The Best Vacuum for Cleaning Under the Bed

Vacuuming is probably not your favorite chore, but it’s a necessary one. Regular house dust is categorized as a biological contaminant by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alongside cockroaches, mites, and pollen.

The best way to prevent dust from collecting under the bed and other furniture is to vacuum the floors regularly, and pay special attention to restrained areas that are difficult to access.

If your current vacuum is unable to get under your bed and furniture, you might want to look for a new one that gets the job done.

Below is a list of our current top picks.

• Best overall:
  Eureka RapidClean Pro
• Best on a budget:
  Eureka Mighty Mite
• Best splurge:
  Bissell Air Ram

Best overall: Eureka RapidClean Pro

Pros: Low profile head, LED headlights light up the cleaning path, lightweight, easy to maneuver in narrow spaces, easy dust bin emptying.

Cons: Battery isn’t removable, dust bin doesn’t snap back into place easily, narrow cleaning path, attachments can’t snap onto the vacuum itself.

The cordless Eureka RapidClean Pro is the best choice for under bed cleaning. It goes under most furniture with its low profile head, allowing you to suck away any dust and dirt hiding out of sight.

With the LED headlights you’ll get an easy overview of any area you’re in the process of vacuuming. This might seem more like a gimmick than a useful feature, but we actually thought it worked well and helped us see the difference between cleaned areas and dirty areas.

The vacuum is incredibly lightweight, weighing just over 5 pounds. It does require a little getting used to if you haven’t tried a cordless stick vacuum yet, since the weight is distributed a bit differently than on other types of vacuum cleaners. It doesn’t feel heavy nor awkward to hold though, and the swivel allows for easy turning as well.

As with most cordless stick vacuums, the battery is built in. This means that you can’t take the battery out or get a spare battery, which is a bit disappointing. But with up to 40 minutes of runtime, it might be enough for most people.

Best on a budget: Eureka Mighty Mite

Pros: Great performance on hardwood floors, simple design and easy to operate, strong hose doesn’t kink easily, bags are easy to replace.

Cons: Some parts seem a bit cheap, plastic wand might come apart by itself during use, no rotating brush head makes it impossible to vacuum carpets.

The Eureka Mighty Mite has been a reliable household staple for years already, with no signs of being pulled from the market anytime soon. This is just one of those great evergreen products that keep existing, while other products are discontinued. And it’s easy to see why.

This little canister vacuum is just as simple as it’s efficient. If you need a cheap, reliable vacuum cleaner that gets under the bed and other furniture, the Eureka Mighty Mite is worth considering.

With the low profile head and overall lightweight design, you’ll easily get rid of any dust and dirt lurking in the corners.

We like how simple and minimalistic this vacuum cleaner is. Just push the button and go, there’s no need to worry about anything else. It uses regular dust bags that need replacement once in a while though, so make sure you check the bag once in a while.

Because it’s an affordable vacuum cleaner, some corners have been cut in order to reduce the price. This is inevitable and to be expected, but we don’t really consider it an issue. It doesn’t do well on all carpets, but low pile carpets are manageable.

All in all, a great purchase.

Best splurge: Bissell Air Ram

Pros: Weight distribution makes it easy to use, cordless with a removable battery, dust bin is easy to empty, decent battery life, LED headlights illuminate the cleaning path.

Cons: Not as good on medium pile carpets as we thought, a bit noisy, doesn’t get as close to edges as we wanted.

The Bissell Air Ram is a great vacuum for under the bed and other furniture. It performs very well, and in contrary to other stick vacuums the weight is mainly located in the base. This means that you’re not holding a heavy unit in your hand, but instead you’re pushing it across the floor – almost as if it was a regular upright vacuum cleaner.

To our pleasant surprise the battery is in fact removable and replaceable, which is really great. That way you can keep more than one battery fully charged, and quickly interchange them if you’re cleaning the entire house at once. It also comes with LED headlights, and we really like this feature.

One tiny letdown is the fact that it might not work as well on medium to high pile carpets, simply because it gets stuck and doesn’t suck up the dust and dirt. On hard floors and low pile carpets it works great though. A bit noisy, but aren’t most vacuum cleaners?

Identifying the best vacuum for under beds and furniture 

When on the shopping trail for the best vacuum for under the bed, you will be spoilt for choice given the myriad options available. But here are a few options to consider to ensure you bring the right one home. 

Type of floors – vacuums are designed for different types of floors, some for hardwood floors or carpet or both. If you have hardwood flooring under your bed, then buy a vacuum for hard floors, but if you have a rug or carpet under the bed, then it makes sense to buy a multi-faceted vacuum. 

Dust filter – some of the best under the floor vacuums come with an industry leading HEPA filter, which is designed to remove roughly 99.99 percent of dust. This proves especially handy if you or anyone in your home suffers from allergies or if you have pets. 

Dust cup – this reservoir just as the name suggests stores the dust and debris sucked up by the vacuum. It is available in different storage capacities, where the higher the number, the less frequently you will have to empty it.

Versatility – in most cases, you will want to clean other areas of your home such as the stairs, so buy a vacuum that can be converted or is easy to use in these areas. For cleaning under the bed and other hard for reach areas, buy a vacuum that comes with a crevice tool to suck up dirt and dust with ease. 

Power cord – under the bed vacuums that come with a long power cord allow you to travel further with the appliance, and clean a larger area without having to unplug and reconnect the power cord to another electrical outlet.

Manufacturer warranty – even not necessary especially when buying from a leading brand, but a warranty gives you the confidence knowing that the respective vacuum model offers great service life with proper care.

How to vacuum under bed (and other furniture)

With a proper vacuum it’s easy to clean out the space under your bed and other furniture. However, you might want to make a few preparations ahead of vacuuming, to ensure that you get it done properly.

1. Inspect the area first

This isn’t the most pleasant task, but it’s important. Looking under the bed and other furniture before vacuuming could potentially save you a lot of money and frustration.

What if you accidentally dropped your favorite jewelry, and it fell under the bed? Or money? Socks are also known to make their way under a bed, and they could clog up the vacuum halfway through the cleaning.

By inspecting the area underneath your bed first, you’ll prevent any unforeseen accidents that could end up frustrating you.

2. Get a broom in there first

If the area underneath your bed and other furniture has collected a lot of dust and dirt through time, we recommend that you get a broom and simply start out by sweeping the floor as good as possible.

This is to ensure that excessive amounts of dust and dirt won’t end up clogging your vacuum, or worse: Cause it to overload/overheat.

3. Vacuum slowly back and forth

You want to make sure you get your vacuum all the way in, and reach every corner under the bed and other furniture. But on the other hand, you don’t want any of the dust to whirl up either.

Whirled up dust doesn’t get sucked away immediately, and it will quickly go back onto the floor and create a new layer right after you’re done cleaning.

Therefore we recommend that you proceed slowly with controlled movement back and forth, to ensure that you collect as much dust as possible.