We Tried The Most Popular Handheld Car Vacuum On Amazon: Is It Worth Your Money?

Any person who owns and drives a car can consider their vehicle their home on wheels. Whether you're the type of person who routinely deep cleans or you're fine with a bit of clutter here and there, at some point, it might be a good idea to give your car's interior a once over. The quickest way to do that is to have a compact car vacuum handy so you can quickly tidy up whenever needed (not to mention avoiding some common car cleaning mistakes). Given that portability is essential in cleaning your vehicle on the go, you probably will want something cordless. Compared to corded and professional-grade car vacuums, the suction power will, of course, be reduced on the handheld version of the tool. You also likely won't be able to suck up liquid spills.

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Having said that, I wanted to determine if a handheld vacuum is something every car owner like me should have. Incidentally, in the top spot on Amazon's bestseller list for handheld vacuums at the time of writing is the Black+Decker Dustbuster QuickClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum. Priced at around $30, is it a budget-friendly car accessory that'll hold up? I ordered it to find out.

For the low price, I wasn't expecting much in terms of features and additional attachments. In lieu of a bag, the vacuum itself has a translucent dirt receptacle that makes it easy to see when it's time to empty it out. It also has a suction nozzle that you can extend for hard-to-reach places, and an additional brush head that you can use on fabric. There's exactly two buttons: one to power the machine and one to empty the dust bowl. It's incredibly user-friendly.

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The vacuum comes with a washable filter that, according to the user manual, you only have to replace every six to nine months or when it's worn or damaged. There's also a charging bracket that you can mount on the wall or lay flat on the floor. Apart from that, there's nothing else — and that's great because there are not a lot of parts to keep track of. It's easy to clean and just as easy to store and put away. It's also lightweight and extremely portable.

An important note that I discovered myself: when you open the Dustbuster box brand-new, it'll have a bit of a charge that may tempt you to use it right away. My advice? Don't. It'll run out real quick. According to the manual, you should charge the vacuum at least 10 hours before initial use.

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After I did, it was off to the races. It was easy to operate, and it did feel like the suction strength was sufficient at maximum capacity, given the cordless limitation. It successfully picked up tiny leaves, small twigs, dirt, stray pieces of crackers, and lots of dust. It sucked up crumbs in hard to reach places. However, it was a bit of a struggle trying to vacuum up the dog hair in our car, something you may find is easier to remove using a common bathroom cleaning tool.

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To be fair, we didn't really vacuum our car on our own prior to getting the Dustbuster — which is why I was excited to test it! — so there was already an accumulation of dog hair stubbornly stuck to the floor. As a dog-loving family, though, that already deals with so much pet shedding in our home, it wasn't a huge deal. As long as it is moderately clean in the car and the snack crumbs and fossilized food dropped by my young children are taken care of, I'd consider it a success. The vacuum picked up enough debris to achieve a level of cleanliness I was happy with.

Emptying the Dustbuster was a quick process as well — though make sure you do it over a trash can so you don't create more mess in your house. The filter was easy to remove and was able to catch a lot. My cleanup test lasted for about 10 to 15 minutes, and this is what I was able to collect:

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I washed both the filter and dust bowl with warm water and soap, and I wiped the main body with a damp dish cloth. It didn't take too long for the parts to completely dry. The entire cleanup process was so simple — both vacuuming the car and cleansing the device itself — I could probably teach my 8-year-old son how to do it (with guidance, of course). In total, it took me less than 30 minutes.

In an ideal world, a portable vacuum that you could permanently store in and assign to your car would be great. It's the perfect tool to have handy when you're going on long car rides and are staying away from home for an extended time. The Dustbuster is small enough to put in your trunk along with your other car essentials.

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Of course, in general, storing electronic gadgets in your vehicle for a prolonged period of time is unwise. For starters, if you leave any sort of device visible, it makes your car more attractive to thieves. Furthermore, you also have to consider the weather — leaving a car vacuum in a vehicle parked in direct sunlight for hours can diminish its lifespan. When not in use, it's best to keep the Dustbuster indoors, where you can plug it to its charger and even use it to do some light cleaning.

I wanted an easy-to-use car vacuum that I can whip out any time I want to do some light cleaning. Based on my experience with the Dustbuster, I believe it did the job. I wasn't expecting it to be able to handle tougher messes or achieve a deep clean. For that, I know I'd need to go to a professional or at least use a corded vacuum. On the box, it said that the Dustbuster was ideal for large and small debris, and as far as I could tell, it was a check on both claims.

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There was enough battery life in the device for me to accomplish a quick sprucing up of a fairly tidy car. If you're the sort of person who wants to stay on top of debris accumulating in your vehicle and intend to vacuum pretty regularly, you shouldn't need more than 15 minutes or so for every vacuum session. Given the affordable $30 price tag, I'd say the vacuum is worth it. Apart from cleaning up our family car, it can double as a secondary home vacuum that I can easily pick up for minimal tidying and put right away once I'm done.