Best Vacuums for Thick Carpet in 2023, Tested by TheHousewire

Thick carpets can be difficult to clean well. Dust and debris can get embedded in the fibers of carpeted floors.

Some vacuum cleaners can damage your plush, thick pile carpets – while others don’t provide enough suction.

The ideal vacuum for high pile carpets should have adjustable suction and height settings combined with a turbo brush.

Here we tested and reviewed some of the best vacuums for high pile carpet. We based our selection on their performance on thick carpets but also on low pile carpets, features set and also their price.

Here, You can then read our review of the best vacuums on the market to see which product is right for your home.

 

Reviews

Give your deluxe carpets a thorough clean with this powerful upright vacuum from Shark.

This Shark Rotator boasts powerful suction whether you’re vacuuming hard floors or carpeted areas.

You can even clean your stairs in the lift-away mode. Speaking of this mode, it will make cleaning up pet mess from your plush carpets an easy task. Simply detach the canister, combine with an attachment and use it as a handheld.

There’s also a sealed filter system that includes a HEPA filter. It can catch up and trap 99.9% of tiny particles of dust, pollen, and allergens, making it ideal if you suffer from allergies.

The bright lights on the vacuum head help you to see where there’s dirt to clean up. You’ll also be pleasantly surprised with the LED lights on the handle. So even in the lift-away mode, you can see where they needed to clean.

The head rotates so well that you’ll easily maneuver the vacuum in even the most awkward spaces. However, keep in mind that this sturdy model is heavy and bulky. At 13.7 pounds, you’ll probably have more issues sliding on your thick carpets than lighter models.

What Customers Are Saying

Customers liked the 3 settings offered by this vacuum: hard floors, low pile carpet, and high pile carpet. At the flick of a switch, they could change the mode depending on what type of floor they were cleaning.

However, some users found that this upright vacuum tipped over easily. This was especially true when it was in the handheld mode.

Grab yourself a bargain with this upright vacuum cleaner from Eureka.

With its powerful dynamic motor and incredible suction, it will give your high pile carpets – and your hard floors – a good clean. In one pass, it will do an excellent job at removing dirt, dust and debris from your carpet.

Weighing under 10 pounds, this powerful vacuum cleaner is lighter than similar vacuums from other brands. Because of this, it’s really easy to move around your home.

You also get 3 handy tools with this vacuum cleaner: a crevice tool, an upholstery brush and a dusting brush. This makes this inexpensive model versatile enough to clean most surfaces in your home. The attachments can all be stored on the vacuum itself for easy access.

The nozzle is 12.6 inches wide helping you to clean more of your carpeted floors in less time.

For various types of floors, this budget pick includes 5 height adjustment settings. Use this vacuum for cleaning high pile rugs but also low and medium pile ones, plush carpets, shag carpets, as well as hardwood floors.

What Customers Are Saying

Users were really impressed with how much the dust bin could hold before they had to empty it. Eureka promises this is an XL dust cup and feedback suggests that this is exactly what you get.

The handle on this vacuum releases so that you can pull out an extension hose to clean stairs or the tops of curtains. But some users thought that this hose was too short for them to reach all of those areas with any ease.

Pet owners will delight in this powerful upright vacuum that’s great for their high pile carpets.

Many positive reviews complimented how much pet hair was cleaned up from their thick carpets – compared to when they’d used previous vacuums on the same floors. Making one of the reasons why we picked this vacuum as being the best vacuum for thick carpets and pets.

The carbon HEPA filter picks up the tiniest particles of dust and allergens and it traps unpleasant pet odors.

This mighty vacuum comes with an adjustable brush roll. Whether you have hardwood floors or carpeted areas at home, this won’t be an issue. Simply raise the brush roll when you vacuum delicate wooden floors to prevent debris from scattering.

The accessories will also make your vacuuming jobs easier. The pet turbo tool can be used on stairs, on upholstery, and in small spaces. Plus the dusting too is pivoted giving you flexibility in reaching the top of shelves and furniture.

Hoover has designed this bagless vacuum so that it’ll remove pet hair and debris embedded in even high pile carpet. The combination of 13 cyclones and their WindTunnel 3 Technology gives this vacuum cleaner really powerful suction.

What Customers Are Saying

Customers liked how easily they could empty the dust bin. You just need to press a button to lift the dirt cup from the vacuum body, hold it over your trash bin, and then press the release lever.

Some customers found this vacuum cleaner difficult to move around due to its weight. It was hard to maneuver it upstairs. So if you have more than one floor in your home, it might not be the best option for you.

This is the only vacuum cleaner to use sonic cleaning technology, making it ideal if you want to give your thick carpets a really deep clean.

It’s also been certified gold by the CRI and owns the highest performance certification that is awarded.

When in deep cleaning mode, the sonic bar on the bottom of the vacuum head is activated. It vibrates 200 times per second making this vacuum cleaner primed to dislodge even the most embedded dirt when you’re vacuuming thick carpets.

The vent system can be adjusted depending on what type of floor you’re vacuuming. When the vents are open you can easily clean high pile and plush carpets; closed vents are great for low pile and harder surfaces.

Soniclean has designed their brush roll with ultra-soft bristles. This guarantees that there is no damage to carpet fibers as sometimes it may happen with the stiffer bristles used by other brands.

You’ll also benefit from the Seal-Tech HEPA filter bags. These are hospital-grade and you won’t come into contact with any dust when emptying.

What Customers Are Saying

Many users said that the big, wide wheels made it easy to push and pull this upright vacuum around their house. And they’re made of rubber if you have hard floors to clean too.

For some users, this vacuum cleaner was too expensive. It didn’t offer as good value for money as some of the other picks. So check the price if you’re on a budget.

This Miele model is a great canister pick for vacuuming high pile carpets.

With a six suction power setting, it’s perfect to adapt to all different carpets areas whether it’s for low pile or high pile carpets. But you can also have it on automatic setting – it’ll pick the best suction giving you the best cleaning power.

There’s a HEPA filter and an AirClean sealed system. This sucks up the dirt and debris from your floors but it also cleans the air inside your house – too.

There’s also space on the back of the vacuum to store the 3 accessories. The cord can be automatically retracted too.

The telescopic stainless steel handle has a LED light. You can easily reach awkward spaces in your home – such as under furniture. And you can see where the dust has gathered on your high pile carpets, meaning you can focus your cleaning on those areas.

What Customers Are Saying

Many reviewers commented on how quiet this vacuum is. They could get their cleaning done at any time of the day and not have to worry about disturbing anyone.

However, some customers found this canister vacuum a little hard to move around. They thought it was on the heavy side and could be tiring to push around.

Read Full Review: Dyson V11 Animal Vacuum Review

“Big machine suction power. But with cord-free versatility” — This is Dyson’s take on their cordless stick vacuum. This vacuum cleaner is lightweight and easy to move around – but also has powerful suction and 3 power modes.

The direct-drive cleaner head digs deep into your thick carpets to suck up dirt that has become embedded. This vacuum also has a runtime of up to 60 minutes and there’s a washable HEPA filter.

You can also transform this stick vacuum into a handheld making cleaning carpeted stairs easy.

This stick vacuum cleaner comes with a wall dock. You can mount this anywhere and store the slim vacuum when not being used.

And the vacuum head is small enough for you to clean around all those tight corners and under tables and couches.

What Customers Are Saying

Lots of reviewers were pleased with how well this vacuum performed when cleaning pet hair. For a lighter, cordless model, they didn’t expect it to pick up as much pet hair as heavier, upright models they’d owned before had. But it did!

Several customers weren’t happy with the trigger for this vacuum which you have to hold down constantly while cleaning. They found it could get uncomfortable and sometimes hurt their hand when vacuuming for longer periods.

Our Experience

Despite not being our top performer, this Dyson V11 proved to be mobile and effective at cleaning thick carpets. We liked how easy it was to move it around our house. The vacuum also worked as well on hard floors as it did on high pile carpets.

This vacuum cleaner was at the bottom of the list for its construction. Its plastic parts look cheap for the price. It also lacks headlights given this premium vacuum.

What To Look For In A Vacuum For Thick Carpets

Let’s examine the key features you need to look out for when choosing a vacuum cleaner for thick carpets.

FAQs about Thick Carpet Vacuums

Here we answer some regularly asked questions about high pile carpets.