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The best Vax floor cleaners for your home
We've been testing floor cleaners for 100 years, so we know a thing or two about what makes a good one
Tested by Blossom BoothroydHomes Testing Manager
When it comes to at-home floor cleaning, Vax is one of the biggest brands on the market. And here at the Good Housekeeping Institute, we’ve tested and endorsed nearly every product the brand has launched, so we can see why they're a market leader.
Vax's products deliver sparkling results, task after task, and while many are investments, they aren’t break-the-bank expensive like some of its competitors.
So, for those who know they want a Vax, but aren't sure which model is best for them, we've curated a handy guide to the brand’s very best buys. Here they are at a glance – keep scrolling for our full verdicts.
What Vax floor cleaner is best?
This all comes down to what your home, and specifically your flooring, is like. Below, you’ll find our top picks from each of the following product categories:
- Best carpet cleaners – a carpeted home plus young children, grandchildren, or pets is the perfect storm for your floors. You shouldn’t deep clean your carpet too often, but using a carpet cleaner every six months should keep it germ-free.
- Best spot washers – this is the one to turn to for cleaning more regular messes. Generally smaller than carpet cleaners, they aren’t designed for covering large areas, but are good for targeted stain and dirt removal.
- Best hard floor cleaners – the clue is in the name for this one, but the way these cleaners go about their jobs can vary. Some are wet and dry vacuums; others are steam cleaners. But they’re all designed to make the dreaded job of mopping, easier.
How we test floor cleaners at the Good Housekeeping Institute
This varies according to the capability of each floor cleaner.
If we’re testing carpet cleaners, spot washers and hard floor cleaners, we check stain removal capabilities too – including how they tackle common household stains such as red wine and mud.
We test any attachments or bonus features as well, and our experts assess ease of use and the overall design of each cleaner throughout.
After collating all of the above, each product is awarded a final score, to create the list of top-rated models below.
Vax ONEPWR Glide 2 Cordless Hardfloor Cleaner
Vax ONEPWR Glide 2 Cordless Hardfloor Cleaner
Pros
- Cordless
- Powerful and good at odour removal
Cons
- Doesn’t come with any additional tools
Score: 97/100
Dropping just three marks across all our testing, this hard floor cleaner should keep your home sparkling. It washes and dries as it goes, and lifted stains with ease. Mud required a smidge more effort – but when our experts adjusted the brush bar, the results were impeccable.
It’s also simple to use and has a faff-free water tank. The best bit? A self-cleaning programme means you don’t need to worry about any additional clean-up.
Vax SpotWash Home Duo Spot Cleaner
Vax SpotWash Home Duo Spot Cleaner
Pros
- Comes with various tools, including a two-in-one tool that can be adapted to either hard floors and carpet, and a crevice tool
- Long-reaching hose
Cons
- Can’t store tools on board
Score: 95/100
Three of the Vax spot washers we've tested share the top score, so we’ve included all of them here, listing the pros and cons of each to help you decide which is right for you. This one is designed to make cleaning up soils quick and easy – and it showed on test, banishing dried-on stains with ease.
This is particularly handy if you don’t have time to tackle a spill as it happens (and, in fact, testers found it was marginally better at cleaning stains after they’d been left than addressing them straight away). It’s great for cars too. A dream cleaning machine.
Vax SpotWash Home Cordless Spot Cleaner
Vax SpotWash Home Cordless Spot Cleaner
Pros
- Boost mode offers more suction and was effective on test
- Lightweight at 4.5kg
Cons
- Smaller tank capacity than some, so you may need to refill mid-way through if you're tackling a few jobs
Score: 95/100
If portability is your priority, then this cordless spot washer is the one for you – it's lightweight with clear controls and its battery lasted for 25 minutes in our tests, which should be plenty for most stain-removal jobs.
As with the others on this list, it lifted stains well – the only one it struggled with was red wine; it was unable to quite banish all traces. But that’s hardly a surprise – wine is notorious for staining for a reason! Our surfaces were largely dry after use too, meaning whipping it out in a cleaning emergency won't be too disruptive to your day.
Vax SpotWash Duo Spot Cleaner
Vax SpotWash Duo Spot Cleaner
Pros
- Has a separate ‘Messy tool’ for the dirtiest jobs
- Self cleans
Cons
- Tricky to apply cleaning solution when in use
Score: 95/100
This is the last of our spot washer top picks, and it’s the most affordable of the three, which means you can still enjoy Vax’s cleaning prowess but for a lower price. Testers found little scrubbing was needed to achieve a good finish and the cleaner left surfaces close to dry afterwards.
It struggled with wine and mud on carpet, and coffee on upholstery, but testers were able to shift most eventually – so only keen eyes would notice. And they were impressed with the overall appearance of our carpet, which was refreshed and water mark-free.
Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design
Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet Design
Pros
- Handle detaches to become a pretreatment wand to help with targeted stain removal
- Comes with a ‘SpinScrub’ tool that has rotating brushes to scrub for you
Cons
- Bulky
Score: 93/100
Simple to use, sturdy, and a stellar cleaner, this is one of the very best models our team has tried. It automatically releases detergent as you move it, and dries your carpets on the go too.
No stain proved beyond its capabilities, and its array of tools helped make light work of trickier jobs like removing set-in mud. It’s ideal for refreshing carpets throughout your whole home.
Hannah is our homes editor, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.
Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what’s green and what’s not. Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women’s sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.
Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
