Homeika LED 8-in-1 Review

Aesthetically speaking, the Homeika LED 8-in-1 will look great in just about any home, and the swivel head is highly maneuverable, which we enjoyed. Still, our lab tests reveal how hard it is for low-budget models to compete with vacuums that cost 2-3 times as much. For minor surface cleaning with low expectations, you could be happy with this vacuum — right up until you need it for a big mess.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Performance

To test how well a vacuum can suck up typical household messes on carpet, we spread 1.5 cups of sand, rice, and Cheerios over 9' x 3' sections of both low pile and high pile carpet. We then try to vacuum up as much of the debris as possible in 24 seconds. This is a very difficult test. Unlike other reviewers who conduct simple single-item forward passes, we get real with our test. It requires a vacuum to not only suck up small heavy particles (sand), but it also has to consume lightweight big debris (Cheerios) while dealing with the medium-sized rice swirling around.

In our experience, different vacuums with different levels of suction power and cleaner head designs can produce wildly different outcomes on different surfaces. While high pile carpet is less common than low pile carpet, we include it because it represents shaggy area rugs that also need vacuuming.

Low Pile

We had high hopes for this popular, colorful, cordless vacuum, but it struggled on carpets. When we drill down into the data, we can see that it performed below average, collecting 72% of our mix of sand, rice, and Cheerios in our timed test.

Considering its rock-bottom price point, this performance is closer to average for budget-priced cordless vacuums.

Before Testing After Testing

I was surprised at how much Cheerios and rice it left behind. In the second run of this test, it briefly shut off on me as if it had clogged, but it started back up and collected nearly the same amount as the first run. The result photos show that the Homeika will take a few extra passes to extract the sand and rice from deeper below.

High Pile

This Homeika struggled to handle our test on high pile carpet, collecting just 27% of our test material.

This model definitely has a spraying effect with rice and Cheerios, blowing both types of debris away from the cleaner head. I think it even sometimes drove sand farther down into the fibers. While pushing it, I could feel the lack of suction.

Overall Carpet Cleaning Performance

While this machine ranked well below average, as our chart shows below, it performed comparably to budget vacuums that cost a bit more.

While this Homeika's on-carpet performance is not fantastic compared to vacuums that cost twice as much, for simple needs, it's competitive in its price range. For comparison, the Black+Decker Powerseries+ sucked up just 1% more debris on low pile carpet and 3% less on high pile carpet.

Hardwood Performance

When we do our hardwood test, we set it up as if a young child flipped a bowl of cereal off of a high chair after kicking playbox sand off his or her shoes while Dad rips open a bag of rice with too much gusto, spraying grains everywhere. Of course, these specific actions are unlikely to occur in very close proximity to one another, but they do represent typical mixed-debris cleanup scenarios.

Cleaning Performance

This vacuum seems to have too little suction power to lift debris from the surface of a hard floor. Its performance varied widely and completely clogged on one pass, making us wonder if it has a choke point in its system that affects its ability to suck as material passes through.

I did not see it coming how poorly this popular vacuum would perform on hardwood. It seemed to mow the lawn, just taking the topmost layer and leaving behind large patches of sand and rice. I would not recommend this vacuum to anyone I know and love.

Crevice

To test for crevice performance, we spread sand between the slats of a bamboo mat and then recorded how much of the sand each vacuum could pick up in 4 passes. Because the slats are relatively deep, the brush rolls on the vacuums can't reach all the sand to whisk it away, forcing the vacuum's suction power to do the work.

It did a pretty abysmal job, barely getting any of the sand up in our test. If you have crevices, you'll definitely need to use the included hand crevice tool attachment rather than the primary cleaner head.

Edges

In our test to reveal how well a vacuum sucks up debris close to a wall, we spread coffee grounds next to baseboards on hardwood and hit it head-on and in a parallel run.

Before Testing After Testing

If you look at the tangled pet hair photo of the brush roll below, be sure to check out the wide distance between the brush roll and the edges of the cleaner head — these thick designs tend to reduce a vacuum's ability to suck close to walls while running parallel to the wall. Consequently, if you have long hallways with walls next to hard floors, you'll likely need to break out the crevice tools to suck up traffic debris near walls adequately.

Overall Hardwood Cleaning Performance

Our rating chart reveals its competitive performance: below average in every key hard floor metric.

The test debris seemed too much for the Homeika LED to handle. It did better with lightweight Cheerios but couldn't muster enough suction to tackle sand and rice, often rolling right over the debris as if it weren't even turned on. Neat freaks will likely get upset if they try to vacuum anything but the smallest of messes. For just $30 more, the Kenmore Elite CSV Max DS4095 performed better, earning our Best Buy on a Tight Budget award.

Pet Hair

Our pet hair test is more difficult than any we've seen from other vacuum reviewers. We start by taking a huge fistful of mixed pet hair, measuring it to ensure that it weighs a consistent 4 grams, and then we playfully wipe it all over a 4.5' x 3' test section of carpet. We add 1 gram of hair extensions to replicate long hair, then mash it all down with a weighted wheel roller to simulate foot (and paw) traffic. We give each vacuum just 12 seconds to suck up as much hair as possible, then weigh the results. We run this test on both low pile and high pile carpets to help you better understand how each vacuum might perform in your own home.

Again, this budget vacuum struggled with our rigorous testing protocol, scoring well below the average of all the vacuums we tested. This vacuum's lack of suction makes it a really poor performer when it comes to pet hair. At times, I watched it just roll over clumps of pet hair and leave them behind.

Filtration & Suction

Sometimes vacuums with very high suction power sacrifice filtration, which can exacerbate air quality issues in your home. We test both to help you choose the vacuum that gives you the filtration and performance characteristics you need.

Filtration

If you thought our flooring tests were intense, our filtration tests illustrate a whole new level of rigor in our commitment to testing performance. We start by creating a clean room in our lab by running room air filters overnight to regulate air particles to very low levels. Once we establish a clean baseline for the room using two Dylos air quality monitors, we spread 1/3 cup of flour on the flour and vacuum it up, watching for increases in tiny particles that the vacuum either seeped or leaked.

Surprisingly, this Homeika can filter out fine particles effectively. While it did increase the fine particulates in our test room, the spike was very small, earning a good rating. This may be due to its seven-layer sealing filter system with an incorporated HEPA filter amongst the layers of protection. This performance implies that anyone sensitive to allergens or pet dander will unlikely experience worse effects due to the vacuum.

Suction

The power of this product is perhaps its weakest characteristic, as it doesn't provide much suction.

We measured a paltry 75 pascals in our lab at the cleaner head, far below the group average of around 800 pascals. Its incredibly low suction power doesn't inspire confidence in me that I'll be able to work well on any moderate-to-heavy vacuuming tasks.

Ease of Use

The Homeika shines when it's in motion. Its highly maneuverable head, combined with the lightweight nature of this vacuum, provides a pleasant user experience.

Maneuverability

It can seamlessly transition off and on various surfaces in the home, like hardwood or an area rug. In fact, we were delighted at how easily this vacuum glided up onto a bamboo mat, zoomed around cones in our obstacle course, and swiveled its head like a hungry praying mantis eyeing dinner.

Maintenance

The two filters and the dustbin of the Homeika can be accessed and cleaned, although we couldn't find any directions on how to do this. It would have been helpful to have instructions, especially for removing the second filter. However, the brush roller has a dedicated button release, making it easy to access. A subtle but convenient feature that we appreciate. If you have long-haired humans in your home, you'll use this button to remove the brushroll to free up wrapped hair.

Uphostery & Attachments

The package deal comes with two additional attachments: a crevice tool and a combination tool.

This model comes with a wall mount, which you'll need to install since it can't stand up independently and easily falls over when leaned against a wall.

Battery

The Homeika ran for 29 minutes on low and 21 minutes on its highest power.

Before you get too excited about the impressive 21-minute high-power runtime, let's put this in perspective. We noted from our suction testing that it's not significantly more powerful than the lowest setting, and you'll likely need to use it often, giving you a relatively short runtime compared to other cordless vacuums we tested.

Should You Buy the Homeika LED 8-in-1?

Unless aesthetics are your primary concern or you prioritize highly maneuverable vacuums, this vacuum likely won't get the job done on most surfaces. While affordable, it comes at the sacrifice of tangible cleaning power.

What Other Stick Vacuums Should You Consider?