Levoit LVAC-120 Cordless Vacuum Review

Pros

• Cordless design with a good run time
• Lightweight with 2-in-1 capability
• Soft roller head good for hardwood floors

Cons

• Build quality was fine, but not amazing
• Performance on high pile carpets left something to be desired
• Failed to clean kitty litter off of hardwood floors (unclear why exactly, particularly given its performance elsewhere on hard surfaces. See our notes below for more info).

Design

The Levoit cordless stick vacuum resembles most other 2-in-1 lightweight stick vacuums. In-hand, there is a small dust bin with a long aluminum wand that ends with a floor cleaning head.

The cleaning head of the Levoit is a little unique and uses a soft roller to collect debris instead of a traditional spiral brushroll.

Soft roller cleaning heads are typically best for hardwood floors (and other hard surfaces), but may struggle with finer debris on carpeted floors.

The Levoit had similar results, as you’ll see below in our performance cleaning tests.

Features

Here are some of our favorite features on the Levoit stick vacuum.

1. Cordless design

The Levoit stick vacuum uses a rechargeable battery to power the vacuum.

The cordless design makes it easy to clean various areas around your house, quickly and efficiently without the hassle of a plug-in cord.

How long is the run time?

With a full battery, the Levoit can run for:

• 40 minutes on level 1 suction mode
• 20 minutes on level 2 suction mode
• Charging time: 5 hours

2. Multiple uses

This vacuum has two different suction speeds that can manually toggle, back and forth. The controls include:

1. Power: slide to turn the vacuum on or off
2. Level 1 Suction: for hard surface flooring or a quick, light cleaning
3. Level 2 Suction: for deep carpet cleaning or high-traffic cleaning

The 2-in-1 style of the Levoit means that it can operate as a stick vacuum or a handheld vacuum, depending on what kind of cleaning job you’re tackling.

Here’s the Levoit in handheld mode. As you can see, it uses the exact same motor, handle, and dust bin.

You can attach a couple of different cleaning tools for handheld use.

Here’s the Levoit in stick vac mode. In this configuration, the LVAC 120 uses the longer wand and floor cleaning head.

The wand is also compatible with the handheld mode for hard-to-reach areas like cleaning ceiling fans, moldings, or tops of furniture.

3. Soft cleaning head

For cleaning hardwood floors, the soft roller cleaning head is a nice option. It tends to avoid tangles and also avoids scratching floors.

When cleaning carpets, the performance wasn’t quite as good, but overall the soft roller is easier to maintain and a good option for hard surface flooring.

WARNING: One area where the soft roller cleaning head is not the best is when cleaning large debris. During our cereal tests, we noticed cereal had a tough time and often found itself caught in the head between the roller and the plastic shell.

Size & Dimensions

Compared to other 2-in-1 stick vacuums, like those in the Dyson V Series, the Levoit cordless is fairly average when it comes to size.

• Length – 47.5″
• Width – 10″
• Weight – 5.2 pounds
• Dust bin capacity – 0.5 L (approx. 2 cups)

Parts & Accessories

The parts and accessories included with the Levoit vacuum are pretty simple and straightforward. It comes with a standard AC wall charger, crevice tool, combination brush, and a wall mount.

What’s in the box?

• Combination tool: used as a soft dusting brush or a short crevice tool
• Crevice tool: longer tool for accessing narrow spaces like automotive interiors, between couch cushions, or under furniture
• Wall mount: for hanging the vacuum when not in use
• Charging cord: plugs into the back of the vacuum for charging up between uses
• Cleaning tool: a small tool used to clean small parts of the vacuum and / or brushroll that may accumulate dust and debris over time

Cleaning Tests

The following vacuum cleaner tests are designed to show how well the Levoit cordless vacuum cleaned up a variety of debris types, including cereal, rice, kitty litter, and granulated sugar.

We test this debris on three different floor types for a more rounded performance score. The floors types we use are:

• hardwood floors
• low pile carpet
• high pile carpet

The Results

Overall, the Levoit LVAC 120 is a good option for cleaning hardwoods, except for kitty strangely enough.

Carpet had a reduced performance, which could probably be chalked up to the soft roller cleaning head, which has a history of struggling with finer debris particles.

Cleaning Hardwoods

On hardwoods, the cleaning performance was flawless for cereal, rice, and sugar, but surprisingly kitty litter was a pretty big problem. The Levoit basically sucked up 0% of the litter.

What would happen here is that the debris would be sucked into the vacuum, but upon turning the suction off, all of the kitty litter would fall out of the vacuum.

It’s like the suction was not strong enough to capture the semi-fine, dense particulate.

Cleaning Low Carpet Floors

On low carpet, the performance was much better for the kitty litter, but it did struggle with cereal here.

With cereal, it sucked it up initially, but it began to clog and cereal began falling out of the cleaning head.

The Levoit may work well for small cereal messes, but larger spills would probably benefit from using the crevice tool or a simple dustpan and broom.

Cleaning High Carpet

On high pile carpet, we saw much of the same types of issues with the Levoit. On cereal, it almost clogged several times, but it was able to collect mostly all of that debris.

Finer debris, like kitty litter and sugar struggled through our tests. A combination of the non-traditional brushroll and the suction power made it difficult for the Levoit to get a great score here.

Setup & Usability

Unboxing the Vacuum

Out of the box, the Levoit vacuum comes basically pre-assembled. The cleaning head and cleaning tools all attach with quick, click-in attachments.

To charge up the vacuum, simply plug the charging adapter into a standard wall outlet and plug the other end into the side of the vacuum.

The Levoit needs about 5 hours to generate a full charge before you get to cleaning.

Daily Use

Overall, the Levoit vacuum is simple and easy to use in handheld and stick vacuum mode.

The dust bin is pretty small, but if you have a small area to clean or have relatively low traffic, it should still be more than sufficient for your needs.

Maneuverability

The maneuverability of this vacuum is good. It has a tight turning radius, is lightweight in-hand, and has a great recline as well.

The flat-lay design is perfect for squeezing under low furniture or other tight spaces.

Maintenance

Maintenance tasks for the Levoit LVAC 120 pare down to a shortlist:

1. Empty the dustbin, as needed.
2. Charge / replace the battery, as needed.
3. Replace the filter disc, as needed. (approx. every 6-8 months)

The disc filter should be cleaned once a month. To clean the filter, rinse with water and allow to dry completely before replacing inside the dust bin.

The manufacturer recommends replacing the filter every 6-8 months.

How to empty and clean the dust bin?

To empty the dustbin simply release the bin from the vacuum and open over a trash can. The dust bin can hold approximately 2 cups of dry debris.

The dustbin is also washable. After washing, be sure to sit it out to dry for at least 24 hours before using it again. Moisture in the dust bin can cause debris build-up or clumping.

Is the Levoit a good value?

The value of the LVAC 120 really comes down to what exactly you’re looking for in a vacuum.

Bottom line…Levoit has built a budget vacuum. For the price point, I think the performance is exactly what I would expect. It’s good, but far from perfect.

The LVAC 120’s best features are its price, weight, and cordless design. It’s a great vacuum to quickly grab and clean, with its best performances on hard surface floor.

If you have high pile carpet, really big messes, or need a ton of suction power, this is not the best choice.

Levoit Specifications

Should you buy the Levoit Lvac 120?

I would recommend the Levoit LVAC 120 if you’re looking for the following in a vacuum cleaner:

• Cordless design: The cordless design makes it easy to maneuver the Levoit through different areas of the house and it has a pretty good run time (up to 40 minutes). It takes 5 hours to get a full charge and comes with a wall-mounted storage solution.
• Low price point: If you’re looking for a stick vacuum with decent performance that doesn’t break the bank, the Levoit is certainly a solid option. It’s not the top-of-the-line, but for the price you pay, it’s still a decent value.
• Good for hardwood floors: The soft roller cleaning head is best for hardwood floors (as well as vinyl, tile, etc.) although Levoit claims this vacuum is designed for all floor types. It was our experience that performance was diminished on carpeted floors compared to hard surface flooring.

Click here to learn more or to check the price on the Levoit cordless stick vacuum.