The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is a cordless handheld vacuum. As it's meant for spot-cleaning around the home, it's very portable and easy-to-store, so you can quickly tackle small spills or messes without the hassle of dragging out a heavy upright vacuum. It does an outstanding job of cleaning up debris on bare floors like a kitchen, and its small size makes it a suitable choice for tackling dirt spills in your car. On the downside, it has a short battery life and it can take up to four hours for it to fully recharge, which is disappointing. It also has a small dirt compartment, but that's to be expected with a simple handheld vacuum.
Our Verdict
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is excellent for cleaning bare floors. It cleans almost everything on this surface and even as the dirt compartment fills up, its suction remains consistent. However, if you have a very big mess to clean up, it can take a while: its battery lasts around ten minutes, and its small dirt compartment needs frequent emptying. That being said, its maintenance is fairly easy, which is nice.
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Outstanding bare floor performance.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is okay for low-pile carpet. It doesn't do a bad job on low-pile carpet, but it struggles to clean up both small and large debris, so it may take a couple of passes to completely clean a mess. However, this vacuum isn't the ideal choice if you're looking to clean up a larger area as its battery doesn't last more than ten minutes before needing to be recharged, and it doesn't have a large dirt compartment. Luckily, it has fairly easy maintenance.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Does a mediocre job of tackling small and large debris.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is alright for high-pile carpet. It has an easier time cleaning up smaller debris rather than large debris but it should be okay in a pinch. However, if you have a shag rug with a lot of debris in it, this vacuum most likely won't be able to clean it up before its battery dies. On the upside, since this vacuum is somewhat simple in design, maintenance is fairly easy.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is decent for cleaning pet hair. While it struggles with picking up pet hair on upholstered surfaces, it still does a great job cleaning it up on bare floors and low or high-pile carpet. However, unlike many other alternatives, it doesn't come with an upholstery tool or a miniature turbo brush, which would make it easier to clean fabric-lined surfaces.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is outstanding for cleaning stairs. Thanks to its cordless design, this exceptionally portable handheld vacuum can easily spot-clean stairs, which is handy for the occasional spill. It's also very lightweight, and it comes with a crevice tool for hard-to-reach places.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Includes a crevice tool.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is great for cleaning cars. It's an exceptionally portable handheld vacuum, so you can easily get into more difficult-to-reach places, and it even has a crevice tool to help extend its reach. However, you may have to pass over an area couple of times to fully clean it, especially if you're cleaning fine debris.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Includes a crevice tool.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
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Very portable and easy to store.
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Fairly easy to maintain.
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Short battery life with a long recharge period.
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Small dirt compartment.
- 8.1 Bare Floor
- 7.3 Low-Pile Carpet
- 7.4 High-Pile Carpet
- 6.6 Pets
- 8.7 Stairs
- 8.1 Cars
- 5.9 Workshop
- Updated Nov 22, 2022: We've changed the full product name to 'Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum' in order for the review to encompass all model variants.
- Updated Nov 16, 2022: This vacuum's suction force has been retested with a more accurate manometer. The test results for the 'Maximum Suction' and 'Normal Suction' fields have been updated. All relevant scores and text have been updated.
- Updated Aug 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Apr 04, 2022: Retested 'Pet Hair Furniture Performance' and lowered the section score.
- Updated Mar 18, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jul 06, 2020: Review published.
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Compared To Other Vacuums
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is a handheld vacuum meant for spot-cleaning. Its small, lightweight design makes it portable for a variety of uses, and you can easily store it away in your closet or on a table so it's quickly accessible. However, compared to other vacuums with batteries such as the Dyson V7, its overall battery life is still quite disappointing, and it even takes a few hours to charge.
The Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ is better than the Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum. The Shark has fewer parts that need regular cleaning, takes less time to recharge while offering a similar overall battery life, comes with a turbo brush attachment, and is significantly more effective in clearing debris on low and high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the Black+Decket incurs lower recurring costs and has a larger dustbin.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum and the Shark WANDVAC have different strengths. The Black+Decker is better on bare floors, has a much larger dirt compartment, and a longer continuous runtime. Conversely, the Shark does a better job capturing fine allergens, has virtually no recurring costs, is smaller and lighter, and performs better on low-pile carpet. It also recharges much faster.
The Black+Decker dustbuster AdvancedClean+ Pet is a better handheld vacuum for most uses than the Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum. The AdvancedClean+ Pet comes with a turbo brush and has a better battery performance. It also performs better on carpet. However, the Hand Vacuum is better-built, with fewer recurring costs. It also has a better performance on bare floors.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum and BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim have different strengths. The Black+Decker has a much larger dirt compartment, clears bulky debris with little trouble, and performs better overall on bare floors. Conversely, the BISSELL has a longer battery life with shorter recharge time, does a better job of dealing with pet hair, has lower recurring costs, and is substantially smaller and lighter.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum and BISSELL Featherweight Stick suit different uses. The handheld-only Black+Decker is better at cleaning stairs and cars due to its more maneuverable compact cordless design. It’s better-built, not to mention more effective in picking up debris on bare floors and high-pile carpet. On the other hand, the BISSELL is better at cleaning up pet hair and has better performance on low-pile carpet. It’s also easier to maintain and has much lower recurring costs.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum and Hoover ONEPWR Cordless Hand Vacuum have different advantages, and one may suit you better depending on your needs. The Black+Decker has better build quality, lower recurring costs, a lighter body, and more tools and accessories, courtesy of its combination extension wand/crevice tool/hard bristle brush. However, the Hoover has a longer battery life, a shorter recharge time, and is notably more effective when it comes to cleaning pet hair on most surfaces.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is a more versatile handheld vacuum than the eufy HomeVac H11. The Black+Decker is far more effective on bare floors, has a larger dirt compartment, and lower recurring costs. That said, the eufy is smaller and lighter. It also has a longer continuous battery life and a shorter recharge time.
The Wyze Handheld Vacuum is better for most use cases than the Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum. The Wyze is more compact, easier to carry around, has a much longer maximum battery life, and comes with more tools and accessories, as well as a HEPA filter to trap allergens as you clean. It also clears debris more effectively on low and high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the Black+Decker has a much bigger dirt compartment and incurs fewer recurring costs.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum and the HoLife HM036E are two cordless handheld vacuums with different strengths. While both are decently well-built and similarly easy to maintain, the Black+Decker has fewer recurring costs, its dirt compartment is larger, and it's easier to store. However, the HoLife has a better performance on all surface types, its battery life is longer, and you can also use it to clean wet spills, although we don't currently test for this.
Test Results
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum feels quite well-built overall. Although it's entirely made out of plastic, the quality feels good. The dust bin has a bit of flex, so it shouldn't break easily, but the plastic frame could crack if dropped. The paper-thin filter also feels prone to rips or tears if you're not careful when cleaning it. Thankfully, the vacuum is very easy to assemble and take apart, though, so you shouldn't have too many issues.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is fairly easy to maintain overall. This handheld vacuum has a simple design, so there aren't very many parts you have to maintain. The plastic pre-filter and cloth filter both need to be washed with soapy water from time to time. This doesn't take long, but they need to air dry completely before they can be used again. Unfortunately, when you empty the dirt compartment, it tends to send dust and debris into the air. This isn't ideal, especially if you suffer from allergies since it needs to be emptied quite often. You might also have to wash it occasionally since it tends to collect leftover dust. Thankfully, it's easy to fully detach from the vacuum for easy access.
There aren't very many recurring costs with this vacuum. The cloth filter needs to be replaced every six to nine months, depending on your usage, but it isn't too expensive and can often be found in packs of six.
The handheld Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is very easy to store. It's compact, portable, and takes up very little space in a closet or even on your countertop. It has a built-in reach extender and bristle brush, so no extra tools are needed. It also comes with a small charging dock that helps keep it upright while it charges.
This vacuum's dirt compartment is okay. It's quite small, so you'll likely find yourself needing to empty it often, and it doesn't have an indicator to let you know when it's full either. On the upside, you don't have to worry about buying bags.
- Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum
- Wand
- Pre-filter
- Filter
- Charging station and cable
- Vacuum User Guide
Since this is a cordless handheld vacuum, you're only limited by the size of its canister and battery life.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is exceptionally portable. It's very lightweight, even in your hand, and the carrying handle makes it easy to bring along with you in your home no matter where a mess might be. That said, if you're looking for something even smaller and lighter, take a look at the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum's battery performance is disappointing. It only takes about 8-9 minutes for it to start noticeably losing power and at the 10-minute mark it simply stops working, which isn't very long. It also takes nearly 4 hours to charge, which is quite a while but within what the company advertises. If having a corded connection isn't a deal-breaker, the BISSELL Featherweight Stick is an even lighter upright/handheld vacuum with an effectively unlimited runtime, so long as you stay in range of an outlet. However, if you're committed to staying cordless, the eufy HomeVac H11 is a handheld vacuum with a longer continuous runtime and faster charging.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum is a simple vacuum. You can rotate the vacuum head to make it easier to reach corners at a certain angle, and the power button is conveniently placed. However, there are no additional features.
You can't add any additional tools to this handheld vacuum, but it has a built-in hard bristle brush to help with stubborn dirt and a crevice tool that also helps extend its reach.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum can only be used as a handheld vacuum.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum performs outstandingly well on bare floors. Whether you're cleaning up large debris like cereal or smaller debris like rice, this handheld vacuum does an excellent job of making sure everything ends up in the dirt compartment, even when it's already filled with lots of debris. It doesn't perform quite as well with pet hair, but still does an impressive job.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum's performance on low-pile carpet is adequate. It does a great job with pet hair, like it does on bare floors. However, since it lacks a brush roll, it struggles to get sand out of the carpet fibers and has an even harder time with baking soda. It still does an adequate job overall, especially since its performance isn't affected by whether the dirt compartment is empty or not, but it won't be the ideal choice if you have a bad carpet spill to clean. If you're looking for a handheld vacuum with a better performance on low-pile carpet, consider the HoLife HM036E.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum does an alright job on high-pile carpet. It performs a bit better than it does on low-pile carpet, but it's still nowhere near as well as it does on bare floors. Unlike on low-pile carpet, it has an easier time with small debris like baking soda than large debris like sand on high-pile carpet. It'll be alright in a pinch, but if you need to get a lot of sand or dirt out of your favorite shag rug, you might want to consider something else.
The Black+Decker dustbuster Hand Vacuum has decent maneuverability. It's very easy to maneuver on and around furniture thanks to its compact form. However, despite its super portable design, reaching under low tables or couches is challenging, even with the wand extension. That said, it navigates around electric cables well.
This vacuum does a poor job dealing with pet hair on furniture, as it leaves quite a bit of this kind of debris behind after cleaning. Its suction nozzle is very small, forcing you to make several passes to clear any hair. The vacuum needs to be held at a particular angle to maintain the strongest possible suction force. It doesn't come with a turbo brush or upholstery tool, which would make this cleaning task a little easier.
