Handheld vacuum figures are kept in three groups because makers print three kinds of number: sound pressure labeled as such, a bare dB(A) with no quantity named, and sound power on its own.
Only DEWALT labels sound pressure for a US hand vac. Its US manual gives the DCV501HB 75 dB(A), and the emission sheet on its DCV517B page gives 76 dB(A). Both are DEWALT 20V hand vacs from one maker, so they can be put in order.
Makita and RYOBI print 68 dB(A) on their US pages without saying whether it is pressure or power. RYOBI adds "As low as", which makes its figure a best case for one setting. These two stay unranked, against each other and against DEWALT.
Dyson's Car+Boat sheet gives sound power and nothing else, with an "HP" prefix it does not explain, so it stands alone too.
How many decibels is a handheld vacuum?
A handheld vacuum's maker figure ran from 68 dB(A), on pages that do not name the quantity, to 76 dB(A) of declared sound pressure, and from 82 to 87 dB(A) of sound power, in the US documents we read.
Inside the one group where an order holds, these are DEWALT's sound pressure declarations as printed:
- DEWALT DCV501HB: LPA 75 dB(A), no uncertainty given
- DEWALT DCV517B: LpA 76 dB, KpA 2, EN60335-2-69
A decibel separates them, half the uncertainty DEWALT states for the DCV517, so on paper the two DEWALTs sound much alike.
For sound power, DEWALT rates both at 87 and Dyson prints "HP82 dBa" for the Car+Boat. Dyson names no mode or test, so its number is listed, not ranked against DEWALT's. Makita and RYOBI publish no power figure for these hand vacs.
What a bare 68 dB(A) can and cannot tell you
Makita's XLC07 and RYOBI's PBLHV701 both print 68 dB(A) on their US pages, and the matching numbers mean less than they seem to.
Makita names no speed, quantity or distance. RYOBI says "As low as", so its 68 describes the gentlest setting only. Two figures built on unknown bases cannot be ordered, and neither can be set beside DEWALT's labeled sound pressure.
What is the quietest car vacuum?
No car vacuum can be named quietest from makers' figures. Dyson's Car+Boat, sold for cars by name, is rated "HP82 dBa" of sound power, and Makita's XLC07 prints 68 dB(A) with no quantity named.
The XLC07 ships with upholstery and floor mat nozzles, a blower nozzle and a shoulder strap, kit that suits a car, and its three speeds let you choose the gentlest one for a quick pass over the seats.
The Car+Boat comes with a mini motorhead, a crevice tool and a combination tool, weighs 4.2 lbs and lasts 40 minutes in Powerful mode. Its spec sheet gives no sound pressure, so it cannot be set beside the Makita.
Do 12V plug-in car vacuums publish decibels?
No, we found no 12V plug-in car vacuum with a decibel figure from its maker. Black+Decker's US store lists no figure on any of its vacuum pages, and thisworx.com did not answer our requests.
The 12V car vacuum figures our searches did find, from 68 to 80 dB, sat on retailer and marketplace listings that rarely say what was measured. We use none of them, so cordless hand vacs are the only car vacuums with a maker number on this page.
Is a hand vacuum quieter on its low setting?
Yes, where a maker rates both ends. None of the five picks does, but Makita's US page for its 40V GLC01, a compact stick vacuum rather than a hand vac, lists 65 dB(A) on high and 54 dB(A) on low.
That 11 decibel spread on one Makita is why a bare figure needs a setting beside it. Makita prints a single 68 for the XLC07 and names no speed.
RYOBI goes the other way, printing "As low as 68 dB(A)" for the PBLHV701, a best case with nothing for the stronger setting. DEWALT gives one figure per tool and names no speed, and Dyson's Car+Boat has two modes without saying which one its "HP82 dBa" describes.
What is the quietest handheld vacuum for pets?
No maker in this group publishes a figure measured with a pet tool or brush roll fitted, so no hand vacuum can be called quietest for pet hair on the makers' own numbers.
Dyson's Car+Boat ships with a mini motorhead, a powered brush that pulls hair from upholstery, and its "HP82 dBa" sound power figure names no tool.
RYOBI's PCL700B Powered Brush Hand Vacuum, the RYOBI model built for hair, prints no sound level, and Black+Decker's pet dustbusters print none either.
For long hair on stairs and sofas, the cordless stick vacuum guide covers machines rated with full size brush heads.
Black+Decker prints no decibel figure on its US dustbuster pages, Milwaukee prints none for its US hand vacs, and RYOBI prints one on only one of the five RYOBI hand vacuum models we opened.
RYOBI's US pages for the PCL705, PCL700, PCL704 and PCL702 hand vacuums, kits included, show no sound level. Shark, Bissell and Dyson's consumer site refused our requests.
Milwaukee's US page and parts list for the 0892-20 M18 Brushless Handheld Vacuum, and its manual for the 0850-20 M12 Compact Vacuum, carry no figure. Milwaukee Europe declares 70 dB(A) of sound pressure for a brushless hand vac it sells as the M18 BLCV2, but names no US model number for it, so that number stays with the European tool.
Two other Milwaukee Europe pages are no help either. The M18 CV gives sound power only as an upper bound below 83 dB(A), which is not a value, and the M12 HV page appears to swap its pressure and power labels.
