced canister vacuums will just come with a basic floor brush that isn’t meant for cleaning carpet. That’s fine if your home doesn’t have carpet, but most people at least want the option to vacuum carpet.

We chose the Blizzard CX1 Electro+ because it comes with a powerful cleaner head for cleaning carpet and another for hard flooring, such as tile floors or hardwood floors.

The huge advantage to Miele vacuums is that they guarantee their vacuums for longer than most other manufacturers. They claim that their vacuums are tested for up to 20 years of use.

If you’ve ever used a Miele, then you can feel the quality difference when picking up a different vacuum. With that, however, comes a bigger price tag.

The bagless Blizzard Series is new, so we’ll see how they hold up over time.

But how do they perform?

Canister vacuums are all about their attachments. It’s a different approach than the all-in-one Shark DuoClean cleaner head.

For tile floors, you’ll be using the Parquet Twister floorhead.

You’re not stuck with what’s built into the vacuum. Miele has done a great job of maintaining compatibility with their attachments across their many different canister vacuum features.

The Parquet Twister is one approach to cleaning a tile floor. Being able to brush between tiles and knock super-fine dust and dirt loose from your floor is a significant advantage over vacuums that merely let you turn off the brushroll and hope for the best.

The Parquet Twister brush is compatible with all Miele canisters, so if you’re interested in a bag vacuum then there are other Miele options.

The Miele Compact C2 Electro+has the same capabilities as the Blizzard, and has the AirClean Sealed System, and industry leading filtration system. You get the Parquet brush and the SEB228 Electro+ motorized vacuum head for floor cleaning. It’s the best of both worlds with one of Miele’s best carpet attachments and the best hard floor nozzle.

Best Bag Canister Vacuum for Tile Floors

Are bag vacuums worth it?

The bagless vacuum craze appeals to our desire to have things streamlined and feel like we’re having to put forward less effort to accomplish trivial tasks.

The thing is though, if you put cleanliness first, then you’ll find that bag vacuums are far superior, or at least Miele’s are.

• You don’t come into contact with anything you’ve vacuumed up.
• Miele bags improve the overall filtration of the air that is exhausted.
• They easily slide in and out of the vacuum. It’s not hard.
• An individual can buy enough bags for a year at the same price point at which it costs 3 cups of “premium coffee.”

Bags are just one more aspect of replacement parts to think about and keep track of. Some people don’t like that and are willing to make the tradeoff.

Best Cordless Stick Vacuum for Tile Floors

The Soft Roller cleaner head is used on Dyson’s popular V6, V8, and V10 cordless stick vacuums. The design looks similar to the Shark DuoClean brushroll and effectively cleans bare floors such as a tile floor better than the standard attachment. Picking up large debris, pet hair, pet dander, and fine dust are the main reasons to use the Soft Roller head.

The brushroll sits flush with the floor and helps pull debris into the suction channel. The rear pad allows the back of the cleaner head to rest on the floor as you push forward, so there’s nowhere for the dust, dirt, or pet hair to go except into the vacuum. This is a great design that is so much more effective than merely relying on raw suction power to lift everything off the floor.

The cordless vacuums from Dyson are consistently on our top performing lists. However, we feel the Shark ION P50 or F80 are a better value.

With zero uncertainty, I can say the Dyson cordless vacuums are expensive, but they do perform.

Maybe the V10 is outside your price range? Check out the Dyson V6 and Dyson V8 Absolute. They might not be the latest V10 model, but they are tried and true.

Best Corded Stick Vacuum for Tile Floors

If you like the cordless stick vacuum form factor, but don’t want to lose the cord, then consider the Shark Rocket with DuoClean.

The Shark Rocket DuoClean dustbin will hold 0.25 gallons, while the Dyson V10 Absolute will hold 0.2 gallons. Some people won’t have any issue vacuuming their entire home with either of these vacuums. However, if you have pets, you will likely be emptying the dustbin or dust cup at least once depending on how often you vacuum.

We’ve mentioned DuoClean as being the technology being used in some of the best vacuums. The Shark Rocket is a unique alternative that appeals to people looking for a lighter tile floor vacuum, but don’t want to go cordless. If you want an entirely automatic cleaning solution, you might consider a robot vacuum with its varying cleaning modes and power mode.