This Compact Cleaner Removes Dust from Every Corner and Crevice That My Stick Vacuum Can’t (It’s So Powerful!)

Before moving into my current apartment in New York City, I was always a little skeptical of handheld vacuums. I mean, I have a stick vacuum already that comes with attachments — why do I need a separate, handheld vacuum in my tiny apartment? They seemed like a nice-to-have-but-not-necessary product. I live in a one-bedroom with my boyfriend — we barely have space as it is for our vacuum now. Well, I’d find out why I needed it pretty quickly.

My current apartment was built in the 1970s, so it boasts ugly cabinets and floorboard heating. It also has a ton of corners and crevices that my stick vacuum can’t handle. Even the attachments seem unable to pry the dust and debris from underneath my oven or on the top of my floorboard heater. Everything just seemed to be getting dustier and dirtier, and I was finally desperate enough to volunteer to test the BLACK+DECKER 20V Max Handheld Vacuum.

My colleagues have sworn by BLACK+DECKER vacuums in the past, so that’s why I felt like I was in relatively good hands with this brand. And at first glance, I really liked the design of this vacuum.

The BLACK+DECKER 20V Max Handheld Vacuum is a compact-sized vacuum — measuring 7.16 x 6.2 x 11.9 inches and weighing only 3 pounds. This makes it easy for me to store it in one of my kitchen cabinets and hide it out of sight. It comes with a small charging station that is 4 to 5 inches long and wide, so it’s also easy to stash away. I have little to no space, so I really appreciated this.

This tiny vacuum comes with a flip-up brush, crevice tool, easy-to-empty dustbowl, and a pivoting nozzle (up to 200 degrees) that allows it to get into narrow spaces.

I was shocked at how powerful the suction on this vacuum is. I just hovered it over my dusty floorboard heater and the dust disappeared. I didn’t even need to make direct contact with the surface. It honestly seems more powerful than my stick vacuum. Plus, the vacuum nozzle can pivot up to 200 degrees, so I could hit those hard-to-reach corners of my kitchen and the top of my bookcase without expending any extra effort. I’ve never had so much fun cleaning. The nozzle has an expandable crevice tool, which I used to de-crumb my loveseat.

Despite cleaning every surface in my apartment with the handheld vacuum, it still didn’t run out of battery. Because of its powerful suction, you don’t really need to have a 30-minute cleaning session. I can’t see anyone needing to use it for more than 15 minutes at a time, which is good news because the battery needs to be recharged in its dock after 20 minutes.

The only slightly tricky thing with this BLACK+DECKER handheld vacuum is that it’s very easy to twist apart to empty but not very easy to lock it back in place. It took a few minutes for me to figure it out the first few times, so it will take some getting used to. But overall, this handheld vacuum has blown me away and become the best cleaning tool in my arsenal.

Buy: BLACK+DECKER 20V Max Handheld Vacuum, $67.08 (normally $89.99)