review – We’ve been through a lot of manual vacuums in my house. We buy a new one almost every year because my wife wears them out and use them almost every day around the house. We have a puppy who is losing a lot of hair! So it’s everywhere. Thank god he’s cute so we don’t mind. But dealing with hair takes a lot of work. It’s even on the soles of our shoes every day, so it gets transferred to our cars. So keeping our cars clean is also a priority. The $31.99 AstroAI Portable Car Vacuum claims to help us with this task, so let’s see how it measures up.
What is it?
AstroAI is a lightweight portable handheld vacuum cleaner designed for vehicles.
What’s in the box?
- AstroAI Portable Car Vacuum Cleaner with HEPA Filter
- 2 additional HEPA filters, washable
- 26″ Extension Hose Attachment
- gap junction
- brush attachment
- filter cleaning brush
- User Manual
- Zippered cloth bag with handle
Here are the specs:
- Model AHVC-JY801
- Length: 15 inches
- Weight: 2.7 lbs
- Ultra wide angle LED light
- 16 feet of cord
- Volume: 78DB
- Suction: 7200PA
design
Having used many hand vacuums of all shapes and sizes over the years, my first impression of this one is that it is light and very plastic. Now, I know all hand vacuums will be made of plastic. But this one feels a bit cheap, especially the accessories. I won’t know until later, but I wonder how this vacuum will hold up long term.
It has the same form factor as nearly every other handheld vacuum, with a detachable nose to collect debris and includes a detachable filter. At the top, you’ll find the power switch and a button to turn on the LED light. A pretty nice LED light faces the front of the vacuum, on the top of the vacuum. When I used it, that light illuminated the entire floor of the car, so it was a pleasant surprise.
The attachment, extension hose, crevice tool, and brush tool (it has no power or rotation, just a nylon brush) all attach to the front of the vacuum, just like most other handheld vacuums. Power is provided by a 16-foot power cord that extends from the rear of the handle and plugs into the vehicle’s 12V (cigarette lighter) socket.Because this handheld vac is designed for vehicles, you won’t find any way to power it other than using 12v 
Cigarette lighter socket.
Features and Performance
From a practical standpoint, this is the first vacuum I have ever used that is powered by a 12V outlet. That means you can’t use it at home because it doesn’t have a battery. This means that the use case for this handheld vacuum is very narrow, as using it in a vehicle is your only option, as long as it has a 12V adapter socket. A 16 foot cord would work for most small cars I imagine, but if our SUV didn’t have a 12V outlet in the rear (which it does), then I wouldn’t be able to use a manual vacuum in the rear of it because it wouldn’t be up to snuff. This is something to consider, especially if you have an SUV or minivan.
(This is a picture of the LED light. The light on the car floor is terrible)
The dog hair mentioned above (God loves this little guy) is all over our floors and I found that to be a problem. No matter which vacuum you use, unless the suction is very strong, it’s often hard for hair to get off the floor mat. This is my first question with AstroAI. The suction is not that strong. I have to go through the same place multiple times to get the debris, especially the hair, off the floor. I tried using an extension hose but it had more suction so I stopped using the attachment. Honestly, the best accessory is the crevice tool, so that’s pretty much the only way I’m using AstroAI right now, to attach the crevice tool.
Now, in general, one of my biggest complaints about manual vacuums is that they drain too quickly. Even the good ones will give you a solid 10 minutes or so of strength. So we never use hand vacuums, but do small jobs around the house. However, when you vacuum the car, you may need 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how dirty the car is. This is where AstroAI can help you. Because it plugs in, it never runs out of juice. So this is definitely a plus. Even if I have to walk through the same places over and over, I don’t have to worry about running out of battery.
Finally, the AstroAI comes with a canvas carrying case to hold everything, which is nice. This means you can store it in the garage or in the storage compartment of your vehicle.
what do I like
- Very light and easy to use
- it doesn’t run out of power
- Suitcase is convenient
what would i change
- The suction is not very powerful and it takes longer than expected to get the job done
- The price of a vacuum with this power is a bit higher than I expected
- feels a little cheap
final thoughts
I can see that in some situations this manual vacuum would be ideal. This is great for you if you need a quick vacuum to get spilled chocolate out of your car seat and you don’t want to drag the upright vacuum out of the house. As long as a 16-foot cord is enough to get to every place your vehicle needs to go, this handheld vacuum might be for you. The LEDs are awesome, almost a must if you’re using it under the floor and under the seats. It does struggle a bit with dog hair and you have to add some extra elbow grease to get it all. And I do think the price is a bit high considering the low power level you get. But again, in some use cases, this AstroAI might be a good fit for you, as long as you know what you’re getting.
price: $31.99
where to buy: Amazon
source: This product sample is provided by Astronomical Artificial Intelligence.
