Dirt Devil Endura Lite Review

The best feature of the Dirt Devil Endura Lite is that it comes in a lightweight, trim form factor with the handheld attachments stored near the top of the vacuum. This is a good spot for those attachments because it reminded us to stop vacuuming the same spots again and again and instead just use the crevice tool to suck up debris by hand.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Performance

Our initial test focuses on low pile carpets, which are more common, but we also evaluate vacuum performance on high pile carpets, such as the trendy shaggy rugs often found in living rooms these days.

Before Testing After Testing

Low Pile

The Dirt Devil Endura Lite collected just 67% of test debris, far below average and one of the lowest we've ever recorded in this test.

I was surprised to see this vacuum spray material on low pile carpet — I only usually experience spraying with inexpensive vacuums on hardwood. It felt surprisingly difficult to push as if it were creating decent suction, but it also ignored some rice and sand, rolling right over the top. Plus, it tended to plow Cheerios into little piles.

High Pile

Tall shaggy carpet can accumulate dirt in its fibers, which can make it harder to vacuum. The fibers can fold over and cover debris. To effectively clean the dirt, a vacuum needs agitation from a brush roller to move the fibers, allowing suction to work. Cleaning high pile carpet typically requires both strong suction and a brush roller designed for heavy carpet.

This model collected just 27% of our test debris, far below average and the lowest amount we've ever recorded for this test.

Before Testing After Testing

Overall Carpet Cleaning Performance

The Endura Lite ranks at the bottom of our charts for carpet cleaning effectiveness.

Regardless of our budget, we appreciate great values that make vacuuming easier and faster. While this vacuum did suck up material, it showed us that we'd have to work harder with more passes to collect acceptable amounts of dirt in a home. If you're on a relatively low budget, the Eureka PowerSpeed far out-performed this model, earning it a Best Buy award for those on a tight budget.

Hardwood Performance

We tested hardwood cleaning performance the same way we did for both carpet types. The same amount, timing, and square footage all make it comparable when assessing each floor type.

Cleaning Performance

The Endura Lite turned into a lightweight performance, collecting just 32% of our test materials on a hard floor.

Wow. A near total sprayfest. It picked up some debris but made more of a mess by spreading the remaining material around. I found this vacuum to be . . . frustrating on hardwood floors.

Before Testing After Testing

Crevice

This model was able to suck up just 9%, a dismal performance . . . but not the lowest I ever recorded in this test! Still, our leading vacuums collect 75% or more here.

From what I see, low-suction vacuums really struggle to suck up sand from crevices with their cleaner heads, making them poor choices for tile floors that have deep grout lines.

Edges

Vacuums differ greatly in their ability to clean along walls. Some perform well at this task, while others may fail to reach debris near the sides or directly in front of the floor nozzle. To evaluate their wall-cleaning capability, I test them by spreading coffee grounds next to a wall and observing the results with head-on and parallel passes.

The Endura Lite sprayed the coffee grounds all over, making an even bigger mess when approached head-on. On the parallel pass, it seemed to ignore the coffee grounds, which somehow felt like an improvement.

Overall Hardwood Cleaning Performance

This vacuum performed so poorly overall that we cannot recommend it for cleaning hardwood floors.

The floor cleaning head is so infective on hard floors that I recommend you ignore it completely in favor of using the hand crevice tool instead for any and all messes. Cleaning with hand tools might make your back ache, but you might be able to suck up debris with more success, especially in any cracks or along the toe kick next to kitchen cabinets. If the Shark Navigator Lift Away Deluxe NV360 is on sale, it's a far better vacuum for hard floor cleaning and delivers an outstanding overall value at a reasonable (sale) price.

Pet Hair

Managing pet fur is a common challenge for owners, particularly during shedding seasons. To assist in selecting the most effective vacuums, we conduct comprehensive tests on both low-pile and high-pile carpets. This approach enables us to evaluate each machine's capability to address the fur and hair that frequently pose problems in our homes.

This machine collected just 56% of the hair on low pile carpet and 34% on high pile, ranking at the bottom of our tests. I was surprised to see quite a bit of pet hair plow on reverse strokes, so it's possible someone could get improved results if they only attack pet hair on forward passes.

Before Testing After Testing

When I visually inspected the collected fur and hair, it looked like nearly all of the long hair extensions were wrapped on the brush roller.

Before Testing After Testing

Filtration & Suction

Effective filtration is important because vacuums with poor filtration can release small particles into the air, and scientific studies have linked small particulate exposure to a to a variety of health impacts including aggravation of coronary and respiratory disease symptoms.

Suction power is crucial for a vacuum to remove debris from carpets and crevices. Measuring this capacity can help us understand its performance characteristics in tests, illuminating why it excels or struggles in different cleaning scenarios.

Filtration

The Dylos sensors detect and count particles from 0.5-2.5 microns (small) to over 2.5 microns (large), both of which sizes are commonly found in flour. For reference, pet dander is often <1 micron, while pollen can range from 10-100 microns.

Testing showed a definite spike from the room's baseline, and I noticed that the outside of the dustbin got floury, visually indicating a leak. This increase in flour particles means that we would not recommend this vacuum to loved ones who have allergies.

Pretest During Test

Suction

We recorded 75 pascals at the cleaner head, the lowest suction power we've measured and recorded with this test.

This lack of suction is likely one reason this vacuum struggled on our hard floor tests.

Ease of Use

In my assessment of upright vacuum cleaners, I've found significant differences in user-friendliness. Some models were hard to push, while others handled carpets, hardwood, and furniture with ease. Our tests show the usability of each model, which is vital for homes with challenging layouts or users with strength and balance concerns.

To test ease of use, I evaluate maneuverability, vacuum weight, maintenance requirements, reach, and upholstery and hand tools.

Maneuverability

In addition to considering how easy a vacuum is to move around during our stress tests, I also run each vacuum through an obstacle course to see how well it turns, transitions from floors to carpet, rugs, and mats, as well as how well it can clean under and around furniture.

Despite a relatively light overall weight of 9.4 measured pounds (a bit more than the manufacturer reported), the Endura Lite was hard to navigate around cones because it has no multi-angle swivel head feature that we find on vacuums that cost just a bit more. Because it has no lift-away canister feature, the dustbin/canister prevents it from reaching far under furniture. Transitioning onto our bamboo test mat required me to lower my arm angle to prop up the head of the vacuum to rise over the lip. Compared to other vacuums I tested, maneuverability was below average.

Maintenance

The primary maintenance required will be cleaning the non-removable brush roller of long hair, assuming you have long-haired family members. This is a difficult, annoying process made inexplicably more difficult by the old-school inclusion of plastic cross bars over the brush roller. Lightweight modern stick vacuums don't need these support struts, so I have a hard time imagining why so many upright vacuums still use them. Boo.

Upholstery & Attachments

In addition to evaluating specialized hand tools that may come with a vacuum, I also test one tool on upholstery because so many people now use their vacuums to clean their furniture, pet beds, or stairs. For my upholstery test, I spread coffee grounds on a throw pillow and then cleaned it up with the most appropriate attachment.

I used the crevice tool to clean the coffee grounds. It left a streak in one pass, but I was able to clean it up nicely after three passes.

Should You Buy the Dirt Devil Endura Lite?

Compared to midrange and high-end vacuums, the Endura Lite is a trainwreck of mediocrity that tends to make vacuuming annoying, especially on hard floors. For those on the tightest of budgets who are willing to go slowly on low pile carpet, it can collect debris, but they'll likely need to use a crevice tool to find satisfaction on hard floors.

What Other Upright Vacuums Should You Consider?