No matter what type of boat you have, whether it’s a pontoon or something else, keeping it clean is really important. On an open deck, the sun, rain, water, fish stains, and foot traffic from your passengers can soon foul up a carpet or vinyl flooring – and the inside of your boat probably won’t fare much better.
If you don’t regularly clean and vacuum your boat, it’s going get dirt ground in, develop mold and mildew and end up looking terrible.
But marine carpet is a little different to what you get at home, which is why it’s so important to select a marine vacuum cleaner that’s designed to do the job in hand.
Below you can see my recommendations for the best boat vacuum cleaners that money can buy, with the number one choice being my current weapon of choice. The others listed are the best vacuum for a pontoon boat (or another other boat for that matter) where I’ve asked other boat owners I know.
What Type of Boat Vacuum Cleaner Will You Need?
It really depends on what type of cleaning you want to do. If you’re just looking for something to leave in the boat and clean up all the chips your kids drop and do small cleans, then I would recommend a 12-volt portable and cordless model.
However, for larger boats, or more extensive cleans you’re going to need something with more power that’s corded. But if you choose something larger like a shop vacuum, you will need to be near a power outlet, or have some batteries you can hook into.
I’ve listed out 2 recommendations in the following categories to suit all scenarios.
- The best cordless and portable vacuums for small jobs
- The best larger vacuums for large boat cleaning jobs
Best Cordless & Portable Boat Vacuums
Let’s start off with the small, portable, and cordless vacuums that are ideal for little spills and quick clean-ups.
#1: Dyson V7 Car & Boat Vacuum
This is exactly what I use on my pontoon boat, keeping it under the helm whilst on the water, and regularly charged up.
Dyson is an amazing brand, and they have revolutionized design over the last couple of decades, and their smaller portable vacuums are perfect for smaller boats.
My Dyson V7 is very powerful (view on Amazon), it’s lightweight, small enough to store easily (so is the ideal vacuum cleaner for a pontoon boat), and you can buy replacement filters easily.
It’s the Best Vacuum for a Pontoon Boat
It doesn’t come with any long pole attachment, so is best if you just need to clean up crumbs, dirt, leaves, and other dried debris that’s on your deck or carpet quickly. It does a great job if you just need something simple that you’re going to be using for a couple of minutes.
For my pontoon boat, I wouldn’t use anything else as it’s just perfect.
I think for larger cleaning jobs, where you want to vacuum an entire deck and carpet, then you’re going to get a bad back due to the lack of stick attachment.
If you need something more heavy duty, then skip down to the next section where I list the best boat vacuum cleaner reviews for larger cleaning tasks.
But for something relatively cheap, that is going to last and help you get into all of those nooks and crannies on your boat, this is my number 1 choice.
#2: Dyson Animal Lightweight Stick Vacuum Cleaner
This is almost identical to the D7 that I own, but with one key difference, and that’s the stick. If you have a bad back and have the room to store this on your boat, then it’s a good choice.
With 60 minutes of running time, it’s not unusual to only have to charge it perhaps once a month if you’re out on your boat each weekend.
Dyson state that it’s the most powerful suction of any cordless vacuum cleaner (see the specification on Amazon), and I can well believe it given the great results I have experienced with my smaller D7 model.
With three different power modes and different head attachments, there won’t be many times when you can’t reach or suck up some dust in those hard to reach areas.
Best Boat Vacuums for Larger Cleaning Jobs
Sometimes a small cordless vacuum won’t quite cut it on your boat, especially if you’ve got a load of sludge, water, and dirt ground into the carpet.
You’re going to need something with a little more power.
You could go away and buy a specialist marine vacuum, but honestly you don’t need to do that, and this is why.
I have a friend who works in the boat cleaning business, and here’s what he had to say when I asked what vacuum cleaner he was using for his commercial jobs.
“Since I started my cleaning business ten years ago, I’ve found that the thing that cleans up a boat the best is nothing fancier than a shop vac. I’ve seen some really dirty yachts and sailing boats, and trust me, my faithful shop vac is the best for the job.”
I then asked him what he would recommend as a boat vacuum cleaner for larger boats or for cleaning carpet on my pontoon boat. Below you can see his two preferred models and why, with some review notes I took from our phone call.
#1: Vacmaster Industrial Motor Wet/Dry Floor Vacuum
Shop vacs are the best for cleaning boats but bear in mind that if you plan on sucking up water you will need to take out the filter from the vacuum before you do it.
You are always going to have a degree of water on board, and small 12-volt handhelds just aren’t going to be suitable as they don’t have the suction power. Plus, sucking water into one of those portable is just going to kill it.
Instead look at something like the Vacmaster on Amazon. You will need to plug it into a wall or power outlet, as it’s not cordless, but it will do the best job on water and wet carpet, I promise you.
Vacuuming boats is an entirely different proposition to cleaning your home, purely because there is so much variation in the type of dirt you need to clean up.
You might have water, fish guts, bird poop, leaves, sand, salt, and food. In other words, not the type of stuff you will be vacuuming up at home – well at least I hope so anyway!
If you leave it down for too long, your boat is going to get smelly really quick. A shop vacuum will have the power for sucking up wet and anything else you might encounter on a pontoon or large boat.
The Vacmaster will do the job and do it well.
It comes with a 5-horsepower engine, 18 foot of cable, and has a handle on top for easy transport.
#2: Stanley Stainless Steel Wet/Dry Vacuum
My last recommendation is the Stanley shop vac.
The reason I am showing you this one is all down to the brilliant reviews that it has online. You can read some of the great reviews on Amazon and also see the latest prices (view prices on Amazon).
The spec is virtually the same as the Vacmaster, but it just looks awesome, and is stainless steel which should stand up well against the type of corrosion you might experience on a boat.
The cord is a little bit shorter, so make sure you can reach a power supply, but it does come with more accessories and is way more robust to the steel design.
What Type of Boat Vacuum to Avoid
For small jobs, a portable cordless is absolutely fine, but it won’t work with water. For water cleaning and larger vacuuming, it should be a shop vac every time, but there are certain cleaners that I recommend you avoid.
Don’t just think that you can haul your standard vacuum cleaner from your house to your boat. They simply aren’t going to stand up to the type of punishment that boat cleaning jobs typically mete out.
The point I realized this was when I took my pontoon boat out of winter storage and found a dead rat inside.
The only cleaner that got that horrible mess up was a shop vac that I borrowed from my cleaning business buddy, as there was no way my wife was going to let me use the house vacuum.
Boats get dirty.
You need something that’s powerful and robust enough to deal with all the different scenarios you are going to encounter.
Choose a shop vac for your boat every single time.
Boat Vacuuming and Cleaning Tips
Elsewhere on Pontoonopedia you can find a wide range of guides on how to best clean your boat. Here are just a few of those guides you can explore, followed by some additional tips.
- How to clean vinyl boat seats
- How to clean an aluminum boat with vinegar
- How to clean a pontoon boat with toilet bowl cleaner
- How to clean algae off your pontoons quickly
In terms of the actual internal cleaning and using your new boat vacuum cleaner, you will find that it’s not always possible to get into real small cracks and gaps.
Depending on what type of boat you have, you could use a pressure washer, which works particularly well on marine carpet and marine vinyl flooring when used on open decks.
Once that’s done, it will have shot all the dirt back onto the open areas, so do this before you actually do the vacuuming part as you’re only make more work for yourself otherwise.
Steam cleaners are also a great option, as they lift dirt straight off, and will give your carpet a really good clean. Once steamed, you can wipe, vacuum, and then wipe again for a really good finish.
What Other Boat Owners Say
As mentioned, I spoke to many people in the boating community about their own preferred boat vacuum and found that many of them tended to choose portable 12v models.
Here’s a selection of responses I received when I asked them what they thought was the best vacuum for a pontoon boat and larger sailing boats and yachts.
“With battery technology getting so good I see a lot of cordless varieties out there. I have little kids who smash chips all over the place and I need something for quick clean-ups and ended up choosing a Dewalt with a a lithium battery. It’s been great so far.”
“I recommend a Makita 18-volt compact lithium-ion cordless vacuum. It’s served us really well on a 12-month cruise on our 34-foot sail boat, and we’ve got a dog on board as well who comes up the dog ramp, and it picks all his hair up off the carpet with nothing left over. It’s re-chargeable, and we have a spare battery that can be switched in and out if needed. It’s actually the best-rated marine vacuum cleaner on the Practical Sailor website.”
“I was looking for a high-powered cordless vacuum for my pontoon carpet and bought a re-chargeable Dirt Devil. I don’t use it when the pontoon carpet is wet, as will take my shop vacuum instead as that works much better.”
“We found it cheaper buying an inverter and using a regular vacuum. We then are able to use other AC items as well. Inverters have dropped tremendously in price over the last few years, but just make sure you don’t kill the battery.”
“I love our Dewalt DC515K. It’s cordless, 18 volts, and can be used on wet and dry carpet, and believe me, the carpet on our pontoon boat gets very, very wet and it does a great job. It’s the best portable boat vacuum I’ve used, and I’ve used a lot over the last 20 years. Great suction, little bit loud perhaps, but that’s not an issue on my 26-foot pontoon as I am only using it for a few minutes at a time.”
“My 40-foot sailing boat needs thorough cleaning real often, but it’s such a big job and is almost the same as detailing a car instead of vacuuming a house. So, I actually asked a local car cleaner what he used and it’s a cordless Eureka EasyClean handheld vacuum, which is what I ended up getting. It plugs into the inverter, doesn’t overheat, and I also put down carpet cleaning power to make everything smell nice and fresh.”
“I just have a Dewalt 12-volt vacuum which I keep onboard my pontoon boat for general cleaning. We also had some sand in our pontoon and it picked everything up perfectly. It’ an awesome little vacuum, I keep it under the helm.”
“For larger boat cleaning you can buy a small 120V shop vac and run it either of your battery with a power converter or buy one of those small 900-watt generators. That’s what a boat cleaning company local to us do.”
“I have a Dyson. Yes, it was expensive, but I tried a cheap one first on my pontoon but had to return it and then got the Dyson instead. I have no regrets. Dyson is the bomb!”
“We bought an upright Hoover Nano for our own bought, which only cost about $60 and it does a really job of the vacuuming. It’s bag-less and simple to store too. It might be a little big for some smaller boats, but we have a storage compartment on ours where we can stand it up in.”
“Our Dyson DC25 Animal is great for vacuuming boats. I keep it at home and take it with us fully charged when we get out on the water. It’s perfect for all floor types including vinyl flooring, marine carpet, wood, laminates and tiles so is great as a portable boat vacuum.”
“If you want something really sturdy for really long sailing trips, then I can’t recommend the Eureka Mighty Mite enough. Mine gets a lot of punishment and knocking around, but it keeps on working no matter how often it’s used. You will need room for it though, as it’s not a small vacuum cleaner, but it is very powerful and great for large boats and yachts.”
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it, my recommendations on the best vacuum cleaners for boats, including my own type of craft, a pontoon boat.
All of the products reviewed above are available to buy on Amazon and have exceptional reviews. Don’t just take my word for it, go take a look and see what you can pick up.
By keeping your boat clean with a vacuum that is actually going to do the best job, you can spend far more time having fun, and not having to continually put off having a deep clean done by a specialist cleaning company.
